By: Jennaca Boose, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
We’re all guilty of it, we see something that doesn’t look appealing, we hear someone’s opinion on something and we subconsciously deem it true, not knowing any better or giving it any more thought. We assume things without having facts or our own experiences to base these assumptions off of. Unfortunately, this means that we may miss out on some really great things that we never even knew we were missing!
I’m guilty. For some reason, I really have no idea why, I had this preconceived notion that cruises which required you to tender to a port were nothing short of a pain. I made every attempt to avoid itineraries for myself that included ‘tendering’. Now, I’m MAD. I can’t believe how much I’ve been missing out.
Majority of the largest cruise lines stop at popular ports in the Caribbean which are equipped to accommodate multiple ships at the same time right at the dock.
When a port is not large enough to accommodate large ships directly at a dock, they require you to get on a smaller boat from your cruise ship and be brought to shore. These smaller boats are the tender boats. Don’t be fooled, the tender boats aren’t little row boats that you may be envisioning. These are some pretty big boats that are fully enclosed and can seat over 100 people!
Explora Journeys is a European luxury approach to cruising. Being onboard the new and absolutely stunning Explora 1 was one of my favorite adventures of all time. The aesthetics and attention to detail, the personal attention and service, the fabulous culinary experiences, and best of all, the off the beaten path exotic port destinations. You guessed it, majority of which were ports that required us to tender to!
Our incredible journey started in Bridgetown, Barbados and ended in San Juan, Puerto Rico. With stops in:
The process of getting onto the tender boat from the ship was seamless. Within a few easy steps, we were right onboard the tender boat with plenty of room to spread out. The longest time to shore was 13 minutes. We were taken directly to shore and parked next to yachts 10x our boats’ size. They were incredible!
Honestly, I loved it. The tendering experience was an experience in itself. We were so close to the water. We were able to see the most colorful, and distinct looking tropical birds (that looked like they were straight out of National Geographic magazine), just hanging out in their natural habitats. We were able to get beautiful views of our ship anchored in the harbor, and views of the tiny, culture rich islands that would’ve gone overlooked without tendering.
Thank you to Explora Journeys for blossoming my new found love. I do honestly believe that my most favorite destinations to visit while at sea will require a tender from here on out. You should really give it a try. If you are ready to sail with Explora, be sure to reach out to Marvelous Mouse Travels to be connected to a travel agent!
