Is it possible to make 10am excursion time with Disney Wonder's 9am arrival?

[oif_vet]

I am looking at booking a 10am excursion trip on the Pez Gato on March 21, 2023 but am a bit concerned about being able to make it off the Wonder in time to make the trip's departure. Disney lists their arrival in Cabo at 9am and I've seen varying reports of non-priority tender times of short to long (10:15am). Assuming there are no surprises due to weather, is it possible to get off in time to make this trip?

[CruiserBruce]

It could be tight. Is this a private tour just for you? If so, they will wait...you own them. But if you are joining a group not all from the ship, then you are going to be tight.

[Mike45LC]

Due to the sparse number of replies, here goes:

 

1.  I have never sailed on Disney, and my reply is based on Princess and Celebrity.

 

2.  Cabo is a tender port.  The authorities need to clear the ship before anyone is allowed to leave.

 

3.  Some ships use their own lifeboats as tenders, others hire local ships to serve as tenders.  Princess tends to do both.   This could impact how quickly the ship starts to disembark passengers. 

 

4.  Once the ship is cleared, priority passengers are allowed to board the tender.  Priority includes high loyalty status passengers, and passengers booked on early excursions booked through the ship.  There is not likely to be priority for passengers with early non-ship excursions.  

 

5.  It takes time for the passengers to be packed like sardines into the tenders.  Especially if there are passengers needing assistance.  Then, add 15 minutes or so for the boat to power to the dock.  And then another 15 minutes or so for the boat to be unloaded (again, the crew needs to deal with the scooters that will otherwise be blocking the aisles).  [Maybe not a lot of mobility scooters and wheelchairs on Disney.]  

 

6.  The tender boat then sails back to the ship to get another load of passengers.  I have no idea how many passengers the tender will take per trip, or how many tenders will be used.  Even if a second tender boat pulls up to the ship as soon as the first tender boat launches, I kind of doubt that the passengers on that second boat will be ashore in time to catch a 10:00 a.m. tour.

 

Sorry, but I don't think this is feasible.  I hope you come back here after your cruise and tell me that I am all wet and that you made the tour with time to spare!!

 

[CruiserBruce]

Reality is not quite as dire as @Mike45LC makes it out to be. Some ships actually use two "docks" on the side of the ship, and 4-6 tenders (or perhaps more), so the tender flow is constant. The ship's crew is quite practiced at this.

 

But, its still going to be pretty tight for your 10am tour. If the tour is not your own private tour...just for you...you are right to be worried.

[cacruisin]

Possible yes, ,worth risk no...no one needs to be stressed out about time on a vacation.  IMO plan a later excursion and avoid the stress.

[DukeASUGirl]

We were looking at a 1:30 tour (with a 12:30 arrival in Cabo) and asked the private tour operator, who suggested we do their 3 pm tour instead. They said that an hour is too short a turnaround if you don't have priority for the first tenders.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 1/30/2023 at 10:16 PM, oif_vet said:

is it possible to get off in time to make this trip?

 

I'm 'a sayin' possible, but not likely. I would not book a 10AM tour unless I was Bob Iger.

[ikirumata]

how many other ships are in port at that time? If you are the only one, then you may make it if you can secure early tender tickets.