Grand Cayman....what happens if the tenders can't run?

[JHCALLAHAN]

I've read several time that the water is often too rough for the tenders at Grand Cayman. What happens if this occurs? Does the ship go to another port or are you just SOL? Our upcoming Western Caribbean cruise only makes three ports. Gonna stink if we lose one.

 

Just curious. Thanks for your help.l....................................................................Where did the Dove chick come from? OOOps, now it's the dreaded Roaming Gnome!!! What the heck?

 

JHC

[rkacruiser]

If tendering is not possible, then one can expect another day at sea. Often, when that happens, the Cruise Director will quickly schedule some additional activites and these will be announced over the P. A. system with, maybe, a newly updated daily program delivered to your stateroom.

[cruzeluver]

Generally you do end up with an additional sea day. However, if there is a nearby port with berthing space available, a subsitution may be made.

 

We missed Grand Cayman last December on Norwegian Majesty, and instead spent two day in Cozumel, which actually worked out great!

[Capt_BJ]

If the ship gets to GC and it is too ruff to tender from either landing you are kinda SOL cuz there's no there's port "right there". That's gonna be a day at sea....possibly they could jead straight to their next call, arrive early and extend that stop. Maybe

 

Sometimes, if the conditions have been bad, and anticipated to stay bad, the cruise line will try to arrange an alternate. Twice we ended up in Coz in lieu of GC. This tends to go over with mixed emotions. The Master must decide early enough to make alternate arrangements and some pass' always think the decision was made too early....prob' the same group who complains the loudest if "all you get" is a day at sea.... And given that most days there's more than one ship in GC ... there's probably more than one looking for an alternate...and that port had scheduled stops too. Yada Yada

 

Bottom line: it depends

 

You can NOT simply drive up to a port with a cruise ship, say "we're here" and have magic happen....the cruise line needs to make some arrangements.....the inn may be full.

[DonLou]

We were on the Galaxy, in the theatre, when at about 8pm the Captain came over the loudspeaker and said the sea conditions for the next day at Grand Cayman were too rough for tendering - we would instead be making an unscheduled stop at Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was an absolute zoo at the tour desk that evening as passengers scrambled to get new excursions.

[eandj]

We were to tender (Galaxy)into Cozumel last year, but after attempting to fill a tender to go onshore, the Captain decided it was too dangerous. People were falling even before they got into the tender. Eneded up just sitting there for a few hours, while waiting to see if things settled down. After lunch. we just moved on. Not a problem for us. Just a chance for more pool time.

[jrmende63]

I've read several time that the water is often too rough for the tenders at Grand Cayman. What happens if this occurs? Does the ship go to another port or are you just SOL? Our upcoming Western Caribbean cruise only makes three ports. Gonna stink if we lose one.

 

Just curious. Thanks for your help.l....................................................................Where did the Dove chick come from? OOOps, now it's the dreaded Roaming Gnome!!! What the heck?

 

JHC

 

It is the advertising that CC is doing. I have learned to ignore the ads...

[candelle]

We were to have a port of call in Grand Cayman but the Captain deemed the sea too rough for the tenders.

 

However, we also had a sick passenger who was unloaded onto a small ship to be taken to the hospital Horrible for that passenger, but interesting for us to watch!

 

There were four other cruise liners sitting off shore too, and none of them went anywhere for ages. Eventually, we upped anchor and sailed away, taking more time until the next port - no substitution made etc. I suppose it is just one of those things, and that the Captain had our safety at heart!

[scotts8826]

Also, keep in mind that just because the tenders run does not necessarily mean your ocean bound excursions won't be cancelled. I had assumed that if the seas were calm enough to tender, then the trip to Stingray sandbar would be running. It was not. Currents and the wind made the sandbar too cloudy and murky. So, plans had to be changed while we were standing on the pier. We quickly recovered and just made it a beach day. Nothing is guaranteed when the weather is a factor.

[Almost Packed]

i am just off the conquest this past sunday. almost all water excursions were cancelled that were booked through carnival due to weather/water conditions. they still tendered in, and that was a chore just getting onto the tender boat sometimes and the water did not even appear that rough. all people's money were refunded to them immediately on their s/s card. the tried to accomodate everyone with other arrangements. there were several independants that were still running. however, not sure i would want to jeopardize my safety. dh & i did the beginner scuba diving booked through carnvial. they used don fosters. it was fabulous!!! this was the highlight of my entire cruise, and of every vacation i have ever taken. i highly recommend them.

We must all remember who is in charge of the weather and the seas, and it's not the cruise lines!

[Warm Breezes]

We ended up in Progresso when Grand Cayman stop got cancelled on our Inspiration cruise in November 2005.:( We will be trying to stop there again this November. :)

[waterbound]

In 2005 this happened to us and we ended up heading to Cozumel early since that was our next stop.. they quickly came up with some additional daily activities and we just had another sea day.. we got to Cozumel earlier than expected and had a nice time.. We also were given a $25 credit per person to our sail and sign account.. We had 8 people on this trip so we got $200 credit.. which was nice as this wasnt something we expected so we ended up giving all the kids extra money for the arcade..