How do you come back to the ship....strolling or sprinting?

[Treven]

I guess I'm a belt & suspenders kind of guy. I'm back about an hour before departure.

 

The one time I was late was on my first cruise. I was on a ship sponsored trip up to the summit of Mauna Kea to see the observatories, and to see snow in June in Hawaii. The driver/guide lost track of time but got us back to the ship. This group was the last ones back; fortunately the ship waited. Plus if I'm late, I can't watch the late pier runners or staggerers, or late shoppers.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Treven

[GUT2407]

Usually on the shuttle or by taxi, but at least 1/2 hour before the required time, so about an hour before departure time.

[Velvetwater]

Usually between half an hour to an hour...if we are a little tired/done what we want it has sometimes been earlier.

 

The only exception was Amsterdam. We had all (us and our new US friends) been drinking strong craft Continental beers for a good chunk of the day and were a bit trollied and realised it was time to get back to the ship. Only problem was we all needed to head to the toilet but couldn't find one apart from starbucks that made us buy a coffee for a toilet door code. After we had lined up for a coffee all relieved and so forth we were 15 minutes to departure time. Like nutters we raced back to the ship only to see a massive queue (which apparently doubled after we got there) to get back on and we were actually 30 minutes to sailaway. Since it was Carnival there was a massive US custom line so as everyone else waited we flashed our EU passports and headed to our cabin to sleep.

 

Ship pulled away on time and if we had missed the ship it would have been sort of ok as we could have got a ferry back to Dover.

[majarosh]

I love to watch " THE RUN OF THE DRUNKS " from my balcony

[elliotterae]

Cutting it close would be awful to me. I'm one of those who is 20 min early for a haircut, 30 min early for the Dr and at least 20 min early for work daily.

 

My philosophy: if you aren't 15 min early, you're late.

 

So yeah, we are in the early to the boat group.

[cruisemom42]

Some funny stories here. :)

 

I'd have to say that I'm not strolling but not running. I generally try to be back onboard the ship about an hour before sailing. I like to maximize my time ashore but I'd never want to cut it too close.

[Lard Greystoke]

I'm either adventurous or stupid. I like to get way out in the hinterland and find my way back by bus or walking. I'm pretty good at estimating my speed and distance but if something goes wrong it can make things interesting. I've been a few minutes late 3-4 times.

 

There was one time in Antigua when I took a wrong turn and was wandering God knows where. If the locals hadn't steered me right I'd still be there. I was running down the pier about 10 min late and saw a crewman leaning against the gangplank motioning with his hand, "slow down, stupid, this thing don't go from 0 to 60 that fast." They're not looking to leave you behind if they can help it.

[Scrapnana]

The best I can do is a casual stroll (running just not an option) so I always get back very early when I am not on an excursion.

[trystran72]

I am always back WAY in advance. The thought of having to sprint to my ship gives me heart palpitations.

[widallas]

Thanks for sharing so many stories! My husband is Mr. On-Time, so I cannot imagine showing up less than an hour prior to departure. Or taking anything other than a ship excursion. Or deviating from the plan....just kidding. As former Peace Corps volunteers, his timeliness has kept us on track in many places in the world where timeliness was...well, not high on the priority list. :D

 

Looking forward to watching the pier runners in Cozumel...frozen drink in hand, from the balcony in our room!

[erinmarie424]

All my carnival cruises I've been back an hour before leaving. My Hurtigruten trip last year included many short stops where my cousin and I would hop off the ship and run into the nearest shop for snacks, etc. we typically got explicit directions from a crew member and made it back with plenty of time to spare. We made one stop near the end where we misunderstood the directions and ended up going a couple blocks out of our way. We grabbed our items quickly but then had to wait in a backed up line and started getting nervous. One of the locals told us we would be fine but we knew when we left the store that the ship was leaving in eight minutes so we started running. We're no spring chicks and stopped to catch our breath but just then the horn blew. My cousin kicked in to high gear and I was a little bit behind, when she got to the gangway she stood at the bottom figuring they couldn't leave until they pulled it up and they couldn't do that with someone standing on it. When I was almost there she started walking up slowly and we made it. They were not happy that we put them behind schedule. My cousin refused to get off the ship to go on a market run the rest of the trip!

 

 

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Edited February 6, 2016 by erinmarie424