The Ship Left Me!!!!

[beachbum53]

I find it interesting to see how many people have seen this occur, because in all my cruises, I never have. I've seen lots of pier runners, but never known of anyone to actually miss the ship. One time, I saw them pull the gangway, but have to put it back out for a runner before the ship was untied.

 

On one such occasion, while watching runners, we got to talking to a Carnival employee on an open deck. He had been working for Carnival for 10+ years (I forget the amount). He told me that he had never seen or heard of any guests getting left behind on all the ships he was on. He told me that they mainly just say they won't wait in order to scare people to be on time. Of course, I know that is not true because I've heard of many people missing the ship.

 

Say, for example, the gangway is pulled and the ship is untied and beginning to pull away but still just a few feet from the pier when a runner come up. Would they pull back and let a runner on then?

 

Short answer: No.

We've always made it a point to be back on board at least 45 minutes to an hour before departure. On a previous Western Caribbean cruise, one of our ports was Cozumel, very well known for pier runners. We got back on the ship in plenty of time, and positioned ourselves up on the Lido deck to watch people as they came back, and to watch as the shore crew did their part to get us prepared for departure. When it was time, the gangway had been taken in, the ropes had been untied, the ship's horn had been sounded, and we were underway. Just as the ship was a few yards away from the pier, we saw two women jump out of a taxi and start waving their arms and yelling "Wait! Wait for us!" The pilot boat brought them over to the ship. They were lucky. Probably incredibly embarrassed too. I doubt that they ever missed the ship again.

[winddawn]

Pier runners are hilarious to watch. ;-)

[CarnivalCruising]

No, I have never missed the ship. I get so paranoid that I'm always back on board 2 hours before it leaves each port of call.

[Mikey7989]

Pier runners are hilarious to watch. ;-)

 

Yeah, especially when there are a number of bars right next the pier, such as in Cozumel!

 

I often wonder if the names that are paged 10 - 20 minutes after the ships sails from a port are passengers who got left behind. It always seems that there are one or two people who are paged and asked to contact Guest Services!

[vacruizer]

About an hour after leaving Belize a few years ago, we saw a small boat pull up alongside the moving ship and two women climb up a ladder into the ship. I hate to think what it must have cost them to hire a private boat to bring them out to the ship. This was NOT the pilot boat, but two passengers who missed the ship.

[Kokomo_Man]

I had an aft balcony on the Destiny (before it became the Sunshine) and just as we were leaving the dock in Ocho Rios I saw a family of three... mom, dad and little kid appear at the head of the dock. The ship may have been 20 or 30 yards from the dock and turning toward the sea.

 

The dad began shouting and waving... the ship kept leaving. The dad began running down the dock toward the ship, waving and shouting, "STOP THE BOAT"... the ship kept it's course. By the time "dad" reached the end of the dock, still shouting and waving... we were completely turned with the stern to the dock and picking up speed.

 

When I first saw the family appear, I called the guest services desk and told them of the family back on the dock. They said, "thank you for letting us know".

 

It wasn't long till I could no longer hear dad, but I could tell he was still waving and shouting. A little while after that he quit waving and we disappeared into the sunset.

 

I sure hope "dad" and his family had their passports and plenty of funds with them. I like Jamaica a lot, but I don't think it would be fun with no money and no passports... YEOOOOWWWWWWW!

 

Bob

Searching for Kokomo

[Linerguy]

Run, Forest, run!!!

[Ronie_Ver]

My sister and I drove from Seattle to Long Beach. The traffic in LA was unbelievable. We made it 30 minutes before sailing. Our GPS navigator broke so we had to use the good old signs and our heads to get there. By the time we got on the ship, we were so mentally drained that we just sat there, looking into the distance. ..I don't remember the rest of that day... It wasn't fun...

[nlktx49]

I had always been very judgmental about people missing the ship - there's no excuse, probably in a bar drunk. Then in February we were in Progreso, and I had booked us on an excursion to Chichen Itza, which was a 2-hour drive from port. My husband and I, along with my two sisters, they were first time cruisers. And I told them we could save money booking through Auto Progreso rather than Carnival. All went well until we were about halfway back, and the van broke down! We had to wait for them to send another vehicle, then were on our way again. I was sweating bullets, as it was already 3:30 and that was the time we were to be on board for departure at 4:00. I, of course, felt fully responsible, all to save a few dollars. We pulled up at the pier at 3:50, and the excursion guide said "Run!" We're all in our 60's and not in the best shape, but we did our best. The last gangplank was there, the crowds on board the ship were cheering and booing as we struggled aboard. That was way too close for comfort! I learned an important lesson - never go on an excursion that takes you that far from port unless it's a Carnival one - and never say that you would never miss the ship!

[stefs111]

In St Marten, as the ship was leaving, we were on our balcony and saw a man and a woman, with only their bathing suits on, holding towels, standing on the pier, and waving at the ship. We sailed without them. How scary being left behind with only your bathing suit!!

 

We rented a jeep in Aruba, my husband and I and our son and his girlfriend. My watch was set to ship time. We came back to the ship and went to return our jeep, but the car rental was closed!! We couldn't figure it out, then we saw the ship taking up the gangway, we sent the kids to run there and tell them to wait. We didn't know what to do about the jeep, but another couple pulled up to the same jeep rental, from our same ship, and here, we were supposed to be on Aruba time, an hour earlier! Here is the REALLY scary part, we left the keys with the car rental next door, and the jeeps outside the locked gate. The car rental next door said they would call him and let him know the jeeps were back and parked outside his gates. We were so afraid we were going to get charged for the jeeps, but it turned out ok, we just got charged the $50 for the day.

[jmd958]

3 years ago, my husband and I went on our first cruise on RCCL for our 25th wedding anniversary. I had read on message boards like this to book all excursions through the cruise line you are sailing so they have to wait for you if you are late. We took that advice. We were in Cozumel and took an excursion to the Mayan ruins and a beach somewhere. After we left the ruins and were enjoying time on the beach, I realized there was no way we would be back in time for departure. I don't know why our tour guide had us spend so much time at the beach, but we figured he knew what he was doing. Our whole group returned to the ship 1 hour late. After that experience, I will never book a private excursion no matter how much money I could save.

[OCruisers]

We have been very late returning from SHIPS' EXCURSIONS a few times.

The ship was always there waiting. :)

LuLu

[tinlizzy]

We were about a half an hour late one time because of daylight savings time. The tour operator insisted they knew the correct time and we did not! It was very stressful! I thought for sure that the ship would be gone when we got back to port.

 

There were 20 or so on the tour and when we arrived back at the port there were about 400 people waiting to get back on the ship! Apparently all of the tour operators were confused.

[oldmedic]

Yeah, especially when there are a number of bars right next the pier, such as in Cozumel!

 

I often wonder if the names that are paged 10 - 20 minutes after the ships sails from a port are passengers who got left behind. It always seems that there are one or two people who are paged and asked to contact Guest Services!

 

those are normally those that have not checked back in to the ship.. i asked one of the ships employees about it, he just kind of laughed about it and said they "probably" got left behind...:eek::eek:

[Budget Queen]

I missed the Epic last year sailing out of Barcelona. :( I was in the Barcelona hospital already 2 days in ICU. Ended up staying there another 9 days. I'm fortunate I don't pay to fly and got some first class seats home. The way things go- I missed 3 cruises in 2013.

 

My life is now in the faster lane (always had been in the fast lane). I've been on 8 cruises already this year- 90 total. Next one is Monday. I have more than enough funds, and I'm going to go where I wish. :)

[OCruisers]

Pier runners are hilarious to watch. ;-)

 

But in your heart ... don't you actually feel bad for those who are arriving late for one reason or another and desperately trying to make it back to the ship?

LuLu

Edited June 7, 2014 by OCruisers

[Kokomo_Man]

These stories show that being left behind can happen... even to those that are conservative on their time.

 

One of the things I always tell folks is to take your passport with you when you get off the ship. If something does happen, then you will likely just have a great adventure to tell folks about... if you have your passport with you. If you do get left behind without a passport you will only have a horror story to tell.

 

Bob

Searching for Kokomo

[Sabalon]

Last time we were so worn out from the self-excursions, we got back in plenty of time. I think this next cruise I'll make a point to have a view of the gangplank in Nassau to watch for sprinters.

 

Guess it won't be so dramatic in Half Moon Cay - can't imagine people swimming out to the boat :)

[mferris77]

It almost happened to us on our first cruise, it was a horrifying experience and now I always plan to be back ON BOARD an hour before they tell you to be on board.

 

First cruise, eastern itinerary on the Glory, docked at St. Thomas. Didn't do much except hang out at the shops at the dock, but we wanted to eat dinner at the bar at the top of that mountain with the gondola.

 

So, we buy our tickets to the gondola, it slowly makes its way up the mountain... found out there were more shops up there so we looked around there, then headed to the bar/restaurant to grab a bit to eat. It was a bit busy, ordered a couple drinks and some food. Food was taking much longer than expected - we already knew we should be heading back before the food even got to us. Finally get our food, inhale it as fast as possible, and suddenly the bartender (we were eating at the bar) disappears. We must have sat there for 5 minutes waiting for some staff to show up so we can get our bill. As I'm signing my bill, I hear the blaring of the ship's horn. Holy crap - run back to the gondola and it *slowly* makes its way back down. We run across the street, back to the pier, no one there at all except two guys at the gangway, bent over holding the end of the gangway, staring us down. People were jeering at us - "You're late!" "Run faster!" "Hurry up!" As soon as we walked across the gangway they lifted it up and pulled it in.

 

Pretty terrible feeling, but at least we got on board and we learned a lesson we'll never forget!

[mosiegirl]

when they say be back at the ship by 5:00pm.. they MEAN 5:00pm.. not 5:01pm.. not 5:02pm.. 5:00pm sharp ! Can't fault the cruise lines on this one.. buy yourself a reliable watch and set it on ship time.

[CTCruisers]

The one time we almost did not make it happened last year when we taken a private tour in Scotland out of Greenock. There were 8 of us in a small minivan and our guide was taking us back to the ship when we ran into construction on the highway which slowed down our progress. We were getting rather anxious and then as the guide raced us to the ship, we passed an large bus with a Carnival placard. We all let out a huge sigh when we realized that the ship would be waiting for that bus to get back. We did walk onto the ship within a few minutes of the all aboard time.

 

On that same cruise, a couple had rented a car in Dublin to visit a small town a few hours away. They had a flat tire and did not make it back to the ship. They contacted the ship and met up with us a few days later in Edinburgh after they had taken a ferry to Liverpool and then a train to Edinburgh.

 

We always have copies of our passport on us when we leave the ship.

[MistyRo76]

We had a group of 23 on a 4 day, Key West/Cozumel cruise several years ago. The ship was in Cozumel until 11PM. Most of our group spent the afternoon at the beach and evening at Señor Frogs. But two people in our group we're die hard Cubs fans and it being baseball season they headed off on their own to try to find a bar to watch the game. The rest of us were back on the ship and on the Lido deck for the deck party when we heard our Cub fan friends being paged over the ship's loudspeakers. Apparently they made the mistake of asking a local what time it was and since Cozumel was an hour behind ship time they thought they had more time than they did. They made it back to the ship but were literally the last two to board before we left port. Very close call!!!

 

Misty

[Hockeylovinmom]

Yea, the ship sailed off and left me ( for a different cruise). Bummer.

[sjcruiser]

Not me, but I have seen a few pier runners, who have just made it to the ship as they were pulling up the gangway.

[vamartha]

The worst I have even seen was Aruba last fall. We left over an hour late. It could not have been a Carnival excursion as there were about seven separate pier runner groups, all arriving in different vehicles and at different times. And it was raining cats and dogs! The first couple of groups got the usual whooping and hollering and cajoling from the crowd on the ship but the last couple of groups arrived almost unnoticed as the novelty had worn off by that point.

 

In Ocho Rios we had some who missed but a pilot boat brought them out to the ship. And in Cozumel - whoa, I love Cozumel for pier runners! Alcohol almost always seems to be the catalyst and it is always humorous! I never want to be that person!