Samana tender?????

[delphina1]

Please tell me EOS does NOT use life boats as tender for Samana:eek:

[cb at sea]

The "lifeboats" are like ferrys...they are NOT rubber rafts!!!! They are huge and hold about 150 or more, at a time!

[vavasmom]

If EOS is Enchantment then yes - lifeboats tender to Samana. Cayo uses their own boats. These pics are from Aug '09 on Grandeur but it was the exact same Aug '10 from Enchantment

 

[Big.Sis]

That boat on the right to Cayo should be called chaos - only the first row or so of people can get on with ease. As it weighs down with people the whole dang boat bobs up and down ----- by feet!

They want you to jump into the boat. I was terrified! Could not do it. Wonder if I had, how the bejesus they would have gotten me out cause you sure can't jump up onto the EOS's boat pad!

[negc]

Please tell me EOS does NOT use life boats as tender for Samana:eek:

Why are you concerned about a procedure that most cruise ships use when they call at a port where they cannot dock and which doesn't have its own, larger boats to ferry passengers to shore? It is not an unusual or unsafe procedure and happens on almost a daily basis in any number of ports.:)

[jumbo1]

ExOS does not have it's own tenders , it relys on the port tenders.

[read52]

We went to Samana in July of this year on Enchantment of the Seas. They used the life boats like in the first picture.

[OrdieJ]

Please tell me EOS does NOT use life boats as tender for Samana:eek:

 

Why does it matter?

[delphina1]

Thank you ALL for your replies. I have only tendered to Labadee (2006) before the dock was built. (PS I was referring to Explorer of the Seas) :rolleyes:

[read52]

You do not have to tender in Labadee any more.

[RareBird]

We just came off Explorer of the seas. They used Cayo boats exclusively for all. Ship's lifeboats were not used.

 

Do not go ashore if you want to sightsee, excursions only.

[BND]

We've been to Samana twice on Explorer and both times they used local boats and not the ship's lifeboats. I've been in lifeboats on Princess and didn't like it. Too suffocating.

[InsideCruiser]

How many people do the tenders used by Explorer carry?

 

I've been asked to get a group of 30 on the same tender for a private excursion. Should I anticipate any issues?

 

Do we tale to someone in advance or just show up?

 

Thanks a bunch,

InsideCruiser

[LovesCruising]

We just came off Explorer of the seas. They used Cayo boats exclusively for all. Ship's lifeboats were not used.

 

Do not go ashore if you want to sightsee, excursions only.

 

What do you mean do not go ashore if you want to sightsee?:confused:

[dixieva]

There's not much to see right at the pier where the tender boats will take you.

[traveling1969]

There's not much to see right at the pier where the tender boats will take you.

 

I second this. There wasn't much at Samana. A few vendors in the harbor area and just a few mostly overpriced shops. We picked up a few bottles of water and headed back to the ship. If you've never been there and want to see for yourself then by all means tender in. We felt safe there even though others had said they did not. Just not much there. Bon Voyage!

[martinchem]

Our ship used local tenders too, we went to the mainland and weren't impressed, decided next time to go whale watching or stay on the ship.

[addicted2]

Thought I would offer you a suggestion on what to do while at Samana. Book the ships excursion to Cayo Levantado. It is a beautiful small island just off the coast and close to the ship. An incredible beach day. Plus since you are on an excursion you get to bypass the long lines for the tenders.

[Guest maddycat]

I agree with all of the previous posts about Samana. There isn't much to see if you decide to just walk around the area where the tenders dock. There will be many locals trying to sell tours. If you take a short, 5 - 10 minute walk there is an open air market. It was very disappointing. Table after table displayed the same merchandise. Almost everything imported from China. No local crafts at all.

 

A word about the tenders. Most do not have roofs. They go quite fast and passengers who sit along the sides of the boat end up getting very wet.

[niko40]

We were on explorer in November and we used local tenders to be honest the best part of samana was the boat trip to and from land not much to see in samana:)

[dixieva]

That boat on the right to Cayo should be called chaos - only the first row or so of people can get on with ease. As it weighs down with people the whole dang boat bobs up and down ----- by feet!

They want you to jump into the boat. I was terrified! Could not do it. Wonder if I had, how the bejesus they would have gotten me out cause you sure can't jump up onto the EOS's boat pad!

 

Thought I would offer you a suggestion on what to do while at Samana. Book the ships excursion to Cayo Levantado. It is a beautiful small island just off the coast and close to the ship. An incredible beach day. Plus since you are on an excursion you get to bypass the long lines for the tenders.

 

 

Be careful of booking the beach excursion unless you know you can jump down into the boat that will take you to the beach. I've heard this from several folks who booked this one-they couldn't get into the boat. That's why I haven't booked this-I know I can't jump down into a boat!