Quick question about tendering in Sth Pacific

[clairebearinaus]

Hi,

 

I'm on the countdown to my Voyager of the Seas Xmas cruise.  

 

My elderly mum isn't too keen on going ashore on a tender, she thinks a hot, cramped, airless boat will make her sick.  I'm going to try to coax her into having a go, if it's a calm day.  She'll probably be taking seasick meds anyway.

 

Of the 3 islands we're visiting - Lifou, Mare and Mystery Island, which would you recommend as having the shortest, and most likely smoothest tender ride?  

 

Thanks

Claire

[SinbadThePorter]

You won't know until you get there.

 

It will depend on the direction of swell, height of the chop, strength/direction of the wind and anchoring position of the ship.

 

Wait until you get there and let your mum assess how she feels about it. Once everybody gets going ashore, she may get caught up in the mood. I would suggest waiting for a late morning tender, which should be less crowded.

 

Without wanting to make too many unwarranted assumptions I'm assuming your mum is not the active type. So if she went ashore she would probably be sitting on the beach in the shade of a palm tree. On that basis it's no tragedy to stay on board and enjoy the nearly empty ship by sitting by the pool in the shade with a drink in her hand or going to the spa.

Edited December 3, 2019 by SinbadThePorter

[By The Bay]

From my times to those Islands Mare and Mystery Island are about 15 minutes.

[lyndarra]

9 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

You won't know until you get there.

 

It will depend on the direction of swell, height of the chop, strength/direction of the wind and anchoring position of the ship.

 

Wait until you get there and let your mum assess how she feels about it. Once everybody gets going ashore, she may get caught up in the mood. I would suggest waiting for a late morning tender, which should be less crowded.

 

Without wanting to make too many unwarranted assumptions I'm assuming your mum is not the active type. So if she went ashore she would probably be sitting on the beach in the shade of a palm tree. On that basis it's no tragedy to stay on board and enjoy the nearly empty ship by sitting by the pool in the shade with a drink in her hand or going to the spa.

Under a shady tree yes, palm tree no - falling coconuts.😱🤕

[Chiliburn]

Don’t bother trying with mare stay on the ship.

 Mystery island is a must.

[Russell21]

7 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

Don’t bother trying with mare stay on the ship.

 Mystery island is a must.

It would be hell trying to push a wheelchair through the coral sand on Mystery Island. Lifou might be the best, take her up the hill to the overpriced souvenirs and then take her back down to the beach, good road surface all the way.

[possum52]

8 minutes ago, Russell21 said:

It would be hell trying to push a wheelchair through the coral sand on Mystery Island. Lifou might be the best, take her up the hill to the overpriced souvenirs and then take her back down to the beach, good road surface all the way.

The OP doesn’t say her mother is in a wheel chair. She may be quite capable of walking on the coral sand. I think Mystery Island would be the best one to go ashore.

 

Leigh

[Chiliburn]

Nothing mentioned about a wheelchair just the tender ride.

 

[Russell21]

Yes I mistakenly assumed the wheelchair.

 

[Suzi66]

While I haven't been to Mare, an image that might give you an idea as to how close it is between the ship and where the tenders come in at Lifou

 

Mystery Island was quite close as well, but I don't have an image with both to show you but this could show you how the ship is compared to the island.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Some ships have tender boats with seating on the roof which could be an option if your mother is agile enough to get up there. Also sitting just aft of the door opening, or in the forward section if the hatches are open, helps. Look at where the tender pilot is sitting - that tells you which is forward.

[possum52]

As an earlier post suggested, leave it to later to go onshore, that way the tenders shouldn't be too busy and there will more room for passengers. 

 

11 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Some ships have tender boats with seating on the roof which could be an option if your mother is agile enough to get up there. Also sitting just aft of the door opening, or in the forward section if the hatches are open, helps. Look at where the tender pilot is sitting - that tells you which is forward.

 

I usually try to sit near the door opening if possible or near an open hatch as I'm prone to seasickness but never felt unwell on the tender. The worst tender ride we had was at Benoa, Bali. The jetty is a long way from where the ship anchors. We were on an early tender as we had a ship's excursion booked so it was packed full of passengers. We unfortunately were almost the last passengers on board the tender and didn't have much choice of seating. We were at the aft of the tender and the back windows were open. As the seas were a little rough and the tender was going at quite a decent speed, there was a lot of bounce and the water was coming in the windows all over us. We were all quite wet by the time we landed! I didn't feel in the least seasick though.

 

Leigh

 

[By The Bay]

Here is a Photo taken at Mystery Island.

[OzKiwiJJ]

20 hours ago, possum52 said:

 

I usually try to sit near the door opening if possible or near an open hatch as I'm prone to seasickness but never felt unwell on the tender. The worst tender ride we had was at Benoa, Bali. The jetty is a long way from where the ship anchors. We were on an early tender as we had a ship's excursion booked so it was packed full of passengers. We unfortunately were almost the last passengers on board the tender and didn't have much choice of seating. We were at the aft of the tender and the back windows were open. As the seas were a little rough and the tender was going at quite a decent speed, there was a lot of bounce and the water was coming in the windows all over us. We were all quite wet by the time we landed! I didn't feel in the least seasick though.

 

Leigh

 

I don't usually get seasick but have had a couple of tender rides where I ended up feeling nauseous, both times because of problems docking the tender against the ship in bouncy seas.

 

I also got drenched on one tender ride. I was sitting near the open door and the sea was starting to get a bit rough. The tender turned out of the channel towards the ship just as a large swell hit the side of it. Luckily I was just wearing bathers and a sarong! It certainly cooled me off nicely. 

[clairebearinaus]

Thanks so much for the replies, especially the photos which are helpful.  

 

I think we'll see things look on the day.  I also have a photo from a cruise to Lifou and the ship is anchored much further out than it is in Suzi's photo above, it must depend on tide and weather.

 

Either way I'll be sure to keep Mum away from falling coconuts 😁

[The_Big_M]

56 minutes ago, clairebearinaus said:

 

I think we'll see things look on the day.  I also have a photo from a cruise to Lifou and the ship is anchored much further out than it is in Suzi's photo above, it must depend on tide and weather.

 

 

 

Yes, they take differing positions depending on the local conditions. They also may change location while there over the course of the day, as winds and ocean conditions change.

[sweetp12]

We don't tender much - but one thing we used was a hand held usb fan.  We used small ones that ran off a battery pack:

Or you could get a handheld misting fan from Kmart for about $5.  These will make a big difference.  

 

One of the key reasons we stopped going ashore was my husband struggled with the return trip - you would often have to queue for 30-45 min waiting to get back on a tender.  There was often no shade and never anywhere to sit, so you might want to consider just a small time ashore so that you beat the crowds returning.  

 

Just a tip on the sea sickness medication - take it just before bed time.  Not only will it help her sleep but it will mean that she won't be dozy the next day but still will be effective!