Posted on November 28, 2023 by Chillie Falls, updated September 17, 2024
Written by Chillie Falls, AccessAdventure.net, November 25, 2023 and WorkBoat Staff
Norwegian Cruise Lines just welcomed three new 82′ cruise tenders into their Caribbean fleet, stationed at Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. The tenders were designed by Incat Crowther and built by Singapore’s Penguin Shipyard International. 
They will transport 352 passengers from NCL cruise ships to the company’s private island resort. The main deck seats 164 people, and the upper deck accommodates the remaining 188 passengers.
Working within pre-existing infrastructure restrictions was integral to the design, as was handicap accessibility. Each vessel contains two wheelchair-accessible spaces on the main deck, a wheelchair lift to the upper deck, and a handicap-accessible toilet.
The infamous Hot Air Tom pictured the lift, and rode it once to report back to AccessAdventure.net.
In order to utilize the existing tender docks at NCL’s Great Stirrup Cay Resort, each vessel is equipped with main deck bow ramps for passenger boarding and disembarkation. However, guests may have to walk down several steps to get to the tender platform.
“Our digital shipbuilding process helped to ensure these tenders were operationally efficient, as well as providing guests with the luxury experience you would expect while on a Caribbean holiday with Norwegian Cruise Lines. The project also proves that our world-leading catamaran hull designs can be applied across multiple sectors and in almost any environment – from the open ocean to tourist transportation routes such as this one in the Bahamas,” Ed Dudson of Incat Crowther said in a statement announcing the deliveries.