What's a tender Port?

Sometimes I forget how scary my first cruise was, looking at all the different itineraries available, all the different cruise lines, all the ships and the almost indecipherable jargon that people used.
Port?
Starboard?
OBC?
Guaranteed cabins?
Inside/outside/balconies?
and tender ports!
I was talking to a first time cruiser yesterday and she mentioned her son was disabled, so, looking for a suitable itinerary I told her we'd have to watch out for tender ports.
She didn't have a clue what I was talking about, which I could understand when I came to think about it. If you've never heard the term before it can be quite confusing.
So, what's a tender port?

It's actually a very simple answer, but before I do answer it, a little background info. might help make a bit more sense of the question.
As we all know cruise ships keep getting bigger and bigger. The P&O Ventura and Azura, RCCLs Independence of the Seas and now Oasis and Allure of the Seas as well. These bigger ships are in direct relation to passenger demand for larger ships, but the problem has been that as the ships have gotten bigger and bigger they can no longer fit into some of the smaller, 'more intersting' ports, so the cruise lines have been left with two decisions.
They could either severely restrict their itineraries or they had to start offering more tender ports.

In it's simplest terms then a tender port is a small port in which a big cruise ship can't dock. Instead it will anchor out at sea and use a 'tender boat' to ferry the guests to and from the port.
The boat will normally run throughout the day at about half hour intervals, so it's not like you'll be stuck in the port if you want to get back to your ship early, although that's not always the case.

Where you have to be careful is that tender boats are much smaller than the cruise ship and you have to walk over a gang plank to get to them so some disabled passengers, particularly those in wheelchairs can struggle. It's not a massive obstacle, it just means that if you are looking to book a disabled cabin you need to put just a little more research into the itinerary. As always my best advice here, if your struggling, is to speak to your friendly neighborhood cruise specialist.

Happy cruising