All board time for a 5 pm departure

[teachingforme]

I have booked the afternoon snorkeling in Woodwind in Bonairen for myself, husband and 7 year old son. The tour is from 12pm-4pm. We are in port from 8am to 5pm. I am now second guessing myself about booking a non ship excursion and missing the boat. Can anyone who has done this excursion or have experience with Woodwind or all board times help ease my fears?

 

 

[dixieva]

You have to be back by 4:30 for 5 pm departure.  That's cutting it very close.

 

Personally I wouldn't chance it.  We do independent tours all the time but we do them in the morning so we have plenty of time to get back.

Edited February 3, 2019 by dixieva

[cruiseguy1016]

All aboard time will be 4:30. This means that they would PREFER that everyone is back on the ship by that time. If there are passengers not on at that time, they will not pull the gangway. Woodwind is a very respected tour operator in Bonaire. They have been catering to cruise ship passengers for years. They know the ships' schedules. They will have you back to the pier in time. Do not worry about being late.

[BEENSAILING]

I did an afternoon with Woodwind several years ago. We left late because morning was late due to a  non Royal ship which came in later than scheduled. Still had great snorkels. Woodwind is not far from the port. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 minute ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

All aboard time will be 4:30. This means that they would PREFER that everyone is back on the ship by that time. If there are passengers not on at that time, they will not pull the gangway. Woodwind is a very respected tour operator in Bonaire. They have been catering to cruise ship passengers for years. They know the ships' schedules. They will have you back to the pier in time. Do not worry about being late.

This is true.  They are a VERY respected company.  We took one of their tours several years ago.  It is still the best excursion I have ever taken!

 

Having said that I must say we took an afternoon tour and we did cut it close.  That is not my way. I was a little nervous on the trip back to their dock.  . . . That is the one thing you need to think about.  They have a dock that is within walking distance, but is not that close to the ship's per.  Look at google maps.  Look not just at the address, but at the distance to the dock at the resort.  I am not sure if you have any mobility issues.  We fast walked all the way back.  They were removing all of the items outside the ship when we arrived.  I felt rushed.  I would change to a morning tour if I could.  However, if the afternoon excursion is the only thing that is open I would go for it.  It was that great an experience. 

[steveru621]

Woodwind was great. You should be fine. 

[GTO-Girl]

2 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

All aboard time will be 4:30. This means that they would PREFER that everyone is back on the ship by that time. If there are passengers not on at that time, they will not pull the gangway. Woodwind is a very respected tour operator in Bonaire. They have been catering to cruise ship passengers for years. They know the ships' schedules. They will have you back to the pier in time. Do not worry about being late.

 

The onboard is 4:30.  Will they wait a little longer??.....probably.. but they will not wait until every passenger is back onboard if they are past the onboard time!!

 

I have seen passengers left behind several times as the ship pulled away from the dock.

 

Never believe they won’t leave you....because they can and will if they have to!

[Merion_Mom]

3 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

This is true.  They are a VERY respected company.  We took one of their tours several years ago.  It is still the best excursion I have ever taken!

 

Having said that I must say we took an afternoon tour and we did cut it close.  That is not my way. I was a little nervous on the trip back to their dock.  . . . That is the one thing you need to think about.  They have a dock that is within walking distance, but is not that close to the ship's per.  Look at google maps.  Look not just at the address, but at the distance to the dock at the resort.  I am not sure if you have any mobility issues.  We fast walked all the way back.  They were removing all of the items outside the ship when we arrived.  I felt rushed.  I would change to a morning tour if I could.  However, if the afternoon excursion is the only thing that is open I would go for it.  It was that great an experience. 

 

Agree with all of this.  🙂 

[teachingforme]

Thank you for all the feedback. I switched us to the morning. Even though it is an hour shorter and supposedly snorkeling in better in the afternoon. My anxiety will be through the roof if we are a few minutes late returning and trying to run the ship.

[HOSKI]

I've seen the ship leave passengers behind before so I always want lots of time to get back onboard. 

[LeeW]

22 hours ago, teachingforme said:

Thank you for all the feedback. I switched us to the morning. Even though it is an hour shorter and supposedly snorkeling in better in the afternoon. My anxiety will be through the roof if we are a few minutes late returning and trying to run the ship.

 

All reputable excursion operators WILL get you back on time - their business depends on it.  Especially snorkel excursions are easy because they can drop you off fairly close to the ship (sometimes in Bonaire it is inside security on the opposite side of the pier from the cruise ship).  But we still prefer mornings - usually less waves at snorkeling sites and time to shop when we get back.