Tender ports and Celebrity

[p18750]

For the past several years we have tried to avoid Celebrity cruises that have tendering stops. The reason dates back to an Australia cruise several years ago on Celebrity. I do not remember the tendering port but it was in Western Australia and the temperature was very warm, over 100 degrees F. Just as several groups of tours were returning Celebrity decided they needed to move the ship and stop tendering for approximately an hour. So over a hundred passengers stood in the heat with no shade, no water and no place to sit down. Since many Celebrity passengers tend to be older this should have been a concern for the captain and hotel manager on the ship. To their credit the people in the town were holding a craft fair nearby and when they saw the line of elderly  people standing in the heat they brought over their own chairs, cool drinks from their own coolers and shade awnings from their booths all while the Celebrity tender personnel looked on and did nothing.

With this experience in our mind we were concerned when Celebrity cancelled our Adriatic cruise and we were shifted to the Edge with two tendering ports. The first port was Portofino where the tendering went wonderful and I thought Celebrity had actually improved. The tendering at Portofino used air conditioned tender boats that ran every five minutes. So today we get to Cannes and have to tender again. According to the ship the temperature is 97 degrees with 63% humidity. The tender boats sit at the dock with no air conditioning, no air flow and bake for 20 minutes before they return to the ship. It appears the passengers on this cruise are younger than the typical Celebrity cruise but even so it could not have been comfortable. So it appears Celebrity still has little or no concern about the comfort of their passengers and we will continue to avoid cruises on Celebrity with tender ports.

[cruisestitch]

You should know that in some places the town operates the tenders, not Celebrity.  
 

 

[TeeRick]

Edge and other Celebrity ships will use their own tendering boats and crew in many cases, but certain ports require their own local tender boats and operators.  I know the Edge tenders are modern and comfortable when they are used.

[Ipeeinthepools]

5 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Edge and other Celebrity ships will use their own tendering boats and crew in many cases, but certain ports require their own local tender boats and operators.  I know the Edge tenders are modern and comfortable when they are used.

 

Great, at least the Edge has one improvement for the non-suite passengers.  

[WeBcruisingMN]

I hear ya….we dislike tendering ports too. On our recent Silhouette cruise (mid-June 2022)  we had two of them.
1-St. Peter Port (Guernsey) was fine on the outbound, but the line for the tender back (mid day 1:00) was super long, with much of the waiting done in full sun (thankfully it was only about 70°, but it was still quite warm). We waited 55 minutes before we could board a tender for the return. We are young middle-agers, but it was a difficult wait for the older folks for sure!

2-Waterford, Ireland we were booked on a Celebrity excursion, so we walked from the theatre with our tour group to board. Went alright and we departed fairly quickly after boarding. Return tender was on our own timing (some people stayed in town), and of course it was warmer and the tender boat was so stuffy inside. They loaded people into every possible nook and seating area, just jammed us in (and we were all supposed to be wearing masks in the sweltering, stale air conditions). One lady in the very front corner opened a window to get some air … which seemed like a good idea, but then when the tender boat moved beyond the ‘No Wake zone’, a wave of water came through the window and drenched a few people 😵

 

Of course we survived, but we have similar thoughts about tendering. I understand why they have to do tendering, and we would rather Cruise than Not Cruise…

 

One other note is that I asked the Silhouette Captain’s Club concierge on the first day of the cruise about priority tendering for Elite and above. She said they are not doing that at the present time, “because of Covid”. 🤷🏻‍♀️ ….so that was a bummer to us to ‘lose’ that benefit. Maybe that was just the policy on that ship?

[Arizona Wildcat]

And tendering is sometimes temporarily suspended due to weather conditions.  They might move tendering to the other side of the ship due to wind or suspend because of fog or other issues.

Suspending all tender ports would cause many ports to be dropped.  Possibly you could stay on board for those ports.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Arizona Wildcat

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 minute ago, WeBcruisingMN said:

 

One other note is that I asked the Silhouette Captain’s Club concierge on the first day of the cruise about priority tendering for Elite and above. She said they are not doing that at the present time, “because of Covid”. 🤷🏻‍♀️ ….so that was a bummer to us to ‘lose’ that benefit. Maybe that was just the policy on that ship?

 

The Summit took the same position when we had to tender in Bermuda.  However, they were still doing priority tendering for Elite + and Suite guests.    Next time perhaps you should ask if they still have priority for the suites (I suspect they do) and ask how Covid isn't an issue for suite guests.

[Ipeeinthepools]

Ok if we are comparing miserable tendering experiences, I'll add mine.   A couple of years ago we were on the Silhouette in Edinburgh for the Tattoo.   Almost everyone was off the ship for the Tattoo and Celebrity was not able to get a local supplier to help with the tenders.  So Celebrity was limited to using their own tenders and it was about a 15 minute ride to the ship.  The Tattoo ended at about 11:00 pm and everyone descended down to the tender dock.  There were limited facilities at the tender dock and it took several hours to get everyone back on the ship with the last guests getting back onboard at 2:45 am.

[p18750]

The tendering was done by Celebrity, not the port. There are priority tendering for suite guests and Elite members but that is only for the early tender boats. Once those have been transported then everyone is transported on a first come first serve basis. At no time did I see the tender boats were full even for the priority tendering in the morning. 

I am not saying Celebrity should not visit tendering ports but as long as they do such a poor job we will avoid them. Certainly, with the hot weather it would seem they could have done tendering every 5 minutes rather than every 20 minutes. They also could have run the air conditioning on the tender boats to make it more comfortable as they did in Portofino. I do not know why they are not doing that but my guess is it would require 4 tender boats rather than the two they are running with the associated cost and manpower. 

[Jeremiah1212]

I would suggest emailing the CEO and complaining they should do more to control the weather and sea conditions. 

 

 

[LGW59]

39 minutes ago, p18750 said:

For the past several years we have tried to avoid Celebrity cruises that have tendering stops. The reason dates back to an Australia cruise several years ago on Celebrity. I do not remember the tendering port but it was in Western Australia and the temperature was very warm, over 100 degrees F. Just as several groups of tours were returning Celebrity decided they needed to move the ship and stop tendering for approximately an hour. So over a hundred passengers stood in the heat with no shade, no water and no place to sit down. Since many Celebrity passengers tend to be older this should have been a concern for the captain and hotel manager on the ship. To their credit the people in the town were holding a craft fair nearby and when they saw the line of elderly  people standing in the heat they brought over their own chairs, cool drinks from their own coolers and shade awnings from their booths all while the Celebrity tender personnel looked on and did nothing.

With this experience in our mind we were concerned when Celebrity cancelled our Adriatic cruise and we were shifted to the Edge with two tendering ports. The first port was Portofino where the tendering went wonderful and I thought Celebrity had actually improved. The tendering at Portofino used air conditioned tender boats that ran every five minutes. So today we get to Cannes and have to tender again. According to the ship the temperature is 97 degrees with 63% humidity. The tender boats sit at the dock with no air conditioning, no air flow and bake for 20 minutes before they return to the ship. It appears the passengers on this cruise are younger than the typical Celebrity cruise but even so it could not have been comfortable. So it appears Celebrity still has little or no concern about the comfort of their passengers and we will continue to avoid cruises on Celebrity with tender ports.

Perhaps the smaller ships may be best for you.  Oceania is able to dock at many of their ports due to the size of their ships.

[mfs2k]

I'm going out on a limb here and will state there are very few people (passengers as well as cruise staff) who prefer tendering to docking at a port. 

 

But I think it's an obvious statement that docking, which would be preferred by all,  isn't always possible at a port of call, and tendering is necessary.

 

Tendering is a trade-off for including some ports in an itinerary, whether planned in advance, or an alternative for pre-arranged docking, if this isn't possible for whatever reason.  You certainly have the option of not getting off the ship. 

[york survey]

OK Looks like I'm on my own on this one!!

 

I like tender ports as you get to see smaller places, but still be the benefits of a larger ship, and the arrival has more of a nautical effect. However all the cruise lines need to consider passenger welfare and make sure everyone is included and safe.

 

So I've suggested a number of times that that tender ports should be limited to 1 a week and only where shore side, large, good quality tenders are available.

 

Most of the above situations are totally unacceptable and, unfortunately, not uncommon. But are easily managed with a little more preparation and thought!!

 

 

 

 

[WorkerBee74]

To be completely honest, anyone travelling to the Mediterranean in the summer should be fully prepared at ANY point to not have A/C comfort everywhere you go.  It's hot.  It's always hot.  This year was incredible, but it's almost always +35 somewhere on a summer cruise, that's just the way it goes.

 

Whether you take a fan, a cooling towel... whatever it is to cool yourself down... TAKE IT.  I've seen so many posts complaining about the heat - I for one would never travel to the Med in JULY and then complain about the heat.  Just like I don't go to Florida in July.

[prmssk]

The tendering stories I read in this thread match my experiences in a variety of lines. Tenders are often not air conditioned. They often wait until full which means sitting in the heat for a while. Weather, tide, and conflicts at the dock (we shared a dock with a ferry at one port) can suspend tendering at any point, often without warning. And at many ports, the port tenders are used (and so all ships of any cruise line in port that day are facing the same challenges).  So I don’t think this is a Celebrity issue. 
 

I understand why people don’t like tender ports (my husband hates them) but I am one of those few that love tender ports because of the photos and views I get of the ship and of the ability to be dropped off right downtown usually (instead of in an industrial or cruise dedicated port).

[Snit13]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

I would suggest emailing the CEO and complaining they should do more to control the weather and sea conditions. 

 

 

Good Answer

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

The Summit took the same position when we had to tender in Bermuda.  However, they were still doing priority tendering for Elite + and Suite guests.    Next time perhaps you should ask if they still have priority for the suites (I suspect they do) and ask how Covid isn't an issue for suite guests.

Not sure why you are making the OP's comments into a suite vs non-suite issue.

[Ipeeinthepools]

24 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Not sure why you are making the OP's comments into a suite vs non-suite issue.

 

This response was for WeBcruising who was told priority tendering for Elite and above was cancelled due to Covid.  I'll bet you a shiny quarter that it wasn't cancelled for suites.  So why did the Concierge suggest that "Covid" caused them to drop priority tendering for Elites.  You can't try to blame everything bad on Covid.

[AstoriaPreppy]

TBH, one of the things we loved most about the Edge class in the Med. was the use of Destination Gateway, Magic Carpet and Edge tenders in certain ports. We actually kinda enjoyed it, compared to the annoyance that tendering can often be on other lines/older ships.

 

It sounds like the ship may have used local tenders in one of your ports? Possibly a local regulation? The Edge tenders we used were... revelatory. Fully air conditioned, cushioned theater-like seating, and flatscreen monitors, while departing/returning to a lovely onboard space with a wall of windows and light.

 

 

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, WorkerBee74 said:

To be completely honest, anyone travelling to the Mediterranean in the summer should be fully prepared at ANY point to not have A/C comfort everywhere you go.  It's hot.  It's always hot.  This year was incredible, but it's almost always +35 somewhere on a summer cruise, that's just the way it goes.

 

Whether you take a fan, a cooling towel... whatever it is to cool yourself down... TAKE IT.  I've seen so many posts complaining about the heat - I for one would never travel to the Med in JULY and then complain about the heat.  Just like I don't go to Florida in July.

That was one of my first thoughts when reading the original post.  Yes, it's hot.  That was known before anyone decided to get off the ship.  If it's too hot for you, then you have the option to stay onboard.  And in the example of waiting in line for an hour, no one is forcing anyone to do that.  Until final boarding time you are free to wander and take care of yourself.  I can only assume the people in line had the ability to walk over to said craft fair and find some shade and drinks?  Yes, tendering can be a pain.  But it's a choice.  You can't always assume you'll have mini yachts to comfortably take you to and fro.   If the Captain suddenly has to move the ship it's not being done for serendipity - there is a reason.  It's a pain for them as well.  And I'm not clear what you expected the Celebrity tender crew to do as this was an unanticipated event, and they had no chairs, shade, or drinks to offer.   If in the future you want to pick cruises without tender ports or stay onboard, that is certainly your choice.  

[julia]

Respectfully, not everything in travel is convenient, comfortable or even timely.  That is the nature of travel, and one should be prepared for trying conditions (have you seen some airport lines lately?)  Also, I do not consider Celebrity "elderly", and never have. Tendering can be a hassle at any age, but it certainly wouldn't dictate my choice of cruise line.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

This response was for WeBcruising who was told priority tendering for Elite and above was cancelled due to Covid.  I'll bet you a shiny quarter that it wasn't cancelled for suites.  So why did the Concierge suggest that "Covid" caused them to drop priority tendering for Elites.  You can't try to blame everything bad on Covid.

I guess I missed that.  Sorry.  Even before COVID I have been on Celebrity cruises where priority tendering was not offered to Elite/Elite+ members.  Also, once on Reflection, we were in a sky suite and had to go to Michael's Club to get tender tickets - with no other priority.  Line was still very long.  So the practices vary by ship I think.

[canderson]

3 hours ago, p18750 said:

I do not remember the tendering port but it was in Western Australia and the temperature was very warm, over 100 degrees F. Just as several groups of tours were returning Celebrity decided they needed to move the ship and stop tendering for approximately an hour. So over a hundred passengers stood in the heat with no shade, no water and no place to sit down. Since many Celebrity passengers tend to be older this should have been a concern for the captain and hotel manager on the ship.

Reminds me of our experience trying to reboard an X ship at a non-tender port .. Cartagena, Colombia.  All sun with no place to sit, get out of the sun, find water, pee, or any other creature comfort in sight for about an hour before the very long line even started to move.

 

It's not just tendering ports that can be a problem.

[boblin]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

This response was for WeBcruising who was told priority tendering for Elite and above was cancelled due to Covid.  I'll bet you a shiny quarter that it wasn't cancelled for suites.  So why did the Concierge suggest that "Covid" caused them to drop priority tendering for Elites.  You can't try to blame everything bad on Covid.

 

[boblin]

As elite plus I was recently able to take advantage of priority tendering on Reflection in Europe. It would seem it's a ship by ship decision.