Please help me understand reluctance/fear of tendering

Posts often appear here that clearly indicate a fear or serious reluctance to use a tender to get ashore and return to the ship.

I can easily understand mobility issues, although I did see someone come ashore in a wheelchair from a Disney ship the last time we were in Grand Cayman.

Is this something like fear of flying? What kind of worries arise when someone ponders a tender ride?

For me, it is not the fear, but the inconvenience of Tendering. On my April cruise we have 4 Tendered Ports!!

Many folks who haven't done it, believe they will be in a small rowboat type of thing....they don't realize what a real "tender" on these cruiseships is all about!

I don't think many able-bodied folks who have tendered are fearful....it seems to be those who have never seen it done!!

And yes...it is an inconvenience compared to docking!

In my case, its the inconvenience. My wife also doesn't like small boats, so we try to avoid tendering.

Posts often appear here that clearly indicate a fear or serious reluctance to use a tender to get ashore and return to the ship.

 

 

Is this something like fear of flying? What kind of worries arise when someone ponders a tender ride?

I am terrified of flying which is why I cruise but I would never be afraid of tendering.. I quite enjoy "bobbing" along from ship to shore.

I'm afraid of the time challenges: if I have an excursion at X, how far in advance do I need to be in line for a tender? If I'm crazy enough to book two excursions the same day, will tendering mean I have to walk off the ship in the morning with everything I need for the day?

Also, being an avid photographer who's addicted to Alaska cruises, I'm fearful that tendering would require me to carry around all of my big lenses all day long, rather than burn ~30 minutes going back to the stateroom and returning to land.

We're not afraid of tendering at all, it's just more of a hassle and takes longer than just walking off the ship. It's sometimes a challenge to figure out when to get off to meet up with a tour, to keep track of last tender times, etc.

I'd always prefer not to tender, but it's not a deal breaker by any means.

I'm not afraid of tendering, I'm am just not a fan. I have really, really bad balance. I trip over molecules of dust, I think! So, the transition onto the tender (or any other smaller craft) from the ship or the pier is always a "hold my breath" moment. Haven't fallen in yet, and haven't fallen ON anyone yet, so I'm doing good! :D

Not afraid, but agree that it is inconvenient and time consuming. The long lines can be daunting. Additionally, having to plan your trip back to time it accordingly can affect your day in port.

We are not afraid of tendering. We have done it a few times.

But my DW is afraid of is loosing her balance due to the occasional lurching of the tender that often accompanies the boarding/disembarking of the tender.

We are not afraid of tendering. We have done it a few times.

 

But my DW is afraid of is loosing her balance due to the occasional lurching of the tender that often accompanies the boarding/disembarking of the tender.

Oops. Didn't mean to "quote".

I actually enjoy tendering, especially if on the roof seating area and the sun is out. It is nice to see the views while motor boating into a small seaside town.

The only thing I dislike about tendering are those not-so-polite passengers who refuse to scoot over to allow others a seat.

I don't mind the tenders, but it is extremely difficult to carry my bag of dive gear and large underwater camera down the steep stairs to the tender level on Spirit class ships. Carrying it back up is even worse because I'm tired and equipment is much heavier due to bring wet.

I dislike tendering. I dislike waiting in a long queue on the ship with hundreds of my new best friends for the tenders in the morning. I dislike baking in the sun or growing soggy in the rain in the queue for the tender on the way back to the ship. I really dislike watching the people sitting beside me turning green as the tender pitches up and down, worrying they're going to be sick on me.

So no fear here. Just boredom and lots of dislike.

Oops. Didn't mean to "quote".

No problem! :D

It isn't reluctance or fear.

It's a PIA.

I actually enjoy tendering, especially if on the roof seating area and the sun is out. It is nice to see the views while motor boating into a small seaside town.

I would agree with the above. We also find it fun to see our ship as we approach it in a tender upon return. Tendering is something that is different and you don't have to pay extra for it!:D

No fear, just inconvenient. We usually like to do an excursion in the morning and head back to the ship at lunch time to clean up and eat, then head back to the island for walking fun. It wastes so much time if we have to tender back and forth. I certainly don' mind the boat ride and we usually end up talking with people all the way, sharing stories.

Posts often appear here that clearly indicate a fear or serious reluctance to use a tender to get ashore and return to the ship.

 

I can easily understand mobility issues, although I did see someone come ashore in a wheelchair from a Disney ship the last time we were in Grand Cayman.

 

Is this something like fear of flying? What kind of worries arise when someone ponders a tender ride?

I have a fear of flying. I have a dislike of tendering. Tendering is inconvenient, people in groups tend to behave selfishly, tender ports seem to be missed more often than docked ports (though sometimes docked ports are missed). We were once on a tender where the waves were splashing through the door into the seating area, getting most of us wet -- very unpleasant. We've also been on tenders where many pax required much assistance from crew to get back onboard, due to difficult sea conditions. Unpleasant. And I'm sure that for some of the pax, it was terrifying.

I hate tendering for one simple reason-----when stepping onto a tender, it lurched up about 3ft and I fell forward into the tender, breaking my foot. But besides that, it's just a pain, with all the waiting in the tender area on the ship and waiting for tenders to get back. It wastes so much time in port.

For me, it is not the fear, but the inconvenience of Tendering.

I'm not at all "afraid" of tendering, but it does entail waiting for the next boat, boarding, waiting for the tender to be filled, then waiting for the crowd to exit the tender.

In contrast, docking is so much easier: You just walk up the dock whenever you feel like it.

For us tendering is inconvenience, but not as bad as to make us avoid tender ports.

We have to go for tender tickets, after that wait to be allowed to board the boat. Compare to the easy walk-off when the ship is docked.

I get sea sick easily, so for me the time of boarding the shaky tender, the ride itself, un-boarding at the destination (shaky!) are not pleasant.

For me, tendering is just a mild inconvenience (I dislike waiting to board each way). That said, I try to make the best of it by taking some interesting photos during the brief trip and trying to enjoy the ride. I've had a few rough times on the water, but nothing really crazy.

One of our first cruises we witnessed a gal miss the tender and fell between it and the ship. The crew jumped in before her chest was no longer visible. She came up wet, sputtering and had an interesting travel store to tell.

I don't think many able-bodied folks who have tendered are fearful....it seems to be those who have never seen it done!!

I don't know about that! My friend and I were on a Celebrity cruise, and the tender taking us back to the ship crashed into some rocks, and there was a gas spill and horrible, horrible fumes, and the 96 of us on the tender were treated so badly that the captain held a meeting with us to apologize. And a couple of days after we got home, Celebrity called us and offered us enough cruise credit to give us a free cruise in Bermuda, including port charges and gratuities. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those 96 people became fearful of tenders. At least there weren't any tenders on the cruise to Bermuda.