Tender time

[Ashtonwa]

We have booked a cave tubing and zip line excursion privately when we go next week. My big question is this--the guide sent an email and said to get off the ship asap so we could meet them. I understand that the cruise gives first priority to those who bought with them. When can I expect to get to shore at a good time if we are there from 8-6pm? What time will we have to get in line to get in a tender? TIA!

[SteelerCruiser]

I would say the earlier the better.....no matter which cruiser line. Some lines will give out tender tickets early in the morning and have you meet in a specific place. Look at you daily newsletter onboard to find out specifics.

[overthehillcruiser]

The actual tender ride is right about 20 minutes. We have been there when they used a large tender which takes quite a while to load, and also with water taxi sized tenders which do not take long and travel faster, so the time can vary somewhat. In our experience there , we rushed liked crazy to get to shore, then waited for quite a while before our tour actually took off..On Royal Caribbean they issue tender tickets, which can be chaos. On Carnival , if you are platinum or above, you get priority..Photo is of a smaller tender in Belize.

 

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[Eliot Ness]

The day before I would ask at the excursion or lobby desk what the best way is to get off ASAP. The main key is to get to the place they assign tenders as early as possible.

 

The private excursion operators all advise you to get off the ship ASAP, but they also know most pax won't be on the first tender.

 

You might want to post what ship you are on so you can get more specific answers.

[mitsugirly]

Most ships will have you stand in line for "tickets". Then after the people on excursions depart, then the priority people depart, then they start calling the ticket numbers. So, it's best to get in line for your ticket as soon as possible.

 

Just know that the excursion companies for the cave tubing want you to get off asap, but they do realize it's not always possible to get the first tender out and they do wait on you. They also usually have several vans waiting. So those that get off fairly quickly will fill up 1 van and it can take off while the other van is waiting on the rest of the people. :)

[CDNJehn]

We have booked a cave tubing and zip line excursion privately when we go next week. My big question is this--the guide sent an email and said to get off the ship asap so we could meet them. I understand that the cruise gives first priority to those who bought with them. When can I expect to get to shore at a good time if we are there from 8-6pm? What time will we have to get in line to get in a tender? TIA!

 

Which cruise line are you on? We were on Carnival last week, our third time to Belize, and tendering took longer than I've ever experienced due to the winds. They could only operate one gangway, so getting off the ship took an extra hour. Get in line to get off the ship ASAP

[thescot123]

On NCL, if you have Gold Status and higher then you get priority tender tickets. My Dec cruise will be my first cruise after reaching this status.

 

On the NCL boats that I have been on, you usually meet for tender tickets in Spinaker lounge at between 7 and 7.30am. It always pays to get there about 30 minutes before that time as the lines can form fast.

 

You only need to do this if you are not booking a ship excursion or don't receive priority tickets.