Tendering in Monaco

[travelkath]

On Oceania Riviera June 2019. How long does it take to reach port via tender? We arrive @8 am. 

[Hlitner]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 1:12 PM, travelkath said:

On Oceania Riviera June 2019. How long does it take to reach port via tender? We arrive @8 am. 

I guess the first issue is, will your ship tender in Monte Carlo...or will you dock :).  They do have a cruise ship dock in Monte Carlo, but it can only handle one large ship.  If you are on the cruise that is in Monte Carlo on June 4, it is likely your ship will dock.  If you are on the voyage that gets there on June 19 you will likely tender because the Celebrity Edge will probably be assigned the pier.  Reaching the port on a tender is not usually the problem (the tender ride will take no more then 15 min) but the time it takes for a passenger to actually get on a tender is a big issue.  "O" is no different then other lines in that their own excursions will get tender priority and then you will have some others who are also entitled to priority for other reasons (such as being the biggest suites).    The other factor which you cannot predict are the sea conditions.  Tendering goes faster on a nice calm day then on a windy day when conditions slow down the entire process.

 

Hank

[travelkath]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I just wanted to know approximately how long the ride was, once I’m on the tender. Been on 2 cruises before, but this is my first experience tendering.  

[MisterBill99]

Is there any way of knowing in advance which ship will dock and which will tender? I am going to be in Monte Carlo on June 22nd on HAL Koningsdam. P&O Britannia will also be there that day. Both ships' itineraries say they are tendering (in fact, P&O's site says "tender required" as opposed to "tender possible") and HAL says the same. The Britannia is 3650 passengers vs 2650 for Koningsdam.

 

So who's gonna get the dock? When we were in Norway last year, we had one port where the itinerary said we'd tender but the port's own website showed that we were going to dock, and it turned out to be correct. Does Monte Carlo have a similar site?

 

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by MisterBill99

[Hlitner]

I have no clue where you can get definitive info (in advance) of who gets the dock.   As to tendering, over the years we have actually tendered into two different places in Monte Carlo so that still remains a mystery (to me).  One ship tendered into the same area that has the pier and another tendered into a pretty convenient dock located along the Quai des Etats Unis. One would assume that if your cruise line is telling you that it is a tender port that is what it will be.

 

As to how long a tender ride it will depend on weather conditions and exactly where you tender.  As a general rule you can expect at 10-15 min tender ride.  To us, the length of a tender ride is not a big deal.  What is awful is the entire process of waiting onboard until it is your turn to tender, often having to queue for tender tickets (onboard), etc.  The return process is first come first serve which favors independent travelers (such as myself).  If you are part of a large cruise line excursion the buses tend to arrive at the tender pier around the same time.  When several hundred cruisers want to tender at the same time it means waiting.

 

Hank

[MisterBill99]

Thanks for the info. The odd thing is that BOTH cruise lines are saying that they're tendering. I think they do that to protect themselves in case they DO need to tender, so passengers aren't upset.

 

In terms of the actual tendering, nothing (and I mean NOTHING) will ever be as bad as tendering from Edinburgh at midnight in the rain after the Military Tattoo.

 

Regarding the situation above with Edge, I would think that they might be willing to tender since they have very nice tenders and a fancy boarding area on the ship (using the magic carpet). In fact, they make a big deal of it. Obviously, docking is preferable to tendering, even in a luxurious setting.  And just FYI, the Celebrity site also shows that Edge will be tendering on both of those June dates.

[Hlitner]

So I took a look at the Port of Monaco's actual port information.  On June 19 it shows the Riveria is "Digue" which would mean docked and the Edge is "Rade" which would mean the outer harbor (tendering).  Is this the final word?  Nothing is ever final when it comes to ports but it is the current plan of the Port.

 

Hank

[travelkath]

Thanks for this info, Hank. I bookmarked the Port site you referred to & will check periodically before we leave to see if the Riviera status stays the same. 

[MisterBill99]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

So I took a look at the Port of Monaco's actual port information.  On June 19 it shows the Riveria is "Digue" which would mean docked and the Edge is "Rade" which would mean the outer harbor (tendering).  Is this the final word?  Nothing is ever final when it comes to ports but it is the current plan of the Port.

 

Interesting. On my day both the Britannia and Koningsdam are listed as Rade, and the Kdam in particular is listed as Rade FTV.

 

Here's what a Trip Advisor poster had to say about that: "This reveals that indeed some cruises arrive "Rade FTV" which presumably means tendered in to the Fontveille port from the open bay. This is more likely to happen when Port Hercule ,the main port, is otherwise engaged , for example during the Grand Prix or the Monaco Yacht Show."

 

That would really suck if we do not at least get dropped off in downtown Monte Carlo. The Grand Prix is in May and the Yacht Show is in September, so that would not be the reason.

 

Update: I emailed the port for clarification on the situation.

 

Ed

Edited April 30, 2019 by MisterBill99

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Interesting. On my day both the Britannia and Koningsdam are listed as Rade, and the Kdam in particular is listed as Rade FTV.

 

Here's what a Trip Advisor poster had to say about that: "This reveals that indeed some cruises arrive "Rade FTV" which presumably means tendered in to the Fontveille port from the open bay. This is more likely to happen when Port Hercule ,the main port, is otherwise engaged , for example during the Grand Prix or the Monaco Yacht Show."

 

That would really suck if we do not at least get dropped off in downtown Monte Carlo. The Grand Prix is in May and the Yacht Show is in September, so that would not be the reason.

 

Update: I emailed the port for clarification on the situation.

 

Ed

We have never tendered into Fontveille and I suspect it would be somewhat more inconvenient then Port Hercule (which we also think is a bit inconvenient).  But Monte Carlo is a relatively compact area so anywhere is not far away via taxi or public bus.  For us, Monte Carlo is a place we use to escape to other places as neither DW or I have much use for the Principality.  But others do like the place 🙂  When we get dragged (kicking and screaming) into MC when on a cruise (we would not be there otherwise) our concern is how far are we from a rental car agency of the #100 bus.

 

Hank

[MisterBill99]

Got this response to my email.

 

We are sorry for this inconvenient but due to the extension work at sea until 2020 the ships more than 250m can't be moored at the pier

 

I asked about the Fontveille tendering and whether it was because they could only tender one ship to Port Hercule and got this response:

 

Exactly our tender pier is too small for two big ships tenders

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by MisterBill99