Trish Berry, May 2025
Ralph Lauren Top, Banana Republic Shorts, Jellypop Tennis Shoes, Sea Pass on Laynard
You take a tender (sort of like a multi-leveled ferry) from the cruise ship to a port that is inaccessible by the ship due to environmental issues or lack of a dock for the ship to pull up to and anchor. Environmentally, the ports are surrounded by coral reefs and sea animals that are important to protect. And some ports are not large enough to accommodate the large ships now in use.
You are told what time to pick up your tender ticket by Royal Caribbean. You will be assigned a time to report to a certain deck to be ushered onto the tender. You wait elsewhere on the ship until your number is called.
The ship sits back from the island at a fair distance, but a tender ride usually takes less than ten minutes at any port.
A tender comes up to the side of the ship, is securely attached to it, and a walkway extends out from the ship to the tender. This same entrance-exit is used when people board and disembark a ship. Extension ramps are used.
Below is a photo of cruisers who are exiting the tender once it has reached the dock of the island.
Below is a photo of a tender that has its passengers on board and is leaving the large ship to go to the port of the island. We were on a tender that was returning to the ship when I took this photo.
Below is a photo us about to explore Grand Cayman, a port that uses tenders.
Tenders are safe and are well maintained. Crew members are always there to help you on and off the tenders, if you need a helping hand. It’s a pleasant ride back to the ship on a tender because the wind is blowing and you know there is air conditioning on that big ship you’re returning to.
Tender is a multi-use word. It can mean cash, caring, a person of a young age, something easily broken (such as a heart), or a bid on a job. But tender when cruising means a small boat that transfers you from a big ship to a dock of an island.
It’s always a little sad to leave a place where you have visited and had a lot of fun exploring, eating and learning about a different culture. And you always meet nice people. I took the photo below, the one with my finger in the upper left corner, as we pulled away from Grand Cayman that evening. A little sad, but looking forward to the next place we were to visit.
Safe travels. Have fun. Smile, be happy, and the whole world will know you are a contented person.