This morning the captain, determined to allow us to visit the cook islands, maneuvered the ship from 7AM till noon to position the ship for tender. (It is a port often missed because of swells.) Most of us had presumed we would not make our visit today. Therefore, we were delighted when the captain announced we had docked and the tendering process would begin shortly.
I took pleasant circle island tour and came back to find a tender boat caught in the reef.
Unfortunately, we were situated on a remote side of a very small, sparsely inhabited island. As a result, there was very little help available.
Some guests left the stranded tender by jumping in the water and wading to shore wearing life jackets. Others were trapped and waited for rowboat rescue or tugboat pulling tender two hours later. I would've been one of those who were stranded.
It was quite the harrowing experience for those who were trapped for more than three hours. It was nice to see so many people come to their rescue.
Below, is a photo of two of the women who were trapped the entire time. They were satisfied with how the cruise line did their best to rescue them.
I saw the captain shaking his head and promising he'll never come here again because there are often problems.
He came back to the ship in our tender. He seemed relieved the problem was resolved. Thankfully, we did not have to leave an expensive tender boat on this tiny remote island in the middle of the South Pacific.
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