Preferred tender access & jumping the line...

[ekerr19]

I have to admit this thought came to me once again while reading a Maasdam review and the posters comments about the unmanaged tender lines...

 

I also agree with the poster of that review, we hardly think it's fair to jump to the front of the line with the gold card in hand when others are waiting in line.

 

I always assumed the priority tender perk only allowed you to avoid having to get a tender ticket and wait in the lounge until your number was called before proceeding to the tender line.

 

I have encountered other passengers who believed it allows one to jump to the front of the line, but I've never gotten clarification on the issue.

 

I'm curious what other posters think - is my assumption wrong?

 

Are Deluxe Verandah Suite occupants expected to go to the front of the line?

 

Has anyone here ever done so?

[Grumpy1]

I have encountered other passengers who believed it allows one to jump to the front of the line, but I've never gotten clarification on the issue.

 

I'm curious what other posters think - is my assumption wrong?

 

Are Deluxe Verandah Suite occupants expected to go to the front of the line?

 

Has anyone here ever done so?

It has always been my understanding that the priority only allows you to take a place in line without having to first get a tender number from the lounge. It was never my understanding that it entitled the gold card holder to jump ahead of those that were already in line. If that were the intention I think it would be clearly explained and a separate line for gold card holders, just as there is a separate line and checkin desk for suite pax at embarkation.

[sail7seas]

We have never gone to the front of the line. We go to the gangway and get in line. If we don't feel like waiting in line, we wait until most of the pax are off the ship and then we go to the gangway and board the next tender.

 

 

 

[ANSalberg]

I know people that do- and feel that they are OK doing it [ and I have no problem with that] but I flatly refuse to shove ahead of anybody at any time in any line. My MIL insisted she HAD to sit in the front of the tour bus because "I get car-sick" - and annoyed people no end- I PROMISED myself I would never BECOME her! She not only wanted NEAR the front of the bus- she wanted that coveted FIRST seat. You want to be first - Fine; but I NEVER ever want to BE first!

[riz]

I would never think to jump in front of someone else in line....it just isn't right in my mind even though people do it. We sailed NCL in April and our butler always escorted us on the ship and off of it...he would go to the front of the line and put his arm in front of others so we could cut in ahead...he did this twice before we finally decided to come and go from the ship without him...I was mortified cutting in on others who were patiently waiting.

 

I consider my gold card nothing more than a tender ticket...therefore the same as everyone else in line has and therefore where you will find me...at the back of it.

 

To me...priority only means not having to go to the lounge to get a ticket and nothing more.

[Copper10-8]

As has been explained by those who know (many thanks), that "priority tender perk" does not include "jumping ahead to the front of the line". I'm pretty easy going but that happens to be a pet peeve of mine, it would aggravate me and I don't believe I'm the only one:cool: I have no problem opening my mouth to remind "line jumpers" where the back of the line starts and would gladly white glove escort them in that general direction

[Ziggy7]

As has been explained by those who know (many thanks), that "priority tender perk" does not include "jumping ahead to the front of the line". I'm pretty easy going but that happens to be a pet peeve of mine, it would aggravate me and I don't believe I'm the only one:cool: I have no problem opening my mouth to remind "line jumpers" where the back of the line starts and would gladly white glove escort them in that general direction

Well thats one way to get the white glove escort hehehe.

 

We were told it jumps you to the front of the line but staff on our first cruise, we choose not to do so, but sometimes they escort DH and I to the front because of his cane. He doesnt like it most days, but others he is really appreciative. His problem is standing too long in one place and walking great distances. But i'm sure that is another whole can of worms :)

[Copper10-8]

Well thats one way to get the white glove escort hehehe.

 

We were told it jumps you to the front of the line but staff on our first cruise, we choose not to do so, but sometimes they escort DH and I to the front because of his cane. He doesnt like it most days, but others he is really appreciative. His problem is standing too long in one place and walking great distances. But i'm sure that is another whole can of worms :)

 

There are always exceptions Deb and disabled persons are one of them;) I would gladly escort Jim or any other DP to the front of the line

[OceanLiner]

I am not sure about this either, but it seems to me that though we were entitled to jump the line, it just never seemed to be good form to do so. The one time that we did go forward was at HMC with our butler. We didn't realize that he had brought us down a side passage that put us in the front of the line, it wasn't as bad as pushing past everyone.

 

When it was time to leave HMC we were again taken be a sep route which popped us up right at the tender, though it didn't really matter because we were the last ones off the island.

[peaches from georgia]

We never have been told that priority tendering meant anything more than not having to go to the lounge for a tkt and I really don't think pushing to the front of the line at the gangway is the intent of this suite perk. Never ever have we done that nor would we ever. In fact we never even thought of it until the subject came up here on CC.

[ANSalberg]

Cute story; We took a week's cruise on the Celebrity "Zenith" to Bermuda along with about 400 people from New York City -many from a retirement community who had never cruised before. So we board and are up waiting in line at the Lido Lunch area and we see a group of about 4 LOL [ little old Ladies] surveying the rather LONG line for lunch and one says " Do you think we should PUSH to the head of the line? They TOLD us we would have 'preferrential treatment' here" Dick and I just howled; there were 1300 passengers ALL expecting cruiseline "preferrential" treatment as guests!!!!!!!

Anne

[Sea King]

the Priority IMO is not having to go to the showroom and getting a tender number .. the wait in the showroom can be verrrrrry long at times

 

however, once you get a tender ticket or have the "crd", the line is the line

 

jumping the line is IMHO "ignorant"

 

on the other hand, one of the problems that often occurs is that confusion takes place in the area where the line forms because no cruise staff is present to direct you where to stand ... as an example, if you use the stairs and not the elevators, you normally "land in line" going down the stairs which then spills over onto where another line has formed heading for the tender

 

if it sounds confusing, it's because it is

 

HAL needs more traffic guides during the "peak rush hour"

 

on the other hand, don't point a finger at just Suite pax .. there are just as many pax who aren't Suite guests that take the approach the line is for everyone but them .. they're usually the same pax who won't follow directions when boarding the tender .. better to sit on the seats next to the door so everyone has a hassel boarding rather than sitting down behind the door ..

 

then again, the extra 2 minutes it might take to disembark from a seat behind the tender exit area might ruin an entire day some for some

 

now if the line jumpers are carrying bottles of rum in their tote bags, that's an entirely different story:eek:

[kryos]

I always assumed the priority tender perk only allowed you to avoid having to get a tender ticket and wait in the lounge until your number was called before proceeding to the tender line.

From what I understand preferred tender access only applies in the morning when you first arrive at a port ... the first few tenders to leave. The "common folk" onboard have to go to the Queen's Lounge to get a tender ticket before they can proceed to the tenders. In my experience, the Queen's Lounge does not even open until shore excursion people are off the boat. Therefore, there would be no jumping the tender line ... because no one else onboard (unless they were on a HAL shore excursion) would be in the tender line. They would all be queued up outside of the Queen's Lounge waiting for it to open and the folks to start handing out those tender tickets. Thus, the only people you would have down at the tender boarding station would be suite passengers with their gold cards and shore excursion folks with the little stickers on their shirts. Since there would be plenty of room in the tenders for all of those people, jumping the line wouldn't be necessary.

 

Then, when all the early morning shore excursion folks were off the ship, only then would the doors to the Queen's Lounge be opened and tender tickets be distributed. By that time any suite passenger desiring priority tendering should already be on the island enjoying their day.

 

That's why I don't understand all this stuff about "jumping the line" with a gold card. What line exactly are you jumping? There shouldn't even be one.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Krazy Kruizers]

Tenders -- whenever we are ready to go ashore, we just go down to the area and get in line -- never have we pushed ahead of anyone. Sometimes the line is long and sometimes it isn't. No big deal.

 

Having that gold card just means that we don't have to go to the lounge and get a tender ticket.

[wgeddings]

on the other hand, don't point a finger at just Suite pax .. there are just as many pax who aren't Suite guests that take the approach the line is for everyone but them .. they're usually the same pax who won't follow directions when boarding the tender .. better to sit on the seats next to the door so everyone has a hassel boarding rather than sitting down behind the door ..

 

Well, they have the right to ignore all the directions asking them to slide to down. Just like people in amusement park shows have the right to ignore the "slide all the way to the end of the row" directions and just sit right in the middle. Gee, odd coincidence that I seem to always accidentally step on their toes..............:D

[ekerr19]

 

 

That's why I don't understand all this stuff about "jumping the line" with a gold card. What line exactly are you jumping? There shouldn't even be one.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Rita - There is frequently a line for tenders at HMC when we've stopped there.

 

I recall one time, the folks in the suite next to us (back in the priority tender ticket days - before the gold key card) believed the tickets allowed you to go to the front of the line, I told them I didn't think this was the case - it only meant not having to go to the Lounge and wait. You could take the priority tender ticket and go stand in the line whenever you were ready to go ashore.

 

They were pretty adamant in their denial - they even asked if if we planned on using ours, they were giving them away to friends and family. This is one of the reasons I think HAL stopped using the tickets and went to something that could not be transferred as easily.

[twinkletoes4445]

Part of the reason we booked our suite was for the priority tendering. I have arthritis in one knee, and at times, I can't hardly stand for any length of time. However, if my knee is really bothering me, I probably won't be in any tender line...front or back.

 

We were told this allows us to go to the front of the line...from HAL. Not that we would. But it's what they are offering if you're willing to shell out extra $$$. I don't get upset when first class passengers get to board an airplane first. That's the way it is. But I do realize that this is different.

 

Again, we wouldn't do this...we're nothing special...lol...but it's part of the deal according to the rep I talked with at HAL. Of course the trick is to get two reps to tell you the same thing.

 

Of course, as slow as I am, there won't be a line by the time we get to the tender area! I feel like Miss Daisy these days. But we do have a butler for the cabana, so we'll see how that goes. :)

[jtl513]

We've only had to tender twice from HAL ships: Sitka Alaska in '02 and Visby Sweden in '05. I don't remember having to get "tender tickets" for either one!! We're not suite "gold card" holders, just early risers, and in both cases I think we just went and got in line, and got on the first tender out ... which in both cases was only about 1/4 full. (And we weren't on excursions at either port.) :confused: :confused:

[ekerr19]

.

 

But we do have a butler for the cabana, so we'll see how that goes. :)

 

Twinkle -

 

When he had the butler service, he escorted us a back way it seemed - no one noticed us, and we had the first tender to HMC.

 

I also have no issue with some one obviously unable to stand, manuever or must otherwise navigate themselves going to the front of the line. This is just common courtesy and I doubt anyone would be offended.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I have to admit I too thought that it meant we did not have to go to the lounge for a tender ticket. This last cruise we tendered 4 of the 6 ports. The first two we were in early morning tours so we still went to the show lounge and waited. But in PV and Cabo we just went down to the gangway and waited with the rest. In PV it was quick but it was a bit later in the morning. In Cabo we went fairly early and got down there just as a big tour group got ahead of us. We did have to wait a while but not once would I have thought of jumping ahead in line.

There was one time I was glad we had our Gold Card, we were on a private tour in Grand Caymans and we got down to the gangway to get on the very first tender with a couple of the crew that were leaving the ship. It worked great with no problems. We were down there before they even annouced that they were starting tender service. I think we were already on our way down as they annouced that we were cleared by customs.

[twinkletoes4445]

Twinkle -

 

When he had the butler service, he escorted us a back way it seemed - no one noticed us, and we had the first tender to HMC.

 

I also have no issue with some one obviously unable to stand, manuever or must otherwise navigate themselves going to the front of the line. This is just common courtesy and I doubt anyone would be offended.

 

That's good info about the butler. The last thing we want to do is focus attention on us. I love the perks, but I want to be discrete about using them. Now my MIL is a different story...Yikes. It's frightening to watch her in action. She'd probably shove Queen Elizabeth aside (to get to the front of the line).

 

I'm almost embarrassed when I do anything that requires special attention, so I tend not to do some things. I know why HAL offers all the perks, they have to to get people to pay the extra $ for the suites, but I wish they would just come out and say that the express tendering means you don't have to go and retrieve a tender ticket (which is fine by me). But there's always people who will still shove to the front, even if the rules are in black and white.

 

I can't tell you how many times I wanted to crawl into a hole when I've been around my MIL and watched her in action. And either she doesn't care, or she doesn't notice the reactions of the people around her (that's she trampling over).

 

And I would imagine that there are some suite passengers who will wave their little gold card gleefully, and skitter to the front of the line.

[watchdiva]

On both of our HAL cruises, even though we had the Gold Card - it was never even shown when we had to tender since there was no line. DH and I like to be off the ship at the first opportunity (we're early risers) and we just walked right onto the tender.

[sail7seas]

We've had to show the card in order to board the tender because we didn't have a tender ticket. We waited our turn, had our cards scanned at the gangway and when they asked for our tender number, we just showed our gold cards.

 

No problems. Isn't any reason to make it something difficult or ugly or pushy.

[sail7seas]

That's good info about the butler. The last thing we want to do is focus attention on us. I love the perks, but I want to be discrete about using them. Now my MIL is a different story...Yikes. It's frightening to watch her in action. She'd probably shove Queen Elizabeth aside (to get to the front of the line).

 

I'm almost embarrassed when I do anything that requires special attention, so I tend not to do some things. I know why HAL offers all the perks, they have to to get people to pay the extra $ for the suites, but I wish they would just come out and say that the express tendering means you don't have to go and retrieve a tender ticket (which is fine by me). But there's always people who will still shove to the front, even if the rules are in black and white.

 

I can't tell you how many times I wanted to crawl into a hole when I've been around my MIL and watched her in action. And either she doesn't care, or she doesn't notice the reactions of the people around her (that's she trampling over).

 

And I would imagine that there are some suite passengers who will wave their little gold card gleefully, and skitter to the front of the line.

 

 

Unless your M-I-L is traveling with you in an "S" or "PS" (and behaves in the manner you describe), there is no reason you should have any discomfort or embarrassment.

[BumperII]

I also agree with the poster of that review, we hardly think it's fair to jump to the front of the line with the gold card in hand when others are waiting in line.

 

I have encountered other passengers who believed it allows one to jump to the front of the line, but I've never gotten clarification on the issue.

 

Are Deluxe Verandah Suite occupants expected to go to the front of the line?

 

It goes without saying that special needs passengers go to the head of the line. And certainly, excursions need to be escorted directly to the tender.

No-blesse oblige is defined at the inferred obligation of people of high rank or social position to behave nobly or kindly toward others. It is kind of built into what we consider good manners. That said, I'm not particularly offended by anyone who needs to get in line ahead of me. I've seen the looks on the faces of those who have been pushed aside, most of whom are too polite to voice objections. I have no problem getting that message, there is no way I would ever consider jumping to the head of a line like that.

It seems to me that the passengers who are paying three times as much as we pay should be able to be escorted directly to the tender door by the special staff they are paying for. In most cases, that wouldn't involve pushing your way past anyone in line.