Tendering in Cabo

[James4me]

Hi, I’ll be on the Panorama 5/2020.  I have mobility issues due to numerous back surgeries that have left my legs weak.  I am able to walk, but not far distances.  How is the tendering process for those with mobility issues?  I’d it easy to get on/off the ship?  

[riffatsea]

They will help you if you need it when you step into the tender and when you get out.

They used to say no wheel chairs in tenders but I saw someone being wheeled to the tender and then helped to walk into it with the wheel chair folded up afterwards.

You should be OK with help.

[James4me]

56 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

They will help you if you need it when you step into the tender and when you get out.

They used to say no wheel chairs in tenders but I saw someone being wheeled to the tender and then helped to walk into it with the wheel chair folded up afterwards.

You should be OK with help.

Thank you 🤗

[CruiserBruce]

It might be important to note Panorama has not even launched yet...won't for many months yet. Yes, everyone will be very helpful, and try to make sure you get ashore. But few will know the actual procedures and issues yet. NO ONE (including riffatsea) knows how this will turn out yet.

[CA_Cruzing]

Depending on the seas when you travel, thendering can be choppy at times. There are Carnival crew who will be able to assist you both on and off the tender.

 

if you are able to assist with your mobility you should be fine both loading off your ship, loading off the tender in port (those waters are usually very calm as the port is protected and more shallow) and reloading back onto your cruise when you leave port.

 

Cabo’s port is well developed and paved which should also make your travels easy too. 

 

Carnival also just annouced that all new ship pools will have step entries and existing fleet will be retrofitted over time. This is all part of Carnival’s move to make their ships ADA compliant. 

 

First ships to have these step-in pools are... you guessed it, Panorama and Mardi Gras. 

[Mike45LC]

Sometimes, the water at Cabo is too rough for tenders, and they have to skip this port all together.

 

I have seen times when the chop was not severe enough to cancel the port visit, but when it was too rough for the less agile.  You might need to stay on board that day.

 

[wheezedr]

Real problems can also occur when the seas are relatively calm on arrival in the AM, so it looks to be a simple tender and then the chop intensifies by the time passengers return in the PM.  This happened to us on a stop in Newport and the extended time it took to offload to the ship lead to a significant delay in departure.  It left many passengers uncomfortable with the tender process, but was really a function of Mother Nature.

[tequilasunrise]

19 hours ago, wheezedr said:

Real problems can also occur when the seas are relatively calm on arrival in the AM, so it looks to be a simple tender and then the chop intensifies by the time passengers return in the PM.  This happened to us on a stop in Newport and the extended time it took to offload to the ship lead to a significant delay in departure.  It left many passengers uncomfortable with the tender process, but was really a function of Mother Nature.

This is so true. We have been in tendering back where the tender hit the ship so hard, the window was knocked out. That being said, they did get everyone in safely, including one passenger in a wheelchair. But we had to wait until the tender moved up with the swell and jump onto the ship's platform (with help). The water in the bay can get really choppy. So it depends, I think if they let you off, they will do everything they can to get you back safely and likely it won't be an issue, but it's your comfort level and knowledge of what you need for your comfort.

[chinita415]

On 2/14/2019 at 6:47 PM, riffatsea said:

They will help you if you need it when you step into the tender and when you get out.

They used to say no wheel chairs in tenders but I saw someone being wheeled to the tender and then helped to walk into it with the wheel chair folded up afterwards.

You should be OK with help.

I was wondering about that. My MIL can walk but will need a wheelchair if she does get off the boat there. We are on the Royal Princess and will email them. I saw the no wheelchair on the port information but had assumed they meant folks who can't transfer. 

 

But she would be ok staying on board that day too.

[chinita415]

I just looked again and it says, "wheelchair access limited." 

[riffatsea]

The woman in the wheelchair on our Coral Princess cruise could barely walk a few steps with help from her family and staff. I was surprised to see her on the tender and then on the tour bus but she managed. I imagine that they could only handle one wheelchair on a tender but of course not sure about that. I cannot imagine that anyone at Princess land headquarters would be able to give you a real answer as it is a ship issue specific to the port and ship you are using.

As others have said it may also depend on sea conditions on that particular day.

[CA_Cruzing]

At 2:25, these seas are what I’d call average in Cabo: 

 

 

Here’s what two foot swells look like: 

 

 

hopefully these videos help you get an idea of what you’re looking at while tendering in Cabo. 

 

 

[chinita415]

Thanks for the videos! Very helpful  My MIL can walk so we will just keep the WC folded until we get on shore.  

 

My husband and I did Galapagos and Great Barrier Reef cruises before we had our baby so are not afraid of waves. It's a little harder with grandma in wheelchair and baby in stroller now.

Edited February 17 by chinita415