Docked or Tendered?

[TN63007]

If a boat is only Tendered, does this mean you cannot get off of the boat?

I am not sure what the difference between being Docked and Tendered is.

[wwinfl91]

A tender port means you will be transported to shore in a smaller boat, a tender, usually one of the ship's larger lifeboats but occasionally the port will have special tender boats that are used in addition to the cruise ships boats to allow the passengers to get ashore faster.

 

If you are scheduled to dock, your ship will be at a dock and you will walk off the ship to the shore.

 

Generally it takes longer to get passengers ashore at tender ports, especially if you aren't taking a ship sponsored excursion which get priority on the tenders.

 

Have a great first cruise.

[DonLou]

There are two basic reasons why tenders are used:

1. The port's docking facility is too small to accommodate the large cruise ship.

2. The number of ships visiting the port are greater than the number of available docks. Therefore one or more of the ships has to anchor offshore and have tenders ferry passengers.

 

Of course, the preference is to have the ship docked since this gives the passenger the greatest freedom.

[liv4dalord]

Is it scary getting into a small boat to go to shore? Do you get to go back to the ship anytiime you want?

[DL10]

I've never found a tender to be scary. I don't think I've ever been on a tender that held fewer than 30 people. Some are very large, with two levels.

Occassionally, if seas are choppy, people need assistance going from the cruise ship to the tender or back.

Some tenders can't accomodate people with disabilities - especially wheelchairs. Other tenders have lifts.

 

I've been on 4 cruises and I have come to really dislike tenders because I've found them terribly inconvenient. After first reaching port, sometimes we've had to take a number to get on a tender. Different cruises have handled it differently. We've had long waits to leave the ship. The worst experiences have been when we've had to tender unexpectedly - once we were supposed to dock, but another ship didn't leave so we had to tender. The ship had to make arrangement for the tenders, so it wasn't planned in advance and took a long time to get everyone off the ship who wanted to go ashore.

 

Passengers with early ship excursions get priority for the tenders. At least on some cruise lines, so do passengers with very expensive cabins and/or lots of previous cruises on the line.

 

The distance the tender has to travel also affects the time it takes. My memory is that the tender ride in Belize is short, so the tenders made the round trips quickly, and it was fairly efficient.

The tender ride in Cancun was very long (maybe 45 minutes?) and getting ashore there was a big hassle! I will probably avoid future stops in Cancun or just stay on the ship.

 

Coming back to the ship is usually easier because people vary in when they want to return, but it's possible to have to wait in line for a tender or to just miss a tender and have to wait 20 minutes in the hot sun standing on a pier for the next one.

 

Docking is so much better!!!!