Tender boat boarding rules for independents

I am in the process of researching which cruise line to try for my next cruise.

I'd like to know before the booking what are Azamara rules regarding the priority boarding on tender boats that I can make an informed decision.

Since I like to explore many ports on my own, it is very important to me to be able to leave the ship as early as possible, do not have to wait until ALL the passengers who booked excursions with the cruise line left the ship.

It is especially important when we have to use tender boats.

I am trying not to book with the cruise lines that have a strict priority for tender boats for all the passengers going on shore who booked shore excursion with them and have independents to board tender boats last.

I would really appreciate to know Azamara tender boat priority load rules.

Thank you!

Hi, we have never had a problem on any cruise line including Azamara. We leave before the ship excursions, so are off while they are still gathering everyone together.

Btw, Azamara is a much smaller ship, and we have never experienced any lines.

Hi, we have never had a problem on any cruise line including Azamara. We leave before the ship excursions, so are off while they are still gathering everyone together.

 

Btw, Azamara is a much smaller ship, and we have never experienced any lines.

Thanks! I called Azamara reservation department and did not get a clear answer from someone who said that she was a reservation supervisor :(.

What is the exact procedure to board a tender boat?

How do you get a tender boat boarding number and when?

Thanks!

We usually do all our shore trips independently; we have never had a problem with long waits for a tender on Azamara. Given that the ship is so small and the tenders so big, I think they could offload the whole ship in six trips!

Usually we just wander down to the tender station and straight onto a waiting tender.

The only time we've had to wait was to get back on at St Jean de Luz this summer. That said, it was about 2 o clock in the morning...

Have just returned from b2b in Italy

If arranging private tours as we did several times just go to tender area when convenient

No need to collect a ticket

We did take note of the ship's meeting times for their tours and made sure we were ahead of them.

Azamara handle all of this brilliantly

if on your own you just leave the ship whenever you are ready.

Enjoy!

My experience was similar. We met early and went down to the tender area asap.

Thanks! I called Azamara reservation department and did not get a clear answer from someone who said that she was a reservation supervisor :(.

 

What is the exact procedure to board a tender boat?

How do you get a tender boat boarding number and when?

 

Thanks!

Your far more likely to get sensible and informed answers on here, than from any booking agent. We have all done it and got the t-shirts!

Been on two AZ cruises, mostly diy tours and never had a problem getting off at our convenience.

Procedure is, as soon as clearance is obtained, make way to deck 3 for the tender and walk right on.

Thanks! I called Azamara reservation department and did not get a clear answer from someone who said that she was a reservation supervisor :(.

 

What is the exact procedure to board a tender boat?

How do you get a tender boat boarding number and when?

 

Thanks!

Hello Sdancer -

I've reposted my response on your new question.

We usually reserve tenders for quick and efficient shore excursions dispatch which, in the end also benefits those not on tour. With less than 700 guests, it is unlikely that you will encounter an issue as an independent guest getting ashore early.

Plus, once the ship has been cleared, guests not on tour have access to the tender gangway. We try our best to let guests off ASAP.

Best regards -

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

Hello Sdancer -

 

I've reposted my response on your new question.

 

We usually reserve tenders for quick and efficient shore excursions dispatch which, in the end also benefits those not on tour. With less than 700 guests, it is unlikely that you will encounter an issue as an independent guest getting ashore early.

 

Plus, once the ship has been cleared, guests not on tour have access to the tender gangway. We try our best to let guests off ASAP.

 

Best regards -

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

Reading this as an independant . You are at the back of the Queue:confused:

Reading this as an independant . You are at the back of the Queue:confused:

Hello Shintaro -

As I mentioned, once the ship has been cleared, guests not on tour have access to the tender gangway. We try our best to let our guests disembark ASAP.

Guests who have purchased our shore excursions are dispatched first and provided with a specific time and location for doing so. You can govern your schedule accordingly. As you may have read in testimonials from our previous guests, you should encounter prompt disembarkation.

Because of the nature of cruise operations and the fact that all schedules are subject to change without prior notice, I am unable to guarantee that you will always be assured of being in front of the line. Hence, your confusion.

I think touching base with our shore excursion concierge in tender ports the day prior will help build your confidence that you'll leave the ship as early a possible.

Sincerely,

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

Hello Shintaro -

 

As I mentioned, once the ship has been cleared, guests not on tour have access to the tender gangway. We try our best to let our guests disembark ASAP.

 

Guests who have purchased our shore excursions are dispatched first and provided with a specific time and location for doing so. You can govern your schedule accordingly. As you may have read in testimonials from our previous guests, you should encounter prompt disembarkation.

 

Because of the nature of cruise operations and the fact that all schedules are subject to change without prior notice, I am unable to guarantee that you will always be assured of being in front of the line. Hence, your confusion.

 

I think touching base with our shore excursion concierge in tender ports the day prior will help build your confidence that you'll leave the ship as early a possible.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

Dear Bill Leiber:

I appreciate you answering twice, but am with Shintaro here -

it sounds that Azamara shore excursion passengers are the first to board tender boats and the independents are the last.

1. Your answer -"I think touching base with our shore excursion concierge in tender ports the day prior will help build your confidence that you'll leave the ship as early a possible".

It sounds like each prior day your shore excursion concierge would calculate the number of excursion passengers and how many tenders boats it would take.

Then he would calculate how long the independents should wait for their turn.

2. Your answer - "As you may have read in testimonials from our previous guests, you should encounter prompt disembarkation".

It might mean that it was early enough for these passengers but it does not mean that they left on the first two tender boats.

Our time in ports is very valuable along with a worry-free vacation .

I would really appreciate your answers:

1. Would independents be allowed to leave on first or second tender boats in each port?

2. What are the exact rules for loading tenders boats for ALL passengers?

Do excursion passengers load first or there is a mix of excursion passengers with independents?

3. If there is a mix, does the mix start with the very first tender?

It would be enormously helpful to know the tendering process on Azamara in advance, that there are no surprises late on.

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Based on several Azamara cruises, though not within the last year:

Passenger with ship booked tours went first. Period.

When they are all gone, it is open to next in line. And yes, there was a couple who insisted that they should go to the front of the line, because they had a car waiting and they were Elite!! As you can imagine, that got them a lot of assistance and encouragement from those in line ahead of them.

Based on several Azamara cruises, though not within the last year:

 

Passenger with ship booked tours went first. Period.

 

When they are all gone, it is open to next in line. And yes, there was a couple who insisted that they should go to the front of the line, because they had a car waiting and they were Elite!! As you can imagine, that got them a lot of assistance and encouragement from those in line ahead of them.

Thank you so much for your post. It helps a lot!

We had several tender ports on our Azamara trip. We are not particularly early rises to we were never stuck behind the tour groups.

We appreciated not having to go to a separate location to get tender tickets but we did have to wait in the queue on a few occasions.

We had several tender ports on our Azamara trip. We are not particularly early rises to we were never stuck behind the tour groups.

We appreciated not having to go to a separate location to get tender tickets but we did have to wait in the queue on a few occasions.

Thank you for your reply. Like you said, you are not an early riser and even though, you still had to wait in the queue on a few occasions.

I was trying to find out about Azamara tender load for passengers who did not book excursions with Azamara and would like to leave on the first two tender boats, right after the ship is cleared by the port authorities.

I did not have any problem with getting tender rules load for HAL.

I am an early riser, 6 am, first at breakfast and first to get off the boat in order to see as much as possible at ports. I start to research ports a few months in advance and know exactly where to go, how to get there, local transport schedules and what to see. This is what cruising is about for many independents. That's why we seek cruise lines which would afford us to do that.

I prefer tender tickets arrangement if the boat is large enough to be regulated for tendering and do not mind getting the tickets.

The location for tickets should be the shortest way to a tender boat anyway.

Thanks again for your reply.

As already advised above, we have recently returned from Quest cruise and had no trouble at all using the tenders.

In fact the only time we had a wait was when we arrived at the tender station before Customs clearance.

As soon as clearance we were the first two people on the tender

Returning via tender was just as efficient

Couldn't have been any easier

We have done 2 Azamara cruises. We have never had to wait for tenders, or been held up having to wait for the organised shore excursions to go first. Have never had trouble getting on the first tender to leave the ship when we wanted to.

Hello Shintaro -

 

As I mentioned, once the ship has been cleared, guests not on tour have access to the tender gangway. We try our best to let our guests disembark ASAP.

 

Guests who have purchased our shore excursions are dispatched first and provided with a specific time and location for doing so. You can govern your schedule accordingly. As you may have read in testimonials from our previous guests, you should encounter prompt disembarkation.

 

Because of the nature of cruise operations and the fact that all schedules are subject to change without prior notice, I am unable to guarantee that you will always be assured of being in front of the line. Hence, your confusion.

 

I think touching base with our shore excursion concierge in tender ports the day prior will help build your confidence that you'll leave the ship as early a possible.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

I may be wrong

But I thought ALL paying passengers were Guests :confused:

Our September Azamara cruise had many tender ports, but because Azamara uses so many of its tenders and is so efficient in loading them, there really was no problem arriving and departing independently.

I should mention that is a real contrast to my Oceania experience, where tender ports are not so efficiently handled because they do not use enough tenders IMO, and indeed it can be quite a wait if you want to get off early.

Our September Azamara cruise had many tender ports, but because Azamara uses so many of its tenders and is so efficient in loading them, there really was no problem arriving and departing independently.

 

I should mention that is a real contrast to my Oceania experience, where tender ports are not so efficiently handled because they do not use enough tenders IMO, and indeed it can be quite a wait if you want to get off early.

Totally agree! We are just back from Oceania Roman Legends and really felt they made it difficult for independent guests. We always had to wait in the lounge for quite a long time with a coloured ticket while the shore excursion passengers went first ( they did allow a handful of independents on some of the tenders) On previous cruises with Azamara we always went straight to tender station and were able to board the next tender. We were really taken by surprise that it took so long on Oceania. It would be one reason we would think very hard before cruising with Oceania again.

Thank you for your reply. Like you said, you are not an early riser and even though, you still had to wait in the queue on a few occasions.

I was trying to find out about Azamara tender load for passengers who did not book excursions with Azamara and would like to leave on the first two tender boats, right after the ship is cleared by the port authorities.

I did not have any problem with getting tender rules load for HAL.

 

I am an early riser, 6 am, first at breakfast and first to get off the boat in order to see as much as possible at ports. I start to research ports a few months in advance and know exactly where to go, how to get there, local transport schedules and what to see. This is what cruising is about for many independents. That's why we seek cruise lines which would afford us to do that.

 

Thanks again for your reply.

Azamara attracts a lot of independent travellers just like you so you may not be in line waiting for ship tour pax but be in line with a lot of like minded people who get up at 6, eat breakfast and who also want to get off the ship first. As posted above, the tendering goes quickly on Azamara.

I may be wrong

 

But I thought ALL paying passengers were Guests :confused:

I'll have to remember that for our next Christmas Open House party -- expect the Guests to pay. ;)

I'll have to remember that for our next Christmas Open House party -- expect the Guests to pay. ;)

Just remember who gave you the Idea :)

Should be worth 10%

Please donate it to next Years 'Children in Need' in Great Britain

:D

Hello Sdancer & Shintaro -

I have received an official response from our Director of Global Tour Operations who is responsible for Brand Operations & Destination Delivery in an effort to obtain the answers to your questions. As you will see exact responses to your specific inquiries were not possible.

Nevertheless, our official policy is governed by our promise and strategy to provide priority departure to our tour guests as a benefit for having purchased our Land Discoveries. This is a promise we make to all our guests on all three brands - Royal, Celebrity and Azamara:

The dispatch process typically works as follows:

§ When the ship is docked in port very early in the morning, usually guests on tour get off first as tours are usually scheduled to leave upon arrival.

§ Independent guests tend to wake up a bit later and leave whenever they want, but after our tours are dispatched. For those independent guests who may be early-risers, then it is reasonable to permit these guests access to the early tenders, based on the judgment of our Land Discoveries staff.

§ On a tender port, it's the same as above for guests on tour except for some independent guests who really know where to go and would usually be at the gangway hoping to get on the first tender. If the tours that are meeting in the Cabaret Lounge prior to heading to the gangway, are not ready for dispatch (e.g., maybe all guests are not present yet), it is reasonable to board our independent guests onto the tender first.

§ We try to build flexibility into protocol.

But these scenarios are sometimes difficult to manage when we are tendering to or docking in a port where we arrive at a later time of the day, say on or after 10:00am:

§ So many of our guests, mostly independent, are so anxious to get off, that they line up at the gangway, even before the ship's clearance.

§ This greatly affects the dispatch process, especially in a tender port, for our tour guests and our ability to deliver on our "promise" that "guests on our tours always depart the ship first."

§ Usually our Land Discoveries staff meet the guests on tours in Cabaret Lounge and lead them downstairs to the gangway. Sometimes, the whole path (stairwell) to the tender is typically very crowded and it is just so difficult to bring guests on tours to the tender platform.

§ Proper communication and repeated announcements will be made by our Land Discoveries staff to control the timing and flow of guests on tour and independent guests.

I'm sorry that I cannot provide you with a comprehensive tendering program summary in advance. I hope that by being straightforward and direct about the challenges for guaranteeing that you can get on the first or second tender in each port will allow you to pace yourself as you meet onboard with our Land Discoveries staff. There should be no surprises about the process as the voyage unfolds. Again, re-read the testimonial comments.

Shintaro, we look forward to welcoming you onboard the Azamara Journey on November 25th!

Sincerely,

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)