For those readers (thank you for being a reader) who have never traveled on a cruise with a tender port, here's the process. You will also get tons of information in your cabin explaining how your particular cruise line and ship will handle things once onboard. There are two ways for any cruiser to get their turn on a tender - be an early bird and report to the ticket pickup location to get a ticket or book a ship sponsored excursion and your entire tour group will be led to the tender together. If you choose the ticket route, you are "encouraged" to stay away from the gangway until your ticket number is called. NCL had a slight addition that I'd never seen in that if you wanted to get off between 7AM and 7:45AM, you could skip the ticket process and get right on the next available tender. For this sailing, tender ticket pickup was available in Pink's Champagne Bar starting at 6:30AM for those wishing to go ashore after 7:45AM. RCL and Princess offer skipping the tender ticket process to those with a high enough loyalty level or for suite guests in the form of either tickets that say "Priority tendering" left in your cabin in the case of Princess or in the case of RCL, your suite genie or concierge can escort you down whenever you're ready to go. For us, Spencer offered to arrange an escort onto the tender but we had booked an NCL excursion for today.
Today we arrived in Kona at 7AM and the last tender to come back on board was 5PM. We had time to kill this morning since our tour was a short one that didn't leave until mid morning. Off to Cagney's for breakfast where I finally tried a cup of fresh berries. One of the perks I suppose of such an itinerary, fresh fruit consistently throughout the cruise. Usually you find by the last part of your trip, the fruit offerings are looking less than stellar if there wasn't a place to restock. I also went with the simple order of fried eggs, sausage and hash browns to fuel me up. A little bit of carb loading with some toast today.
Adam and Amy had originally booked the Captain Zodiac Raft, Snorkel, and Dolphin Adventure NCL excursion for today but after a couple days of busy activity, they got burnt out on the idea of "another" snorkeling trip and cancelled in favor of enjoying the day on board. Make sure if you decide to cancel an excursion once onboard that you double check the time you'd need to cancel before in order to get a refund. Some of the excursions like those with helicopters require more time than a city tour or beach transfer.
We made our way to the theater after breakfast as it was the meeting place for our excursion. At this point when it comes to cruising I love focusing on the more unique tour opportunities rather than the average tours. So I was really excited to discover NCL offering a tour titled Magical Seahorse Discovery. We had a relatively small group that probably could have fit a mini bus like we'd had with Roberts Hawaii but this time we got a large motorcoach. Since we were on a ship excursion, we were all led as a group to the tender gangway and of course had a bit of a wait to stand in line. One of the cruise staff was manning the podium and thus the velvet rope blocking people until it was time to board. He kept the crowd entertained by making jokes including announcing that if anyone had lost their stack of $20 bills held together by a rubber band, they could come see him to claim the rubber band. He then called a fellow cruise staff member over and announced to everyone that the tenders were delayed because a dolphin had just given birth and they were working to make sure they steered clear of the area. Everyone bought into it as he went on with his story by urging everyone to be quiet and listen for the baby dolphin's cries. As the crowd hushed, the other cruise staff member he'd called over let out this high pitched dolphin esque squeal and even the officers standing nearby jumped at the sound. We all laughed our way onto the tender soon after. Most cruise lines use their own lifeboats as tenders and in this case we were quite packed in. Thankfully the ride while bumpy was short.
We were able to find our bus easily once on shore and soon we were off. Our driver did a good job telling us about the area as he drove. Once we pulled up to the farm, a rep from the facility came on board the bus to explain that everyone would be getting a name tag and then needed to report to the outdoor sinks so we could wash up to our elbows before touching any seahorses. The first rep moved down the bus rows asking our name and handing over our name tags to wear and then we got to leave the bus to grab a paper towel from the bus driver. Then we stood in line next to three sinks washing with the same liquid hand soap you buy at the store and then drying off with the paper towel. While this was obviously not truly sterile since we touched everything around the farm leading up to touching the actual seahorses, the guide who came out once we were done washing explained that it was to get rid of lotions or sunblock more than germs or bacteria.
I was a little surprised after reading up on the facility prior to booking when our guide told us that their mission was mostly to breed and raise seahorses to try and ensure that those who buy from them for their home fish tanks get healthy seahorses that live their fullest lives rather than depleting the ones in the wild who do not fare as well in home tanks. Our first stop was a ramp leading down to a pond enclosure. Our guide dipped a few cups into the pond water to show us that what was living in this water was the food they use for the seahorses.
Next we were led into a warehouse style building where pictures weren't allowed because these seahorse tanks were either babies or mating and the camera disruption could cause them to break their learned patterns. Here before entering, we had to each step onto doormats that held a layer of cleansing solution so that our shoes could be disinfected. To look at the mat, it just looks like it recently rained but once you step on it, you do squish into the solution. It was not so soaking that you were stuck with wet feet but I'd suggest not choosing flip flips, sandals, or nice shoes for this tour. There was enough space in between the rows of tanks that we could move in single file and peek inside. They'd provided enough cups next to tanks that held a little bit of food so that each person could grab a cup and dump it into the tank it was next to in order to watch the seahorses discover it and suck it into their mouths.
Then we moved on to tanks that were outside but covered from above by tarps. Some of the tanks also had black drapes over them but our guide had us all huddle around a couple tanks while she lifted the drape back. Inside were baby seahorses and she showed us that they use small vessels to hold sea monkeys (yes like the ones you could order from the back of the comic books) for feeding the seahorses.
All those little lines that look like scratches on the plastic are the sea monkeys swimming around.
Next up was another staple of a seahorse diet - seaweed - and it was not only grown in vats here at the farm but we were encouraged to grab ourselves a sample. It was incredibly salty and the farm was prepared with a dispenser of water and cups for everyone to help themselves afterwards.
Next it was feeding time and we got to participate in dumping what looked more like a melted gelatin solution to feed the seahorses in the next group of tanks. Our guide explained that the food solution looked like this because it was frozen and they do that to make it thick enough to stick around in the water so the seahorses can find it.
Our last stop outside was the highlight everyone had been waiting for - the chance to hold a seahorse yourself. They have you come over one by one next to one of the employees. Since the seahorses love the comfort and safety of being wrapped around coral or each other, we were instructed to submerge our hands into the tank and bring them together in what looks like a loose version of giving someone your hands for them to step into for a lift up. This is to mimic coral so the seahorse will feel safe and secure having something to wrap around but not feel trapped. When your hands are ready, the employee reaches in to remove a seahorse from the coral inside the tank and gently wraps it around your finger. You must keep your hands still and open while holding the seahorse.
This is why they have a rule about anyone younger than four being able to do the holding part. I was surprised that being sea creatures, the seahorses did not feel sticky or slimy on my hand. In fact with your hands submerged, you can barely even feel them on your hands. You can hold them as long as you like and take as many pictures of the moment as you like. Another employee came out to a second tank to help ensure everyone got a chance to hold one.
After we had our turns we were instructed to head inside the building where there were several tanks lining the walls featuring the wide variety of seahorses. Our guide joined us once everyone had had their turn and held up a baggie of water containing two plastic seahorse squirt guns. This was to show, she explained, how the seahorses are sent to you always in pairs when you place an order for your home tank.
What do you do for a living? Oh I make Poopoopaper. Umm, don't think the relatives back home want that kind of souvenir.
While most of the time Dad follows me around gift shops bored out of his mind and nitpicking over everything I consider buying, he kept reassuring me that I could have bought something here and didn't I want to get something from the gift shop? Yeah Dad, I traveled all this way to get a seahorse shaped bath toy. We didn't stay long in the shop as a handful of our tour members went crazy over each thing they discovered and we kept getting blocked in wherever we'd turn. It was too small and crowded a space especially when a couple families showed up to book their tour that it was getting too hot to stay inside. Thankfully there were picnic tables and another dispenser and cups for water so we could sit in the shade while we waited for our bus to return. Our bus came back right around the time he said he would and it was a quick ride back to the pier.
A tall testament to past visitors' approval of having to wear name tags while doing the tour.
Customary photo of the ship from the pier:
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