Grand Cayman Tender Questions

[slightlysilly]

7:30 is the time listed for our arrival. It says 7am on the site that lists all the ships that will be going to GC on a particular day. Does that mean tenders should begin at 7:30? If I have an 8:30 date with Captain Marvin, do I endeavor to get one of the first tenders out? Or is there a sweet spot after the excursions and before the general boarding?

 

Thanks in advance!

[moki'smommy]

Not all the DCL excursions leave at the same time, but they DO cut the line when they get to the area by the elevators where they swipe you out. There is a line of waiting guests, they appear with their DCL guide and proceed to the front of the line.

 

Yes, for an 8:30 at Captain Marvin's, you will want to be on a tender by about 8. It really depends on how many ships are anchored. We had one where the Magic arrived first. We had 3 tenders serving the Magic, so it went really quickly. As soon as one departed, another pulled up, tied on, and started boarding. Then another ship arrived and one of "our" tenders departed. It won't hurt you to shoot for the first tender (knowing you won't make it), and end up on the second. If you shoot for the second, you may well get the third. Depending on the timing, that could make you a bit late.

 

As to Captain Marvin's....walk to the front of the tender terminal. Look diagonally across the street and you should see their storefront meeting place. If not, you WILL see the Dairy Queen. Head to the DQ, and Captain Marvin's is 2-3 stores before you get to the ice cream. They are totally reputable and if for any reason the ship can't tender, they will not charge your card.

 

The tenders will begin when they are ready. The 7:30 means that the first one is scheduled at 7:30. It may start boarding a few minutes earlier if the ship is ready for the tender to tie on. Concierge guests have tender priority and then any DCL excursions will cut the line when they are ready. And of course, the first tender can be taken for a medical or legal situation if necessary.

Edited January 29, 2016 by moki'smommy

[slightlysilly]

Not all the DCL excursions leave at the same time' date=' but they DO cut the line when they get to the area by the elevators where they swipe you out. There is a line of waiting guests, they appear with their DCL guide and proceed to the front of the line.

 

Yes, for an 8:30 at Captain Marvin's, you will want to be on a tender by about 8. It really depends on how many ships are anchored. We had one where the Magic arrived first. We had 3 tenders serving the Magic, so it went really quickly. As soon as one departed, another pulled up, tied on, and started boarding. Then another ship arrived and one of "our" tenders departed. It won't hurt you to shoot for the first tender (knowing you won't make it), and end up on the second. If you shoot for the second, you may well get the third. Depending on the timing, that could make you a bit late.

 

As to Captain Marvin's....walk to the front of the tender terminal. Look diagonally across the street and you should see their storefront meeting place. If not, you WILL see the Dairy Queen. Head to the DQ, and Captain Marvin's is 2-3 stores before you get to the ice cream. They are totally reputable and if for any reason the ship can't tender, they will not charge your card.

 

The tenders will begin when they are ready. The 7:30 means that the first one is scheduled at 7:30. It may start boarding a few minutes earlier if the ship is ready for the tender to tie on. Concierge guests have tender priority and then any DCL excursions will cut the line when they are ready. And of course, the first tender can be taken for a medical or legal situation if necessary.[/quote']

 

Perfect! I know that only two ships are in port that day and the second ship is due to come in at 10:30. So it should be ok. I was just wondering how much time I had to play with (ie. which kind of breakfast we should opt for) before we had to get to the tender.

 

I had something like this happen to us in Hawaii, and it turned out to be fine but the stress of making that first tender made me completely insane. The excursion was totally worth it, but I think I grew a zillion gray hairs that day!

 

Thanks so much!

[moki'smommy]

You don't need to stress about making the first tender, but you should probably be on the second one. The deal is usually that you finish breakfast and have your whole group together with all your stuff and go to the designated place (usually the BV theatre) to get tender tickets and sit till you are called. We've had it be a 10 minute wait and we've had it be so my behind maybe brushed the chair before they guided us downstairs. There will be an orderly line downstairs where they will swipe your card and load you onto the tender...but again, concierge and DCL tour groups will cut the line. The tenders hold about 200 people (some are bigger!), so it takes maybe 20 minutes to load one. It is only a few minute ride to the tender port. And then it takes a little time to unload.

 

If the other ship isn't coming till 10:30, you will have at least 2 and likely 3 tenders for your ship initially. That's GREAT. One is loading, one heading over, and one unloading/heading back. No waiting for a tender to arrive at the ship!

 

If you aren't on the second tender, still no panic. Captain Marvin's builds about a 15 minute time into their schedule for everyone to arrive and check in before the van is ready to head out. If everyone is there and checked in at 8:30, you'll leave. Otherwise, you'll wait a short while before they declare the stragglers to be "no shows."

Edited January 29, 2016 by moki'smommy

[slightlysilly]

You don't need to stress about making the first tender' date=' but you should probably be on the second one. The deal is usually that you finish breakfast and have your whole group together with all your stuff and go to the designated place (usually the BV theatre) to get tender tickets and sit till you are called. We've had it be a 10 minute wait and we've had it be so my behind maybe brushed the chair before they guided us downstairs. There will be an orderly line downstairs where they will swipe your card and load you onto the tender...but again, concierge and DCL tour groups will cut the line. The tenders hold about 200 people (some are bigger!), so it takes maybe 20 minutes to load one. It is only a few minute ride to the tender port. And then it takes a little time to unload.

 

If the other ship isn't coming till 10:30, you will have at least 2 and likely 3 tenders for your ship initially. That's GREAT. One is loading, one heading over, and one unloading/heading back. No waiting for a tender to arrive at the ship!

 

If you aren't on the second tender, still no panic. Captain Marvin's builds about a 15 minute time into their schedule for everyone to arrive and check in before the van is ready to head out. If everyone is there and checked in at 8:30, you'll leave. Otherwise, you'll wait a short while before they declare the stragglers to be "no shows."[/quote']

 

Oh thank you! Our cabin happens to be right next to the BV theater. So, room service that morning is probably a good option.

 

One last thing if I could, and feel free to explain this to me like I'm 5. My confirmation e-mail talks about Ship time/port time. ??? I'm in the eastern time zone... the ship leaves from the eastern time zone. I looked up the time zone for Grand Cayman and it is the same as eastern (according to dateandtime.com). So what the heck are they talking about? Do I even need to worry about that? Are they talking about ships coming from Galveston?

[moki'smommy]

On SOME cruises, the ship will technically cross into a different time zone but will opt to stay on the original time in order to not need to flip flop. In that case, the time that the ship says it is may not be the same as the time that the port says it is.

 

Example---ship departs from port on Eastern Standard time. Port 1 is on Atlantic time (1 hour ahead) port 2 is on Eastern time, port 3 is on Atlantic time, and final disembarkation is on Eastern time. The ship MAY decide to stay on Eastern time for the entire cruise in order to avoid the constant clock changes. This typically affects Grand Cayman (certain times during the year), but we've also had it happen on a Trans-Atlantic/Med cruise. If all your ports are on Eastern time, you have no worries at all.

 

What YOU need to do is simple. If there is a time change, you will be notified by your server at dinner, at the show that evening, by a little note card placed on your bed, in the Navigator, AND finally by a sign at the place where they swipe your KTTW to leave the ship. EVERYTHING involving the ship will be listed at the "ship time." SO, ALL ABOARD is based on SHIP TIME. They don't care what time Captain Marvin or McDonald's thinks it is! If you wear an old fashioned watch and don't change it, you are good. Your electronics will likely do an automatic change.

 

What I do is easy too. If I am going on a private excursion, I always plan to be back on the ship an hour before the stated all aboard time. That way, if I've somehow screwed it up, I'm still back on time.

 

And it has nothing to do with Galveston vs. Port Canaveral or Miami.

 

I think you are looking at your Captain Marvin's confirmation. Again, if they are on Eastern time, no problems at all.

Edited January 31, 2016 by moki'smommy

[Ex techie]

Cayman does not observe daylight savings so for some of the year it will be at the same time as Florida, and others it will be 1 hour behind.

 

ex techie