Klfhngr's story: I missed the boat in Nassau!

[A_Sea_Bugg]

Deteted

Edited October 1, 2016 by A_Sea_Bugg

[A_Sea_Bugg]

It's a good question but even if they had lockers I am not sure that I would risk my passport in one. Our upcoming cruise will be our first with passports and I think we're just going to leave them aboard in the safe.

I pack accordingly. If I were to do Dunn's I would use a cheap backpack and double ziplock bags. Put what you don't want wet in the ziplock bags and put them in the backpack. If you are going somewhere that you don't have to worry about water and you take better cameras I take my camera bag and keep it connected to me. If I go to a beach or other excursions I plan accordingly. Either me or my DW keeps whatever we have next to us. We don't just walk away and expect it to be there when we get back. After all it us your items and your responsibility to make sure they are not taken.

[sg1phileshipper]

Thanks for sharing that story, a good lesson for everyone. And I think everyone on a ship should receive a copy of that story in their stateroom. Nearly in every port on our recent B2B there were people too late, like 30 mins too late. They were lucky Captain Shawn waited for them....

 

 

Cindy

Edited October 1, 2016 by sg1phileshipper

[EchoOfYourPast]

Thank you, for sharing this story. It has made me more aware of things!

San :)

[qe2]

Great advice. Thank you for sharing. Also points out how valuable a travel agent can be.

[KuffMUp]

Interesting story. Makes you realize why you MUST be on time. My stepmother missed a very expensive cruise to the Easter Islands, but she didn't miss the boat by staying over. She sadly booked a flight the same day as her cruise was leaving. She luckily bought insurance but totally missed the boat. We ALWAYS fly in the day before to be sure we make it (even when we have insurance).

[GGBOXERS]

Good read and it stressed the importance of being on time when the ship tells you to be there! I have always given myself an extra 30-45 minutes to be back on the ship!

 

Had a close call in St. Thomas years ago when we had left the ship first thing in the morning and just by accident ran into a couple fellow cruisers who were on their way back to the ship who informed us that the ship changed the time we were to leave because of a tropical storm kicking up in St. Maarten which was to be our next port. I truly think that we still would have been on the ship anyway but had we not had planned to head back when we did, who knows?

 

I do remember leaving a port on another cruise and seeing a couple people running and screaming for the ship to stop! Packages were flying up in the air! Later that day, the cruise director made a statement strongly reinforcing the cruise policy...WHEN YOU ARE TOLD TO BE BACK ONBOARD...BE BACK ONBOARD! Once a ship pulls that gangplank, even if they move a foot and attempt to engage the plank again, they are charged another port fee. So you understand why they do not do it!

 

I always would carry a copy of my passport, along with the rest of the family in my backpack when on an excursion, now I am rethinking that and will start to carry my passport in a sealed ziplock (so it doesn't get wet) as well as my cell charger! I also suggest programming your cell alarm to go off as a reminder when to start back to the ship!

 

THANKS for the advice and sharing your experience.

 

GGBOXERS

[Ereggae]

This is truly an eye opener. On my last cruise the Summit and another Celebrity ship were in port together. Two passengers were late to the other ship. They waited as long as they could then as soon as they pulled away they ran and tried to get a speed boat to take them out. No way so they tried to come on the Summit and that could not happen so they were pissed and were cursing. I am sure they learned a painful lesson.

 

 

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[Losnab]

Getting ready to cruise. Read your story back in 2014 and made a strong impact. I have my waterproof watch on. But I admit forgetting to bring copies of our passport, I will be taking care of that this am at the hotel. I agree that this story is a must read for every cruiser.

 

 

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[FireStation46]

You can also see videos of folks missing the biat on You Tube. Very scary and sad to see!

 

We keep our eye on the clock when ashore. We had a bus tour operator booked through RCL. The bus broke down. Thankfully, close enough to the port at San Juan we go off the bus and walked. Always scary in the back of our mind if it had happened further away from the ship and all thise fols scrambling to find a taxi at same time.

[MrsPete]

Interesting story. Makes you realize why you MUST be on time. My stepmother missed a very expensive cruise to the Easter Islands, but she didn't miss the boat by staying over. She sadly booked a flight the same day as her cruise was leaving. She luckily bought insurance but totally missed the boat. We ALWAYS fly in the day before to be sure we make it (even when we have insurance).

Yep, I say if you aren't able to arrive a day early, you aren't able to make this cruise. We once had unexpected trouble reaching Florida, and if we'd been heading for the ship that day, we would have missed it. It could happen to any of us next time we travel.

Arriving a day ahead is just good planning.

 

Good read and it stressed the importance of being on time when the ship tells you to be there! I have always given myself an extra 30-45 minutes to be back on the ship!

I personally prefer a larger time cushion, but I agree with the concept.

 

I always would carry a copy of my passport, along with the rest of the family in my backpack when on an excursion, now I am rethinking that and will start to carry my passport in a sealed ziplock (so it doesn't get wet) as well as my cell charger! I also suggest programming your cell alarm to go off as a reminder when to start back to the ship!

As I said earlier in this thread, I think the real message here is, communicate with your group and don't split up. Those are the things that really caused trouble for the OP. You know, prevention is always better than cure.

 

If you opt to set a cell phone alarm, be aware of time zones. Your phone probably changes time zones automatically ... the ship probably doesn't; thus, you could end up feeling safe but really be an hour ahead/behind schedule.

Edited January 19, 2017 by MrsPete

[Pierlesscruisers]

The cruiselines are faking when they say they don't have a moment to spare or that they cannot POSSIBLY wait 5 extra minutes. Seriously, they have spare time built into their routes.

 

Whether they have time to wait or not is not always the same and depends on many different factors. Is there a sea day before the next port? If so, they have more time in which to make up time lost. If not, then not so much time. What is the weather? What about tides? Some places, like Astoria, OR are more dependent on tides than others, if I'm not mistaken. Getting into port is not a simple case of "show up whenever you can" and a missed docking time can cost big bucks or cause other problems.

 

First off, shore excursions thru the ship are not that much more expensive than non ship excursions. Second, the ship will wait for pax on ship sponsored excursions regardless of how late the excursion returns.

 

I believe that if you'll check into this a bit further you'll find that some of the go/nogo decisions in the case of sponsored excursions are based on a cost basis. If staying in port for a given time period is going to cost X dollars due to additional costs (e.g. added port fees for being at the pier for that period, added longshoreman fees for their added time at the pier, increased fuel costs due to increased speeds required, possible added port fees at the next port, etc.) are less than the costs incurred for waiting (e.g. transportation of the passengers left to the next port plus any meals, lodging, etc. incurred by them) then they decision would probably dictate that the ship would stay for some given time period. However, if the costs to wait are greater, then the decision would be made to sail and not wait. The decision in either case is probably not an easy one to make as you have to balance both the cost and the affect on the customers and by customers I mean both the ones who are directly involved (late returning) and the rest of the passengers.

 

Tom

[JVilleGal]

Wow! What an eye opener, thanks for the great post.

 

 

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[sturderick]

I am so glad to have found this! We have one person going with us that didn't have a passport and we were trying to decide if she could get by without one. After reading this, no way!! I was also thinking about skipping our travel insurance to save money. NO WAY again!! This is excellent information to have.

[Marigold252]

Whether they have time to wait or not is not always the same and depends on many different factors. Is there a sea day before the next port? If so, they have more time in which to make up time lost. If not, then not so much time. What is the weather? What about tides? Some places, like Astoria, OR are more dependent on tides than others, if I'm not mistaken. Getting into port is not a simple case of "show up whenever you can" and a missed docking time can cost big bucks or cause other problems.

 

 

 

I believe that if you'll check into this a bit further you'll find that some of the go/nogo decisions in the case of sponsored excursions are based on a cost basis. If staying in port for a given time period is going to cost X dollars due to additional costs (e.g. added port fees for being at the pier for that period, added longshoreman fees for their added time at the pier, increased fuel costs due to increased speeds required, possible added port fees at the next port, etc.) are less than the costs incurred for waiting (e.g. transportation of the passengers left to the next port plus any meals, lodging, etc. incurred by them) then they decision would probably dictate that the ship would stay for some given time period. However, if the costs to wait are greater, then the decision would be made to sail and not wait. The decision in either case is probably not an easy one to make as you have to balance both the cost and the affect on the customers and by customers I mean both the ones who are directly involved (late returning) and the rest of the passengers.

 

Tom

Last month we were booked on a ship excursion (HAL) that was scheduled to return at the all aboard time (2:30). I checked with the excursion desk to see if they were going to change the time and was told "not to worry. The ship will wait for you even if you don't get back until 5 pm". The excursion was late leaving and we didn't return until 3:30. The crew had already removed most of the tie lines and we were half way to our cabin when we pulled away from the pier. We are very selective in choosing to book private excursions over the ship offerings.

 

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[klfhngr]

Wow, I'm so glad that my experience has helped others! I haven't cruised since the Allure but will be heading out in May.. I'm definitely prepared this time, lol! I will heed my own cancel but promise to be back on the ship on time! Oh, and no kids this time, lol!

[CanadianDee]

 

Is it wrong that I'm kinda hoping you have another adventure? Maybe you get rescued by a pod of dolphins while out snorkelling ...

[klfhngr]

Is it wrong that I'm kinda hoping you have another adventure? Maybe you get rescued by a pod of dolphins while out snorkelling ...

 

Lol! Or I can make up a crazy story of missing the ship in Aruba ! ;)

 

I read all 5 pages of this thread and wanted to thank everyone for their kind words. I know I'm a year or 2 late, sorry about that, but many thanks and hope that i was able to help others.

 

Safe cruising to all... I'm back to cruising baby! !!

[flacousa]

Wow, I'm so glad that my experience has helped others! I haven't cruised since the Allure but will be heading out in May.. I'm definitely prepared this time, lol! I will heed my own cancel but promise to be back on the ship on time! Oh, and no kids this time, lol!

 

 

 

Thanks to you we no longer disembark without our passports, we never know when from no fault of our own miss the boat and be in the same predicament.

 

 

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[PamJack]

I also bring my phone charger when I leave the ship because of your story.

 

 

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[klfhngr]

Awe man, glad to hear that my experience has helped others!!

 

One thing about the passports: I'm not going to encourage/discourage people from taking them ashore, but when my wife got on the ship and went to the room, security was in our room going thru our safe! They were looking for my passport so that they could give to Alfred (Port Authority). As some have said, they do make an effort to get your passport to someone on land. BUT, if you do leave it on the ship, leave it in your SAFE!!

 

Because of my experience, I'll be taking a phone charger, a little extra cash, a credit card, spare shirt (lol), and a copy of my passport ashore at every port this time! :) Oh, and a list of numbers to call! Also, I'll learn how to dial out from the country I'm in!!!!!! This to me is HUGE!!!! Should I have know what numbers to dial before the actual number, I might have been able to contact my family and tell the captain that I was literally in front of the pier, and they possibly would've waited... oh well, lesson learned!

[Haole]

We were leaving Helsinki on an NCL Baltic cruise heading to Stockholm. About 10 minutes after departure we notice a pilot boat hightailing after us. As it nears, the ship slows to a stop of a couple of minutes, then resumes its speed. The pilot boat turns around and leaves.

 

We later found out that 16 passengers had missed the departure and some of them were on the pilot boat. The Captain, however, refused to let them board.

 

To make matters worse, weather issues later that evening forced us to skip Stockholm and proceed to our final port of Copenhagen.

 

Rumor was that these stranded passengers went to Stockholm, found out about the detour and had to reroute to Copenhagen.

 

The morals of the story have been well discussed below.

[rtfnl]

I had forgotten about this adventure. It made me smile and tear because it reminded me when I had to get off of the Legend with my dad prior to her sailing from FLL to Panama due to Carnival misplacing my dad's dialysis solutions. We had flew to Panama and caught up with the ship there, which was the first port. Why I'm tearing is my dad who introduced me to cruising about 35 years ago is no longer living. I'm in the process of arranging a big group for Dec going to Cozumel. I hope no one in my group becomes a pier runner or worst yet is left in Cozumel.

[klfhngr]

I had forgotten about this adventure. It made me smile and tear because it reminded me when I had to get off of the Legend with my dad prior to her sailing from FLL to Panama due to Carnival misplacing my dad's dialysis solutions. We had flew to Panama and caught up with the ship there, which was the first port. Why I'm tearing is my dad who introduced me to cruising about 35 years ago is no longer living. I'm in the process of arranging a big group for Dec going to Cozumel. I hope no one in my group becomes a pier runner or worst yet is left in Cozumel.

 

I'm sorry :(

 

It's good that he introduced you to cruising, I'm sure he'd be happy to see that you have the same passion as he had for the seas!

 

No RUNNERS!! Or as in my case, no GOLF CART 'runners'!

[raye70]

Always have copy of passport with me so I don't worry about losing original

 

 

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