JUST Home from Crown ! They DO leave passengers behind !

[whatcruiseisnext]

It all amounts to personal responsibility.....or lack thereof

[Amuse Bouche]

I don't think we would have been left behind, but there was one time where my diligent time keeping didn't help. (I'm always an hour early no matter what it is)

 

We were in Juneau, and since I am from there, I rent a car for the day. I'm a bit paranoid of missing the ship, so we returned the car 2 hours early. With 2 hours left, we decided to look around town for demonstrating artists and took the Mt Roberts Tram up the mountain. For anyone who has never been there, the tram is located on the pier, and the restaurant/giftshop/artist venue is on the mountain above the pier. It's a great place to see your ship from.

About 1 hour before departure time (1/2 hour early, mind you) we decide it's time to go back to the ship, even tho it's about 20 yards from the Tram office.

Juneau was having a record heat wave. It was about 85 degrees out. There were 5 cruise ships in that day, and the tram was running faster than normal to take care of 5 ships worth of tourists. Even on a busy day like that, there is no more tha 10 minutes of wait time. Well...due to the heatwave and fast schedule, the tram broke down with both gondolas at midpoint on the mountain. 45 minutes goes by, and a few hundred people had backed up on the platform. They pass out water, and were making anouncements on the progress of the repair guy. Then, they seperated all of us according to when our ships were leaving. We were in the first group, and looking down at our ship that was going to leave in 15 minutes. The tram people had even gone so far as to check into getting helicopters to airlift us off if need be. I've never been in a helicopter and will die happy if I never have to be in one.

My husband, ever the pessimist, commented on how funny it would be to be up on the mountain watching our ship leave down the channel.

Luckily, they got the tram running at the last minute, and we all got off and the ship left on time. By a hair.

So, you see, even if you are right there, being safe and thinking nothing could go wrong...something could go wrong.

[Smokeyham]

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:

 

As others are pointing out, staying at the dock could cost huge amounts of money, from the extra cost of fuel as the ship steams faster to catch up with its schedule, to extra fees for additional pilot's time, and a missed departure slot from a port.

 

You mention safety, but launching a lifeboat is an evolution which is not without risk for the crew. Seems that the late passengers are perfectly safe, though inconvenienced, standing on the dock.

[paul929207]

As others are pointing out, staying at the dock could cost huge amounts of money, from the extra cost of fuel as the ship steams faster to catch up with its schedule, to extra fees for additional pilot's time, and a missed departure slot from a port.

 

You mention safety, but launching a lifeboat is an evolution which is not without risk for the crew. Seems that the late passengers are perfectly safe, though inconvenienced, standing on the dock.

Absolutely

[satxdiver]

We were on a cruise to the southern Caribbean several year ago. The captain waited 30 minutes for this couple to return and finally gave up. I learned later the couple showed up at the pier 30 minutes after we left. They had to fly to our next port, St Maarten, and rejoin the ship. Our next port was St Thomas and again we had to wait for a couple to return to the ship. The captain said he was waiting because he was a "nice guy". Just as we were about to leave a taxi pulled up and a couple came running to the ship. You guessed it. It was the same couple we left in Curacao! I imagine they had a personal interview with the captain.

 

Another cruise we left a honeymoon couple in Cozumel. They had to rejoin us in galveston. These are the two most interesting cases of pax being left behind. There have been others.

[TracieABD]

I was on a cruise that had to leave 2 women in Poland. The ports were over an hour way from the cities. The next day was a sea day. They caught up in Oslo. What a mess... I heard it caught over $6000 to rectify their irresponsibility.

 

While I don't always do ship's tours, I make sure the tours conclude 3 to 4 hours before the ship is set to sail.

[shofer]

On our Panama Canal trip on the Coral, DH lost his cruise card in the hot tub and had to get a replacement. Somehow he lost that one also and got another replacement.

 

The next day we had gone on an excursion and made it back just fine, checking in with our cards. At dinner that evening, I thought I heard DH being paged. The speaker over our table didn't work so we couldn't hear very well. Of course, DH poo-poo'd this. Why would anyone be paging him?

(A home emergency never crossed his mind.)

 

I heard a second page and that time my cousin also heard it. He was supposed to call Guest Relations. Turns out his cruise card did not register him as being back on board! No announcement before we sailed was heard. We had a good laugh over it and wondered what they would have done if he wasn't there.

 

On my last cruise in Feb, 2012, my friend and I were standing on our balcony waiting for sail away and heard some girls yelling from the pier area, "Don't leave, wait for us!" We had heard them paging 4 people earlier and we were late for leaving. They had just started putting the gangplank back in the ship and pulled it out for them.

 

Needless to say, we could hear lots of comments from the balconies above and around us.

 

Sue

[sueandkent]

If cruise ships started to wait for latecomers the latecomers will eventually just become later. Give an inch, some will take a mile.

[PathfinderEss]

Yes they do leave passengers and crew behind. We had a guitarist who miss the ship in Cabo, Mexico and did not get back on until Juneau, Alaska.

[caribill]

This thread on this subject on the RCCL forum is fun to read

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1763113

[dcruisers]

Ah yes... so the Captain and ship have a schedule to stick to and every passenger knows the ship leaves at a set time but he should wait because some passengers decided that time meant nothing and they could just come back whenever they want.... sorry, doesn't work that way. The captain is not doing it to be mean, but he has a schedule that he has to stick to. And by the way, if you chewed out the Captain? You'd have plenty of passengers chewing you out

 

I so agree! Would an airling pilot/captain hold a plane for passengers who decided to show up late. The Captain is on a schedule and WE are responsible for being back on time. I think the Captain of the Crown was being kind waiting a while for the late passengers and actually leaving a little later. He didn't have to do that!

[philv]

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.

 

Thanks paul92907. I've always wondered about that. I suppose that's not something Princess would advertise as they would rather have people get back to the ship on time. How'd you find out? I hope not the hard way.

[Smokeyham]

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.

 

 

I assume you would have to be in touch with the Port Agent, and would have told him/her that your passport is in your safe in order for the ship's staff to know to go and look there?

[beg3yrs]

I assume you would have to be in touch with the Port Agent, and would have told him/her that your passport is in your safe in order for the ship's staff to know to go and look there?

 

Your assumption deserves another. :D Certainly calling the port agent is a good thing to do as it will confirm you're not making the ship, but ...

 

If you haven't scanned your cruise card when reboarding you won't be in the computer as being on-board. That's what causes the announcements just before departure asking for particular people to call the Passenger Services Desk. They're trying to account for possible human and/or system errors before sending staff to your stateroom to get your passport to hand off to the Port Agent. If if were me, I'd assume the most likely place for a passport would be the safe and that's where I'd look first. Failing that, there really aren't too many other places to search.

 

Now, that said, I really don't know if they'll go to your stateroom for your passport without clear confirmation you aren't making it back to the ship. They'll likely at least check your stateroom to see if you're there. You could after all, have gotten back on board without properly checking in (small chance, but real nonetheless) and be sleeping on deck missing all the calls with your name. If that were the case and they did go to your room, your passport would then be sent to shore and you'd be on the ship! Probably not a huge problem as it could be simply forwarded by the port agent to your next port.

[Sitmar Lady]

We were on that cruise too, in April 2012 spring break right? We spoke with the four Woman when they got back on the ship in Aruba at dinner that night. They said they simply lost track of time and that it cost them a fortune between flights, hotel and cab costs. They were still very upset and shaken. One was even in tears as she was telling us more details of their experience later that night in Skywalkers. I agree with you and lets hope as time passes, they can look back and one day laugh at it. This is exactly what I told them that night at dinner but they were in no mood to laugh at that point. Princess did go into their safes and left the remaining passports at the ships port authority for them to get on their flights. One thing is for certain, you will never see me miss a ship unless I am detained by some unforseen circumstance, not for merely losing track of time. Not a chance! ;)

 

 

Had a great cruise. LOTS of FUN. Loved the food and pretty much loved the whole trip. No complaints at all. Crew great, very attentive.

Princess Cays, Curacao and Aruba. I LOVED Aruba. Enjoyed a lovely day at Palm Beach, near the RIU Palace, where we rented chairs and an umbrella.

 

OKAY, so after a nice day in Curacao, everyone is due back to ship at 9:30. Ship to depart at 10:00. Right around this time, we hear "the call" of 4 girls names from two cabins, one on Aloha deck and one on Emerald Deck. About 10 min later, we hear the same 4 names and then again around 10:00. Lots of folks are talking amongst themselves and others, wondering if these 4 girls have made it back on board. We happened to be out on the Promenade during this time, admiring Curacao at night and wanting to see a night-time sailaway. People are now gathering out on the different decks to see if they are coming back. NOTHING. Now of course, the talk is really ramping up. Around 10:10 or 10:15 I will say, the pilot boat unties the heavy cords and the ship starts to back away from the dock. A friend in out group starts YELLING, "I see them, I see them, they are running to the ship !" At that point you can really hear people from the ship all starting to see them too and yelling different things. We see three of the 4 running up the concrete docks, the 4th held back a bit... whether she just couldn't keep up or felt "it was too late" she missed the boat, or, perhaps got very upset and just stopped? We don't know. Needless to say, it was heart-wrenching seeing these girls standing there watching the boat pull away. NO, the ship did NOT go back.

 

I did ask two mornings later, at the shore excursions desk where two women were working and not waiting on anyone, (Pursers desk was crowded and I didn't want to bother the folks hard at work....) if they made it to the ship. YES they did, they flew from Curacao to Aruba the next day and got on the ship. It's a short flight.

 

I have NEVER seen this happen before and hope I never see it again. I'm sure it was an awful feeling for the girls, thank God there is a hotel right there and perhaps they stayed there. I also heard from another employee that two passports were found IN THE CABIN so I am wondering how this factored into them getting back on board. I mean, they all did come back... pretty quickly, without two having passports with them.

 

Anyway, just wanted to share this with you all....... and thank Goodness for them, they were all safe. I hope they can laugh about it some-day....

[Nomsayin]

A tour guide once asked our group if we knew the difference between a passenger and a hitchhiker? The answer: "About 3 minutes."

[caribill]

Sometimes you can be left behind for other reasons.

 

We were on a Princess cruise that stopped in Egypt and where you were required to have your passport with you when on shore.

 

One man's passport was lost or stolen while on shore. They would not let him continue on the voyage because the next port was in Greece and the authorities would not have let the ship stop there unless 100% of the people had passports.

 

So he and his wife remained in Egypt, obtained a new passport for him at the US Embassy in Cairo, flew to the next port and rejoined the ship then.

[Smokeyham]

Sometimes you can be left behind for other reasons.

 

We were on a Princess cruise that stopped in Egypt and where you were required to have your passport with you when on shore.

 

One man's passport was lost or stolen while on shore. They would not let him continue on the voyage because the next port was in Greece and the authorities would not have let the ship stop there unless 100% of the people had passports.

 

So he and his wife remained in Egypt, obtained a new passport for him at the US Embassy in Cairo, flew to the next port and rejoined the ship then.

 

This seems to make a good case for getting both a passport, and the new passport card. If you lose one, you still have the other.

 

I assume the couple had to pay their own expenses to get to Greece? Hopefully they had trip insurance!

[Readytogo]

I agree that the ship should leave on time. Why then should a ship sponsored excursion be any different? Is that the way they justify the ridiculous cost of their tours? Why don't they just list it as "late insurance" in the price. Break out the Pom-poms!

[paul929207]

No where do they say they will not leave a ship excursion behind. They will try to wait. However, there are times when they are obligated to sail.

[Smokeyham]

No where do they say they will not leave a ship excursion behind. They will try to wait. However, there are times when they are obligated to sail.

 

Since one of the very big selling points of the ship-provided excursions is that they will not leave you behind, then if circumstances were such that the ship absolutely had to sail, then I assume the cruise line would pick up the cost of transporting the passengers to the next port.

[TFM70]

I don't remember what cruise we were on, but the ship was held up for awhile waiting on two passengers. We were out on the deck just watching and saw them running and boarding amid applause from all the observers.

That evening in the dining room at a table for eight, the usual question of "what did you do today?" was asked. I related that I stayed on board and just watched as the two idiots had to run to keep from being left. Everyone laughed, and then the next couple related, "we were the two idiots".

[Amuse Bouche]

I don't remember what cruise we were on, but the ship was held up for awhile waiting on two passengers. We were out on the deck just watching and saw them running and boarding amid applause from all the observers.

That evening in the dining room at a table for eight, the usual question of "what did you do today?" was asked. I related that I stayed on board and just watched as the two idiots had to run to keep from being left. Everyone laughed, and then the next couple related, "we were the two idiots".

 

:eek: :p :D

 

That's some really bad luck on your part, but I'm sure they expected it and didn't take it too personally.

[shastatroy]

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:

 

 

Really...???!!!!

 

Haven't you ever seen the poor sap at the airline gate pleading to get on when the plane is sitting at the gate but the doors have been closed? Law is law and policy is policy....return to the ship on time!

[beg3yrs]

Since one of the very big selling points of the ship-provided excursions is that they will not leave you behind, then if circumstances were such that the ship absolutely had to sail, then I assume the cruise line would pick up the cost of transporting the passengers to the next port.

 

That's what they do. Last summer in Alaska a ship-sponsored excursion was late back to the ship due to a terrible storm. The ship had to sail. Princess put them up overnight, fed them and then got them to the ship the next day using a chartered high speed catamaran. If I remember right, they were in the middle of Glacier Bay or some such location when they caught up. Of course things were a bit confused getting organized, but Princess came through.