NCL arrives at Great Stirrup Cay (their private island) at 7:30PM and leaves the next afternoon at 1PM.
Does anyone know if passengers are able to tender to the island anytime after arriving in port or if passengers are only able to tender to the port the following morning?
With this being an overnight visit, it would be really nice to be able to visit the island both days. I asked the rep at NCL this question and she didn't have a definite answer for me.
I think it would be very disappointing to arrive at a port in the evening and not be able to get off the ship until the following morning.
Well, it's absoultely possible to tender there in the dark. I have done that a few times myself. But it is not that well lit up.
However, I don't understand why GSC would be so interesting at night. There is nothing to do there except for beach activities, and as mentioned before the beach area is not lit up (at least it wasn't in 2003 when I was there the last time).
Another thing is that the sharks (small sharks, but still...) tends to come into Bertram's Grove during dark hours...
I guess I should have said tendering in daylight is preferable to tendering at night from a safety perspective, although I have also tendered at night on many occasions - mostly in the military - but we did do it once on a NCL cruise at Cancun.
I sometimes get the sense that some think the private islands have these big infrastructures. GSC is perhaps the most rustic of them all
On the Norway our tender had a mechanical problem moments after we had pulled away from the ship. We were DIW for about a half-hour until a part was delivered from the ship. I would think sitting dead in the water for that long in the dark would not be comforting for some passengers.
Well, I think our decision to take this cruise is going to be whether or not we're able to actually get onto the island once we arrive. GSC is our last port of call. We have been anxious to take a cruise that has an overnight stay or maybe even a 12 hour port of call visit. Something a little longer than the average 6-9 hour port of call.
Thanks for the info, I'll start looking for another cruise.
Laura
No cruise line is going to make a private island (or resort) a long port call, it just doesn't make any sense. They are beaches, and little else. Bermuda cruises are probably the ultimate in overnight stays.
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