That’s a lot of questions. The excursion is a catamaran tour in Bay of Islands, NZ. It is not private. I believe there are maximum of 14 participants. According to the current info from O we anchor at 8:00AM and depart at 6:00PM. The tour begins at 10:00AM in Paihia. From the tender wharf there is a shuttle to a different location(it is supposed to be 5 minutes) then a 5 to 10 minute walk to where the catamaran is in Paihia. The excursion I would prefer to take is in another location, Russel, which would require a 15 to 20 minute ferry from Paihia. I think that one is too risky so chose the one that leaves from Paihia.
It seems that I should not have a problem getting there by 9:45 but if all the O excursions have priority and I can’t get on one of the earliest tenders I may not make it. The tour company explicitly says they will NOT wait for cruise passengers under any circumstances. I am not sure how long the tender ride is to the location where we get the shuttle bus. This is why I asked the person who said the tender took 40 minutes in a port in NZ if it was Bay of Islands.