Do people really miss the boat in ports?

[hospvol]

Once in St. Thomas they sent a tender to pick up two women on the dock. :(

[Allis154]

Port Douglas, this past spring. A couple missed the last tender; he hired another boat to bring him out...got his kids (which were left on board)...and got off at the next port :)

 

I, too, watch the late, selfish people trying to get to the ship on time...very amusing :)

[ducklite]

As others have pointed out, it seems to happen the most in certain Caribbean ports. We were once on the last tender, but by choice. We had arrived at the tender dock about an hour prior to the last tender, and I wanted to do a little shopping within sight of the dock. The security guy from our cruise told me to go ahead and worst case scenario he would find me before the last tender left. (There were only half a dozen small shops right there) I came back as I saw the tender leave the ship and head towards the dock, and waited about five minutes having some ice water before it arrived and I boarded it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

So I've been reading stories of people really missing the boat in ports... does this really happen or is it being over stated. WOW that would really be bad news but somewhat entertaining to watch the people run for the ship.

 

 

Yes -- it really happens. We have seen passengers and crew members miss the ship.

For passengers, security goes to their cabin, opens the safe and hands over the passports to an agent on shore (HAL does this). When the passengers get back to their pier -- the agent meets them and hands them their passports. Then it is up to the passengers get to the next port -- which can be very expensive.

[Slugsta]

We were those people running down the dock at Stockholm - and there was not even any alcohol involved! What was involved was a mix of circumstances - including us not being where we thought we were, a HOHO bus that took much longer than expected to complete the trip and also dropped us off somewhere different from when we picked up, and a husband who was still laughing at me for 'panicking' even when I thought it was clear that we were potentially in trouble.

 

We hurled ourselves up the gangway at 17:29:59 and the ship sailed at 17.30 ('all aboard' time was 17.30).

 

I have made it clear that, in future, I will start heading back to the ship when I want to and DH can stay longer if he feels lucky!

[lucille&mike]

We had late arrivals on our stop in Tallinn this past summer. It still amazes me that the ship, Carnival Legend waited. We had an aft balcony and saw it all.......

We stll hadn't left the port more than a half an hour after sceduled departure. The ship sent an officer out to the end of the port area to look/wait for the missing passengers. After over an hour, here comes the taxi. Absolutely NO HURRY whatsoever. Out gets mom, dad and a couple/three kids. You could just see the Carnival employee fetting in their ear, trying to hurry them. Still took their time. Probably another 10 minutes to get to the ship, him in his ear the entire time. No hurry, no nothing.

Bottom line is, they should have been on their own to find a way to our next stop, St. Petersburg. Good luck with that one!

[lucille&mike]

a HOHO bus that took much longer than expected to complete the trip and also dropped us off somewhere different from when we picked up, /quote]

 

A note to any and all for HOHO's in Europe, (at least in the Baltic) seem to operate that way. The HOHO's actually are more of a HOHO and stop. They do not run continuously. Makes it very difficult to plan complete circuit and times involved. We didn't come close to missing the ship, but in my mind 30 minutes was still way to close............. just sayin.

[Sandy Sails]

It was probably my third visit to St. Thomas, but this time with extended family. Thought a private tour with a reputable tour guide would be nice for everybody. The tour guide (actual owner of the company) said he knew when the all aboard times were for all the ships. But I had to correct him that our ship's all aboard was 4:00, not 4:30. He didn't believe me. I argued with him all day long. When he finally decided to go along with me just to shut me up, he dropped us off at the pier at 3:55, just as the final all aboard horn was going off. The look on his face was priceless. Ha ha, I was right, he was wrong.

[Treven]

It can (almost) happen even with a ship's sponsored excursion. On my first cruise we were caught up in heavy traffic and were late getting back to the ship. Only because it was a ship's tour, there was a ship still waiting for us; we were the last group getting back to the ship and as soon as we were aboard, we took off.

[ducklite]

Didn't a cruise ship pull out of port in Portland Maine a few hours early due to a low tide issue a year or two ago leaving hundreds of passengers (many on ships shore excursions) behind?

[NoWhiners]

It can (almost) happen even with a ship's sponsored excursion. On my first cruise we were caught up in heavy traffic and were late getting back to the ship. Only because it was a ship's tour, there was a ship still waiting for us; we were the last group getting back to the ship and as soon as we were aboard, we took off.

 

This was similar to our recent experience, on a cruise around the Black Sea. In Sevastopol, we had signed up for a private tour. We got a little behind schedule, but decided we had just enough time to see the Panorama. Our guide made a deal with the people who ran the museum, and we were allowed to go in after a group had started (you are supposed to go in at timed intervals, to see it all).We got to see the 3D part of the museum, then ran back to our bus. DH and I paid on our way back to the port, then ran from where the bus dropped us off to get to the ramp and tell them the others were coming--this was at 4:10, with a 4:00 pm "all aboard" time.

 

As it turned out, 2 of the cruise line tours didn't get back until 4:40, so we got lucky. We waited for them (wondering why we were so late, then we saw the buses pull up to the ship) and that gave everyone else who was late a chance to get onboard--and we saw A LOT of people slowly making their way back.. The crew was taking in all the "extra" stuff while we waited for the 2 excursions. We got on after they loaded the fake trees they put out by the ramp!! way too close for me--never again!!

 

ML

[Slugsta]

@ Lucille&Mike Yes, we have learned that lesson! Also, we hadn't realised that we were only about 1/3 of the way through the circuit so that didn't help either...

 

@ Ducklite Yes, I seem to remember hearing about that incident too. In that case it would have been the cruise-line's responsibility to get everyone safely on board again. Not so, of course, if it is the passengers' fault.

[boogs]

Didn't a cruise ship pull out of port in Portland Maine a few hours early due to a low tide issue a year or two ago leaving hundreds of passengers (many on ships shore excursions) behind?

 

There may be several reasons why a ship must leave it's dock early, but a low tide situation should never be one of them. The captain and his bridge staff should be well aware of tidal patterns, the draft of their ship, and the depth of the docking location. All of this information is available well in advance of the port visit. Tidal conditions are known years in advance, in fact. It should never be a surprise that the tide will be too low for the ship.

 

There are some situations that may occur unexpectedly. Because of a storm in the Caribbean last year, two cruise ships were ordered to leave early by port authorities. Or a fire at the dock may force the captain to leave the location to protect the ship, as happened a couple of years ago to a Royal Caribbean ship. When possible (other than for storm conditions) the ship will anchor out and use their tenders to retrieve passengers left behind.

[Allis154]

This nearly happened to us...but we were on a ship excursion. A 13+ hour excursion, during a 9 hour port stay! Drove us right to the gangway :) lol

[knittinggirl]

a HOHO bus that took much longer than expected to complete the trip and also dropped us off somewhere different from when we picked up, /quote]

 

A note to any and all for HOHO's in Europe, (at least in the Baltic) seem to operate that way. The HOHO's actually are more of a HOHO and stop. They do not run continuously. Makes it very difficult to plan complete circuit and times involved. We didn't come close to missing the ship, but in my mind 30 minutes was still way to close............. just sayin.

Are the HOHO's booked through the ship more reliable?

[notentirelynormal]

The only time we've come close to missing the ship we were on a ship sponsored tour. We were in Tunis, Tunisia. One couple on the bus decided they needed to buy one of the carpets. While the entire bus load of people stood outside and waited for over hour they made their deal. Seriously an entire hour extra waiting on one couple to buy their carpet. I'm sure they got a great deal :rolleyes:. The sales pitch had been about that long but absolutely everyone but this one couple were standing in the walk way waiting to leave. Talk about self absorbed.

 

That meant we were late for the rest of the tour. The tour guide wanted us to do it for two reasons. First, we hadn't seen the "belly dancer" yet which was supposed to be part of the tour. Second, we hadn't had the shopping at my brother's store thing. Most were standing waiting outside the store for others to go through a store so small you were touching everyone in places you never should. FINALLY, everyone got the clue. The store was selling junk and we were LATE and needed to get back on the bus and get back to the ship. The Cruise Director happened to be on our bus which I'm sure helped.

 

THEN we had to have our passports out to show to the port authority before we were allowed to board by the Tunisian government. You wouldn't believe how many people stood in line for 30 minutes to get to the front to go "huh, I need to get it out!". So then we waited while they dug through their purses and pockets for the documents. Now keep in mind, they announced continually the whole time we were in line to get out our passports.

 

The second we boarded the ship left port.

[Bonnie J.]

Met an older lady who had missed the ship in Nassau. She and her husband were on a tour, got back and she wanted to do some shopping, he got back on board. She had the wrong time for the ship to leave. Got back to the port and saw the ship way out there. So, she was taken to a hotel, her expense, had dinner & breakfast at her expense then was flown to the next port which happened to be ship's on ISLAND. How did she get there? By sea plane! Their total cost for missing the ship? $1800!

[lucille&mike]

Are the HOHO's booked through the ship more reliable?

 

Ship's HOHO's are the exact same ones.

[knittinggirl]

 

Ship's HOHO's are the exact same ones.

Will ships leave you if you're late from a ship HOHO?

[ducklite]

Will ships leave you if you're late from a ship HOHO?

 

Yes, possibly. The difference is that the ship wold then be responsible for paying for your accommodation and travel costs to the next port.

[seaitall]

I have to admit, I have been entertained watching people run down the pier trying to catch the ship. It's kind of a tradition to line the railings and watch the show. Also, you will hear names and cabin numbers being announced over the PA. Those are the folks who are missing.

[hancock]

Saw 7 who missed the Oasis last Wednesday in St. Maartin. Next port was Ft. Lauderdale.