Please don't leave me!!

[angeebabee]

I'm going to Aruba soon on the Carnival Breeze. I know that it's much safer to book excursions thru Carnival but if I decide to take a chance and book on my own, what are the chances that the ship will leave me? (I'm thinking worse case scenario here and the bus breaks down or something like that). :oConsider also that it will be over 20 people. Would Carnival leave that many people behind? Whats the highest number of people that you've seen carnival leave at the port?

[lizardhowson]

There is no guarantee Carnival will wait for a late non-Carnival tour regardless of the number of passengers involved.

 

On almost every cruise I have been on, I have seen people left standing on the dock as we sailed out to sea (for various reasons - usually they were highly intoxicated). So cruise ships leave people ashore all the time.

 

Your tour operator will have you back to the ship on time, their reputation and future bookings depend on it. Nothing to worry about.

Edited April 20, 2015 by lizardhowson

[okgirl]

I'm going to Aruba soon on the Carnival Breeze. I know that it's much safer to book excursions thru Carnival but if I decide to take a chance and book on my own, what are the chances that the ship will leave me? (I'm thinking worse case scenario here and the bus breaks down or something like that). :oConsider also that it will be over 20 people. Would Carnival leave that many people behind? Whats the highest number of people that you've seen carnival leave at the port?

 

In all my 35 Carnival cruises I've never seen Carnival leave anyone at a port. It really rarely happens. They will wait as long as they can, I've read where they've waited 30 minutes, but there isn't a guarantee.

 

Be sure to have your cell phone with you and call emergency number for the shoreside agent if you run into any trouble.

[cruzeluver]

We book almost exclusively with independent tour operators and have had no issues. Research the one you are looking at and if they have good reviews here and on other travel sites and have been in business for awhile you should be fine.

[lifeinabooth]

We book almost exclusively with independent tour operators and have had no issues. Research the one you are looking at and if they have good reviews here and on other travel sites and have been in business for awhile you should be fine.

 

Yep. We've never had a problem and have enjoyed the savings and variety when choosing our own tours.

 

As pp stated, the independent operators know how important it is that customers make it back on time.

 

:)

[Isa65]

Aruba is a small island. Even in the event something happens, the independent vendors can always get a substitute vehicle to take you to the pier. No need to worry.

[ATLCruiseJunkie]

If you book with a reputable tour company or driver, then you shouldn't have any issues getting back to the ship on time. Independent operators know the competition they have for excursions, and with the way they depend on online reviews, they would not risk getting a reputation of causing people to miss the ship. I have booked independently at least one of the ports each cruise, if not all, and have never come close to missing the ship.

Edited April 20, 2015 by ATLCruiseJunkie

[sailor_jimc]

I agree with all of the above. Especially the one about Aruba being small enough that if the transportation does break down that you should be able to grab a taxi or get another bus back to the ship.

 

30 cruises and we take mostly non cruise line excursions and never have had an issue. Carnival does make more of the risk than there is in order to sell y ou their over priced excursions.

[arubanut]

I agree with all of the above. Especially the one about Aruba being small enough that if the transportation does break down that you should be able to grab a taxi or get another bus back to the ship...

 

Ditto!!

[bplazo]

I have never had a problem booking independently.

[Singer4Him]

They will wait as long as they can, I've read where they've waited 30 minutes, but there isn't a guarantee.

 

Our last cruise, we waited at least 30 minutes in San Juan while they repeatedly called the same names over and over on the intercom. I'm not sure if they finally made it or if they were left but I do know that the ship was at least 30 minutes late leaving port.

 

Also, as others have stated, the tour operators DO NOT want to get a bad rep by having customers who miss the ship due to them. Most of them are terribly conscientious of the time and make sure that you're back well within the time limit.

 

In all of our cruises, we've only booked one excursion through Carnival and that was simply because we had a pretty good price drop which gave us over $500 in OBC. Everything else that we've done has either been free-styling or through an independent operator.

[WildBlueYonder64]

We almost always book independently, as well. With that being said, no matter how reliable the tour operator is, how great their reviews are, situations can always arise that are out of their control (accidents, etc.). With that being said, with any excursion we book independently, we always allow at least a 2 hour window to be back at the port before last call to board. The only way we would return close to the last call time is if we booked through the cruise line. We also always carry the emergency contact information found on the bottom of that day's Fun Times just in case we run into any issues.

[kteachcruiser52]

We prefer independent excursions unless we are going somewhere like the Tulum Ruins which is a long distance from port. We did not get back from that one until about sail away time so we were glad it was a Carnival excursion. a Carnival rep met our bus and told us to go directly to the ship. if anyone stop to shop they would most likely be left behind.

 

We only came close on one private excursion due to a traffic jam as a result of an accident. our driver took to back streets and we seemed to be traveling at a fast speed, but we made it back about 15 minutes before we were to be back on board (40 minutes before sail away time). if a vendor did not get cruisers back to the ship before sail away it would be posted all over CC, FB, and Trip Afvisor. As a precaution, we do take our passports with us.

[campdaan]

Look up Sonny Binns.

 

 

Tell him the penguin sent you... :D

[Barb Nahoumi]

What about the tour guides who line up at the dock, offering tours to passengers. How reputable are they?

[AngAndBoys]

The only advice I can add is be VERY conscious of the difference between ship's time and local time. I actually had the opposite problem and missed my booked excursion because I showed up an hour late to it not realizing that the port time was different than ship's time. Money down the drain on that one.

[lido deck larry]

Think of it this way.. the are worse places to be stuck than Aruba!

[lizardhowson]

What about the tour guides who line up at the dock, offering tours to passengers. How reputable are they?

 

My thought would be - you know nothing about them - so why would expect them to be reputable (or worse - safe to go off in a foreign country with, since no one even knows you are with them) Why would you risk that ?? :rolleyes:

 

Don't forget, it has already happened to one young lady on that island :eek: (and before I get flamed, I have been to Aruba for an entire week and because I made sound decisions, I felt safe the entire time)

[hirent]

Aruba (and most islands) should be fine as long as you are on land.

Accidents, vehicle failure and unforeseen circumstances can and will arise anytime.

We have done both Carnival excursions & independent tours.

Depending on the place sometimes there is little difference in the tours offered by Carnival & others. Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman for instance is a highly popular tour and would be very similar between tour companies. And it might be better to take the cruiseline's tour.

On some islands, Carnival doesn't even offer a comparable tour.

If you are on land, you should be safe with any operator. You should be able to find another taxi/vehicle in case of emergencies.

If it's on water, it would be different in case of a breakdown.

To ease your mind, speak with operator and ask about their contingency plans in case of emergencies or traffic etc.

[carrieluvsgreg]

What about the tour guides who line up at the dock, offering tours to passengers. How reputable are they?

 

 

My advice is to use your good judgement. We have done several impromptu excursions because we just weren't sure what we wanted to do. We have never had a bad experience with a private tour. Our worst experiences were on our very first cruise- all booked with carnival. [emoji20]

[YubaSutter]

We have booked many private excursions and have never been close to being late. The private tours make their reputations on getting assengers back and to not miss the ship. One thing my wife does on big tours is to ask the group as a whole if anyone booked the tour through Carnival. When someone says the did, she feels better that at least Carnival will wait a little while if we were ever late.

[vamartha]

This exact cruise and port in November 2013 has been the exception to the rule for us. In Aruba we waited over an hour for stragglers - I was simply flabbergasted! And it wasn't one group - it was half a dozen! And these weren't group groups, they were more like little groups of two or four! A huge storm hit right at sail away time and the first couple of returning groups did get the usual Carnival cheers and jeers - by the time the last stragglers arrived - I don't think anyone but the crew gave them another thought!