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So you came back to the port late and the ship left but your small children are in the ship's childcare center


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Sorry, but I can’t even fathom allowing that to be a possibility. I would never leave my children alone on a ship to explore a foreign country with even the smallest of possibilities that the ship would leave without me and my children would be left alone.

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20 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

ship excursion which the ship will wait for if it's late back.

Not always.  There are several factors there - how far is the next port, what are the current port authorities asking for.

 

In the case of my cruise last October, our ship was blocking the exit path from the port for another ship at Puerto Vallarta and I believe that ship was sailing back to LA after that port call.  We had some people return late to the ship, and I have a photo from 45 minutes after all-aboard with those folks left on the pier as the ship shoves off.  We all know it takes at least 5-10 minutes from "pull up the gangway" to moving away from the pier so they really only waited about 30 minutes.  WE certainly didn't need the time to get to the next port as it was Mazatlan, I can only assume the other ship needed to get moving so the port asked our captain to get moving.  I realize this wasn't a "ship excursion" situation, but it's a situation where they can't always wait.

 

The cruise line is responsible for getting you to the next port if you're on a ship-sponsored excursion that is delayed and they can't delay departure any longer, but they are not responsible for getting you there via your ship, they don't HAVE to wait for you.

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1 hour ago, hallux said:

Not always.  There are several factors there - how far is the next port, what are the current port authorities asking for.

 

In the case of my cruise last October, our ship was blocking the exit path from the port for another ship at Puerto Vallarta and I believe that ship was sailing back to LA after that port call.  We had some people return late to the ship, and I have a photo from 45 minutes after all-aboard with those folks left on the pier as the ship shoves off.  We all know it takes at least 5-10 minutes from "pull up the gangway" to moving away from the pier so they really only waited about 30 minutes.  WE certainly didn't need the time to get to the next port as it was Mazatlan, I can only assume the other ship needed to get moving so the port asked our captain to get moving.  I realize this wasn't a "ship excursion" situation, but it's a situation where they can't always wait.

 

The cruise line is responsible for getting you to the next port if you're on a ship-sponsored excursion that is delayed and they can't delay departure any longer, but they are not responsible for getting you there via your ship, they don't HAVE to wait for you.

 

I know that under some, probably very rare, circumstances the ship will not wait but if they have a policy that parents can leave their children on the ship if the parents are on a ship excursion I'm sure that the ship rather wait than take responsibility of the children. (I don't know for sure that that is how it is/was on MSC but that is the scenario I was talking about.) 

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Here is my understanding of what might happen.

The ship will try to wait in this situation. If the ship has to leave, if you have other family on board, the kids will be turned over to them. Otherwise, they will get assigned babysitters (at a cost) until you can remake the ship.

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50 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Here is my understanding of what might happen.

The ship will try to wait in this situation. If the ship has to leave, if you have other family on board, the kids will be turned over to them. Otherwise, they will get assigned babysitters (at a cost) until you can remake the ship.

 

Is that fact or are you just speculating?

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first off, any parents that would allow their small children to remain on board while they play tourist, should be reported to child protective services asap.  you need to take into consideration, what happens if the child is injured or there is an emergency  and there is no one to notify.  

 

it is NOT the responsibility of the cruise ship. i cant believe any parents would be that irresponsible or that dumb.

 

finally, if you take a shore excursion through guest services ( the cruise line) the ship will wait until the excursion gets back, regardless of the time.  if you take an excursion on your own, as they say, you're out of luck if you dont get back in time. these people are affectionately called port runners, and some people on board actually sit on their balconies, and watch as people try  in desperation to make it before the ship leaves.

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13 minutes ago, complawyer said:

first off, any parents that would allow their small children to remain on board while they play tourist, should be reported to child protective services asap.  you need to take into consideration, what happens if the child is injured or there is an emergency  and there is no one to notify.  

 

it is NOT the responsibility of the cruise ship. i cant believe any parents would be that irresponsible or that dumb.

 

finally, if you take a shore excursion through guest services ( the cruise line) the ship will wait until the excursion gets back, regardless of the time.  if you take an excursion on your own, as they say, you're out of luck if you dont get back in time. these people are affectionately called port runners, and some people on board actually sit on their balconies, and watch as people try  in desperation to make it before the ship leaves.

Pretty broad brush to be painting with.

 

I had an experience in March of 1985 where the parents of children on board (there  were six children on board) were called to a meeting by the cruise director.

 

Due to the conditions in our next port of call (Caracas), we were asked to leave our children on board ship if going on an excursion.

 

We had  paperwork to fill out giving the cruise line certain rights to assure that the child would be safely returned to a designated guardian.

 

It was the only excursion I have ever taken where security was provided in the form of an armed escort on the bus. 

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12 minutes ago, complawyer said:

finally, if you take a shore excursion through guest services ( the cruise line) the ship will wait until the excursion gets back, regardless of the time.

The ship will TRY to wait.  It's not always possible, and in those cases the cruise line is on the hook to get you to the next port.

 

For example - the steam from Cabo San Lucas to San Pedro (Los Angeles) is a full-speed trip (for those ships that can sail at 25 knots) if departure is on time.  Wait too long at Cabo and arrival in San Pedro becomes late.  They can wait maybe an hour or two but then they HAVE to leave or people will start missing flights home.  They're not going to wait indefinitely.

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Children left in day care or camp while parents are ashore is certainly allowed.

If you would leave your child with a babysitter or at day care while you go to dinner or work at home, this is the same thing.

 

Parents are expected to make it back to the ship on time. If they can't, they call the ship's agent on land, and arrangements are made.

 If any extra charges are incurred,  I'm guessing those are covered by the family.

 

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37 minutes ago, dobiemom said:

A few years ago, NCL Breakaway left the parents onshore (husband left the ship to look for his wife). Ship waited 30 minutes. Kids were onboard with their uncle. Ship left for New York.  

 

At least the uncle was still on board and I'm sure he was designated as the authorized pick up person (adult) for the children. A whole different ball game if the parents left the ship without a designated pick up person (adult) remaining on the ship.

 

And no, it's NOT the same as leaving your kids and going to a restaurant. You're leaving your kids on a ship that could possibly leave without you. Children should NEVER be left in such a possible scenario.

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If people are talking about children who are under 14 then you wouldn't leave them alone when you went to a restaurant you would get a baby sitter.   In a similar case you should not leave then alone on a ship without someone actually able to take control of them in case of an emergency.   The uncle in the quoted case was such a person.   I would say that a cruise ship crew member wasn't.

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5 minutes ago, casofilia said:

If people are talking about children who are under 14 then you wouldn't leave them alone when you went to a restaurant you would get a baby sitter.   In a similar case you should not leave then alone on a ship without someone actually able to take control of them in case of an emergency.   The uncle in the quoted case was such a person.   I would say that a cruise ship crew member wasn't.

I started leaving my kids home alone for an hour or so at 10, by 13 they were being paid to babysit other children.

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2 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Pretty broad brush to be painting with.

 

I had an experience in March of 1985 where the parents of children on board (there  were six children on board) were called to a meeting by the cruise director.

 

Due to the conditions in our next port of call (Caracas), we were asked to leave our children on board ship if going on an excursion.

 

We had  paperwork to fill out giving the cruise line certain rights to assure that the child would be safely returned to a designated guardian.

 

It was the only excursion I have ever taken where security was provided in the form of an armed escort on the bus. 

And at that point I, as a parent, would not have gone on the excursion. No excursion is worth that.

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On Carnival ships in the past (10-15 years ago) there were some offers to go on an excursion (thru the ship) that included the kids staying onboard while the adults go on an "adult" themed excursion... usually involving drinking.

 

It was always booked full...  I guess they were pretty sure the excursion would get all the adults back on time.

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