Belize Tender Question

This will be my first time in Belize and my first time tendering. I have booked a private tour for Cave Tubing. In the information they sent me they say to get a ticket for the early tender boat the day before we get into Belize. But, I have not read anyone doing this. I do know that they do let those off early that have a tour booked. If I have it right that is for those who booked with Carnival only. Any help would be great. There will be 11 of us in my group.

Thanks:)

This may sound crazy but what is tendering?

Tenders are small boats that take people to and from the ship to shore. Some lines actually use their lifeboats. In the case of Belize, smaller boats which could hold well over 50 people tendered us ashore. We did not have to have tickets of any kind. If they are required, you will be notified by announcement or possibly in the Capers.

In ports like Belize and Grand Cayman, they do not have deep water harbors where they can build docks close to the shore so the ships must anchor in deeper waters and use the tenders to move people back and forth.

Tendering means that you don't "dock" at a pier. You dock out in the water and take smaller boats to get to the pier.

I believe Carnival is going to eventually be docking in Belize in the future as they are paying to dig out the pier area to make it deeper. (Just an fyi). I believe that's what they told us when I was there last summer.

This may sound crazy but what is tendering?

Those ports use smaller boats (often the lifeboats of the ship) to ferry passengers back and forth to the docks. In Belize the coast is very shallow and the ships must anchor a fair distance from the shore. The tenders we have used there in the past have been much faster than the average tender or lifeboat.

As to the original question, I would check with the customer relations desk on board as soon as practical and find out about the tendering procedure. Let them know the number in your group.

Hope this helps,

Charlie

Thank you... I didnt mean to hijack this thread. Sorry! :(

I dont guess I will need to tender in the Bahamas?

We were in Belize in March on the Miracle. From what I could tell, those that booked tours through the ship got off first. As it was, there were so many that had booked the cave tubbing that we were delayed by about 45 minutes. We had our excursion passes left in our room the night before that had the time that we were to report to the lounge. We did see a few people who had not purchased the excursions from the ship try to cut into lines but they were turned out and told they had to wait until all the booked excursions had departed.

Thank you... I didnt mean to hijack this thread. Sorry! :(

 

I dont guess I will need to tender in the Bahamas?

We have always docked in the Bahamas.

we booked with Yhony at cavetube.com....they told us between 8 and 10 but the earlier the better.......we had a bus full on our own....most were there early and we waited for the others.....so get your group to get moving early.

Carnival did hold us off to the side:( (I think it sucks that my paid rights aren't as good if I'm not paying Carnival):mad: and let their groups go first, but there were so many tenders running, it didn't take long. Once we got to the tubing....we hiked longer than the Carnival group...and that got us an extra cave to go thru and we went down the river a bit farther. Add to it that we paid half the price and did more.....made me feel much better about waiting a few minutes for the tender:)

...I believe Carnival is going to eventually be docking in Belize in the future as they are paying to dig out the pier area to make it deeper. (Just an fyi). I believe that's what they told us when I was there last summer.

We were told the same thing when we first cruised there (Glory) in July 2003... STILL waiting!

Tom

On Glory in July, we booked with Yhony and was told to meet between 8 and 10 am and the earlier the better.... The night before we arrived in Belize, Carnival announced that if you needed a tender ticket be at a certain area at 8:30 am... I got there about 30 minutes early and was able to be one of the first in line to get enough tickets for everyone in my group... I suggest, that only one or two people in your group go to the ticket area and have the rest of your group waiting on the same level so you don't have to run and hunt for everyone... In my case, my son was still in bed on Lido and the rest of the group was in the buffet area.. I had tickets for the 1st tender and they start calling for first tender shortly after they hand out tickets... so it was a mad run to get everyone gathered up.... I think by the time we were able to get to shore it was around 9:30

hope that helps.

Deb

To the OP - you did not mention when you were going but Belize is one hour behind (two hours behind in summer months because they do not recognize daylight savings time). So when Yhonny says between 8 and 10, this is really 9 and 11 ship time (or 10 and 12 in the summer). This will help you to get off the ship in time.

Yhonny has become so popular that he sets the window between 8 and 10. This way when a bus is full he can send them and bring another bus. This also depends on how many other ships are in port that day. If possible you want to go early because during the hike through the jungle there is a greater chance of seeing some wild life (monkeys etc.). They pretty much vanish as the day moves on and lots of people have been through.

As far as tenders go I have not had a problem getting off, even without tender tickets. But, as other posters have mentioned, it's a good idea. Just to note, the tender in Belize is really long (lot further that Cayman Islands) so you need to allow time.

I want to thank everyone for help me out with me question. I will be leaving on December 10th and it just can not come soon enough for me.:)

Just to note, the tender in Belize is really long (lot further that Cayman Islands) so you need to allow time.

THIS IS TRU, BUT WITH OVER 700 HORSES SITTIN ON THE BACK OF THE TENDER BOAT YOU GUYS MAKE IT TO SHORE IN NO TIME!! IT IS ACTUALLY ABOUT A 10 MINUTE RIDE AND IS KINDA FUN. MAKES FOR SOME GREAT PICS OF THE SHIP IN THE DISTANCE AND THE HUGE WAKE THAT THE BOAT MAKES. JUST SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE. IF YOU SIT IN THE BACK OF THE BOAT, BE PREPARED TO GET A TAD BIT WET FROM THE SEA SPRAY. ALL IN ALL ITS A REALLY NEAT EXPERIENCE

Don't forget that those who are "Platinum" do not have to go get a number. You just flash the ole Platinum card and get on whenever you want to.

Dallas is right. "Tendering" in Belize means "pro speed boat racing". :)

THIS IS TRU, BUT WITH OVER 700 HORSES SITTIN ON THE BACK OF THE TENDER BOAT YOU GUYS MAKE IT TO SHORE IN NO TIME!! IT IS ACTUALLY ABOUT A 10 MINUTE RIDE AND IS KINDA FUN. MAKES FOR SOME GREAT PICS OF THE SHIP IN THE DISTANCE AND THE HUGE WAKE THAT THE BOAT MAKES. JUST SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE. IF YOU SIT IN THE BACK OF THE BOAT, BE PREPARED TO GET A TAD BIT WET FROM THE SEA SPRAY. ALL IN ALL ITS A REALLY NEAT EXPERIENCE

My 12 year old son has already said that he just wants to take the tender back a forth a few times - he doesn't care about getting off the boat! :)

On I got there about 30 minutes early and was able to be one of the first in line to get enough tickets for everyone in my group... I suggest, that only one or two people in your group go to the ticket area and have the rest of your group waiting on the same level

hi, was on Miracle 22 Oct cruise and the tendering in Belize was very quick - Carnival excursions were prioritised but in the organised chaos it would not be difficult to get out on an early tender. The organisers didn't mess around either, if you weren't at the meeting point at the assigned time, your group was heading for the boats come what may. There were plenty of tenders available.

I agree that it would have been almost as much fun to have taken the tenders back and forth for the day - it's a great ride in.

One thing to remember is that these tour companies depend on the cruise industry to pick up business. So, although I don't suggest you lollygag, I think the tour company will wait for your party of 11. These people know that you have to wait to get off of the ship. They deal with these same ships on a weekly basis. So they know how long to expect to wait. Have a great time!! We went to Belize on the Miracle in June 2005 and will be going again in January.

We went to Belize on the Miracle 2 weeks ago and decided to do our tour through Carnival because of all the hassles we had read about, in terms of dealing w/ tenders (it was a fun ride). The cave tubing is extremely popular, so either way, book early!

:D Ten minutes-seven miles=great ride

Off topic, but concerns Belize. Belize will have a Cruise Terminal Port built within the next 2 years, Carnival is funding it.

As for Tender Tickets, one person can go down to the Theater where they handout the stickers with numbers on them. Then you wait on the second deck of the Theater and wait till they call your number. This goes pretty fast so there should be any problems getting ashore.

from above conversation it appears that once we are OFF for our early am carriage tour we should stay at the Tourism village & wait for our snorkel trip there-- seems too hectic to go back & forth with tenderss & security isues...question I have is what is at the tourism village to do & could we get a decent lunch there?

hcat:

The tourism village has several areas of shopping, divided into terminal areas. Many of the shops offer about the same type of things like caribbean shirts, dresses and souvenir style items. However there are so unique shops tucked amount the same old, same old shops. We enjoy walking around the shopping area just to see what new items we can find.

There are several restaurants serving both food and beverage. We eaten in a few and found the food to be enjoyab. While the food served at the Wet Lizzard isn't our most favorite restaurant, we do enjoy sipping a few beers while we look out to sea from the restaurant. The Wet Lizzard is built on tall stilts so you can get a great view of the area.

Dianne