Question about tendering

[sandravb79]

Don't fall off your chair laughing :rolleyes: but HOW does it work? You have to get off the ship in the middle of the sea onto a tender, or what? Is it any scary?

I really can't imagine how/ what it is like. :o

[uppitycats]

Don't fall off your chair laughing :rolleyes: but HOW does it work? You have to get off the ship in the middle of the sea onto a tender, or what? Is it any scary?

I really can't imagine how/ what it is like. :o

 

There is a hatch or doorway on the side of the ship that opens out. The smaller tender (they're not THAT small!) pulls up alongside, or backs into the opening. You step off the ship onto the tender and down into it. There are LOTS of crew members there to steady you. They haven't lost too many passengers, yet! :D

[akcruz]

It depends, if seas are calm it is an easy process, if the seas are not cooperating it can be very very interesting. Also, it depends on the port and how big the tenders they use are. The larger ones are much more stable than the smaller. We have had to wait a few times for the seas to calm a bit so they could get the ramps safely in place before going to or from the tender.

 

Overall, it is usually a very safe and easy process, nothing to get overly worried about.

[sandravb79]

Thank you :)

 

I've seen that person climb on/ off board, what do they call them? the person who guides the ship in/ out of port? One needs serious MacGyver skills to do that trick, haha!

 

Must go google now if we have sharks in the Med ;)

[cruznjan]

At the hatch there is a small docking area (gangway?) between the tender and the ship, so you don't really have to jump directly from ship to boat.

[cb at sea]

You're NOT getting off the ship into a rowboat!!! A tender holds more the 100 people...it's like a ferry...don't worry! It's not scary or difficult!

[sandravb79]

As said, I have never done or seen it, so I had no idea at all. :)

 

Now I have visions again of the ferry from Cozumel to the mainland. OK, notebook: must get Dramamine. Lots and lots and lots of it ;)

 

But I'm glad to know it's not like how the Pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean jump in their row boat and row to the land :)

[olemissreb]

Now I have visions again of the ferry from Cozumel to the mainland. OK, notebook: must get Dramamine. Lots and lots and lots of it ;)

 

 

Been there done that:eek: - ferry to Cozumel. I'd never gotten seasick before but I sure did that time. Got to Cozumel and had to sit at a bar and sip Sprite before we could walk around - got some Dramamine before we left but didn't take it long enough beforehand. It helped a little though.

 

We tendered in when we were in Grand Cayman. It was NOTHING like the ferry from Cozumel. Firstly we weren't "out in the middle of the ocean" and the seas were calm. The ship was maybe a 10 minute tender ride from shore - not too bad. Take the Dramamine just in case the Med is rougher, but I don't think you really have a whole lot to worry about.

[Float&Bloat]

In some ports they use the ships lifeboats for tenders. They can be a little rough in heavy seas, but the crew is very carfull

[mirgloin]

Thank you :)

 

I've seen that person climb on/ off board, what do they call them? the person who guides the ship in/ out of port? One needs serious MacGyver skills to do that trick, haha!

 

Must go google now if we have sharks in the Med ;)

 

I'm pretty sure they call them harbor pilots.

 

m.

[Retired LEO]

One leg on the ramp and one leg on the tender and hope a wave doesn't hit....:D

[A2Mich]

I'm pretty sure they call them harbor pilots.

 

m.

 

Yes, and as a matter of fact, I've done that MacGyver trick before. Years ago (in the 80's), freighters would take along a few passengers for free or very inexpensive daylong trips through the Panama Canal (and most would let you watch from out on deck or from the bridge, and also feed you lunch/snacks). The one time I did this was a Atlantic to Pacific transit, so we had to drive from Panama City to Colon at 4am, and take a pilot boat to the ship which was anchored in Gatun Lake. Enjoyed the transit, had a nice lunch, and when it was time to disembark, we joined the PanCanal pilot climbing down a rope ladder to the pilot boat....mind you the ship and pilot boat DO NOT STOP!

[Coralc]

We were on Monarch, Catalina island one year. Catalina is a tender port. We had met a nice couple, first time cruisers. Because it was pouring down rain, DH and I decided to stay onboard and have a quiet day. We ran into the new cruisers at about 3PM in the Schooner Bar. We asked if they had gone ashore?

 

She explained that no, they hadn't...they had run downstairs and tried to catch the boat in the morning, but they had missed it. It was just pulling away. :)

 

I sort of mentioned that they run multiple tenders...and her husband proclaimed loudly, "See, I told you so! We could have got on a boat" :)

[CruisingGoddess]

Does Royal Caribbean generally hand out numbers that need to be called for your group to tender? Or is it just a long line?