Self Guided Excursion Problems?

My wife and I were recently on a Northern Europe cruise (part of the 2017 WC on the Sea) from Dover to NY. We went on a 'self-guided' excursion to the North Cape in Norway (beautiful, by the way!). To make a long story short, we (apparently) misread the time to return to the bus and were (perhaps) a couple of minutes late in returning -- to find that the bus was gone. There had been no effort by the driver or the 'escort' of the tour to attempt to find us, according to others on the bus. When we went to the ShoreEx people after we did return (from our own resources), they didn't seem to care and when I had a call from the Princess HQ in Santa Clarita, they pretty much said the same thing -- that they don't wait for people that are late and we were out of luck (that we were going to agree to disagree...). Does anyone else have any experience of this sort? We have cruised with Princess for twenty years and well over 200 days, and have never had this treatment before. We are certainly through with ANY Princess shore excursions and are contemplating moving on to other lines.

On every excursion we have been on,the driver will usually wait a few minutes for stragglers.I can only assume that you were more than a few minutes late or the driver was on a strict schedule.It is no different than being late for a sailing.The rest of the world can't be put on hold for those that can't be on time!

We've never "missed the bus", but we try and arrive a few minutes before we are supposed to be back. If we are late, we wouldn't expect the bus driver to look for us. As adults, we are responsible for returning to the bus on time, or making our own arrangements to get back to the ship.

Wait, you are expecting Princess to do something for you because YOU were late? What exactly were you hoping for in response when you called them?

By "self guided" do you mean the Princess Shorex where you were taken to North Cape, let off the bus, and told to be back at xx o'clock as we were? Or was it a private tour?

If the former than I think the reason was that there was a very tight timetable as the buses would have been used for another trip later in the day.

Did you speak with the excursion manager onboard?

On a previous Princess' on your own Rome tour, the guide discovered an incomplete passenger count on the bus at the parking building. She went back to the agreed meeting place to see but was still not there. Our co-passengers became impatient so the bus had to leave upon the guide's return, leavng the missing passenger. Heard the guide spoke with someone on her radio sayng we left a passenger in Rome.

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Have been on tours where people were left when they did not make it to the meeting point on time.

Just as I have been on cruises where the ship left, leaving passengers behind when they were late.

Sometimes the guide/bus driver/ship captain has some leeway to wait or search, other times they do not.

I agree with the position taken by Princess. Or as one tour guide once told a group I was part of "if you are early you are on time, if you are on time you are late, and if you are late you are finding your own way to the next stop.

In June, we did the Princess coach excursion to North Cape. The information provided with the tour ticket and by the Princess escort [a production show dancer], were very explicit - be on time or it's your dime [or NOK] for a return trip to the port/ship. We did a mid-day bus trip, about 3 hours in total time. When we left the North Cape building, we headed to the large parking area reserved for buses and got back onto the correct bus with about 10 minutes to spare. Everyone was on time and we left as scheduled - no escort from the ship on the return trip. I noticed that Princess had reserved a number of buses, each with a staggered schedule for later return trips. The buses were lined up side by side - easy to locate by number.

When we got back onto the ship, I learned that the local bus company provides trip to and from North Cape throughout the day - much less than the ship's offering and allowed for extended time at the Cape. Wish I had known this before as we would like to have hiked the area and done a later return.

We have been on over 100 cruises, booking both ship and many private tours - never once did we miss the bus or ship.

Darcy

I'm sorry this happened to you. We had something kind of similar but it was not a Princess excursion but private. We couldn't find our way back to the bus and calling the company's emergency number got me a voice mail (we still had time left to get to bus but needed directions). We had to pay a taxi for our way back. I'm saying this because I know the sinking feeling and the not wanting to miss the ship.

What I don't understand is the feeling that after 20 years and 200 days on Princess this would cause you to look at another cruise line. If you like Princess then cruise Princess. If you want something different then try another line. I think any issue that happens could have a different result depending on whom you spoke with. Same issue on another ship (talking to different people) or on another day in Customer Service could be a totally different result. Does not matter the cruise line.

Late is late there is no such thing as a few minutes late. We always double check the meeting place location and the return time .. Was on a tour which the guide said the bus would not wait for late comers , at the first stop 4 people were late and were left behind. Next stop at return time everyone was back early , lesson learned.

Every Princess tour we have been on the bus waits a short time if all passengers are not present. If you really were only a few mins, which I read as 5 mins. or less, the bus should have waited. At North Cape there are many Princess tour buses where you should have received some assistance. We took a private tour to North Cape and were very satisfied. But, there are limited private tours available. We were booked about a year in advance. At other ports we join the roll call and have taken many private tours with great success.

On every excursion we have been on,the driver will usually wait a few minutes for stragglers.I can only assume that you were more than a few minutes late or the driver was on a strict schedule.It is no different than being late for a sailing.The rest of the world can't be put on hold for those that can't be on time!

We were at most a few minutes late and, as I stated above, we were told by one of the other passengers that the driver did not wait at all.

We were at most a few minutes late and, as I stated above, we were told by one of the other passengers that the driver did not wait at all.

We have been on Princess excursions where people were left behind.....once was in Viet Nam and once in Buenos Aires.....it does happen and I would not expect them to wait if we were told to be back at the bus by a certain time but we were not.....it becomes our problem not theirs the way I would look at it.....:halo:

It was the local tour operator who left you behind, not Princess, so you can't blame them. Maybe you were not happy that when you reported it to Princess head office, they didn't immediately offer sincere apologies for your inconvenience or even some compensation. However, I have to agree with the previous comments that it was your responsibility to be back in time. Maybe an argument could be made that if the tour operator had waited, he would have inconvenienced all the others on the bus.

We were at most a few minutes late and, as I stated above, we were told by one of the other passengers that the driver did not wait at all.

How much is "a few minutes"? 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 15 minutes?

Whether the driver waited or not can't be determined by other riders. What if their watch is off by 5-10 minutes? That's why we always confirm with driver (or guide) what time their watch says when we're told be back by XX:XX time.

I agree with "if you're late, you're late" idea. It's typically a good idea to be a few minutes early.

what exactly were you expecting/would appease you? by your own admission you were late. why would 1 experience on an excursion cause you to change cruise lines?

this whole thread is boggling.

OP will likely try a different cruise forum as well as a different cruise line now as they haven't received an apology from anyone here either!

We were ahead of schedule by about 10 minutes at St Petersburg so the tour guide made an extra stop telling us we had to be back on the bus in 10 minutes as we would be leaving one minute later. We literally ran to see all we could see and get back to the bus with 2 minutes to spare. Then we sat there for 10-12 minutes as two people were missing. They finally showed and we were in our way. Instead of about 5 minutes of actual site seeing there we could have had 15 but instead we got an extra 10 minutes of looking at the bus. Then we all lost 10 minutes at the next stop.

AE_Collector

I am probably the only one posting who actually thinks the driver should have waited but for no more than 5 minutes if timing was that tight. I don't know how late the OP was but I have been on many excursions where we waited longer than 5 minutes for people to show up.

When I posted previously on this thread of our not being able to find the bus location and therefore taking a taxi back to the ship I had learned through email with the bus company they had waited 10 minutes for us. This was not a ship excursion but a local bus company that provides tourists with transportation to a specific location. It was actually booked in advance online (it was not a local public bus). Because of the late hour we were told in advance that instead of dropping us off in town where we got the bus they would drop us off at the ship because timing was tight and they didn't want us to miss the last shuttle back to the ship.

Based on the information available I really think the OP's bus should have waited at least 5 minutes.

Always enjoy the parade of passengers returning to the ship after the posted boarding time . It really gets interesting when the gang plank is lifted .

Several things not being stated here. 1) If the OP did not know the time to be back how do they know they were just " a few minutes late" ? 2) OP never tells us what his version of a few minutes late really is. 2) We only have his statement that the bus did not wait for them.

I have taken many excursions while on a cruise, some private some ship sponsored, and the person in charge always said when to be back on board. I then look at my watch to see when that will be. Usually those that are late say they lost track of time. Or like one person said " The bus will wait for us, they have too". That day my brother almost got left behind. I was riding the bus back.

You won't get much sympathy here. No one wants to sit on a bus waiting for a late passenger and having the time at the next stops be shortened.

We're always back early anytime we're on tours. However, we did get left behind on a Princess tour. We took a walking tour in Monaco on a verystormy day, and we had the worst tour guide ever. First she tried to get us into the palace before it opened, and when that didn't work she said she knew that no one wanted to walk in the rain and to meet us back at the palace in 25 minutes, and she left. We stopped at a nearby cafe to wait. Then she took us through the palace and the cathedral. Finally she again said that it was too rainy to walk, and we were free to go off on our own. We could either walk back to the ship or meet at noon, watch the changing of the guard, and take the bus back to the ship. We told her that we definitely wanted to take the bus back. We were back at the designated meeting spot at 11:45 and couldn't find her. We waited until after the changing of the guard, and she still wasn't there. Finally we asked another Princess tour guide who told us she left at 11:30 with only 3 or 4 people on the bus. Needless to say we got our money back on that tour.

OP will likely try a different cruise forum as well as a different cruise line now as they haven't received an apology from anyone here either!

 

We were ahead of schedule by about 10 minutes at St Petersburg so the tour guide made an extra stop telling us we had to be back on the bus in 10 minutes as we would be leaving one minute later. We literally ran to see all we could see and get back to the bus with 2 minutes to spare. Then we sat there for 10-12 minutes as two people were missing. They finally showed and we were in our way. Instead of about 5 minutes of actual site seeing there we could have had 15 but instead we got an extra 10 minutes of looking at the bus. Then we all lost 10 minutes at the next stop.

 

AE_Collector

Bob

A number of people have mentioned that drivers will usually wait a few minutes for stragglers. We've seen that too, but I think that applies more to shorter stops on longer tours, where someone may be still completing some transaction in a shop or taking one last picture.

But to me, these "on your own" tours are different. I really wouldn't expect them to wait. They drop you off for 6 or 8 hours and you have a meeting time. I don't know how a reasonable person could not know when to be back and, barring an emergency, not manage to be back with a few minutes to spare.

And then it's all the cruise line's fault, with the OP accepting none of the blame.

Jim

I'm sorry, I don't usually post negative thoughts. But I find this just another example of people blaming others for their actions (or lack of) and not wanting to take responsibility for same.

When you are told what time to be back, you should not only confirm that you heard correctly but should make certain that your watch is set the same as the tour guide's. This isn't kindergarten, they shouldn't have to come FIND you. It is YOUR responsibility to get back in plenty of time. Why should others on the tour waste their time waiting for you? That's plain inconsiderate to expect them to do.

I find it petty that you will sever ties with a particular cruise line that has served you well because of something that was your fault to start with. We have sailed with Carnival, RC, NCL & HAL and have taken excursions both ship sponsored and independent on each. I really don't think you will find any that will treat a similar situation differently.