Ever missed the ship while in port?

[perfectlynormal]

Has anyone had an experience with missing the ship while they were out in port? On my last cruise, Grandeur July 31st, the captain made the decision to leave Bermuda 7 hours early, and there were passengers who had stayed out all night at a hotel and had no idea the ship was leaving early. I have heard the cruise line will search your cabin and leave your ID at the pier if they find it, so you can return home, or to the next port. Anyone know what happens?

[Cruisechick82]

I know there is someone on here that was left behind after the ship left early to avoid a tropical storm. I belive it was on RCCL and the crew kept paging them and looked for them on the island before the ship left as they knew they were the only people that did not get on board. I think they packed up everything from their room and gave them some kind of discount/refund.

[vmom]

Last year when we were on the RCCL Navigator in Cozumel, I was talking outside the ship on the dock to one of the officers when 2 young women ran up in tears that their ship, the Empress of the Seas, which had been docked next to us, had left without them. They had been shopping in Cozumel and lost track of time. When they got back, the ship was gone. the officer of the Navigator was going to try to radio to the Empress to find out where it was and if it wasn't too far out, to stop. Then they were going to try to get a tug boat to take the 2 young ladies out to the ship. He said they could do that if the Empress wasn't too far out yet. If the ship was too far out, then the girls would have to fly to the next port.

 

Never found out what happened.

[johnql]

When I was in Venice, a couple missed the ship. Just as we were pulling out of the harbor, we could see them running along the pier waving at the ship. They hired a water taxi to catch up to the ship; the ship stopped and the couple was hoisted back onto the ship. Knock on wood, I hope I'm never in that position.

[Princess_Sunflower]

When I was in Venice, a couple missed the ship. Just as we were pulling out of the harbor, we could see them running along the pier waving at the ship. They hired a water taxi to catch up to the ship; the ship stopped and the couple was hoisted back onto the ship. Knock on wood, I hope I'm never in that position.

 

I wonder who would pay for the additional transportation like that get back on the ship and how much it would be....just curious

[Max Circus]

I wonder who would pay for the additional transportation like that get back on the ship and how much it would be....just curious

 

I would depend on who's fault it was. Normally they expect everyone to be back onboard about 30 minutes prior to the planned sail time. If you failed to get back to the ship in time, then you (the passenger) would have to pay for travel to the next appropriate port.

 

Sounds like in the case of the Bermuda passengers, it was an unplanned early departure. Think that the cruiseline would be responsible in that case.

[johnql]

I wonder who would pay for the additional transportation like that get back on the ship and how much it would be....just curious

The couple in Venice was definitely late. The ship did not sail early. I'm guessing that the couple paid a pretty penny to the water taxi operator, but it was still probably less than what it would have cost to get to the next port stop in order to catch up to the ship. When it's the passenger's fault, any expenses associated with getting back on the ship are the passenger's responsibility.

[Pegleg1]

When it's the passenger's fault, any expenses associated with getting back on the ship are the passenger's responsibility.

 

Is it true that if you are late from a shore exursion that was booked through the cruise-line, that the ship will wait for you?

[cdkempton]

Yes the ship will wait for you if you're on a ship's excursion. They are usually in contact with one another by radio and the ship will know if an excursion is delayed for some reason.

[johnql]

Is it true that if you are late from a shore exursion that was booked through the cruise-line, that the ship will wait for you?

Generally speaking, yes. All ship-sponsored excursions keep the ship apprised if they're running late. The vast majority of the time, they will hold the ship because they know exactly what the situation is, how many people are involved, how late the excursion is running, etc. The only exception to this is if the excursion is somehow waylaid with no chance of making it back to the ship within a reasonable amount of time (i.e., waiting would cause the ship to miss its next port stop). This happens once in a while in places like Alaska where the weather is very changeable. For instance, if you go on a glacier-helicopter tour and a storm suddenly sweeps in and the helicopter is unable to fly safely, the ship may sail without you. In these instances, however, the ship is still responsible (financially and logistically) for getting you to the next stop to meet up with the ship.

[Sheffie]

We have been on ship sponsored excursions and on independent excursions. On our last cruise I had a nice chat with an independent operator in Belize. She told about how the operators help each other out if there are problems. They sure don't want to make the passengers late, because they know we all talk on CC! I pay attention to the times of the private excursions that I book, and book with leeway time considered.

 

One thing that I have noticed is that most people who miss the ship have either been shopping or at Carlos and Charlies!:eek:

[Sheffie]

We have been on ship sponsored excursions and on independent excursions. Had a nice chat with an independent operator in Belize. She told about how the operators help each other out if there are problems. They sure don't want to make the passengers late, because they know we all talk on CC! I pay attention to the times of the private excursions that I book, and book with leeway time considered.

 

I have noticed from posts about this topic that most people who miss the ship have either been shopping or at Carlos and Charlies!:eek:

[Sheffie]

We have been on ship sponsored excursions and on independent excursions. Had a nice chat with an independent operator in Belize. She told about how the operators help each other out if there are problems. They sure don't want to make the passengers late, because they know we all talk on CC! I pay attention to the times of the private excursions that I book, and book with leeway time considered. Sometimes we do go with ship's excursions, depending on the destination.

 

We try to give ourselves about an hour to spare when boarding the ship.

 

I have noticed from posts about this topic that most people who miss the ship have either been shopping or at Carlos and Charlies!:eek:

[gjules]

Is it true that if you are late from a shore exursion that was booked through the cruise-line, that the ship will wait for you?

 

When I was in Belize last November, the excursion that I was on was about 20 minutes late getting back, plus the time on the tender getting back to the ship. Thankfully, it was an excursion booked through the ship and there were about 25 of us. The ship did wait for us, but they were NOT happy!

 

If I was at all concerned about the time factor, I would only take an excursion booked through the ship.

[CaptData]

When I was on the Maasdam In Feb 05, we were in San Jaun. There were a couple on entertainers who got stuck in traffic (we were too). They did not make it back to the ship in time and were left behind. They were even later then us. It was our last island. they had to fly back to Norfolk where according to the CD they were fired.

 

I was on the ship's sponsered tour and we got back 5 mins before the ship was to sail. Normally the gangplank would have been stowed already and the lines casted but they waited for us. They drove us right up to the gangway. We got on and they lifted the gang plank.

 

Most of the time those left behind are not on ship's tours, they are shopping or at a drinking place and lost track of time. I have seen them grab the pilot boat. One couple I talked to said it cost them $400.00(US) in Grand Cayman.

[clackey]

One couple I talked to said it cost them $400.00(US) in Grand Cayman.

Wow Cap, I can get a cruise for that much.:eek: