JUST Home from Crown ! They DO leave passengers behind !

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We see it on a few cruises ..

[suzyed]

As others have pointed out, most of the people who are late getting back to the ship are not late because they were on a non-ship sponsored tour but because they were shopping or drinking and weren't keeping an eye on the time. So, I really wouldn't use this thread as a reason to avoid private excursions. We have used them in ports from Alaska to Croatia to St. Lucia and have always found the tour operators to be extremely concerned with getting us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. To me, the unique experience we've had being part of a small group just beats out being part of a group of 30-45 (or more).

 

I agree! We just had private tours in the Azores, Scotland and France. We did our own thing in Ireland(Dublin) and England(Cornwall) and a Princess tour post cruise that dropped us at the airport after.

 

Without exception, our tour guides were very mindful of when we needed to be back on the ship and sometimes "tweaked" the itinerary to make sure we were back in plenty of time.

[suzyed]

I wish I can click "LIKE."

 

I know, I have been saying the same thing! I wish there was a way we could get CC to include a "like" button!

[Treven]

I was on a ship sponsored tour on one of the Greek islands and I was ON THE BUS,waiting to return to the ship, when it was noticed that 2 ladies were still missing.I told the tour conductor that I knew which shop they were in and he told me to go get them.When we got back to the square

where the bus had been, it had left.

 

I was on a ship's tour in Aruba a few years ago. We had stopped at one particular place on the island and we were missing an elderly gentleman. We waited and waited and I happened to see him wandering about. I told the guide that I saw the guy and the guide chased him down (the old guy was lost and didn't remember which bus he belonged to). We got back in time but easily could have been late. The big thing was that the guide chased him down - the bus driver wasn't going to leave without him.

[lamchops]

You have got to be kidding!!! The ship runs on a schedule, they pay to stay in port a specified amount of time - if passengers are late, that's their problem not the ship's captain. Passengers are specifically told what time to be back onboard and it's their responsibility to be back onboard, this group got what they deserved.

 

I was on a ship's excursion and we were 25 minutes late getting back and the driver drove at what I considered a dangerous speed. All the way back, the tour guide was apologizing because he said there's some leeway with departures but not much as the ship could pay up to $25,000 for an extra hour but only if there's no other ship due. He was convinced that we may be left and he would lose his job. (all because someone left the tour and showed up late) When we got back onboard we didn't leave for another 25 minutes. The cruise director told us that 3 ships excursions were late so they had to pay anyways. If they were private tours the ship would of left but it would of been bad PR to leave 3 busloads.

 

I always factor in distance vs. time when booking private tours. I'd book a 5 hour tour in an 8 hour port but I'm not taking a 7 hour tour in an 8 hour port. The stress factor would take away from the enjoyment.

[oceanblue11]

Hey all,

We were also on the Crown that night. We got back in plenty of time and were at MUTS watching Warhorse, the announcement came on over and over. And yes, later we heard we had sailed without them. I agree, scary for the gals who missed the boat but a lesson learned. My greatest fear!! I shall be extra vigilant from now on!!

[caribill]

Agreed. The regulars on this board almost always suggest against ships excursions. Saving money and DIY tours with public transportation is suggested more often then not.

 

Those passengers are at risk but that risk tends to be minimized by posters in internet boards (not just cc). Economic situation in Europe isn't great. Cutbacks in mass transit is possible if not probable. I posted that caution and regular posters said commuters rely on the same trains and buses. People shouldn't let that deter them from DIY tours.

 

There is a difference between an independent tour and DIY touring.

 

Reputable independent tour providers will get you back to the ship on time. Their reputation depends on it. They also know how to avoid traffic congestion, striking whomever, etc.

 

However, the DIY people, whether they are renting a car, taking a bus/train, enjoying a meal, shopping or at a bar are the ones most likely to have a problem returning to the ship on time. (Not all of the DIY people, but enough of them it can be a problem.)

[loliola]

If the DIY tour is in the same area as the ship, no problem. But if you have to go far from the port area, it's worth the extra short $$ to book a ship-sponsored excursion, to not risk missing the departure of the ship. Some of the ports-of-call have very iffy roads, etc.

[caribill]

If the DIY tour is in the same area as the ship, no problem. But if you have to go far from the port area, it's worth the extra short $$ to book a ship-sponsored excursion, to not risk missing the departure of the ship. Some of the ports-of-call have very iffy roads, etc.

 

Many people do DIY touring because the ship's excursions do not go where they want to spend their time.

 

For example, in Oslo (admittedly not that far from the ship), we toured the Askershus Fortress, visited the Viking Ship Museum, Kon-Tiki Museum, Fram Museum, took a guided tour of City Hall (Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies held here), and walked around downtown for a while. All this during the six hours we could be off of the ship. No Princess tour could cover all of this.

 

Another example: In Stockhom (another six hours off of the ship), we had a guided tour of City Hall (ceremony for the other Nobel prizes held here), visited the Stockholm Cathedral, toured the Royal Palace, visited the Nobel Museum, and saw other sites in central Stockholm. Again, no Princess tour covered this much at any price.

[PescadoAmarillo]

This has been interesting reading on a day I'm down with a cold. Better than a book! We mostly do DIY excursions, but sometimes (a canoe up a river in Fiji to a village in the mountains), where there are too many opportunities for things to go wrong, we use Princess excursions. I agree that we have a risk going it alone, but it's a calculated risk. I just don't think our world would end if we missed the ship...usually.

 

However, the one time it really would have been inconvenient was leaving Bermuda with 4.5 days at sea following as we crossed the Atlantic to Europe. And that was the one time we nearly did miss the ship. The ship did an overnight in Bermuda and we had rented scooters when we arrived early afternoon. My gas gauge read Empty, but I was assured it was broken and I had a full tank of gas, more than I'd ever need. We chained the scooters up near the ship overnight and then next morning took them out again. The ship sailed at noon. We were making our way back to the ship (could see it in the distance, although we weren't within walking distance) when I ran out of gas. Pure panic!! I was yelling at DH to go, go, go take his scooter and get someone to help. He was just walking around gazing at the ground. Sure enough, he found a discarded beer can. He took the little cutter he always carried (pre-9/11) and cut the can in half. We picked up his scooter, turned it over (the gas tank was under the seat) and got half a can of gas. It got us back to the rental office, which was right next to the ship. I was still yelling at the owner as I walked up the gangway and they pulled it up right after we boarded.

 

But, like my broken tooth on a plane headed for China, THESE are the experiences I remember most 14 years later.

[landnsea]

Over the years we have seen passangers left ashore, we have also seen the ship wait for passangers to return back to the ship before leaving, its entirely up to the Captain as to who is left behind.

 

You know with that said, I have asked many of the Princess Captains, if there was a competition amongst The Captains of the fleet as to who has left the most passangers ashore..... a surprised " No Of Course Not " is the most common answer I receive back, however a few occasions, my question was answered with only a " Deveaus Smile "

 

I would say, its best not to be late getting back to the ship when ashore.

 

John

Seattle,Wa.

[seventhwardhustler]

There are a number of reasons why this sometimes can't be done. Schedule is one, which people have mentioned, but more important are tides, other ships waiting to sail because sometimes one ship has to sail before another can, and pilots. The harbormaster has control over which ship sails at what time, not the Captain, and if a ship fails to sail, the pilot might be reassigned to another ship and yours will have to wait even longer for a pilot to become available. A ship's sailing is not like pulling out of a parking space but is carefully orchestrated to take into account tides, currents, other ships, etc. Sometimes, the Captain has no choice and since it's the passenger's responsibility to be back on the ship on time, regardless of what has happened to them, the ship can, and will, sail. Or, are you saying that it's OK for two irresponsible people to cause the ship's sailing to be delayed and possibly have to miss or cut short the next port and the Captain should inconvenience all of the other passengers who were responsible?

great explanation! thanks!

[hansi]

Over the years we have seen passangers left ashore, we have also seen the ship wait for passangers to return back to the ship before leaving, its entirely up to the Captain as to who is left behind.

 

You know with that said, I have asked many of the Princess Captains, if there was a competition amongst The Captains of the fleet as to who has left the most passangers ashore..... a surprised " No Of Course Not " is the most common answer I receive back, however a few occasions, my question was answered with only a " Deveaus Smile "

 

I would say, its best not to be late getting back to the ship when ashore.

 

John

Seattle,Wa.

 

Your last sentence is rather obvious, I would say.

[ChevyCruiser]

It's no wonder that, with the self-important-it's-all-about-me attitude of some people that they think the ship will wait for them. One of my favorite afternoon entertainments is to stand on the promenade with a cold drink and watch them saunter to the gangway ten minutes or more late to the hoots and catcalls from those of us with enough sense to be on time.

 

I watched a show about a cruise ship on one of the cable networks recently. It was the last port on a western Caribbean cruise and several passengers were missing well past all-aboard time. The Captain was weighing whether to wait for them or stay on schedule. The next stop was Miami where the ship would disembark the existing passengers, resupply, and take on new passengers. A one-hour delay in departure would mean that he would have to burn $50,000 worth of fuel to arrive in Miami in time for the turnaround.

 

As it turned out, the missing passengers did arrive, albeit past sail away time.:rolleyes:

 

But, the $50,000 extra fuel factoid stuck in my mind.:eek:

[itravelalot]

We saw this in Europe. I think it was a NCL or HAL ship. We were already just slightly away from the dock and a red car came rushing up. 2 adults and 2 children came barrelling out.. Arms waving and screaming.. the children were crying.. people were cheering from the top decks. I just felt sick for those people (though it was there own fault).. About 5 mins later while still moving, a pilot boat pulled along side. We couldn't see at that angle but were told they family got on the pilot boat and then did a transfer to the ship...

 

I always plan to be back at least an hr prior to sail away if we are on a private tour..

[jimandtoni]

In 2010,I was severely injured by a stingray in Cozumel ( I almost lost my right foot!) and had to be taken to the emergency room there . We called the ship( The Crown Princess) and they sent an agent to the hospital who stayed with my wife and me the whole time. They waited for us and another person from the ship who arrived in the emergency room...she had been hit by a taxi. They held the ship several hours for us. We have nothing but nice things to say about Princess! :)

[philv]

But, how would they fly without a passport?? Just use another i.d. ??

 

I've always wondered about that. They tell you don't take your passport ashore, unless required, because it might get lost or stolen. But if you miss ship, how do you book flight to next port, probably in another country, without a passport?

[kodiac]

Yikes. We had a near miss of a Carnival ship when we first started cruising. We were diving in Roatan and our private tour guide borrowed someones boat, found our dive boat, and started banging like crazy on the side. Our dive master was well aware of our time limit as both us and the tour guide repeated it constantly. My DW ended up having to leave her sandals as we didn't have time to return to the dive shop. Off we went with our ship just leaving in 15 minutes - we made it just as they were pulling up the gangway. This is when Roatan was all rocks at the Coxen terminal before the new one was built and my wife had sore feet the next day. We learned our lesson and from now on both wear watches and mind our time carefully.

[paul929207]

Princess will send an officer to your cabin to get the passport from your safe if the are leaving you. They will give it to the ship's agent to give you when you show up. The agent will also help you make arrangements to catch the ship.

[SeaTeach]

I had to do the run in Cozumel but it was NOT the running of the DRUNKS, but the running of the group that took the ship sponsored tour to Chichen Itza. There were about 45 of us and no one realized what was going on. We figured it out when we where told to hurry off the ferry, not stop at the pier check, and had escorts. As we got closer we could see the deserted pier with the exception of pier workers. Then the cheering from the passengers, and the arm waving of the crew commenced. Never was I so glad to be on an overpriced, ship sponsored tour.

[freetocruise]

If they were on the dock and the captain could see them he should have waited or at the least launched one of the rescue craft. If not on the dock then go ahead and go, but to leave them is just plain wrong and the captain should be ashamed of himself, and if I saw him anyother time on the crusie I would make sure he knew what I felt about the poor job he did and how little he felt about the saftey of his customers on the dock. He would have a rather worn out ear to be sure........:eek:

 

Why should the Captain inconvenience everyone else who made it back in time and risk being late to the next port or paying higher docking fees because some inconsiderate passengers think the rules don't apply to them? I'm sorry if I sound inconsiderate myself but unthinking behavior like this is one of my pet peeves. I just returned from two cruises, a TA and a Caribbean where 2 Captains waited 1/2-1 hour for late passengers at more than one port.

[dmwnc1959]

We left two people behind in St. Thomas after the ship waited 35 minutes past our sail time. As the stern of the ship cleared the pier they showed up in a taxi. Guess they misjudged the traffic or whatever but I'm sure it cost them a pretty penny to catch up to the ship three days later in Fort Lauderdale.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We were on Royal Caribbean earlier this year for a Bermuda cruise and two passengers were left behind. I think the ship waited between 1/2 hour and one hour, making announcements and stationing an employee down by the dock with a walkie talkie, presumably talking to the captain. Those of us standing on the decks (with our drinks!) and watching clapped when we left!!

[pablo222]

I've always wondered about that. They tell you don't take your passport ashore, unless required, because it might get lost or stolen. But if you miss ship, how do you book flight to next port, probably in another country, without a passport?

 

The ship will attempt to land the missing pax's documents.

 

And, as another poster alluded to -- if you have an emergency

on shore that will make you late, notify the port agent, so they can alert

the ship.

[Pam in CA]

if you have an emergency on shore that will make you late, notify the port agent, so they can alert the ship.

Either bring a copy of the port guide from your cabin with you or take a photo of the port agent information.

 

As for why the ship doesn't return when passengers are on the dock, it costs a LOT of money and time for the ship to re-dock. It has to be re-secured and the gangway redeployed. This costs money in terms of fuel, port fees, time, etc. Maybe they should return to the dock and charge the passenger(s) the costs incurred. You can bet it would be far more than a long cruise in a suite on a luxury line. A ship is not like parking a car. There are enormous fees for each thing the ship does in port: fuel, connections, longshoremen, pilot time, port fees, etc. Why should the passengers who can tell time pay for someone who can't?