Anyone ever get left behind in port?

Really? The crew has easy access to open the safe in my cabin? That makes me feel safe...

Really? The crew has easy access to open the safe in my cabin? That makes me feel safe...

Someone from Security has a master key. Your cabin steward cannot access your safe.

great topic!!

I think you are missing the point. If it had been a non-Carnival excursion, the tour operators would have done everything possible to be back on time, including shortening the tour. After all, their livelihood depends upon their reputation. Not that accidents do not happen, but admitting your Carnival tour made no effort to be back on time and then saying this makes you leary of non-Carnival tours? I don't get it.

No, that is not how I meant it, I was trying to say if this had been a non Carnival tour these people would have been out of luck. Which makes me worry what could happen if you were on a non Carnival tour, that ship would have been long gone and these people would have been left behind. We worry when we don't take a Carnival excursion. The reason we were late that day was because we anchored on the opposite side of Grand Cayman which made it about an hour drive to our excursion in the morning traffic, most people were complaining their excursions got cut short, not ours we were the last ones in line for the tender.

We were on the Miracle last September and we heard a few people missed the ship in the Bahamas. There was another Carnival ship in port that was leaving later and they let them board that ship that was heading back to Charleston. We still had a few days until we were heading back to NY. I don't know if they went into their cabins and packed up their luggage before our ship sailed and if they would have to pay anything to be on the other ship. I would guess that they would be on their own to find a way to get back to NY once the ship docked if they didn't have their luggage.

I always make sure I am on the ship at least an hour before it is set to sail. It has got to be the worst feeling to see your ship sailing away without you.

I've never been left behind, thank goodness. Thats one of my biggest concerns. I always like to be back on the ship as soon as possible( that's if I even WANT to go ashore. ) Then, once I'm back onboard I STAY onboard. My relatives always want to make multiple trips to shore then back to the ship. Which is infuriating. I don't want them to still be on shore and hear the dreaded " WE ARE LEAVING " blast from the ships horn.

I am always worried about loosing the passports in port as well. So I have made copies of the picture page of our passports and laminated them. I carry the copies with me into ports. I don't know if this will work if I should ever miss the boat, but, at least I have something.

I don't understand this thinking? You have a habit of loosing your money, and credit cars all the time? I would hope of course not. So why such a concern about a passport or a license? My passport is ALWAYS with me, and has been for at least 15 years- (yes except for renewals). I've safeguarded all of these item, with my habits. There is a lot more potential with loss when possessing something that isn't an established habit to have. All it will take is one incident where you need it, that will make your life misarible if you don't .

Without it, you need to contact a US Embassy to get another, you can't fly without it. It may take time, and will cost you a significant amount money for flights, hotel s meals etc. so hope you have a credit card too.

t

I had a friend who is a Canada resident, it took a weel to get out Brazil . due to a stolen passport.

They are called Pier Runners. I plan to watch them on my next cruise in 25 days! It would never be me. I plan to be back at the ship 2 hours before sailing off to my next port. No excuse to miss the ship ever.

:eek: sorry, not true. There are many parts of the world where they steal passports/ID documents/drivers licenses etc. Anything official that can be sold and used by illegals/fraudsters. That is why governments are continually upgrading these documents so that they can catch the people who are using the old stolen/fraudulent ones.

I agree - it wasn't on a cruise, but I was mugged in Paris on New Year's Eve 1994. Wallet and Driving Licence stolen. All resolved via insurance and Police Statements etc - or so I thought! 18 months or so later, I was visited at work by the English Police and invited to explain why I had been trying to open a fraudulent Bank Account using my (stolen) Driving Licence as I.D. Quite an unpleasant experience - but I did have the last laugh on the somewhat cynical detective ... 'I don't believe you - nobody can remember dates and times like you claim. But, still, I'll just take a statement to close the file. Since it concerns a Driving Licence, I'll start by stating that you have held a Full Licence for roughly how long?' My reply - 'I passed my Driving Test on Friday 14th July 1972, Officer, at 11:30 ... ' His reply was to impugn my birthright!

I think the time difference and excursions are mostly to blame.

Actually, adults are to blame, everyone getting off a ship in a port knows the deal. They make repeated announcements regarding the time changes and how to handle that (ship time is what we have heard in the last 15 years, repeatedly). Private excursion? Then you know exactly what time you need to be back on the ship and you should probably make your decision to book a private excursion accordingly, if you cannot figure it out or have not done your homework/research then you had better have your passport with you at all times. It happens...

On our last family trip, our oldest son and his family were late returning from an excursion. But since they booked the excursion on the ship, the ship HAD to wait on them. We were about 30-minutes late from departure time. Thankfully it all worked out despite my wife and I nearly having a heart attack!

No, that is not how I meant it, I was trying to say if this had been a non Carnival tour these people would have been out of luck. Which makes me worry what could happen if you were on a non Carnival tour, that ship would have been long gone and these people would have been left behind. We worry when we don't take a Carnival excursion. The reason we were late that day was because we anchored on the opposite side of Grand Cayman which made it about an hour drive to our excursion in the morning traffic, most people were complaining their excursions got cut short, not ours we were the last ones in line for the tender.

We're the same way...won't take a non-Carnival excursion because of the one time our tour operator DNGAF about whether we made it back on time or not. We were over two hours late getting back to the ship and if we'd not been on a Carnival excursion, they would've left our butts.

We have photos of our driver's licenses and passports on our phones. Of course if you don't take your phone with you that wouldn't help much. I usually do so I can find free wifi to check email and dog sitter etc.

I don't understand this thinking? You have a habit of loosing your money, and credit cars all the time? I would hope of course not. So why such a concern about a passport or a license? My passport is ALWAYS with me, and has been for at least 15 years- (yes except for renewals). I've safeguarded all of these item, with my habits. There is a lot more potential with loss when possessing something that isn't an established habit to have. All it will take is one incident where you need it, that will make your life misarible if you don't .

 

Without it, you need to contact a US Embassy to get another, you can't fly without it. It may take time, and will cost you a significant amount money for flights, hotel s meals etc. so hope you have a credit card too.

t

I had a friend who is a Canada resident, it took a weel to get out Brazil . due to a stolen passport.

You go through all that, just to end up saying your Canadian friend had their passport stolen so had to go through a lot ??? :)

That's what the poster was saying in the first place :)

I guess nobody has ever been left in a port.

I guess nobody has ever been left in a port.

There is a guy that stayed behind since he thought his son was still at the port. He fully explains what happened and how he had to get back. I am having trouble finding his post, but will post when I find it. It was very informative.

One thing I have read multiple times, is don't take your passport on shore. They will get your passport from your room and leave with the port officer if you are left behind.

The fear of getting left behind has got to be one of the worst feelings ever. We got on the wrong bus once and yes we were cutting it fine anyway. By the time we corrected the mistake we were desperately short on time. Embarkation time was 5.30, we arrived 5.29 and 30 seconds. they pulled up the gangway as soon as we walked up. My DW still blames me.

We're the same way...won't take a non-Carnival excursion because of the one time our tour operator DNGAF about whether we made it back on time or not. We were over two hours late getting back to the ship and if we'd not been on a Carnival excursion, they would've left our butts.

Realize that if it was a private tour that the operator would have given many Fs about you being returned on time. Too many of those and the operator will lose the contract with Carnival anyways...

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You go through all that, just to end up saying your Canadian friend had their passport stolen so had to go through a lot ??? :)

 

That's what the poster was saying in the first place :)

+1 exactly what I was thinking.

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+1 exactly what I was thinking.

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Me too!

My Passport stays in the safe that way I know it can't get misplaced or stolen. And no, I'm not in the habit of losing things, but on vacation when you're getting in the water, or moving from different modes of transportation, it's easy to get distracted and accidentally leave something behind.

The ship's officers will go into your safe and leave it's contents behind if you miss the ship. So at least this way if I miss the ship and have my belongings lost or stolen, at least I'll have my Passport. Although I can't imagine ever doing so as I am always back in plenty of time. If I had an accident, then the hospital or whoever can contact the ship on my behalf based upon my S&S card and have my Passport left at the port as it would have been anyway. It isn't required to even cruise for most Caribbean itineraries anyway, so there is absolutely zero reason to bring it off the ship. I will carry my Passport Card for that.

On a slightly off topic, we were in Cozumel, and the horn was blowing last call. A couple of runners tore down the dock. But then the funny thing, a group of shore folks have a wheel chair with a dude passed out slobber knocker drunk in it. They rolled him right up to the ship, and then the crew had to get him to stagger on board as the gangplank came up. He doesn't even know how close he came to being left.

I've never missed my ship in port and I hope I never do, but I have seen a few people left before and it appears to be heartbreaking and troublesome!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2118638

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2121215&highlight=missed

Story from a gentleman who missed the ship in Nassau, it's an interesting read. One is his original thread which is pretty long and the other someone took only his posts on the situation to make it easier to follow.

I've never been late for departure.

But on every one of my cruises, there's always been at least one person left behind at one port or other. :ship:

I do exactly the same thing! Thankfully, the theory has never been tested for us *knock wood* but I figure if i have he photocopies of the original pages of the PP with the PP pictures and dept of state ids for each of us right on it, it will be faster for them to confirm their validity and get us moving without the need to carry them and worry about losing them, or god forbid, having them stolen.

Here's the the false sense of security that is giving you. First off do you really think any government official or security guard is going to care about a photo copy or picture either to report as stolen or allow you to use as ID. To an identity thief or forger a photo copy or picture of your ID or Passport is as good as the original. What they are really looking for to copy the credentials portion along with current Security features and insert the photo of their choice.

Secondly if you do lose your passport to theft while in port, while the US Consulate will help you get a new one it doesn't matter if you have photo copies. It does not speed up the process nor does it reduce the cost of the emergency replacement. If fact you would surprised to learn half of the problem is just getting to the US Consulate, most of them are not near the ports, and some are even on other islands or the mainland for that nation. So in most cases you wouldn't even head over there, it's more likely you you try to reboard the ship to retrieve the originals and make your report to ship's security. This still would require you to apply for a new passport or ID possibly with new numbers, and most likely at your own expense unless you have a police report or statement from port personnel concerning the theft. (A family member was as speciality entertainer for cruises and saw or heard about this frequently.)

You best bet is to take the bare minimum required name matched ID into port, usually a DL and your Seapass card. Take spending cash, credit/debit card, and an emergency fund (we take the credit card we paid for the vacation as it has a minimal Travel Emergency feature) and keep these separated from each other. Preferably try to get a traveler's wallet that you wear around your waist or upper arm, these are not as noticeable as the string around your neck ones to hold your cards. Also if the day's plan is for shopping take a backpack or some other bag that keeps your hands free yet is secure enough that it can't easily be ripped from your shoulders.

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