Tendering a Tender Subject in Juneau on Solstice

[Rude Cat]

And life goes on, it should be a great adventure.

[judyfssw]

We once docked (on Princess) at the dock with the steep covered walkway and it is awful especially if you have one or two people in wheelchairs. And, especially if it's raining. The security on the ship was NO help and were packing up to leave while one of the wheelchair passengers was on trying to stay under the pathway.

I hope that the new dock doesn't have such a steep walkway and I hope that Celebrity doesn't have to use it.

[RBKL]

According to the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska Cruise Ship Calendar for 2013, five ships can dock in Juneau. And no matter how few ships are in port, Solstice always tenders. It is shown tendering every week this season.

 

Must be the size of the ship.

 

 

 

What five ships are scheduled? Another site lists only four.

 

According to Celebrity they will dock on these dates and not tender so the size doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

Currently we are planning on having Solstice at AJ Dock on May 27, June 10, June 24, July 8, July 22, August 5, August 19, Sept 2

 

Best regards,

[Erinchita]

Not sure of the dock name but there was a blue warehouse/wharf-like structure to the left with some restaurants/shopping inside. The walk to town was not far at all. Nor was the tender ride. Maybe 10 minutes?

 

I agree the ramp incline was tough. My grandmother is able-bodied but it was really difficult for her and she got dizzy.

 

I didn't have to wait for a tender other than the time spent in the theatre waiting for our number to be called. But I was PISSED that we weren't told until we got on shore that our $170 whale watching excursion was cancelled. Surely they could have told us that on the ship. To boot, the folks working for the tour company, and therefore the bearers of the bad news, were in their late teens and had no idea how to handle the situation and the hordes of angry people.

[LkGcruiser]

I am still curious as to where the Solstice is anchoring. For those who have actually tendered off the Solstice, where was it anchored in Gastineau Channel?

 

We tendered in to the Marine dock ( I think?). Tender travel time (excluding loading time) was approx 5 min. Does this help in determining where she was anchored?

 

Also, as I said earlier, we were told that due to Solstices size she could not dock at the dock. Probably would have to take the space of 2 ships in order to get the dock space.

[Host Jazzbeau]

What five ships are scheduled? Another site lists only four. According to Celebrity they will dock on these dates and not tender so the size doesn't seem to be an issue. Currently we are planning on having Solstice at AJ Dock on May 27, June 10, June 24, July 8, July 22, August 5, August 19, Sept 2. Best regards,

 

Here is the port calendar for Juneau:

JNU_2013.pdf

[ChazR]

Here is the port calendar for Juneau:

 

 

 

On Sept 9th we will arrive on the Solstice in Juneau at 1:30pm and will be tendered as per X.

Charles

[Northern Aurora]

Sometimes threads assume a life of their own, and I feel that we are starting to kick a dead horse. This will be my last post on this thread, but I just want to comment that through the years there have been some questions regarding the berth codes on the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska port schedules and how to interpret them. If you check some of the days in Juneau when five ships are scheduled, you will note that some ships are assigned to "AIF." The AIF means "Anchor - Intermediate Float," and it is my understanding that this is a float used for tendering. I wonder if LKGcruiser tendered to AMP which is "Anchor - Marine Park". The amount of time spent in the tender sounds about right to me.

[LkGcruiser]

If you check some of the days in Juneau when five ships are scheduled, you will note that some ships are assigned to "AIF." The AIF means "Anchor - Intermediate Float," and it is my understanding that this is a float used for tendering. I wonder if LKGcruiser tendered to AMP which is "Anchor - Marine Park". The amount of time spent in the tender sounds about right to me.

 

Yes, it was AMP.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Here are the codes for Juneau:

 

AIF ANCHOR - INTERMEDIATE FLOAT

AJD A.J. DOCK

AJI AJ-DOCK INSIDE

AMP ANCHOR - MARINE PARK

AS ALASKA STEAM DOCK

ASD ANCHOR-SEA DROME

CT CRUISESHIP TERMINAL

FKL S FRANKLIN ST DOCK

IVF INT.VESSEL FLOAT

MW MERCHANTS WHARF

SD SEADROME

 

 

 

 

The only ship listed for AIF this season is Grand Princess on Sept. 11. Solstice is listed without any code on every one of its visits.

[Rude Cat]

What company was the whale tour with?

[RBKL]

Here is the port calendar for Juneau:

 

Thanks for posting.

 

According to the calendar there are only four ships in Juneau on the days

Solstice is tendering. Aug 12th is an example.

 

It is docking/tendering every other week; alternating with the Princess.

[saymonkey]

I was on that same sailing from 5/17 and yes tendering at Juneau was a freaking nightmare!

 

Do you think it had something to do with the fact that the captain decided to do a 360 of the boat so everyone could get a view of the glacier that day? I knew he was being kind and fair but I felt that caused us to be late and added to the tendering issue.

[gregjm]

I was on that same sailing from 5/17 and yes tendering at Juneau was a freaking nightmare!

 

Do you think it had something to do with the fact that the captain decided to do a 360 of the boat so everyone could get a view of the glacier that day? I knew he was being kind and fair but I felt that caused us to be late and added to the tendering issue.

 

It had nothing to do with it. If I recall we arrived at the appointed time.

 

The tender was scheduled and clearly stated on all promotional items for the cruise, including the X website and all cruise documents.

 

On a side note, the glacier was magnificent...

[SloanesMommy]

I too, was on the May 17th sailing. I just want to let people know who are Elite Status if they are planning an independent excursion, Elite status really didn't matter. My family and I booked a 3 pm tour and were supposed to be at the meeting place and the bottom of Mt. Roberts tram at 2:45 pm. We barely made it and we were considered Elite Status with priority disembarkation tickets. Needless to say, there were many angry passengers, and the staff at the disembarkation gangway did not want to hear any complaints!

[JOANN226]

I will be on the Solstice next week, and what ever it is I can't change it, just have to enjoy myself and not let little things ruin my cruise. Most of the time it is the ignorant people that make it worse, someone is always more important than you. But I will not let my vacation be ruined by those people. I will let you know when I come back in my review.

 

Joann

[POPDISPLAY]

Most of the time it is the ignorant people that make it worse, someone is always more important than you.

 

X clearly treats certain passengers with more importance.

 

Suite passengers get tendered before non suite passengers.

Those who buy X's excursions get tendered before those who buy non X excursions.

 

X is perpetuating the class system beyond where the distinction should be applied. First class life boats soon to be announced?

EVERY passenger booked passage to the ports listed in the itinerary. Passengers paying more for a larger room should not diminish the worth/rights of passengers who bought a smaller room.

Passengers booking an X excursion should not diminish the worth/rights of passengers who booked a non X excursion or who just want off the boat for any other purpose.

[gimletgal]

Life seems to be full of "perks" for people who spend more. Look at the airlines, hotels. That's just the way it is. I guess the old saying "money talks" is still true. I have no problem with it. It doesn't affect my enjoyment of any cruise and I don't begrudge anyone who has the money to spend as they wish. :) If extra "perks" come with that spending, so be it.

[gw2fll]

I also was on the sailing and it was a nightmare. The return to the ship was just as bad. If you can wait until after 8:00 to return to the ship, you can avoid the long line.

 

I have tendered in the Caribbean before without issue. Part of the problem here was Solstice had to use her lifeboats for the tendering process. Unlike in the Caribbean where you have those large tenders that can handle larger numbers of people.

 

Where I was most bothered was Holland had two of the berths. If we could have docked at the last position (where Zuridam (spelling)) was docked it would have worked. And one of the Holland ships could have tendered. (Of course, they probably would not be happy with that.)

 

Thank goodness we booked our excursion with Celebrity or we would have really been in a bind. Even though we did book with Celebrity, we were almost an hour late for our start time which really impacted the remainder of our "day" in Juneau.

[floridatravelersforlife]

What's with the Solstice and tendering? We were on the Queensland sailing (3/28/13) with three tender ports and each was a mess. Even with large subcontracted tenders, the process was hectic and in fact dangerous for the frail pax. There is something wrong here.

[curtdesilets]

Here is the port calendar for Juneau:

 

I added up the ship capacity of all the ships visiting Juneau this year.

 

It is 14.7 billion passengers, each dropping between $100 and $200. Wow. Juneau is going to have a great year.:D

 

Also noticed that the last ship to leave town is Oosterdam September 25. I bet there will be some souvenir bargains in town for that one.

[POPDISPLAY]

i added up the ship capacity of all the ships visiting juneau this year.

 

It is 14.7 billion passengers...

 

lol!!!!!!

 

14.7 billion passengers???

Twice the world's population?

I don't think so

[curtdesilets]

lol!!!!!!

 

We have been in Juneau when there are 6 ships in town, and other times when we were the only ship. It makes a huge difference in your experience!

 

Speaking of port revenues: We live in Long Beach CA. When the Carnival Splendor lost power last year (remember the Spam photos?) and left our port for a couple months, the city estimated that it lost over $500k per week in tourist revenues. That is significant.

[RBKL]

I added up the ship capacity of all the ships visiting Juneau this year.

 

It is 14.7 billion passengers, each dropping between $100 and $200. Wow. Juneau is going to have a great year.:D

 

Also noticed that the last ship to leave town is Oosterdam September 25. I bet there will be some souvenir bargains in town for that one.

 

 

Not sure how you get to that high a number given they only sail between May and September. Even at 20-30K Pax a day and counting 150 days you're not over 3-4M.

 

Still a lot but nowhere near 14.7B.

[silentbob007]

X clearly treats certain passengers with more importance.

 

Suite passengers get tendered before non suite passengers.

Those who buy X's excursions get tendered before those who buy non X excursions.

 

X is perpetuating the class system beyond where the distinction should be applied. First class life boats soon to be announced?

EVERY passenger booked passage to the ports listed in the itinerary. Passengers paying more for a larger room should not diminish the worth/rights of passengers who bought a smaller room.

Passengers booking an X excursion should not diminish the worth/rights of passengers who booked a non X excursion or who just want off the boat for any other purpose.

 

I have to disagree with you a bit. Suite passengers pay for an upgraded experience throughout, not just a bigger room ... hence the gold room keys, priority embarkation, butlers, etc. One perk for booking excursions through the ship is priority debarkation. Because someone has paid for better service, your "rights" are not diminished. You can still get off the ship. You can still make tours. You just can't be the first one off. If you want to line up and make the effort to get off earlier, I'm sure there's some way you can at a different cost (time, etc). Even on a ship there are haves and have-nots. There is no possible way for everyone to fit on the first tender, so in any situation someone has to wait. It is like this for EVERY cruise line.