Tendering

[ratsneaker]

My hubby and I are taking our first, and hopefully not last, cruise on RCL this April. Can anyone explain what "tendering" is and if one is "tendered" in Labadee and Ocho Rios?

[beachbum53]

My hubby and I are taking our first, and hopefully not last, cruise on RCL this April. Can anyone explain what "tendering" is and if one is "tendered" in Labadee and Ocho Rios?

 

A tender is a small boat that takes passengers from the ship to the port when the ship anchors off shore (because of it's size) rather than pull up to a dock. Passenger capacity can vary depending on the size of the boats used, but I think on average the capacity is 50-75. There are some that are bigger. Labadee is a tender port, but at Ocho Rios, the ship pulls up to a dock.

Edited March 14, 2014 by beachbum53

[paul929207]

Just to expand on what BeachBum said. The tendering process varies a little between cruise lines, but I think they all give priority to passengers who are on excursions booked thru the ship. Next will be any passengers with "priority" tendering. This could be passengers in suites or passengers with many prior cruises with that line. Last will be all the other passengers. People in this last group are usually told to go to a lounge when they are ready to go ashore. They are given a numbered ticket and accommodated on a tender as space allows. It usually takes 1 to 2 hours to get off all those wanting to go ashore early.

[cb at sea]

Labadee is no longer a tender port...they built a pier, so you'll be docked there. However, on every tender I've ever been on , they hold in excess of 150....so they are not that small! Think of a people ferry!

Edited March 14, 2014 by cb at sea

[CruiserBruce]

If you look on the side of the tenders, it will say their size. On our last three cruises on Holland America, the tenders said "Tender 120, Lifeboat 150".

 

The size and number of tenders varies by the passenger capacity of the ship. We were alongside a WindSurf ship tendering in Dominica. It's tenders said their capacity was 75. I have never seen such a crowded tender. People were doing everything but hanging on the outside.

Edited March 14, 2014 by CruiserBruce

[John Bull]

and expanding on Paul's post:

 

- tender ports are usually noted on ships' itineraries & the promotional material you receive prior to booking, marked "ashore by tender" or "may be ashore by tender" or similar. If it's important, double-check before committing.

 

- usually the ship's own tenders are lowered & used, sometimes local boats are used. Ships' own tenders, usually 4 to 6 of them, double as lifeboats but are more comfortable than the standard lifeboats.

 

- there's no charge to use tenders, regardless of whose boats are used. It's not the same as transfer buses, which are sometimes charged.

 

- those who don't have priority will be told where & when to get tender tickets - they're issued on a first-come, first-served basis ie low tender numbers issued first. The collection point will be a bar or theatre, not the gangway.

 

- sometimes you collect tender tickets, then go wherever you like on the ship until your tender number is called on the tannoy. If they're confident they can quickly cope with demand, some cruise lines sometimes tell you to go to the ticket collection point only when your party is ready to go ashore, then you collect your ticket & wait at that place until your number is called.

 

- after the initial rush, you can usually get a tender without a ticket.

 

- tenders run back-and-forth all day, so you can get off late or return early.

 

- you can even go back to the ship for lunch & then go ashore again, though often that's not an economic use of your time.

 

- there's no priority for tenders back to the ship, you simply join the line at the jetty. Might be a long line, might be no line at all.

 

- instead of a latest "back-on-board time" (usually 30 minutes before the advertised sailing time) you'll be told the "last tender time", usually that's an hour before the advertised sailing time. This is the latest time you should be at the jetty, ready to board a tender - it's not the time you have to be back on the ship, so you don't need to allow for lines at the jetty or the time it takes to get to the ship. And if there's still a line on the jetty at "last tender time", the tenders will continue past that time to mop-up the line. No worries, you won't be left on the jetty. ;)

 

- tenders can be problematic for those in wheelchairs. I've seen folk lifted into tenders (strictly, that's against the rules) & I've seen folk refused boarding of a tender in identical circumstances.

 

- tender ports are less reliable that berthed ports. In heavy weather, or even big swells (where the tender rises & falls on waves of several feet) the captain may deem it unsafe to use tenders - so you won't be able to go ashore.

 

- for most folk, ashore by tender is fun a time or two, then it can become a bit of a bind.

 

- sorry, not computer-savvy. But hopefully others can post photos.

 

JB :)

Edited March 14, 2014 by John Bull

[leaveitallbehind]

A tender is a small boat that takes passengers from the ship to the port when the ship anchors off shore (because of it's size) rather than pull up to a dock. Passenger capacity can vary depending on the size of the boats used, but I think on average the capacity is 50-75. There are some that are bigger. Labadee is a tender port, but at Ocho Rios, the ship pulls up to a dock.

 

Labadee has not been a tender port since 2010 and has a pier that can handle Oasis class ships.

 

Most are much bigger. It would be very inefficient to shuttle 2,500+ (minimum) guests ashore 50 - 75 at a time. In our experience, RCI tenders hold a couple of hundred people or more each, several in rotation at a time, depending on tender port.

Edited March 14, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[beachbum53]

Labadee has not been a tender port since 2010 and has a pier that can handle Oasis class ships.

 

Most our bigger. RCI tenders hold a couple of hundred people depending on tender port. The size you indicate would be extremely small and not the case in our experience.

 

 

Well, thanks leaveitall, but it's been a few years since we've been to Labadee. Last time we were there, a dock hadn't been built, so tendering was the norm. Maybe I should have chosen a larger average number (for those that are nit-picky), but I did say that passenger capacity can vary. It depends on who's doing the tendering.

[leaveitallbehind]

Well, thanks leaveitall, but it's been a few years since we've been to Labadee. Last time we were there, a dock hadn't been built, so tendering was the norm. Maybe I should have chosen a larger average number (for those that are nit-picky), but I did say that passenger capacity can vary. It depends on who's doing the tendering.

 

Wasn't nit picking, just providing updated and accurate information for the OP, as Labadee was mentioned and having been there several times since the pier was constructed - last week being the most recent.

 

....and you're welcome. :)

Edited March 14, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[RoxnDox]

Another first-timer here, with a followup question. Do passengers board the lifeboat/tender up on deck and then get lowered to the water, or do you board off a dock platform or something next to the ship (i.e. does the tender have to be raised/lowered constantly...)? I'm fine either way, but the wife (definitely NOT a small-boat-person) wouldn't be happy with that choice...

 

We're doing a Princess to Alaska this summer, I don't think we'll be needing to do this, but asking just in case. Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Victoria :-)

 

 

Thanks!

 

Jim

[GTO-Girl]

Another first-timer here, with a followup question. Do passengers board the lifeboat/tender up on deck and then get lowered to the water, or do you board off a dock platform or something next to the ship (i.e. does the tender have to be raised/lowered constantly...)? I'm fine either way, but the wife (definitely NOT a small-boat-person) wouldn't be happy with that choice...

 

We're doing a Princess to Alaska this summer, I don't think we'll be needing to do this, but asking just in case. Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Victoria :-)

 

 

Thanks!

 

Jim

 

You board the tenders from the lower deck where it is pulled right up to the ship. There will be a secured ramp and platform and crew members will be there to help you both on and off the tender.

 

These are not tiny boats, these will be vessels that hold 150 + people at a time.

[sparky-elpaso]

Another first-timer here, with a followup question. Do passengers board the lifeboat/tender up on deck and then get lowered to the water, or do you board off a dock platform or something next to the ship (i.e. does the tender have to be raised/lowered constantly...)? I'm fine either way, but the wife (definitely NOT a small-boat-person) wouldn't be happy with that choice...

 

We're doing a Princess to Alaska this summer, I don't think we'll be needing to do this, but asking just in case. Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Victoria :-)

 

 

Thanks!

 

Jim

 

A majority of the time the ship will use the lifeboats as tenders (sometimes there might be a local ferry). The crew lower the boats into the water once the ship anchors - a nice photo op if you're up early enough. Then a platform is opened up from the side of the ship. These pics were actually taken when they stowed the platform but it works the same way.

 

 

 

 

Then you go down a stairway to the tender. Crew members are there to give you a hand if you need it. Safety is always at the top of their list. This was on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas but it works pretty much the same way on all ships.

 

[RoxnDox]

Perfect, thank you both! The pics ought to reassure her :-)

 

Jim

[sparky-elpaso]

Perfect, thank you both! The pics ought to reassure her :-)

 

Jim

 

You're welcome. It can be hard to visualize if you've never been on a ship.

 

A good photo op can be if the crew does any kind of training with the boats - then they lower a few of the boats, run them around for a few minutes, and then raise them back into place.

 

Tell your wife to stop watching "Titanic". :D:D:D

[RoxnDox]

You're welcome. It can be hard to visualize if you've never been on a ship.

 

A good photo op can be if the crew does any kind of training with the boats - then they lower a few of the boats, run them around for a few minutes, and then raise them back into place.

 

Tell your wife to stop watching "Titanic". :D:D:D

 

Heh - neither of us has ever seen the movie (after all, we know how it ends :cool:)... It would make for nice photos watching them do drills.

 

Jim

[Lerin]

 

We're doing a Princess to Alaska this summer, I don't think we'll be needing to do this, but asking just in case. Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Victoria :-)

 

 

Thanks!

 

Jim

None of those ports use tenders.

[CruiserBruce]

None of those ports use tenders.

 

Juneau does occasionally, a few times a season, when it is very busy.

[RoxnDox]

Somwhere in an Alaska thread, there was a link to a website with the calendar of ships scheduled for each port. There are 4 on the list for Juneau the day we are there, but ours is the earliest of the day. So I won't spend much time letting her worry about it ;)

 

Jim

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Krazy Kruizers]

A majority of the time the ship will use the lifeboats as tenders (sometimes there might be a local ferry). The crew lower the boats into the water once the ship anchors - a nice photo op if you're up early enough. Then a platform is opened up from the side of the ship. These pics were actually taken when they stowed the platform but it works the same way.

 

 

 

 

Then you go down a stairway to the tender. Crew members are there to give you a hand if you need it. Safety is always at the top of their list. This was on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas but it works pretty much the same way on all ships.

 

 

Great pictures.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Juneau does occasionally, a few times a season, when it is very busy.

 

Somwhere in an Alaska thread, there was a link to a website with the calendar of ships scheduled for each port. There are 4 on the list for Juneau the day we are there, but ours is the earliest of the day. So I won't spend much time letting her worry about it ;)

 

Jim

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

A couple of times -- on HAL -- we were not scheduled to tender in Juneau -- but we did.

 

Check out the list here:

 

http://claalaska.com/schedules.html

[Mytime2014]

thanks for the explanation of tenders...I couldn't get a visual in my head and all I could think about was a post somewhere about a woman saying you had to climb down the ropes!! :confused:

Now I knew it wasn't that, but now I know!

[ozpom51]

Is there any way of finding which ports are tender ports?

[chengkp75]

Is there any way of finding which ports are tender ports?

 

Your cruise itinerary will show which ports are tendered. If you mean finding out in advance which are tendered, then basically no. You can glean a lot of gold here on the threads, if searching for "tendering" about which ports tender. However, some ports will have some ships docked, and some ships anchored. A lot depends on which ship gets there first, which line has a better contract with the port, which ship fits at the dock, many things.

[John Bull]

Is there any way of finding which ports are tender ports?

 

Itineraries are available on the internet, from the cruise lines or T/As, so you can check before you book.

Tender ports will normally be marked "ashore by tender" or "may be ashore by tender" or a little anchor.

Some ports are never tendered, some are always tendered (there's no berths).

Some, as Ozpom's post, will have ships which tender & some which port. In many cases these will be tender ports for larger ships, often the regular visitors are berthed.

But some will depend on other circumstances such as tides & which other ships are in port and they're more difficult to predict - sometimes decisions are made at the last minute, depending on the weather & sea-state. These are all normally the ones shown as "may be ashore by tender".

 

There was one celebrated case, can't remember the ship or the port but the captain berthed a new ship for its first visit to the port. He was later concerned that an exceptionally low tide was due & that he may touch-bottom. So in the middle of the day he moved to an anchorage off-shore & launched tenders.

So when passengers exploring independently returned, as they approached the port they saw their ship off-shore & panicked that they'd mis-understood the back-on-board time. I guess there was some damp underwear as a result :D

 

JB :)

Edited April 28, 2014 by John Bull

[leaveitallbehind]

Is there any way of finding which ports are tender ports?

 

The information already provided regarding it being shown on the cruise itinerary on the cruise line website is accurate. But from experience I can offer the following as docking, or non-tender ports:

 

Nassau, Bahamas

Key West, FL

San Juan, PR

Labadee, Haiti (RCI private destination)

St. Thomas

St. Martin

St. Kitts

St. Lucia

Antiqua

Barbados

Curacao

Aruba

Falmouth / Ocho Rios / Montego Bay, Jamaica

Cozumel

Bermuda

Cartegena, Columbia

Colon, Panama

 

The only Caribbean tender ports I have experience with would be:

 

CocoCay (private island for RCI)

Grand Cayman