Tender ports and Celebrity

[phoenix_dream]

12 minutes ago, canderson said:

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.

Wow - when was this?  Cartagena has a beautiful area at the port with a lot of tropical birds, a little shopping, plenty of shade, restrooms, etc..  I know once you walk to the ship boarding area it is not nearly as nice so I'm guessing that's where you were?

[canderson]

30 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Wow - when was this?  Cartagena has a beautiful area at the port with a lot of tropical birds, a little shopping, plenty of shade, restrooms, etc..  I know once you walk to the ship boarding area it is not nearly as nice so I'm guessing that's where you were?

Just a couple of years ago.  Yes, they had us all lined up on the dock for the full length of the ship, u turn, and back to the gangway, all shortly before final.  A lot of people must have waited a lot longer than we did.  Some kind of snafu between X and local authorities.

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

However, they were still doing priority tendering for Elite + and Suite guests.

Elite also gets the priority tendering. Great CC perk/benefit at tender ports. 

[cruisestitch]

5 hours ago, WeBcruisingMN said:

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?

Must have been because it was offered yesterday on Infinity

[Ipeeinthepools]

30 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Elite also gets the priority tendering. Great CC perk/benefit at tender ports. 

 

Not on the Summit in May.  Concierge said they were limiting it to Suites and E+ and above.

[mom says]

If you can't tell before you leave the ship that it is going to be sunny and hot and take suitable personal mitigating measures, then you shouldn't take cruises with tender ports, or just stay on board. Wear a wide brimmed hat. Wear and carry sunscreen. Bring adequate water with you. Bring a personal fan. Heck, I even bring a parasol umbrella if I know I won't be risking poking someone's eye out. The cruise lines do the best they can under the circumstances  they are given, and situations like this are by no means unique to Celebrity.

Sorry (not sorry) OP, but given the current heat wave in Europe that has already killed hundreds of people, complaining about an hour standing, or a 20 minute wait without AC on the boat pales to utter insignificance.  This isn't just first world problems; more like a 1%er.

 

[pl281]

I don't mind tendering - and looking forward to experience the Edge tendering later this year - as last time on Edge was all docked or it was local tender.

 

Adding to the "stories" - there is one that comes to mind for me (I think I have the right port/cruise) is July 2016 - Glasgow (Ayr) - this was a British Isles trip which included a stop at St Andrews. As I recall the tender location was in a small wharf I recall it was about a 30 minute tender ride to/from the ship (each way). 

 

Well it was a cold, rainy, windy day and a number of the tours got dropped off at the same time, so you had a few hundred people all waiting for the tenders - and keep in mind when using as a tender the have less capacity than as a lifeboat.

 

I recall they were running 4 tenders - but even with that - given the length of the trip back and forth to the ship - it still took a while - I think we ended up sailing 3 hours late that night as there were still people who had to get back to the ship.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by pl281

[BSinPNS]

Tendering on the Edge class is different.  The tenders are of a new design, more comfortable and air conditioned.  You also use the Magic Carpet.  For a video, search for <Celebrity Edge New Tender with Bonnie> on YouTube.  Great video.  

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Not on the Summit in May.  Concierge said they were limiting it to Suites and E+ and above.

If you are elite you should have talked with the CC host. That would have been the best source. I'll let you know in October as we cruise on the Summit in September. We plan on having the tender perk/benefit for that cruise. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

10 hours ago, davekathy said:

If you are elite you should have talked with the CC host. That would have been the best source. I'll let you know in October as we cruise on the Summit in September. We plan on having the tender perk/benefit for that cruise. 

 

I did.  I had not received any info on Elite priority tendering so I went to the CC desk to ask.  The reasonably new CC host didn't know the answer so she promised to find out and call my cabin.  That never happened.  However I did find out from some E+ friends that they were instructed to go to the Tuscan Grille for priority tendering.  I went there and the CC host said no, they were not offering priority tendering for Elite.  The CC host said they had not offered priority tendering on the Summit since they restarted cruising.  After my E+ friends arrived, she agreed to let make a one time exception.

 

Good Luck

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I did.  I had not received any info on Elite priority tendering so I went to the CC desk to ask.  The reasonably new CC host didn't know the answer so she promised to find out and call my cabin.  That never happened.  However I did find out from some E+ friends that they were instructed to go to the Tuscan Grille for priority tendering.  I went there and the CC host said no, they were not offering priority tendering for Elite.  The CC host said they had not offered priority tendering on the Summit since they restarted cruising.  After my E+ friends arrived, she agreed to let make a one time exception.

 

Good Luck

Hopefully our experience will be different than yours for our September NE/Canada cruise. Where was your May Summit cruise? I (we) will be very disappointed if we no longer get that perk/benefit. I know it's still listed on the website. Hopefully we have a different CC host that knows her/his job. If tendering isn't offered for elite in our CC welcome aboard letter with the other perks/benefits I'll also speak with the CC host and show the host what is currently listed on the website. 

 

Did the CC host have the CC HH (like pre shut down) in the Sky Lounge in the evening? 

Edited July 21, 2022 by davekathy

[Ipeeinthepools]

37 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Hopefully our experience will be different than yours for our September NE/Canada cruise. Where was your May Summit cruise? I (we) will be very disappointed if we no longer get that perk/benefit. I know it's still listed on the website. Hopefully we have a different CC host that knows her/his job. If tendering isn't offered for elite in our CC welcome aboard letter with the other perks/benefits I'll also speak with the CC host and show the host what is currently listed on the website. 

 

Did the CC host have the CC HH (like pre shut down) in the Sky Lounge in the evening? 

 

Nope, there wasn't any CC HH in the Sky Lounge.  In fact it was actually worse than just not having a HH.  Several nights they used the Sky Lounge as a rehearsal venue for several bands and it was far too noisy to sit and have a conversation.  Even without an official happy hour, the Sky Lounge is still my favorite place to have a pre-dinner drink.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Ipeeinthepools

[upwarduk]

On 7/20/2022 at 3:13 PM, cruisestitch said:

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

 

Or they cancel it, as happened to us in Split.

[WorkerBee74]

22 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

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.

 

 

 

That sounds amazing!  Hopefully we get that in Cannes in October 😛

[mahdnc]

19 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Not on the Summit in May.  Concierge said they were limiting it to Suites and E+ and above.

 

No wonder you were working so hard to Elite+

[p18750]

On 7/20/2022 at 9:10 AM, Snit13 said:

Good Answer

Yes, rather than improving the tendering operations just blame it on the weather. If it had not been so hot the tendering would have been fine. 

[p18750]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:47 PM, mom says said:

If you can't tell before you leave the ship that it is going to be sunny and hot and take suitable personal mitigating measures, then you shouldn't take cruises with tender ports, or just stay on board. Wear a wide brimmed hat. Wear and carry sunscreen. Bring adequate water with you. Bring a personal fan. Heck, I even bring a parasol umbrella if I know I won't be risking poking someone's eye out. The cruise lines do the best they can under the circumstances  they are given, and situations like this are by no means unique to Celebrity.

Sorry (not sorry) OP, but given the current heat wave in Europe that has already killed hundreds of people, complaining about an hour standing, or a 20 minute wait without AC on the boat pales to utter insignificance.  This isn't just first world problems; more like a 1%er.

 

It seems some readers have misinterpreted my post. 

I have nothing against tender ports. As many have mentioned there are many wonderful ports that can only be experienced by tendering. The issue I have is with poorly done tendering. A tender plan with 20 minute wait times may entirely be suitable in October in Cannes but (in my opinion) is entirely inappropriate on an exceedingly hot day in July. By deploying just one more tender boat Celebrity could have drastically reduced the wait time and greatly decreased the stress on their passengers. 

 

And I am no stranger to heat, I have lived in southern Arizona for 40 years and am well versed in how to coexist with the heat. We live every summer with temperatures exceeding what Cannes and other European cities are experiencing. This does not mean I get in my car in the sun in July, roll the windows up and turn off the air conditioning. While that may work out well in January it is inappropriate (in my view) in July. 

 

And I do not dislike Celebrity, as you can see from my signature we have been cruising with Celebrity for over 20 years and there are many things they do very well, but in my opinion tendering is not one of them and I think people should be informed. I think Celebrity has a "one size fits all" strategy for tendering and they are unwilling or unable to alter that strategy based on conditions. 

Edited July 22, 2022 by p18750

[HappyCamper49]

On 7/20/2022 at 10:13 AM, cruisestitch said:

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

 

On our Eastern Med. cruise both Mykonos and Santorini were not Celebrity tenders, but local tenders. It was a  HOT day at both locations, but X did provide chilled washcloths and lemon water when getting in line for a tender..

[osborne66]

Easy answer to this - avoid all cruises that have tendering that way you don't need to complain

[njcanuck]

I have to agree and sympathise with the original poster that Celebrity has to improve their tender service during hot weather.

 

We just returned from the Edge and had tendering in Portofino and Cannes.  This was using the Edge's own tenders.

 

In neither case was there any noticeable AC on the tender.  I could see an AC unit, but as far as I could tell it wasn't running.  In Portofino the tender to ship I think was shorter so they seemed to be running the tenders fairly frequently.  It was hot on board, but the tender didn't sit around and the trip was short so it was manageable.

 

In Cannes it was 35C/95F so it was a hot day.  We got to the tender and hopped on thinking based on our experience in Portofino it would leave quickly, unfortunately we ended up sitting on a hot tender with no AC and limited to no ventilation until every seat was full.  About 20 minutes or so.  Honestly not something I would like to do again.   Why Celebrity wasn't running the AC, I don't know?   We had planned on going back into Cannes for dinner since we were in port till late, but neither my wife or I was willing to go through the tender experience a 2nd time.

 

 

[WorkerBee74]

When it all comes down to it, this seems more like Americans who are used to blasting A/C 24-7 expecting other countries to follow suit.

 

Hate to tell you but A/C is a LUXURY in most of Europe, not a given.

[canderson]

17 minutes ago, WorkerBee74 said:

When it all comes down to it, this seems more like Americans who are used to blasting A/C 24-7 expecting other countries to follow suit.

 

Hate to tell you but A/C is a LUXURY in most of Europe, not a given.

Not in your vehicles, it isn't, and these tenders are similarly enclosed spaces -- little photon collecting solar ovens.

[gold1953]

On 7/21/2022 at 10:54 AM, davekathy said:

Hopefully our experience will be different than yours for our September NE/Canada cruise. Where was your May Summit cruise? I (we) will be very disappointed if we no longer get that perk/benefit. I know it's still listed on the website. Hopefully we have a different CC host that knows her/his job. If tendering isn't offered for elite in our CC welcome aboard letter with the other perks/benefits I'll also speak with the CC host and show the host what is currently listed on the website. 

 

Did the CC host have the CC HH (like pre shut down) in the Sky Lounge in the evening? 

If there are too many elite then the priority tendering is not allowed. I sailed when 2/3rds f the ship was elite and up so it was not allowed

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, gold1953 said:

If there are too many elite then the priority tendering is not allowed. I sailed when 2/3rds f the ship was elite and up so it was not allowed

If and maybe. No issues with tendering on any of our past cruise. There's a first time for everything.  But until then... 

[njcanuck]

4 hours ago, WorkerBee74 said:

When it all comes down to it, this seems more like Americans who are used to blasting A/C 24-7 expecting other countries to follow suit.

 

Hate to tell you but A/C is a LUXURY in most of Europe, not a given.

Well before you jump to conclusions maybe you should read my post and maybe my user name.

 

On a 35C/95F day in an enclosed space like a tender it get pretty downright uncomfortable and I might say even a little dangerous.  This is not someone complaining that Europe should be like the US.

 

AC might be a luxury in Europe, and I may not expect it in a restaurant or someone’s home or even in the museums we visited.  However Celebrity is sell a “Modern Luxury” experience and I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect either AC in an enclosed tender or tenders to run frequently enough so that the passengers don’t get heatstroke.

 

Given the rest of the celebrity experience it is a little surprising.