what is tendering like?

[DCguys]

We've only cruised the Caribbean in the past - we docked at every port. Now we're planning a med cruise with tenders needed for two destinations. How does that work?

 

Where do you physically go on the ship to get on the tender? Does it get lowered down the side of the ship with passengers in it? How many people fit? Is it uncomfortable? Will it make me sea-sick? How do you get back at the end of the day? Does the ship assign you a return time? What if you want to go back to the ship then back out to shore a 2nd time in one day?

 

We'd be on X Solstice if that matters.

[cruiselvr1]

We've only cruised the Caribbean in the past - we docked at every port. Now we're planning a med cruise with tenders needed for two destinations. How does that work?

 

Where do you physically go on the ship to get on the tender? Does it get lowered down the side of the ship with passengers in it? How many people fit? Is it uncomfortable? Will it make me sea-sick? How do you get back at the end of the day? Does the ship assign you a return time? What if you want to go back to the ship then back out to shore a 2nd time in one day?

 

We'd be on X Solstice if that matters.

 

Well its pretty easy. You go to a specific deck thats even with the water level and there is a ramp that juts out into the water that the tender is beside. All you do is step onto the tender boat and your on your way. The tenders we have been on have two levels and fit about 30 or so people. There is not a whole lot of space but its ok since your not on it for very long.I get sea-sick on deep sea fishing boats and have had rough rides on tenders but never got sick. When we went to mexico the tenders returned at regular intervals all day and have a time that the last one returns to the ship. You can go back and forth as many times as you like. You will maybe want to post to the solstice board also as the info I just gave is based on my experience with princess only.

[Talisker92]

I suggest you plan to be on the next to last tender just in case!

[pam vessels]

It is generally an easy thing BUT if the seas are rough it can really be a rollicking scary time. I have seen people get sick on a tender. We have never gotten ill but have had friends who used canes/walkers who just stayed on the ship as it was just to dangerous.

[kitty9]

There is a tendering procedure. Those with ship tours get the first tenders, and then those who are in the big suites go next. Everyone else has to report toa designated area to get a numbered tender ticket. You wait there until your number is called and then you're escorted down to the tender deck, which on Solstice is deck 2

 

Coming back you just go to the tender dock and board. The last tender usually leaves 45 minutes before the ship is scheduled to depart. Don't miss the tender because if you do, you're out of luck---the ship will leave without you.

[panoramaofthepast]

We had to tender at Cozumel after the hurricane destroyed the docks. The trip in was fine; the trip back was incredibly bad. It took over an hour because the tender could not connect to the ship due to the waves. I was miserably seasick by the time we finally got off - and we had to be handed up one at a time for safety. We were on the last tender allowed for more than 2 hours - folks were stuck either on ship or on shore till the seas calmed down!

[Treven]

"Generally speaking", it really is a piece of cake; or perhaps a slice of pie.:D

[helpthejuggler]

There is a ticket system for the earlier tenders. If you want a ticket, you go to get one. Ours were handed out outside Quasar.

 

After the initial rush they announce open tenders and tickets are not needed.

 

For the return, if you are in a huge line waiting for the tenders, and this overruns the ship waits.

 

The tenders we have used have either been

 

those from the ship E.g. Kotor, Villefranche, Dubrivnik (not always tendering), Laspezia

 

Some ports use larger boats that can hold more people, e.g. Cannes, France.

 

It is crowded but only takes 5 minutes or so.

[fleckle]

We've only cruised the Caribbean in the past - we docked at every port. Now we're planning a med cruise with tenders needed for two destinations. How does that work?

Most of the time at most tender ports you will be in smooth waters and can step right in or out of the tender with no problem. It is a piece of cake, just like stepping off a dock into any other small boat.

 

At other times, when the water is rough you need to step across when the tender reaches the right point as it is bobbing up and down.

 

When that happens, crew members will assist passengers by telling you when to step and by holding your arms securely to prevent you from falling, just in case you should lose your balance.

 

If you have any doubts, you can stand aside and observe others boarding the tender for a while before deciding whether you want to do it yourself.

 

When conditions are deemed to be dangerous, they will just skip that port rather than risk endangering the passengers. But sometimes the water is calm when the passengers get off in the morning and then sea conditions worsen later in the day.

 

On the other hand, you sometimes get a nice surprise when a port is listed on your itinerary as a tender port, but it turns out that your ship is able to dock there after all.

 

Where do you physically go on the ship to get on the tender? Does it get lowered down the side of the ship with passengers in it? How many people fit? Is it uncomfortable? Will it make me sea-sick?

The tenders are lowered into the water before the passengers are allowed to board them. The number of people who will fit will vary depending on the size of the tender, but most of them hold over 100 people. At some ports, the cruise line will charter a larger boat from town to use as a tender.

 

They will make an announcement telling passengers where to go to board the tender. If you miss the announcement, ask just about any crew person you meet. Sometimes they post the info in or near the elevators too.

 

A tender ticket is needed if you want to get off the ship early because there is typically a big crowd wanting to get off when tendering first begins.

 

If you are eligible for priority tendering, they usually leave your tender tickets in your cabin the night before. Otherwise, if you want tender tickets you need to go to a designated area and wait in line for them. They will let you know where to go to get them.

 

But if you are in no hurry to get off the ship, you can sleep in that day, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and wait for the crowd to clear out. After that they go to open tendering where no tender tickets are needed and there are no long lines. So you simply go down and get on the next tender at your own convenience whenever you are ready to leave.

 

Even though we usually receive priority tender tickets, we prefer to wait and do it that way to avoid the crowds. On the later tenders they usually do not pack passengers in like sardines the way they do on the early ones.

 

But the drawback is that the later tenders may not run as frequently as the earlier ones, so later in the day you may sometimes be sitting around waiting for 10 to 20 minutes until the next tender gets ready to leave.

 

Most passengers do not get seasick on tenders, but occasionally some do. If you are prone to seasickness, it would be a good idea to take your usual seasickness precautions, especially if the water is rough.

 

How do you get back at the end of the day? Does the ship assign you a return time? What if you want to go back to the ship then back out to shore a 2nd time in one day?

You may come and go as you please throughout the day, although it may not be worth your time to make extra trips back and forth. You will be told the time of the last tender and it is usually posted in several places as well.

 

As others have noted, it is important to get back to the tender dock no later than the "last tender" time. There are no tickets and no priority for the return. You just wait your turn in line. As long as you are on line at the dock at that time, even if you are the last one in line, they will not leave you behind.

[John Bull]

I suggest you plan to be on the next to last tender just in case!

 

I've seen others offer similar advice.

But could never figure out why.

 

The second-to-last train or bus back to the ship, yes.

 

But tenders?

As other posts, tenders operate up to "last tender" time, then if neccessary carry on beyond that time to mop up the line.

If a cruiser is at the pier by "last tender" time, they'll be taken back to the ship, no problem.

 

I've even seen folk sheepishly join the back of the line after that time ;)

 

And if there's a long line, with a bar close by, rather than stand in line I'll sit with a beer until the line has shortened - the time is irrelevant.

 

JB :)

[aquilegia]

I've seen others offer similar advice.

But could never figure out why.

 

The second-to-last train or bus back to the ship, yes.

 

But tenders?

As other posts, tenders operate up to "last tender" time, then if neccessary carry on beyond that time to mop up the line.

If a cruiser is at the pier by "last tender" time, they'll be taken back to the ship, no problem.

 

I've even seen folk sheepishly join the back of the line after that time ;)

 

JB :)

 

Exactly right.

 

We were in Naples a few years ago (which is not usually a tender port) and because of the number of cruise ships in that day we were advised that the ship would have to move out from the dock during the morning and that we would be tendered back. Due to the fact that most people at that port travel some distance away (Amalfi coast, Capri etc), the majority of passengers only arrived back half an hour or so before the 'last' tender time. The ships tenders were toing and froing for a long time after the cut off time and the ship left an hour late.

[vacation luvver]

All you do is step onto the tender boat and your on your way..... the info I just gave is based on my experience with princess only.

My experience with NCL was COMPLETELY the opposite, because we did not just get into the tender and then were on our way. After getting into a tender that was to take us to NCL's private island, we sat in it for an hour and a half as it went up and down and up and down and up and down and on and on next to the cruise ship, because we had to wait for the waters to calm down before we could set sail for the private island.

 

The private island was nice, but I thought that I could have made better use of that hour and a half by relaxing around the practically deserted pool on the ship instead of sitting in a tender going up and down over and over and over, so the next time I was on an NCL cruise that went to the private island, I stayed on the ship.

 

Those with ship tours get the first tenders

This was NOT the case on my cruise with Royal in September of 2009. If your tour began at 8:30 AM or later, as did mine, you had to wait on line for a tender ticket along with the people who hadn't booked a ship's excursion. And no effort was made to ensure that the people who had booked 8:30 AM excursions (and I assume the later excursions) were able to board a tender so that they would be on time for their excursions. It was up to us to make sure that we were on time. But that was in 2009, and I hope they do things differently nowadays.

[cb at sea]

Tenders are not rowboats! They are large "people ferries"....and they aren't LOWERED at all!

 

As long as you don't need to be 1st off, wait a bit, and allow the pushers and shovers to leave...then go to the tender and head off!

[Mary Ellen]

Tenders are not rowboats! They are large "people ferries"....and they aren't LOWERED at all!

It depends upon the port, but all but twice when we've tendered, they haven't been large "people ferries", but rather some of the ship's lifeboats that have indeed been "LOWERED" from their normal position. The only port we've used something like you describe has been at HAL's private island.

[John Bull]

It depends upon the port, but all but twice when we've tendered, they haven't been large "people ferries", but rather some of the ship's lifeboats that have indeed been "LOWERED" from their normal position. The only port we've used something like you describe has been at HAL's private island.

 

CB's point is that the ship's boats aren't lowered with passengers in them, as they would be for an evacuation.:rolleyes:

They're lowered by the crew, and motored to a gangway accessed by passengers from a low deck, same as disembarking onto the pier, except that the gangway is along the side of the ship.

Passengers then step from gangway onto the boat, except in some ports where a floating pontoon is moored to the ship & passengers step from the pontoon to the boat, a much more civilised way of doing it.

Which boats are used - ship's own tenders or local boats - depends on circumstances in each port.

 

Hairy transfers are comparatively rare.

In line with the experiences of most on this thread I've had many more missed tender ports than hairy transfers. If the seas are deemed unsafe (the risk is bruises or broken limbs rather than falling in the briney), the tenders don't operate. This can include high swells even in beautiful calm weather.

The only hairy transfers I've experienced have been returning to the ship when the weather has changed.

Vacation luvver's experience is unusual

 

JB :)

[helpthejuggler]

On Solstice there were tenders at the forward gangway being used for ship tours and another midship for tender ticket passengers. Both ran at the same time until the rush cleared then they sent everyone to midship.

 

My experience of tenders on NCL and RCI has been fine. Things can go wrong I'm sure. We had a small delays in kotor with Celebrity, but nothing bad.

[Steve_Red_Dog]

As others have pointed out most large, up to date cruise ships have side ports to access at or near water level. I have included a photo from our recent trip on the Noordam when we tendered at Santorini. Two ramps were in use, one for embarking and one for disembarking.

 

We had perfect weather, and instead of the ship's lifeboats, the tenders were local Greek vessels. At other locations, and on other cruises, we have tendered in lifeboats and in waves high enough to lend lots of excitement to the process. :eek:

 

[sparky-elpaso]

I hope these pics will help.

 

Sometimes they use nice boats from the port to tender.

 

 

If they use the ships lifeboats they start by lowering them down - an interesting process to watch, by the way.

 

 

Like others have said getting into the boat can be easy in calm seas or a bit challenging if it's a bit rocky - but the crew is there to help.

 

 

We happened to be in a position to watch the crew stow the platform one day - interesting.

 

 

[EGG]

Some good answers here. After may times tendering it is different from port to port. Some of the things that make a difference are the ship (especially the size of the ship), the port (some ports provide thier own larger tenders), and the weather. If another ship is in port, some ports only allow one tender in at a time. Since you are on the Solstice, I would ask for more specifics on the Celebrity board for the ports you are tendering at.

 

I find the most difficult problem with tendering is trying to meet up with a private excursion. As an independent, sometimes you can get up early and leave before the excursions. This happened to us in Santorini.

 

Sometimes we have to wait until all the excursions have gone first which can be very frustrating when you are an early bird and ready to get off. This happened to us in Tangiers where probably 90% of the ship were on excursions. Even the people on excrursions were frustrated. They were all told to meet at an early time and I think there were over 25 tenders of excursions. So some people with late # tenders for excursions had to wait hours.

[Taxguy77]

As mentioned above, size of the ship makes a big difference. We were on one cruise with only 222 pax, never a wait more than a few minutes. We sailed into most harbors and only tendered a few hundred yards, using ships boats except in Capri. Capri has a strong union and we got one tender that would hold about 30 people. It was well-kept, open, wooden but worked. On a larger ship, I have seen wheelchairs put on the tender with someone in it.

[DCguys]

Thanks so much for this info and especially for the pictures. We'll be tendering in Kotor and Dbrovnik only (I think) this June. I hope we have gentle seas for those ports!