Can't tender, then what?

What are people's experience for ports where the ship is supposed to tender but can't tender that day because of weather etc. Does it hover off shore hoping conditions will improve? Does it just leave for the next port? I imagine piers are booked up most of the time. It can't just show up a day early. Does it chug around and call it a sea day? Inquiring minds want to know.:confused:

Sea day, maybe look for sunny weather, happed last year when Getaway missed a Port...Capt did a good job finding the sun.

Last week Epic missed Great Stirrup Caye. Cruised in circles all day.

The Breakaway skipped Great Stirrup Cay and sailed for Nassau and arrived the same day and docked overnight.

NCL can easily build a pier so that tender ports at Great Stirrup Cay is not needed, but they are cheap and won't do it. If you are confused about what I mean, look at New England such as Bar Harbor, Maine. Many of the New England ports need a tender boat, but they are now building a full-sized pier so that ships can dock directly.

The Breakaway skipped Great Stirrup Cay and sailed for Nassau and arrived the same day and docked overnight.

 

NCL can easily build a pier so that tender ports at Great Stirrup Cay is not needed, but they are cheap and won't do it. If you are confused about what I mean, look at New England such as Bar Harbor, Maine. Many of the New England ports need a tender boat, but they are now building a full-sized pier so that ships can dock directly.

First they need permission to mess up the ecology of the Bahamas, if it’s even possible. I doubt it’s easy.

The Breakaway skipped Great Stirrup Cay and sailed for Nassau and arrived the same day and docked overnight.

 

NCL can easily build a pier so that tender ports at Great Stirrup Cay is not needed, but they are cheap and won't do it. If you are confused about what I mean, look at New England such as Bar Harbor, Maine. Many of the New England ports need a tender boat, but they are now building a full-sized pier so that ships can dock directly.

A pier doesn't guarantee docking. Disney ships can miss their stop at Castaway Cay because of weather.

A pier doesn't guarantee docking. Disney ships can miss their stop at Castaway Cay because of weather.

This (y)

Whether it's tendering or docking (RCL next island over, said to be constructing one) - rather stay onboard if there are thunderstorm or passing weather system with showers in the area :rolleyes: - safety first. It is rare but nowhere to seek safe shelter ... we're ashore last May, dealt with brief passing shower but thankfully, no thunderstorm.

There are no "winners" if NCL ships scheduled to tender at GSC cannot make it, for whatever reasons ... and, nowadays, slot machines on the ship remained open for one's generous contribution as wished, only table games were closed down.

We had 3 missed, spend the rest of the day as "Fun Day at Sea" and sailed into Nassau in the early evening ... no berth available for us to go early, as they sometimes do during non-busy days (wait for other ships to sail out.)

If there's a port fee for a missed port I think you get it refunded.

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NCL can easily build a pier so that tender ports at Great Stirrup Cay is not needed.

Ahhhhhh,,,, no.

Not sure where you got your marine biology and engineering degree,,,,, but,,,, no.

Yep, easy and cheap for NCL to do. The repairs to the dock at Ketchikan were only $22 BILLION. It would be so cheap to just build one from scratch what with the eco impact issues, water current studies, ect.

I'm sure NCL will eventually do it, but before then they need to built the things ON the island that make it more than a beach stop.

The Breakaway skipped Great Stirrup Cay and sailed for Nassau and arrived the same day and docked overnight.

 

NCL can easily build a pier so that tender ports at Great Stirrup Cay is not needed, but they are cheap and won't do it. If you are confused about what I mean, look at New England such as Bar Harbor, Maine. Many of the New England ports need a tender boat, but they are now building a full-sized pier so that ships can dock directly.

I often wished a cruise line would rent a Greek island like they did in the Caribbean for a beach day. Greece supposedly needs income and that could make a great itinerary even better.

It will be a SEA day. Not a bad thing. :D:D

If a ship misses a tender port due to extreme weather conditions the ship usually heads to it’s next port of call at a reduced speed. Passengers get an extra sea day and the ship saves money by using less fuel to get to the next port. On my last two Caribbean cruises on Royal Caribbean’s Allure Of The Seas in November 2016 and January 2017 we missed Nassau due to high winds making it impossible for the ship to enter the channel and at Labadee the ship bypassed that stop due to extremely rough seas.

Our eco boat tour guide at GSC claimed that: a) the cranes we saw in the water by a nearby island were working on a way to build a pier for another private island, might've been Harvest Cay, forget what's out there; and, b) after they were done NCL was going to hire them to build a pier for GSC.

I'm not sure how privy the eco boat tour guide is to the business strategies of Norwegian Cruise Lines, but that was his belief. I did hear a vague rumor from someone unimportant that NCL did want to build a pier, which of course makes sense. Dunno how or when or even if they will get to it.

If the ship goes to Nassau instead of GSC is there a chance to do something fun there?

If the ship goes to Nassau instead of GSC is there a chance to do something fun there?

Yes.....stay on the ship!:cool::cool:

Here is the answer, as to why they can't build a pier from a person in the know chengkp75: Long and short answer as to why Disney, and not NCL is geography. Castaway Cay had a nice "corner" that Disney could blast a channel to that provided not only a dock, but a breakwater to shelter the ship while docked. You cannot just stick a pier out into the water and hope to be able to tie a ship up to it in any weather condition. GSC does not have that fortunate shape to allow for a dock and breakwater in any economically feasible fashion. Further, while Disney is all about the "theme park" experience, hence Castaway Cay, NCL does not see sufficient "benefit" of a pier to offset the "cost" to build it.

Royal is building a pier at their island next door. It's slow going though because when I was at GSC last month it didn't look much farther along then when I was at coco cay for labor day. Considering coco cay is smaller (it was originally called little stirrup cay) and they anchor/tendor on the same side as NCL I think their assumptions about whether they could stick a pier on that side are false. Though they are correct that you can miss a port due to weather even with a pier. However, the money issue could certainly be true and even though it's next door the ecosystem and such could be different enough that the Bahamas wouldn't ok it.

I'd love it if they could though. The 30+ minutes one way that the tenders take really cut into the day and enjoyment. I'm actually pissed at the number of 7 day cruises that go to Nassau instead of the private island.

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If the ship goes to Nassau instead of GSC is there a chance to do something fun there?

Yes there is plenty to do in Nassau.

Especially if you’ve never been there before and even if you’ve been there many times (like me!).

There is of course the famous resort/theme park that is Atlantis. You can take a tour of the resort and visit the aquarium and marine habitat or you can opt for a day at their Aquaventure Water Park with their famous water slides. And there is a large casino on the property too. You can get a taxi there from the port.

Under 5 minutes walk from the port is the main shopping district along Bay Street with all of the jewelry and Swiss watch boutiques. Also along that street is the Bahamas Parliament Square and behind it the Supreme Court and Nassau Library. There are lots of small restaurants and bars there where you can try some cheap Bahamian cuisine.

On our most recent two overnight stops there two weeks ago we really enjoyed taking the tour at the Pirate Republic Brewery on Woodes Rodgers Walk just a 5 minute walk from the port. It’s the only microbrewery in the Bahamas and they have daily guided tours twice a day for $13 which includes a flight of beer and a pretzel. The tour guide is dressed as a pirate and gives not only a tour of the brewery but an in depth history of the many pirates that occupied the region in years past.

Just 5 minutes walk past there is Senor Frogs bar. For inexpensive souvenirs be sure to check out the Straw Market along the way.

Another 5 minutes beyond that is Junkanoo beach. We recommend walking a little further down the beach to the seafood shack called Crab and Tings. They are 5 star rated on Trip Advisor and the beach is much less crowded there. They have beach chairs for their customers and the food is fresh and inexpensive.

Just 5 minutes inland from there is the John Watling Rum Distillery where you can get a free tour and do a rum tasting.

Heading back to the ship you can stop at the Graycliff Chocolate Factory for a tour.

You can visit the Nassau Pirate Museum for more of the Pirate history and see a full sized replica of a pirate ship.

Some other sites accessible by taxi include Fort Fincastle and the Queens Staircase.

So as you can see there is plenty to do.

Royal is building a pier at their island next door. It's slow going though because when I was at GSC last month it didn't look much farther along then when I was at coco cay for labor day. Considering coco cay is smaller (it was originally called little stirrup cay) and they anchor/tendor on the same side as NCL I think their assumptions about whether they could stick a pier on that side are false.

Here's a satellite image of NCL's Great Stirrup Cay along with RCI's Coco Cay. You can even see the cruise ships anchored off the north side of each island.

RCI is building out their pier and dredging on the north side of their island:

Here's a link to a company that NCL is working with to design a pier for GSC:

https://www.appliedtm.com/portfolio/cruise-ship-pier-siting-engineering-design-great-stirrup-cay/

A pier doesn't guarantee docking. Disney ships can miss their stop at Castaway Cay because of weather.

While true, DCL rarely misses CC whereas GSC can be missed regularly.

We missed Yalta on a Black Sea cruise due to high winds, so it was just another sea day. Now Russia owns it and we will likely never go there.

While true, DCL rarely misses CC whereas GSC can be missed regularly.

We missed it on 2 of my 3 DCL cruises.

I see no reason why NCL couldn't build a pier at GSC. Royal is obviously doing it a few hundred yards away and the islands are similar enough with the drop offs similar distance offshore.

Royal is building the pier to accommodate their Oasis-class ships. Oasis doesn't tender. And with running 3 - 4 Oasis class ships out of Florida, it seems this was probably the main reason for adding the pier. Consider Oasis also has very limited ports of call. They need a more port options and can't tender. Hence the need for the dock.

NCL doesn't have this issue and probably can't justify the costs involved since they can tender pretty easily and efficiently.

All three Royal Caribbean Oasis class vessels do not go to tender ports because it would take too much time to move the large amount of passengers on these ships.