We Missed our cruise ship in port... here is our story!

[geegee1]

1 hour ago, kfnesq said:

Thanks for sharing your experience and your great attitude! I, too, have been on a ship and heard the names being called prior to the ship leaving and have thought, how does that even happen? 

In Freeport there is/was a bar right next to where the cruise docked.  After an adventure filled day needed to grab a few cold ones before getting back on the ship.  Trying to figure out when to get back on, the waitress tells us that the other people left in the bar work for NCL, so obviously the ship isn't leaving until they get on.  My wife and kids are on the ship, hearing my name being called, getting a phone call in the cabin, etc.  She is freaking out a little.  Get on the ship right before the crew.  Was a fun time

[CDR Benson]

For the Good Mrs. Benson and myself, missing ship's movement is our biggest cruising fear.  That's why we only take excursions sponsored by the ship.  And even then, we check our watches every fifteen minutes.

 

 

[Bebop1088]

52 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

Glad everything worked out for you and you made the best out of the situation. I had one scary situation in port when I realized halfway through my day that I didn't know when the ship left. Luckily it was a 4pm or later departure so we made it back in time. But it's a terrible feeling that I won't repeat. 

Thank you very much. Lesson learned on our end for sure. We truly for whatever reason believed the ship was leaving at 4 not 2 or we would have had that same terrible feeling. We wont make that mistake twice!

[Bebop1088]

45 minutes ago, TSUmom said:

Thank you for sharing your story and not blaming anyone for what happened.  Also I like the fact that you just rolled with it and made the best of everything, something I would like to say I could do.  Maybe after my initial panic I could.

Thank you. There was certainly an initial panic, Nothing like looking at a man you are just started dating and telling him he is about to see ugly crying for the first time! But we kept our composure. We were very fortunate to meet the right people and make good good connections. We opted to operate under no stressing what we cannot change. Good karma was on our side

[Cruising Lynne]

Wow! Thank you for sharing. It was really great that you could get the casino deal on your room at Atlantis, and smart to book two nights. We will be in Nassau soon, and I will be sure to share your story with my husband, since he is the one that cuts it a little close sometimes. I always bring a regular watch on a cruise and ask what time it is, as well as check the all aboard time on the sign before getting off. Please let us know what happens with your luggage.

[Kierste]

Thank you so much for sharing… I am glad it turned out okay! Your post showed it helps to keep your self of humor in these situations… you will tell this story for years!

[Bebop1088]

30 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

Wow! Thank you for sharing. It was really great that you could get the casino deal on your room at Atlantis, and smart to book two nights. We will be in Nassau soon, and I will be sure to share your story with my husband, since he is the one that cuts it a little close sometimes. I always bring a regular watch on a cruise and ask what time it is, as well as check the all aboard time on the sign before getting off. Please let us know what happens with your luggage.

It is certainly better to be safe rather than sorry in these situations. We are very grateful to have made a decent ending to the process. I am not sure we would have ever been able to afford or see The Atlantis otherwise! It was really beautiful and we felt it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to experience it, especially like that

[Bebop1088]

28 minutes ago, Kierste said:

Thank you so much for sharing… I am glad it turned out okay! Your post showed it helps to keep your self of humor in these situations… you will tell this story for years!

Thank you, I appreciate your kind words. We did our best to stay positive as best we could and it does make a huge difference. We are even considering Flamingo tattoos (The bird of the bahamas) to remember this crazy story we lived!

[Oakman58]

I enjoyed reading your story and sorry that happened to you.  I have never gotten off a ship that I didn't know what the all aboard time was and what the current ship time was.

[Candy Apple 12]

Did you have trip insurance? Just curious about the price 💵 of those last minute plane ✈️ tickets.

Edited March 21, 2022 by Candy Apple 12

[BermudaBound2014]

Thank you for sharing. Anyone who travels often learns to roll with the punches. It's all part of the journey. Best to you!

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, Bebop1088 said:

I have not had a credit card since I was very young and someone close to me stole my identity and opened many lines of credit in my name. I am able to transfer money to my cash app card instantly from my bank account which allows me access to my money quickly. Since I dont use credit cards I have no credit history proving it difficult at this point to get credit. Im the event of an emergency I would be able to secure funds quickly or contact my bank to notify them of the international travel. In this case it was not necessary as I just moved money to my cash app card that works the same as a secured credit card and is accepted anywhere VISA is allowed. 

I am also fortunate enough to have a government job, My health insurance is in most cases useable internationally as well!

 

Keep in mind that if someone steals your credit card (or clones it or whatever), then you can work with the charge card company to sort it out, while your regular funds sit there for your use.  The card issuer will usually send (or overnight) a new card to you while they work on this for you.

IF you have money stolen through your debit card, there may or may not be similar protections, BUT... your bank account might be drained, and then what would you use then or in an emergency?

 

You can get a guaranteed card (you put money in the account or such) and work your way up.  If you have a good salary, no problem.  If you've got a credit union, it's probably even easier.

 

GC

[Sea Monster 2]

I was a consular officer, the person at the embassy who helps you get a new passport. I’m so glad this turned out OK for you and that you both maintained a sense of humor and adventure during your travails! I would like to add a couple of items to this discussion: the most important one is to always travel with a passport. Bad things really do happen, with alarming regularity, which is why we have consular officers posted in most countries to assist American citizens in distress. Proving your citizenship is the first step to professional assistance when anything happens, including being victim of a crime (or committing one, in which case the US government will monitor your case), having a medical emergency, etc. All US travelers should register their travel plans online with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at the State Department’s website— this streamlines assistance and enables the embassy or consulate to reach out to you in an emergency. Cruisers should also keep in mind that there is not an embassy or consulate on every island or at every port— you may need to travel to another city, island or even country for assistance, which can be extraordinarily difficult without a passport. Registering via STEP can facilitate assistance in challenging situations.

 

It sounds as though you both kept very cool heads in dealing with this, and had the resources to navigate the situation. And now you have an entertaining adventure tale for life!

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Bebop1088 said:

Thank you, That is the hope! Once we hit US soil we certainly started seeing the humor in our first time traveling together being such a debacle but it made us closer and showed us we are a good team!

 

There is limited and mostly incorrect information on what happens in these situations on the internet. I was hoping to shed some real life knowledge on the subject.

Although in actuality missing our ship was our own negligence it is not always the case, sometimes other things happen be it injury or illness and some of this can be applied in those situations as well. 

The stigma associated with being in a foreign country with no passport is scary but I wanted people to know that with the right mentality you can get through it. 

Luckily, we do not have a missed ship story, but we nearly did on our very first cruise. It was a cruise for our 25th anniversary, Barcelona to Barcelona. It included Rome and Florence, neither of which is really a port as you have to get there from where the ship docks. Both of those cities are of course famous for among other things art, and DW was and in fact still is an art teacher.

 

At the train station, I somehow got us on the train going the wrong way! (In my defense, the signs are in Italian.) DW (and it was partially her fault because after 25 years she should have known that I have the world's worst sense of direction) figured it out. We got off the train and went back. We did end up with time to get to Pisa (on the way to Florence), but not Florence. I really thought I had just blown 25 years of marriage.

 

Ten years later, we took a similar Barcelona to Barcelona cruise for our 35th anniversary. Although we were much more experienced travelers then we took a ships Barcelona on Your Own tour. We were not going to allow me to make the same mistake twice! She also had booked online timed tickets to the major museums before the cruise. This one made the first non-Florence visit a funny story instead of a near disaster.

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, Bebop1088 said:

Thank you, I appreciate your kind words. We did our best to stay positive as best we could and it does make a huge difference. We are even considering Flamingo tattoos (The bird of the bahamas) to remember this crazy story we lived!

Your sense of composure and willingness to accept responsibility for an error are praiseworthy.  I can't imagine myself responding in such a calm manner if I should ever find myself on the outside looking in as you did.  Thank you so much for sharing your adventure in such a straightforward manner.  Here's hoping that you are able to recover all of your still missing personal items soon.  Your classy attitude and actions in the face of such adversity are admirable.

[NYFirstTimeCruiser]

Nice attitude.

Hats off to you as I take a bow.

[sfaaa]

Great job Girl. You handled the situation extremely well.  May be you should go into crisis management.  I would have a nervous breakdown at the pier followed by PTSD if this happened to me.

[Bebop1088]

1 hour ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

Did you have trip insurance? Just curious about the price 💵 of those last minute plane ✈️ tickets.

We did not have travel insurance since we booked our trip last second we opted against getting it. The last second plane tickets were actually very reasonable, it was just around $500 for two tickets

[Bebop1088]

4 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

Great job Girl. You handled the situation extremely well.  May be you should go into crisis management.  I would have a nervous breakdown at the pier followed by PTSD if this happened to me.

Thank you, ironically I do work in crisis management but usually I am not the one in crisis. The nerves were high for sure but we maintained composure as best we could. I was very close to tears wanting to accept responsibility but my boyfriend handled me like a champ and reminded me we are both adults and it was a joint mistake which helped

[Oceansaway17]

I am glad I always take a ship excursion so I can get back with others.

If I walk around nearby by I do so for only a few hours.  But then again, I know when I get off the ship what time to get back on.

Was interesting that no one went to their room to remove things like paperwork.  

[julig22]

14 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I am glad I always take a ship excursion so I can get back with others.

If I walk around nearby by I do so for only a few hours.  But then again, I know when I get off the ship what time to get back on.

Was interesting that no one went to their room to remove things like paperwork.  

What's interesting is that on many ship excursions the people on the excursion don't always know when they have to be back - if the subject comes up, there are always at least 3 different answers: when the ship sails, when the crew is due back (usually 1 hr before departure) and when passengers are due back (usually 30 minutes before departure).  And then there is the occasional "we have to be back 2 hours before departure"

I'm OK if the other passengers aren't sure but a little miffed when the tour guides don't know and take the word of someone who has it wrong!  I always write the all-aboard time on my excursion ticket just to be sure!

I am surprised that the ship didn't notify anyone on shore.

[Oceansaway17]

2 minutes ago, julig22 said:

What's interesting is that on many ship excursions the people on the excursion don't always know when they have to be back - if the subject comes up, there are always at least 3 different answers: when the ship sails, when the crew is due back (usually 1 hr before departure) and when passengers are due back (usually 30 minutes before departure).  And then there is the occasional "we have to be back 2 hours before departure"

I'm OK if the other passengers aren't sure but a little miffed when the tour guides don't know and take the word of someone who has it wrong!  I always write the all-aboard time on my excursion ticket just to be sure!

I am surprised that the ship didn't notify anyone on shore.

hmmm well Any shore excursion I have been on they know when to be back.  And like I said it would be a group of us as well so ship would wait.

But as a rule, most ships want folks back 1 hour before sailing however they keep open the gangway knowing folks would come up within 1/2.  So I think the ship offer a bit of a buffer time too.

 

It is the passenger's responsibility to KNOW THE TIME as it is announced, in the daily, and a sign outside as well.   

[Yesimapirate]

I'm glad you made the best of it but I'm also glad you wont be in my traveling party!

[julig22]

16 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

But as a rule, most ships want folks back 1 hour before sailing however they keep open the gangway knowing folks would come up within 1/2.  So I think the ship offer a bit of a buffer time too.

So you'd be one of the passengers possibly giving the wrong info.😄

Almost always been 30 minutes when ship is docked, last tender listed as 1 hr before.  At least on any cruises I've been on, including a trip to Mexico last month. Crew has to be onboard 1 hr prior to departure.

 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Wow! That's one hell of a lesson to learn.  Fortunately, you seem quite adaptable along with a good attitude. Very resourceful as well for booking a hotel. I would be stuck with the person that has no available credit on their cards and no cash in their account. Not sure I could have kept my cool.  Guarantee you won't be doing that same mistake twice.