Klfhngr's story: I missed the boat in Nassau!

Interesting story. Makes you realize why you MUST be on time. My stepmother missed a very expensive cruise to the Easter Islands, but she didn't miss the boat by staying over. She sadly booked a flight the same day as her cruise was leaving. She luckily bought insurance but totally missed the boat. We ALWAYS fly in the day before to be sure we make it (even when we have insurance).

So do we!! Always. Same thing happened to my son.

Lol! Or I can make up a crazy story of missing the ship in Aruba ! ;)

 

I read all 5 pages of this thread and wanted to thank everyone for their kind words. I know I'm a year or 2 late, sorry about that, but many thanks and hope that i was able to help others.

 

Safe cruising to all... I'm back to cruising baby! !!

Glad to see you are back to cruising! Your story is truly a lesson for us all. Thanks for sharing. One thing I wanted to add, luckily it was only the Bahamas- imagine if it was a more remote port like Roatan! The costs, hassle, and safety issues- gee whiz!

Klfhngr, I have just finished reading your incredible and well written story. I'm glad you are now going on another cruise and I hope you really enjoy yourself this time. My suggestion to you, is that you submit this story to a travel magazine where many people could read it.

We were held up by a bad road accident in Maui and by the time we got to the pier, the last tender had already been stowed on the ship. They took us out to the ship in a tender owned by the port! We were the last two to board. it took me the rest of the night to get over this. I just can't imagine what it would have been like watching the ship sail away.

OMG what a story. I was crying throughout. Couldn't imagine a worse nightmare for a cruise passenger.

Just a few thoughts here. First, cruise line excursions are usually $100 or $200 more, not $5 or $10. Second, sometimes you just want to wander around a port and see what you want, not what the trip has. Third, and this is not meant to be snippy, but American Express Platinum card. They once sent a rep from Tokyo to a small town in Japan to translate an ATM machine for me. No charge. One call to them, and all the planning is out of your hands. They will get you to the ship. Period. Also, if you do not want to carry your passport off the ship, at least carry a color copy so the embassy can access the account easier. Also, I always carry two passport photos with me where ever I go.

Glad everything worked out for you. This post should be required reading for all cruise passengers. Wow.

Thanks for sharing! I will definitely take my passport to port with me from now on ... crazy! Also will talk to others cruising with us about what ifs and what to do in a similar situation!

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We have been told that a person cannot fly from one country to another without a passport, and a copy will not suffice....don't have the link that proves that statement is correct, but we will always travel with our passports on our person while on foreign soil.:D JMHO....

No, you cannot cross international borders without the actual passport.

But a copy of your passport will help you at the Embassy or Consulate in getting a replacement passport.

Also, a copy will typically suffice to identify you to local authorities if required.

And anyone thinking of traveling without a passport, DON'T.

Just a few thoughts here. First, cruise line excursions are usually $100 or $200 more, not $5 or $10. Second, sometimes you just want to wander around a port and see what you want, not what the trip has.

Not always. Like anything, shop around.

For a Bermuda stop, I looking into directly booking the SNUBA excursion. The operator right by the cruise terminal was actually a few dollars MORE than booking through RCCL.

This is one of the most interesting stories I have ever read! Thank you so much for sharing it. But, You wouldn't have felt so alone, if you had just prayed. :D

this is one of the most interesting stories i have ever read! Thank you so much for sharing it. But, you wouldn't have felt so alone, if you had just prayed. :d

wow!

klfhngr - i've read this before, but found it linked again from a similar thread about 'anyone ever get left behind' on the carnival forum - and this condensed version was linked. i read it again, because it's still great info to keep in the back of your mind 'just in case'...

why didn't alfred leave you at, say, the british colonial hilton? now i see two different addresses when i google 'mr photo nassau bahamas'... so that's where i guess the plot thickens...

their current location (or maybe there's more than one location for all i know), as based on their website, shows them at market street (at bay street), all of a few hundred meters from the BCH (and cruise port, AND us embassy):

https://www.bahamaslocal.com/showlisting/2844/Mr_Photo.html#largemap

the embassy is all of 300m, a few minutes WALKING, from either, just south.

if i just type in 'mr photo nassau bahamas' to google maps, it shows it on Shirley St, about 2.6km from the BCH (7 minutes via taxi):

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/British+Colonial+Hilton+Nassau,+One,+Bay+St,+Nassau,+Bahamas/BahamasLocal.com,+Shirley+St,+Nassau,+The+Bahamas/@25.0759111,-77.3435988,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1b19f200c3:0x453562fa0f5eb52a!2m2!1d-77.345713!2d25.0784252!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7db18d205bed:0xe556d7f7ee5bbea5!2m2!1d-77.326891!2d25.073971

i really ask this mostly because you specifically said you were expecting a hilton or hyatt (and then mentioned again when you moved near the airport), rather than the 'seedy' hotel you were left at, and quite frankly the BCH is directly next to the port. i've always thought it was odd the port agent (for any cruise line) would direct someone to those sort of accommodations when there's a very nice hilton right around the corner, close to the embassy. there obviously would have been better internet connectivity, either via business center type computers or wifi there vs. where you were left. i guess i also figured there'd be somewhere to get a passport photo taken that close to the embassy (and i believe other countries' embassies are also in the same general area, around the nassau government complex).

i'm not for a moment questioning your story. i did read this whole thread to see if it's been answered, and it hasn't even been asked. it's just something i've always wondered. if it was answered on the other (un-redacted) thread anyone else please feel free to relay info.

glad to see you're back to cruising, and i wouldn't bother asking but i see you've been here semi-recently (and have more cruises planned, way to go)... but i've always wondered. anyhow, thanks regardless for your story, it definitely has influenced the way i think of such situations. cruise on!

A must read for anyone who cruises. Its something that you hope never happens to you, but sometimes things happen and other than never leaving the ship, you should always be prepared.

This was a really interesting story and I'm glad he shared. I could have done without the racism and sexism though.

Wow, just wow!! Interesting story and I"m not sure I should have read it, three weeks before going on my next cruise (to the Bahamas, no less ;-) ).

We almost always organize our own excursions, and honestly I don't think this story will stop me doing so since it's really nothing to do with a tour being back late; as others have said, if they hadn't shown up in time at a RC organized tour meeting point, they would have been left behind just the same.

There;s a few things I would have done differently - for example, I would have DEF. checked with the ship people to see if the other people in my party had already checked in, as there is always a chance of that - and that would have saved him a lot of trouble! I would have also checked with a local person to find out how to make a phone call, I'm sure someone could have told him...Also, since this is an English-seaking place, I would have found my own accommodation for the night, esp. if the local port person had chosen something I wasn't happy with; not sure why the OP felt he wasn't able to communicate with the locals?

Either way, it was an interesting story and definitely a good read, and there's some good advice to take away (for example, to take passport copies when leaving the ship! I hadn't thought of that!!).

At least nobody got hurt, so while surely super stressful, it could have been worse!

Happy cruising, everyone

Kat

Yikes!

One, this was a well-written story - had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

Two, I skimped on getting my passport for my 1st cruise. Reading this has me 100% sure I will be getting one for my next trip. Better to be prepared than not.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. If you had a credit card, you could have walked over to the Hilton. It has the most beautiful pool, and you could have asked for a phone charger; those places always have an extra one to lend you. However, I am so sorry that that happened to you.

klfhngr - i've read this before, but found it linked again from a similar thread about 'anyone ever get left behind' on the carnival forum - and this condensed version was linked. i read it again, because it's still great info to keep in the back of your mind 'just in case'...

 

why didn't alfred leave you at, say, the british colonial hilton? now i see two different addresses when i google 'mr photo nassau bahamas'... so that's where i guess the plot thickens...

 

their current location (or maybe there's more than one location for all i know), as based on their website, shows them at market street (at bay street), all of a few hundred meters from the BCH (and cruise port, AND us embassy):

 

https://www.bahamaslocal.com/showlisting/2844/Mr_Photo.html#largemap

 

the embassy is all of 300m, a few minutes WALKING, from either, just south.

 

if i just type in 'mr photo nassau bahamas' to google maps, it shows it on Shirley St, about 2.6km from the BCH (7 minutes via taxi):

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/British+Colonial+Hilton+Nassau,+One,+Bay+St,+Nassau,+Bahamas/BahamasLocal.com,+Shirley+St,+Nassau,+The+Bahamas/@25.0759111,-77.3435988,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1b19f200c3:0x453562fa0f5eb52a!2m2!1d-77.345713!2d25.0784252!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7db18d205bed:0xe556d7f7ee5bbea5!2m2!1d-77.326891!2d25.073971

 

i really ask this mostly because you specifically said you were expecting a hilton or hyatt (and then mentioned again when you moved near the airport), rather than the 'seedy' hotel you were left at, and quite frankly the BCH is directly next to the port. i've always thought it was odd the port agent (for any cruise line) would direct someone to those sort of accommodations when there's a very nice hilton right around the corner, close to the embassy. there obviously would have been better internet connectivity, either via business center type computers or wifi there vs. where you were left. i guess i also figured there'd be somewhere to get a passport photo taken that close to the embassy (and i believe other countries' embassies are also in the same general area, around the nassau government complex).

 

i'm not for a moment questioning your story. i did read this whole thread to see if it's been answered, and it hasn't even been asked. it's just something i've always wondered. if it was answered on the other (un-redacted) thread anyone else please feel free to relay info.

 

glad to see you're back to cruising, and i wouldn't bother asking but i see you've been here semi-recently (and have more cruises planned, way to go)... but i've always wondered. anyhow, thanks regardless for your story, it definitely has influenced the way i think of such situations. cruise on!

He could have also just gone to a different hotel. I don't understand why he didn't. And I was just in Nassau, it's really not as uncivilized and scary as he makes it out to be - everybody speaks English and they are extremely used to tourists.

I do sympathize but I also feel he was rather naive...

I have this story bookmarked.

Great tips! We've been on some cruises where the ship keeps the passport. So, we take a copy.

We also carry a cell phone charger as well as our medicine, and the daily bulletin. DH and I each have international cell phones. We got separated in Amsterdam when the tram door closed in my face.

We've always bought insurance, and we've actually had to file claims on them.

following .... WOW

"I'd say Klfhngr did only ONLY ONE thing wrong, and that was being separated from his child. If that one thing hadn't happened, none of the rest would've followed. I mean, if my adult friend didn't show up to reboard the ship, I'd leave his butt in a minute -- he's an adult and can get back on his own -- but I'd never, ever leave my child on shore. Sending his wife and other child back to the ship was probably hard, but it was unquestionably the right choice. "

As I was reading this unbelievably horrific tale ... this is EXACTLY what I was thinking. NEVER get separated from your kid(s). YUP ... I would leave a friend and his/her child as long as me/my family was intact and aboard ship. I am NOT that adult's parent! If they are NOT at the meeting place AT specified time .... ciao baby.

No, you cannot cross international borders without the actual passport.

 

But a copy of your passport will help you at the Embassy or Consulate in getting a replacement passport.

 

Also, a copy will typically suffice to identify you to local authorities if required.

 

And anyone thinking of traveling without a passport, DON'T.

THIS. All this nonsense about birth certificates and closed loop cruises ... my personal belief is that everyone should travel with a passport. For exactly what happened to klfhngr.

THIS. All this nonsense about birth certificates and closed loop cruises ... my personal belief is that everyone should travel with a passport. For exactly what happened to klfhngr.

What happened to klfhngr was largely self-inflicted and thus easily avoidable. Traveling with a birth certificate is a legal, viable choice and if the only travel that someone can do is by closed loop cruise and they are comfortable with the small risk involved then it shouldn't matter to anyone else since it has no impact on them.

I have appreciated his story for several years, and each time before I cruise I revisit this thread to remind me of precautions I need to take at port stops.

A million thankyou's to Klfhngr, for sharing your experience!!! What a help to others.

I always have a copy of my passport with me

Loved your post! However, you seemed panicked. If you have a credit card,cash & $

You will be ok anywhere in the world. I would have had man or a taxi take me to a Hilton or a chain hotel. Used there internet, made my contacts to the ship, family & TA. Stayed in my room & ordered room service. Personally, I would of got a flight to Ft. lauderdale & stayed there until the ship returned. I would not of gone on to Jamaica. As long as I spoke w/my family & let them know I’d b waiting in FL & they could enjoy the rest of the cruise. ⚓️

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Oceania keeps your passport in most countries, if you miss the boat the easiest way to get help is from the U S embassy with a copy of your passport. A credit card, which I always have, does not show I am a U S citizen, and most do not have a photo on them. I plan my tours and make sure I am back on board when I am suppose to be. I have seen people at the dock on two occasions when we left. The ship will not wait unless it is someone important, that has also happened. The best trip is the one you are on so enjoy and worry about nothing