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Infinity Tender at ISP questions

RoxiRoo

By RoxiRoo,
in Celebrity Cruises

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RoxiRoo

RoxiRoo

Posted
Posted

Hello All -

 

We are looking at excursions at Icy Strait Point. Our ship gets in at 3 and the excursion is at 4:00. It is not a Celebrity excursion.

What is the tendering process like at ISP? Should we abandon all hope of getting off the ship by 4? We are not in a suite, we don't have a ton of points yet (new cruisers). I am willing to go quite early to get a tender ticket. And there are just two of us.

 

Any advice?

TIA!

 

Julie

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gimletgal

gimletgal

Posted
Posted

Tendering at Icy Strait Point is so easy. It's about a 2 minute ride to shore - the ship is that close! You should have plenty of time to meet your excursion, and they will certainly wait for you. Have a great time! It's a wonderful port.

 

IcyStraitPointTender_zps14c6016c.jpg

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mayfieldlodge

mayfieldlodge

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I experienced a long wait for 2 passengers on our private excursion in June. I also was anxious that we would be late for our excursion and went to guest relations the night before and asked if I could have a priority ticket, I was informed that if I could show my private excursion booking they would give me a ticket and that is what they did. The wait for the couple was over 1hr. There didn't seem to be any organisation at that time. Be sure to ask at guest relations ....you may get lucky like I did.

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Northern Aurora

Northern Aurora

Posted
Posted

RoxiRoo:

 

Just another quick comment to put your mind at ease -- a floating dock is being constructed at ISP/Hoonah. While we haven't been there this summer in-state news media have reported that work began earlier this summer with a completion date set for this month (August) or possibly September. So there is a possibility that you could actually dock.

 

But if the dock is not yet completed and you do tender the ship will be so close that a major league baseball pitcher could hit the ship. It is a really quick ride to shore.

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StLucia

StLucia

Posted
Posted

We were in the same position as you but with a 3:45 pick up and there were 6 of us. We got to the venue where the tender tickets were being issued early and got on tender no. 3, short tender trip and we got there on perfect time for our wonderful excursion. Like you I was worrying befor but in the end it was no problem.

Enjoy your trip.

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RoxiRoo

RoxiRoo

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I talked to my excursion and asked about this floating dock that is being built - and it is indeed a reality! So we may not even need to tender next year. :) It will fun to hear all about the dock as people get to start using it. I hear different reports - some are saying it will be ready in September of this year.

 

I have over a year to wait for my trip. I don't know if I can contain myself for that long!!! Based on all the reviews of Alaska, I could see this being a recurring trip for us.

 

CANNOT WAIT.

 

Julie

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Happy Cruiser 6143

Happy Cruiser 6143

Posted
Posted
I talked to my excursion and asked about this floating dock that is being built - and it is indeed a reality! So we may not even need to tender next year. :) It will fun to hear all about the dock as people get to start using it. I hear different reports - some are saying it will be ready in September of this year.

 

I have over a year to wait for my trip. I don't know if I can contain myself for that long!!! Based on all the reviews of Alaska, I could see this being a recurring trip for us.

 

CANNOT WAIT.

 

Julie

 

You will love your Alaska cruise and Icy Strait Point is one of my favorite stops. We were just there again in May.

 

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Moose12345

Moose12345

Posted
Posted

Sorry if I seem a bit stupid, and ask what may be a simple question, but we have never cruised before.

What are tender tickets, and how do we get them?

We also don't cruise until May 2016, so it sounds like we might not need it, but I'm curious as to what they are.:confused:

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Happy Cruiser 6143

Happy Cruiser 6143

Posted
Posted (edited)
Sorry if I seem a bit stupid, and ask what may be a simple question, but we have never cruised before.

What are tender tickets, and how do we get them?

We also don't cruise until May 2016, so it sounds like we might not need it, but I'm curious as to what they are.:confused:

 

In some ports the ship is not able to tie up to a fixed dock. So they anchor and send people ashore in tenders. In some ports, the ship uses its own lifeboats as tenders. In other ports, there are larger tenders run by the ports themselves.

 

So, obviously, everybody can't get on a tender at once. In order to avoid fisticuffs and lots of aggravation, tender tickets are issued. There are a bunch for the first open tender, a bunch for the second, etc. Each ship has its own method of distributing tender tickets. It will be disclosed to you the night before. People who are taking ship's excursions will be tendered off the ship first before open tendering begins. Also, people who have status in Celebrity's Captain's Club will have priority tender tickets.

 

So, just don't be in a bit hurry to leave the ship in tender ports and you should do fine.

 

By the way, there are no stupid questions. Better to ask than not to know. People on these boards are usually happy to share their experience with first-time cruisers. We were all first-time cruisers once upon a time!

 

Edited by Happy Cruiser 6143
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  • 4 weeks later...
Paddy41

Paddy41

Posted
Posted
Hello All -

 

We are looking at excursions at Icy Strait Point. Our ship gets in at 3 and the excursion is at 4:00. It is not a Celebrity excursion.

What is the tendering process like at ISP? Should we abandon all hope of getting off the ship by 4? We are not in a suite, we don't have a ton of points yet (new cruisers). I am willing to go quite early to get a tender ticket. And there are just two of us.

 

Any advice?

TIA!

 

Julie

 

The private tours know the tender situations very well. Just go and get the tender tickets as soon as you can and I am sure they will wait for you if you do not make it by 4:00. Enjoy

 

 

Could someone give me info on where to look for private tours. Never been to this port before.

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Northern Aurora

Northern Aurora

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Posted

The Alaska Cruise Critic forum has a great amount of information about ISP/Hoonah. Try the CC search function and also check some of the trip reports on the stickies at the top of the Alaska forum page. In terms of excursions, this is a popular port for whale watching.

 

ISP/Hoonah is one of the least commercial of the Alaska cruise ports. When my husband first saw it his response was that a Hoonah looks just like his memories of Ketchikan in the early 1970s. If you want to visit an authentic Alaskan fishing community, this is one. But folks who come to Alaska looking to shop in yet another Diamonds International store are disappointed by ISP/Hoonah.

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Paddy41

Paddy41

Posted
Posted
The Alaska Cruise Critic forum has a great amount of information about ISP/Hoonah. Try the CC search function and also check some of the trip reports on the stickies at the top of the Alaska forum page. In terms of excursions, this is a popular port for whale watching.

 

ISP/Hoonah is one of the least commercial of the Alaska cruise ports. When my husband first saw it his response was that a Hoonah looks just like his memories of Ketchikan in the early 1970s. If you want to visit an authentic Alaskan fishing community, this is one. But folks who come to Alaska looking to shop in yet another Diamonds International store are disappointed by ISP/Hoonah.

 

 

This sounds like a port we will like. Forgot about the cruise critic port threads. Thanks for everyone's help. This is our second trip to Alaska and we loved Skagway last time but enjoy seeing different things. Except for Juneau..........my husband has a 'must redo' there. Last time we went for lunch at Tracey's Crab Shack and he has yet to stop talking about that crab. He actually convinced me to cancel a cruise we had booked for next year out of Venice and book Alaska again instead. (And he's from Italy! or maybe I should say It's because he's been to Italy?) I was looking forward to visiting a non-English speaking country with someone who speaks the language, but oh well, CRAB it is!

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varoo

varoo

Posted
Posted (edited)
Here are a couple of links to good resources:

 

Icy Strait Points -Hoonah Charters and Tours

 

Things to do in Hoonah - Tripadvisor

 

 

Also lots of good info and recommendations on the Ports of Call

 

ALASKA Forum

 

 

All good sites for ISP / Hoonah info.

Thanks for the links!

 

The Alaska forum linked here has a current thread about an Icy Strait Point walking tour, one I had not seen before.

 

 

 

Edited by varoo
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Paddy41

Paddy41

Posted
Posted
All good sites for ISP / Hoonah info.

Thanks for the links!

 

The Alaska forum linked here has a current thread about an Icy Strait Point walking tour, one I had not seen before.

 

 

 

 

 

I posted the story about Tracey's Crab Shack in Juneau and now that I've looked at the above sites I found the Crab Station in Icy Strait Point which seems similar. Anyone been to either or both? Is it possible to have too much crab? We could try both!

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tarheelmjm

tarheelmjm

Posted
Posted

We just called on this port on the Millie, 1 week ago. There is definitely a floating dock being built. The first (only?) concrete parts are visible when you sail into and out of port.

 

BTW -

We did the 'stream fishing' and Ziprider excursions through Celebrity and both were awesome. Cannot say enough about the stream fishing. Great time.

 

Ziprider - as expected - incredible.

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Christine Frances

Christine Frances

Posted
Posted (edited)

The best thing about ISP is walking to Hoonah to the Office Bar:) http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g31010-d2315097-Reviews-The_Office_Bar-Hoonah_Alaska.html Hanging ovr the side of the water watching the whales etc plus it is a great experience having a few with the locals. Definitely a highlight our our stop (Along with crab on the pier etc) Best stop in Alaska!

Edited by Christine Frances
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