Using Tenders at Ports
How to get on and off the ship at Tender Ports
Sun Princess Tenders
Using a ship's tender to go ashore
The Sun Princess has four tenders which can carry up to 150 passengers when functioning as a lifeboat, however when being used as a tender the limit is 90 seated passengers.
They are not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination and are purely functional in their finish in keeping with their primary role. Neither are they air-conditioned and usually have poor ventilation which can be a real problem in tropical ports.
The Sun Princess has 4 tenders each fitted with powerful twin diesels which manage to push these less than "streamline" craft up to 8 kts. They are stowed above the Promenade Deck along with the rest of the lifeboats, and when required they are swung outboard on gantries and lowered down 5 decks into the water.
On the cruise we went on they were manned by 3 crew, some with varying boat handling skills.
On the Sun Princess specialised boarding platforms (akin to a small jetty) fold out from the side of the ship from Deck 4 about 1.5 metres (4') above the waterline. The tenders tie up to these "jetties" and passengers in smooth conditions generally just step across into the tender.
In calm weather it is a simple step across from the tender to the ship.
In some ports where the ship cannot anchor closer to shore additional vessels are chartered from the local port to increase the capacity to move passengers ashore as the return trip of the tenders with 90 passengers at a time is insufficient. The quality of these can vary considerably!
This Hydrofoil tender used at Vung Tau last year proved interesting to board!
It did do 30kts though when you managed board it, and it was air-conditioned and had Vietnamese TV.
When using tenders immigration and customs formalities usually occur on board the ship in the reception area leading to the tender platforms.
Did you know!
Some of the more interesting ports are only accessible by tender. You should always make the effort to go ashore even if it is only to get off the tender and return on the next one. You will at least get a taste of the port and it is an adventure on some of the chartered vessels.
