Have a story on arriving at the port late and missing or almost missing the ship?

[deladypilot]

On our cruise to Alaska this summer. There were two women who were late. We were supposed to be on board by 3:30 for departure at 4:00. Here is a picture of 4:05pm as one of the women came running. The other was a few steps behind her. They both made it on as everyone was screaming at them from their balconies

 

[sail7seas]

I would quicker think Oasis waited because the guests were on a ship-sponsored tour. The cruiselines promise to wait for guests returning late from ship-sponsored tours, because unfortunate things do sometimes happen. They will not wait, however, for privately booked tours.

 

I have never heard of ships charging passengers for extra costs due to being late back to the ship. However, if a passenger actually misses a ship, the costs associated with that is the passenger's cost. Those costs can be substantial, not to mention the stress associated with missing a ship.

 

 

IF you are lucky enough a pilot boat agrees to take you out to the ship if you arrive back late, and IF the Captain agrees to permit it, you will pay. That has nothing to do with the ship..... the pilot levies the fee. I suppose if he is so inclined he may have a kind heart but who could blame if he charged for his services. Only very fit people would even be considered as 'candidates'.

 

Edited September 29, 2013 by sail7seas

[Ocean Air]

Either way - it's a pricey and/or frustrating position to be in. We learned our lesson this time, but actually had one other incident. We got stuck in Jamaica on a Carnival ship-sponsored tour some years back as the bus broke in the middle of nowhere. Ended up getting into police cars and sped to the ship about 45 mins late. As we were running (about 14 of us) up to the ship people were actually yelling rather nasty stuff down at us from their balconies. Was not a fun event, but in this instance the ship arranged the police car ride and held the ship since it was their excursion. It was very stressful. But, these things happen I guess.

 

ALWAYS - and I mean ALWAYS have a copy of your passport, a credit card, and a calling card or cell phone with a sim card that will work in the country you are in when leaving the ship. We have been sailing Oceania quite a bit lately and they provide a local agent phone number for each port in the daily program - can't remember if other lines do that - but either way, if they do - write it down and take it. We didn't in Stockholm (where we almost took the ferry to Helsinki) and regretted it immensely.

 

Corpkid - Sorry to hear people were yelling nasty comments as you came in late. I can imagine how stressful this would be.

 

I never thought about bringing a copy of our passports with us but it is something to consider.

 

I remember when we docked in Labadee, on of RCI's ports, the captain told us to be on the ship by a certain time and over an hour later people were still moseying down the dock. We all thought it was because it was the ships private island, their dock. Otherwise those people may have been left behind.

[corpkid]

Corpkid - Sorry to hear people were yelling nasty comments as you came in late. I can imagine how stressful this would be.

 

It was the pits, and was the last time we sailed a "mega line". People actually came up to us later that night mentioning how we "held up the ship".

 

I never thought about bringing a copy of our passports with us but it is something to consider.

 

Please don't just consider it. It's so easy to just make 3 copies before you leave home. We keep one in our safe on the ship (along with passports if they don't collect them), one back at home with a friend/relative/etc., and keep one on us when going ashore.

[SadieN]

Before lunch we had walked over to the Casino building in Avalon. Looked over to see the Paradise and SHE WAS GONE!

 

While walking back to the pier and figuring out the cost of getting home on the Catalina Express we looked again and there was the Paradise sitting at anchor. She wasn't gone but our sense of direction surely was.:o

[CraftyEC]

ALWAYS - and I mean ALWAYS have a copy of your passport, a credit card, and a calling card or cell phone with a sim card that will work in the country you are in when leaving the ship. We have been sailing Oceania quite a bit lately and they provide a local agent phone number for each port in the daily program - can't remember if other lines do that - but either way, if they do - write it down and take it. We didn't in Stockholm (where we almost took the ferry to Helsinki) and regretted it immensely.

I don't physically take the daily program with me (it tends to get very tattered and I like to keep them as souvenirs / to scrapbook) but I DO take a photo of the port agent details before I leave the ship. I usually take a quick shot of the date line too, which can be handy when sorting the photos at home (I know the date is on the 'properties' but this just helps to divide up the pictures into each day) We take a copy of each of our passports, but leaving one at home too is a good idea.

[goose30]

Ok I just can't resist.

 

If you take a COPY of your passport it will not do anything for you if you need to fly or are outside of the Caribbean . You still have to find a US government facility that is open. They have to cancel your existing passport and issue a new one. This all takes time. If you take your passport with you all you have to do is be careful to keep it in a safe place on your body. Do you leave all your credit cards in the safe?

 

Sorry but taking a copy is just ridiculous.

Edited September 30, 2013 by goose30

[sail7seas]

It has been said if you have a copy of your current passport, the replacement can be accomplished much faster. Thankfully, we have never had to 'test' that theory.

 

[SantaFeFan]

Ok I just can't resist.

 

If you take a COPY of your passport it will not do anything for you if you need to fly or are outside of the Caribbean . You still have to find a US government facility that is open. They have to cancel your existing passport and issue a new one. This all takes time. If you take your passport with you all you have to do is be careful to keep it in a safe place on your body. Do you leave all your credit cards in the safe?

 

Sorry but taking a copy is just ridiculous.

 

It's not about the convenience of getting it replaced. It is about your most important form of identification being used for illegal activities if it gets lost or stolen. If you lose control of it, you will still have to go through the steps to get it replaced, PLUS having to worry about any repercussions of it being used illegally.

 

Sorry, but carrying your passport unless required to is just too risky. (I won't insult you by saying that what you do is "ridiculous", as you have done to those of us who prefer to carry copies.) :rolleyes:

Edited September 30, 2013 by SantaFeFan

[navybankerteacher]

I recently asked both Royal Caribbean and Carnival about their procedures if I missed the ship.

 

Per Royal Caribbean, ".... While some cruisers may have had the experience of our ships crew being able to give the port security their travel documents due to missing the ship; regrettably, this is not always the case. Typically we do not have the time to do this. We are sorry for any disappointment this response may cause you. Royal Caribbean International highly recommends bringing a photo copy of all of your travel documents, such as your passport, with you into the ports of calls in case of emergency. In addition, if you feel you might not make it back to the ship on time, or you have missed the ship, you can contact our Emergency Travel Team twenty-four hours a day for assistance. Their contact number will be located on the back of your Seapass card. ... "

 

"Typically we do not have the times to do this" means that MOST people who miss the ship will NOT enjoy the comfort of having their passports waiting for them on the pier.

Per Carnival, "... If you miss the ship, we will try our best to obtain your passports, but sometimes that's not possible. We will, however, notify the port agent so that he/she can assist you either rejoining the ship or going home. ..."

 

This also indicates that tardy passengers should not count on their passports being available.

[samiam0403]

A few cruises ago - the Legend, I believe - we met a lovely couple in the sports bar very early in the cruise. We met up for drinks a few times, then after the 1st port day, we heard their name being called. Uh oh. We were rather worried about our new friends until the evening of the last port day, when we saw them again. When we asked what happened, they said they were having such a fantastic time at the first stop (I forget where it was), that they decided to stay a few more days and catch up with the ship later. :eek: They were amused that their names were called as they had called the ship and let them know their plans. They had a fabulous time, but no way I would chance that.

[zoncom]

2 Falls ago I decided to do a Celebrity TA solo out of South Hampton. I absolutely hate London so decided not to stay there overnight.I am in Aspen, so took 2 buses and 3 flights. Crazy idea, but for some reason it worked. All transports were on time to minute, with Lufthansa early. Took that National Express bus from London airport. X was just rolling up the ropes at 5 minutes before sail when I arrived. Nice singles group all from Cruise Mates web site who all linked reservations for dining.

[kcwingwalker]

We were on the NCL Spirit in 2008 and the Captain made it known he had zero tolerance for stragglers. Evidently he made an impression because we were always underway on the dot or before the scheduled departure.

 

I will admit it is fun watching the late comers. But it must not be much fun for them.

[Ocean Air]

Ok I just can't resist.

 

If you take a COPY of your passport it will not do anything for you if you need to fly or are outside of the Caribbean . You still have to find a US government facility that is open. They have to cancel your existing passport and issue a new one. This all takes time. If you take your passport with you all you have to do is be careful to keep it in a safe place on your body. Do you leave all your credit cards in the safe?

 

Sorry but taking a copy is just ridiculous.

 

I wondered about that, it makes sense that all the copy would do is provides numbers for reference not passage.

 

Sent from my DROID4 using Forums mobile app

Edited October 1, 2013 by Ocean Air

[corpkid]

It's not about the convenience of getting it replaced. It is about your most important form of identification being used for illegal activities if it gets lost or stolen. If you lose control of it, you will still have to go through the steps to get it replaced, PLUS having to worry about any repercussions of it being used illegally.

 

Sorry, but carrying your passport unless required to is just too risky. (I won't insult you by saying that what you do is "ridiculous", as you have done to those of us who prefer to carry copies.) :rolleyes:

 

Precisely. Nobody here said it would serve as a formal document for passage - just a nice thing to have in case you get asked/stopped (see me in Russia last month during the G20). Ridiculous, huh? ;) Another thing I like to do is trim my wallet of crap I don't need overseas (like costco cards, etc.) and carry just the essentials. I lay them all down on my copier face down and make a few copies - then flip them over in place and print that side on the back. Saved my you-know-what when I lost my credit card in Copenhagen airport not too long ago. Realized it mid flight home. 20 mins into the layover, that card was cancelled and a new one was on its way and I didn't even have to buy wifi to look up the number. Go figure? :) To each his/her own I guess.

Edited October 1, 2013 by corpkid

[donaldsc]

We were on the NCL Spirit in 2008 and the Captain made it known he had zero tolerance for stragglers. Evidently he made an impression because we were always underway on the dot or before the scheduled departure.

 

I will admit it is fun watching the late comers. But it must not be much fun for them.

 

Good for him!! The ship should leave on time even if the stragglers are running down the dock. They knew what time they were supposed to be back and did not bother to keep track of the time. Tough on them.

 

Re the people who get to the boat by tender - although I do not doubt that it happens, I can not imagine why a captain would do it. Boarding from a moving tender onto a moving ship in moving seas is very dangerous. Can you imagine the trouble the captain would get in if one of the people were injured or worse died while getting onto the ship. If they did survive and were injured, their first action would probably be to hire a lawyer and sue everyone in sight. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

DON

[navybankerteacher]

Good for him!! The ship should leave on time even if the stragglers are running down the dock. They knew what time they were supposed to be back and did not bother to keep track of the time. Tough on them.

 

Re the people who get to the boat by tender - although I do not doubt that it happens, I can not imagine why a captain would do it. Boarding from a moving tender onto a moving ship in moving seas is very dangerous. Can you imagine the trouble the captain would get in if one of the people were injured or worse died while getting onto the ship. If they did survive and were injured, their first action would probably be to hire a lawyer and sue everyone in sight. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

DON

 

Excellent point. Very few cruise passengers are experienced enough, physically fit enough, or (particularly in the case of late returners) sober enough to be able to safely transfer from a small craft to a larger ship - even in very calm waters. A prudent captain would likely refuse to enable such risk taking.

[Defender1962]

We were approximately 1.5 hours out of port in Belize on the Carnival Dream on 18 Feb 14. You could still see the city lights because of all the maneuvering through shallow water to get to deeper seas. I was relaxing on my balcony as a boat sped up along side of us, the ship cut it's speed way down, and then boarded people that had missed the ship at port. Very easy operation. Happened very fast; the ship's speed was slowed down for about a minute. Not a big deal.