Stupid Question About Tendering

[hjmrlm]

:confused: :confused: :confused: This May Be A Stupid Question,but Does It Cost To Tender To Cozumel Or Is It Included In The Cruise?

[okiegirl]

its included. i tendered in Belize last year and it was an ...experience. I hear the boats in Cozumel hold around 50 people so they ar emuch larger than the ones we went on. And really trying to find out what is and what is not included - is never a stupid questions

[hjmrlm]

Thank You For The Info. This Is Our First Cruise And I Dont Know A Thing About It But I Am So Excited. I Did Not Even Know That You Had To Tender To Cozumel But From Reading The Forums I Figured It Out I Guess Because Of The Hurricanes. This Is A Great Place To Get Info Glad I Found It.

[jetskier]

Actually the tenders hold between 200 to 300 people not 50 in Cozumel.

Dave

[hjmrlm]

Thanks Dave. How Much Extra Time Do We Need To Allow For Exursions Due To The Tendering? Is This Normal For Cozumel Or Just For The Time Being Due To Hurricanes?

[tcrny]

Hi - my family and I just went on our first cruise the end of March, and this board has been extremely helpful to find out information. I went on my cruise feeling like I was a travel agent because of the wealth of information I found from these boards. So no question is dumb.

 

As far as tendering, we were on Celebrity cruise line and we tendered into 2 ports. In Cozumel, because there were 6 ships in port, there were large tender boats used that held hundreds. The best thing you can do is be sure to check the time your ship arrives in port and make sure you are at the place on your ship where they hand out the tender tickets. Be as early as you can to get off one of the first tender boats. We had no problems at all in either port (Cozumel and Grand Cayman). Typically the people who book ship excursions have first preference off the boat, depending on the time of the ship's excursions. We did not have a planned excursion, but went to Paradise Beach. The island was hit very hard by hurricane Wilma and there was much destruction. There is a lot of construction and rebuilding going on as the island is working very hard to recover. Many places have not opened, especially the Chakanaab state Park, which I heard was very beautiful and the place to go prior to hurricane. Keep a look out for that to see if it is open by the time you cruise.

 

Any questions I can help with, let me know. Happy Cruising and I wish I had another one booked (hopefully soon). Cathy

[jetskier]

Thanks Dave. How Much Extra Time Do We Need To Allow For Exursions Due To The Tendering? Is This Normal For Cozumel Or Just For The Time Being Due To Hurricanes?

 

Plan on taking about an hour to 1 1/2 hours from the time it says you will be there. If you are booked on a ship excursion, you will be the first ones off. You will meet in a specific place onboard ship. If you have your own shore excursion booked, get to the meeting place as early as you can. On Carnival, they request that all parties in your group be there with all the items you are going ashore with. The reason for this is that once tender tickets are assigned, they will take you down as a group to the tender.

 

Once onshore, remember which of the four piers that you where dropped off at. Also keep in mind, (in our case) that you had to be back on ship 45 minutes before sail time instead of the usual 30 minutes.

 

For Cozumel, tendering is not normal. All the piers were destroyed by Wilma. The first pier is tentatively scheduled to be ready in Sept '06. Carnival's pier at Puerta Maya is suppose to be ready sometime in Sept '07.

 

Dave

[amy4424]

Hi Dave, I booked an excursion through ShoreTrips back in January for Cozumel when the itinerary for Carnival Triumph was arrive at 7am, and depart at midnight. Since then, the itinerary has changed to 7am-6pm. The excursion is scheduled for 10am-4:30pm. Do you think that it's cutting it too close and we may not be back on the boat in time? Would you suggest cancelling it and booking something that we'd be done by 3pm or so? I'm worried about the tendering thing. What time would you say that they send out the last tender to the ship if the boat is leaving at 6pm? I'm sorry for all the questions, you seem experienced and I'd rather talk to a normal person than someone at Carnival b/c I always seem to get a different answer. Thanks!!

Amy

[jetskier]

Hi Dave, I booked an excursion through ShoreTrips back in January for Cozumel when the itinerary for Carnival Triumph was arrive at 7am, and depart at midnight. Since then, the itinerary has changed to 7am-6pm. The excursion is scheduled for 10am-4:30pm. Do you think that it's cutting it too close and we may not be back on the boat in time? Would you suggest cancelling it and booking something that we'd be done by 3pm or so? I'm worried about the tendering thing. What time would you say that they send out the last tender to the ship if the boat is leaving at 6pm? I'm sorry for all the questions, you seem experienced and I'd rather talk to a normal person than someone at Carnival b/c I always seem to get a different answer. Thanks!!

Amy

 

Hi Amy,

On our trip on the Sensation, the last tender was at 3:15 for a 4pm departure. The Captain on our ship was a stickler for leaving on time. Based on your times, it would leave you 45 minutes to get back to the pier.

 

I guess it would depend on where the tour is dropping you off at, is the 4:30 time the time you are being dropped off at the pier or the end of the tour at their facility. Also figure it will take you 5-10 minutes to walk through the shopping village at the Puerta Maya pier. Is there an earlier excursion you can go on?

 

45 minutes is doable as long as there are no delays. But that fellow Murphy likes to join in the fun and screw things up. Me, I am a risk taker and would not have any problems with the time but most folks like having a comfort zone.

 

Dave