How to find out whether tender port or dock

[drdaddy]

Hi. I have done many cruises and I have yet to have found one itinerary that did NOT indicate whether the stop was tenders or docked. We are on Rotterdam in late December. Some ports I know like HMC and this NEW port in the DR are tenders. But I just can't find this on the itinerary. Like Panama Canal (dock?), Cartegena (dock?), Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, and Grand Cayman.

 

Thanks.

 

[asebastian]

Check the list attached - that was current as at Sep 2019.

port-tender-list.pdf

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, drdaddy said:

Some ports I know like HMC and this NEW port in the DR are tenders. But I just can't find this on the itinerary. Like Panama Canal (dock?), Cartegena (dock?), Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, and Grand Cayman.

If it doesn't say, it is docked. Grand Caymon (Georgetown) is a tender port per the itinerary on the website. Cartagena (I have been there) and apparently Puerto Limon are docks. There is no port for "Panama Canal" -- you sail up the Atlantic locks, turn around in Gatun Lake, and back down the locks. If you have a ship's excursion in PC, you will be transferred to a boat in Gatun Lake and meet the ship back in Colon (which is also apparently a docked port). 

[ski ww]

Your itinerary will tell you if it's a tender port.

[ontheweb]

17 minutes ago, ski ww said:

Your itinerary will tell you if it's a tender port.

In 2009 on a HAL ship, we were in Corfu normally a dock port, but there were 3 ships and 2 docks. Our ship was the one that ended up tendering.

 

Last summer on our NCL cruise, Isafjordur was listed as a dock port, but the dock was not finished. Our ship's lifeboats were not certified for tendering. We skipped the port; actually, the port was skipped on every Prima cruise this past season. On the same itinerary, Geiranger was listed as a tender port, but we walked right off the ship.

[terrydtx]

Your invoice from HAL will have your itinerary and list any tender ports. This is what it looks like. This is from our Koningsdam cruise last November The Santa Barbara port was tendered and is indicated as that on the invoice.

 

 

Edited May 21 by terrydtx

[Fouremco]

8 hours ago, asebastian said:

Check the list attached - that was current as at Sep 2019.

port-tender-list.pdf 148.4 kB · 11 downloads

 

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Your invoice from HAL will have your itinerary and list any tender ports. This is what it looks like. This is from our Koningsdam cruise last November The Santa Barbara port was tendered and is indicated as that on the invoice.

 

 

Unfortunately, the tender port list has been incomplete for years and the itinerary information provided by HAL is not always accurate. For example, we've tendered in Charlottetown, PEI, and in Trondheim, Norway. Neither port appears on the list and our itinerary for cruises including these ports didn't reflect that a tender was required.

 

For a number of years now, for each cruise visiting new destinations, I check with the local port authority.

 

 

[REOVA]

It would be difficult to get a 100% accurate list. You may have a general idea from your booking but there may be a change at the Port due to other ships docking or something else that would make you change to tender. Now finding which pier/dock is even more challenging these days. 

[drdaddy]

Thanks for all the feedback. I did not think to look at the invoice. But iin my HAL account, there is an itinerary tab but it says "IN PORT" for all the stops. Including Half Moon Cay!

[kazu]

6 hours ago, drdaddy said:

Thanks for all the feedback. I did not think to look at the invoice. But iin my HAL account, there is an itinerary tab but it says "IN PORT" for all the stops. Including Half Moon Cay!

That tab either says at sea or in port.  It just references where you are that day.  It has nothing to do with docking or tendering.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

HAL no longer has an accurate list of tender ports as @Fouremco and others have noted.

 

I was surprised to learn that the old standbys: Booking confirmation and cruise ticket itineraries.  They are no longer reliable.   My booking confirmation and cruise ticket itinerary didn't list any of our Alaska ports as tender ports.

 

On our current Alaska Cruise (28-day legendary Alaska), we ended up tendering or are scheduled to tender in:

 

Sitka,

Valdez

Nome

Kodiak

Homer

 

After we left Valdez I asked guest services for a list of the remaining tender ports - I was told Nome would be last.   Well...something changed in last few days and now Homer and Kodiak are tender ports.

 

I guess there isn't any way to know more than a few days in advance what ports will be tender ports, especially in smaller towns. 

 

Recent blogs or live reports are now your best source.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 06:49 PM by The-Inside-Cabin

[CruiserBruce]

@The-Inside-Cabin, it can definitely be affected by other ships in port. Even ports with lots of dock space (Juneau, for example) can become a tender port if too many ships are in port.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

14 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

@The-Inside-Cabin, it can definitely be affected by other ships in port. Even ports with lots of dock space (Juneau, for example) can become a tender port if too many ships are in port.

What I don't get is why isn't this known further in advance.    All these cruises are planned years in advance.   Are dock or anchorage decisions made by the port at the last second?    
 

I don't do Alaska much.  Maybe this is normal.  

[CruiserBruce]

16 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

What I don't get is why isn't this known further in advance.    All these cruises are planned years in advance.   Are dock or anchorage decisions made by the port at the last second?    
 

I don't do Alaska much.  Maybe this is normal.  

Most places I have seen dock assignments are typically made until much closer to the actual cruise date, rather than at time of booking. It seems like Alaska does their assignments early in the year...like January for the following season.

 

Dock assignments can have a number of criteria, based on things like ship support requirements, size of ship, time in port...

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

@The-Inside-Cabin, it can definitely be affected by other ships in port. Even ports with lots of dock space (Juneau, for example) can become a tender port if too many ships are in port.

We once tendered on a HAL ship in Corfu (2 docks, 3 ships).

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

We once tendered on a HAL ship in Corfu (2 docks, 3 ships).

Perfect example.

[Wehwalt]

On the 21-day Alaska on the Maasdam five years ago, we tendered into both Ketchikan and Juneau, the ships that were there every week or two had the docks.

 

On our recent sailing on the Oosterdam that called at Malta, the schedule said we would dock. Then the daily schedule the night before said we were tendering, and I called the front desk and they confirmed this. We wound up docking across the harbor from the normal place, with boats hired to take as across to Valletta. Why the confusion, I don't know.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We were informed yesterday Kodiak was changed to a tender port because HAL just learned that the city only has 2 school buses available to use for shuttles.   Tendering is probably a better call in this situation, but why HAL didn't figure this out a year ago remains a mystery.   I doubt Kodiak had ten shuttle buses a year ago.   Poor port planning by HAL HQ

 

I get the feeling that HAL HQ doesn't ever worry about port shuttle buses, and the ship only starts thinking about it a week out.  

 

Unless it's a HAL Excursion -  HAL doesn't seem interested in planning port shuttles.   Lesson learned.   

Edited Monday at 02:54 AM by The-Inside-Cabin

[Will_Dieterich]

8 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We were informed yesterday Kodiak was changed to a tender port because HAL just learned that the city only has 2 school buses available to use for shuttles. 

 

Was in Kodiak a few weeks ago and we got switched to tender because a government broke and needed the dock while waiting for parts.  The tender location is alot better location, right in the center of town.

 

The town runs the buses.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

11 minutes ago, Will_Dieterich said:

 

Was in Kodiak a few weeks ago and we got switched to tender because a government broke and needed the dock while waiting for parts.  The tender location is alot better location, right in the center of town.

 

The town runs the buses.

How long was the tender ride?   
 

Our average wait time for a tender is about 1 hour for the first 3 hours.   After 4 hours we are usually at open tenders.   this is the 4/5 star wait time. 
 

Our Kodiak dock - pier 2 is 1 mile from the visitors center.  The tender pier is 1/4 mile from the visitors center. 
 

Switching to tenders shortened our walk but added in a tender ride plus the wait to get a tender.   Independent travelers that scheduled early tours assuming we would be tied up are scrambling now.   
 

 

 

[Will_Dieterich]

It took about 15 mins.  It was our first stop in the USA and I got out in at around tender 5

[Wehwalt]

We were in Kodiak both on the Maasdam as I mentioned and once previously (Volendam in 2016?) and we docked both times and I don't remember any extraordinary wait for the shuttles either going or returning. Pretty sure we docked in Homer too. Of course, Westerdam's a bigger ship and more passengers. There must be a large percentage of 4 and 5 stars. Did they cancel the priority tendering except for Neptunes as they did on the GWV?

Edited Monday at 02:54 PM by Wehwalt

[rafinmd]

For Alaska the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska is a good source

 

https://claalaska.com/?page_id=665

 

There's a calendar for each port listing the ships and the berth codes.  There's a separate page with berth codes for all ports and usually pretty descriptive and tendering berths will usually include the word "Anchor".  A good planning tool but even then things can change at the last minute, but usually a swap from Anchor to dock.  Sometimes, a really early arrival will even go to a dock for the major unloading but move to an anchorage once a ship with priority gets closer.

 

Roy