Tenders on Wind Surf

[Nearpost345]

 Joining  the windsurf in March in the Caribbean, by my calculation there are ten tender stops on our 14 day cruise. Can anybody comment on speed and efficiency of the tender service.

Thank you 

 

Should add it’s our first time on the surf so any other comments much appreciated.

Edited January 16 by Nearpost345

[igooutsidesometimes]

25 minutes ago, Nearpost345 said:

 Joining  the windsurf in March in the Caribbean, by my calculation there are ten tender stops on our 14 day cruise. Can anybody comment on speed and efficiency of the tender service.

Thank you 

 

Should add it’s our first time on the surf so any other comments much appreciated.

I wouldn't say its a bad experience. We had excursions at almost every port and excursions are generally first in line for tender. They work quickly and efficiently and will load entire tenders in at a time and then immediately take off. I don't recall ever having to wait in line long and we were never late to anything. We tendered at all ports of our trip. They use the ships life boats. They can smell strongly of fuel and rock a bit. You exit out of the side of the ship and walk down stairs over the water to a small platform. Two people from the ship will assist you down into the tender. Just plan on all of your belongings being tucked away into your bag and wear sturdy shoes and you'll be okay.

 

At one point we were in Les Saints on the top of Fort Napoleon before an afternoon excursion. I realized that I left our excursion tickets on the ship with like 30 minutes until the excursion start. We ran down the mountain, tendered back to the ship, ran to our room, side tracked to grab a super quick lunch, then tendered back with a few minutes to spare before the excursion began. It helps that its a small ship and there was usually a ship staff member on excursions with us. You get to know everyone really quickly/ they get to know you. Enjoy your trip! 

[Nearpost345]

Thank for such a full response, and very reassuring too.

[Misty Morning]

On the Surf now and no tender issues. Tendered in to Anguilla and realized I had left money in my state room.  Tendered back to ship and back to shore in less than 30 mins and the tender ride was at least 10-12 minutes. In Jost Van Dyke today and they are running tenders t’il 9h30 tonight so we can go to Foxy’s. great trip so far

[Nearpost345]

Thank you Misty, great stuff. May I assume the crew are their usual awesome selves?

[Strenz]

50 minutes ago, Nearpost345 said:

Thank you Misty, great stuff. May I assume the crew are their usual awesome selves?

 

50 minutes ago, Nearpost345 said:

Thank you Misty, great stuff. May I assume the crew are their usual awesome selves?

The crew are their normal magnificence, on the Surf now too, lovely cruise. Happy Sailing 

[Misty Morning]

Crew is always amazing

[labadee70]

we havent been on the windsurf in many years.  but i remember that the way down to the tenders was a little dicey, not too sturdy.

 

can anyone who has recently on the windsurf give an update?

 

thanks

[Misty Morning]

Tendering is always a tricky operation.  On our last cruise we have a few ports with higher swells and the tendering took longer as it took people a bit of time to get the OK to get into the tender.  The tenders have been renovated and hold approx 45 guests each.  On longer tenders ports (Virgin Gorda, St Barths, Falmouth,), they sometimes run 3 tenders at the beginning.

[labadee70]

thanks misty for some feedback.  i think of the stairs then as kind of ‘rickety’.  are they better now?

[Strenz]

The stairs going to the tenders are still a bit rickety. The platforms on the motor yachts are a bit more sturdier. Nature of the beast I guess. The crew in assisting boarding the tenders are fantastic. Happy Sailing

[labadee70]

thanks strenz!

[new_cruiser]

I don't understand the comments saying the tender stairs are rickety. I find them solid enough. They are metal stairs that can be collapsed and stowed when not in use but they are sturdy. I was on Wind Surf last October/November and we tendered at a couple of ports. 

 

On 3/12/2024 at 3:41 PM, Misty Morning said:

Tendering is always a tricky operation.  On our last cruise we have a few ports with higher swells and the tendering took longer as it took people a bit of time to get the OK to get into the tender.  The tenders have been renovated and hold approx 45 guests each.  On longer tenders ports (Virgin Gorda, St Barths, Falmouth,), they sometimes run 3 tenders at the beginning.

Yes, they always do there best to make tendering efficient, but it gets challenging when the sea is a bit rougher. On our last cruise, there was one port where they kept having to pause loading or unloading because of the swell - late October in the Mediterranean. Most of the time it has been smoother than that so it's not common but it happens.

[Strenz]

8 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

I don't understand the comments saying the tender stairs are rickety. I find them solid enough. They are metal stairs that can be collapsed and stowed when not in use but they are sturdy. I was on Wind Surf last October/November and we tendered at a couple of ports. 

 

Yes, they always do there best to make tendering efficient, but it gets challenging when the sea is a bit rougher. On our last cruise, there was one port where they kept having to pause loading or unloading because of the swell - late October in the Mediterranean. Most of the time it has been smoother than that so it's not common but it happens.

Perhaps wrong word, the stairs move with the water, for people with gait or balance issues or people who need walking sticks/ canes they can be challenging. The hand rails are firm, the space between stairs going from one to the other is shorter than regular stairs. The platform goes with the water swells, but the crew are obviously well trained, patient and safety first with WS. It all depends on the fickle ocean but in the Carib. and Med. most of the time it is smooth sailing. Enjoy.