melkara Posted July 22, 2004 #1 Share Posted July 22, 2004 I was wondering how you board a tender boat..... This one has me kind of perplexed...is it just a straight walk from the **** to the tender boat..or do you climb a ladder...or climb a rail...lol..I know it might sound silly but to someone who has never been on a cruise before this has been on my mind lately.... melkara :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melkara Posted July 22, 2004 Author #2 Share Posted July 22, 2004 lol...i typed the word SHIP and it blocked it out...did it think i was referring to something bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASM Posted July 22, 2004 #3 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Maybe you hit the wrong button! To board a tender you usually meet in a show lounge, etc. and get a number. When yours is called you walk to the gangway door usually used when docking and a nice steward helps you step up or down a step into a covered motorized lifeboat. When its filled it takes you to the actual dock and you get off. Very simple really but be one of the first if you want to get onshore quickly. To return, just board a waiting tender (for your ship of course). If you take the last one back be sure to be there early also. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo's Mom Posted July 22, 2004 #4 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Melkara...... The Tender boat will actually be one of the many lifeboats that belongs to your ship! It's fun! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish1c Posted July 22, 2004 #5 Share Posted July 22, 2004 I'm not the most sure footed person when it comes to transferring between 2 moving / rocking vessels. There are metal handrails on the gangway & people on both sides to help steady you. It's a fairly easy process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springtxbill Posted July 22, 2004 #6 Share Posted July 22, 2004 The tenders actually can take wheelchairs aboard.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiseador Posted July 22, 2004 #7 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Do you have to book an excursion (with the ship) in order to tender to the island? We're tendering in Belize. How many people do the tender boats hold? Does it take a long time to tender everyone that's going on land? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish1c Posted July 22, 2004 #8 Share Posted July 22, 2004 anyone can tender. If you booked an early excursion through the cruise you get priority tender & get off first. I think they hold about 200-250 people but remember there are 10x that many plus crew on your ship. The tenders run steadily throughout the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiseador Posted July 22, 2004 #9 Share Posted July 22, 2004 One last thing....how long in general does it take to tender from the ship into the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springtxbill Posted July 22, 2004 #10 Share Posted July 22, 2004 The tender in Belize is about a 20 minute ride (plus loading and unloading time) if I remember correctly. The ship must stay well offshore due to the reef. Most other tender runs are probably about 5 minutes of run time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted July 22, 2004 #11 Share Posted July 22, 2004 The only port i have been to that tendered is Grand Cayman and the ships do not use their own lifeboats. Cayman uses their own tender boats. (they are like large ferries. I dont know what kind of tender Belize offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeckCadet Posted July 22, 2004 #12 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Some ships use the tender lifeboats (usually twin propeller design, slightly smaller capacity) some use independent boats (up to 300-400 if full) or both. Lifeboats of normal capacity on the carnival Fantasy class hold 150 people including up to 7 crew, but tenders hold only 145 (138 pax 7 crew in emergency situations) It is usually a step across, a bit up or a bit down. You might have to take stairs to the top deck of a non-ship's tender of a two level type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo's Mom Posted July 22, 2004 #13 Share Posted July 22, 2004 ...and as someone mentioned a bit earlier.... the crew is right there to help everyone onto the tender. And I bet that if you needed two crew members to help you...they would be glad to do that. I am sure that a large part of their "safety training"...is for no passenger to be injured while boarding this tender! Don't worry. The crew will be there to aid you. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imsulin Posted July 22, 2004 #14 Share Posted July 22, 2004 On my Holland America cruises to Grand Cayman, the ship used its lifeboats for tendering every time. FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudge's mom Posted July 22, 2004 #15 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Tendering isn't a big deal unless you have time constraints. If you book you own excursion, make sure you book it later in the morning - in case of any tendering problems. If you are not doing anything specific in port, just have a nice relaxing breakfast and let those who have excursions get off first - after that, there is no need for a tender ticket because tenders run all day. Getting off and on can be a little tedious, but there are strong arms on both sides of the plant who will just about lift you onto the tender if need be. Don't worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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