The ship will wait for you if your late...

[Mary Jane 711]

We were on a Princess excursion in Puerta Vallarta, and it was indeed late . I was the last passenger to board, literally running to the ship. We were still on the road at the 5:30 boarding time and recieved a call from someone from Princess. It would be another 20 minutes til we could get there. I was not worried, I know what their policies are, but others needed reassuring. I am glad we were not crew members. I think the policy is not to wait for them. Three crew members got left behind for being late in another port.

[askworldtraveler]

it was announced yesterday that the Diamond left 1 passenger behind in Cabo last week, and 8 behind in Cabo the week before. They will not leave you behind if you are on a Princess sold tour...but if you book on your own....you're responsible for watching the time or getting a great photo of the ship sailing without you.....

[willysgrandma]

We were on a Princess ship excursion to St. John and our excursion was the last one back. nearly a half hour late. The ship did indeed wait for all of us (there were more than 30 people).

 

When we pulled in to the docks, I knew the ship was waiting for us - the dock was absolutely empty. You have no idea how I thanked goodness we were on a ship tour!

[Colo Cruiser]

It is such a scary thought to pull back up to the pier and see the ship has left. :eek:

[JKJoannie]

Someone posted somewhere on this thread last week that they were on a PRINCESS sponsored excursion and they were left behind. It was the first time I had heard that. They said it had something to do with the ship being forced to leave the port at their scheduled time.

 

So please don't be late if at all possible, princess sponsored or not.

[Colo Cruiser]

Someone posted somewhere on this thread last week that they were on a PRINCESS sponsored excursion and they were left behind. It was the first time I had heard that. They said it had something to do with the ship being forced to leave the port at their scheduled time.

 

So please don't be late if at all possible, princess sponsored or not.

 

Exactly. ;)

[Shoalwater]

We were on a Princess excursion in Puerta Vallarta, and it was indeed late . I was the last passenger to board, literally running to the ship. We were still on the road at the 5:30 boarding time and recieved a call from someone from Princess. It would be another 20 minutes til we could get there. I was not worried, I know what their policies are, but others needed reassuring. I am glad we were not crew members. I think the policy is not to wait for them. Three crew members got left behind for being late in another port.

 

Sorry, but bad mojo to be spreading 'cause new passengers may actually believe it or count on it. We have seen folks left at the dock. When the ship HAS to sail, its GONE! Sometimes they can give a little, but if you want to rely on that, better go into port with some credit, cash, and docs needed to get to the next stop.

[nrdsb4]

Someone posted somewhere on this thread last week that they were on a PRINCESS sponsored excursion and they were left behind. It was the first time I had heard that. They said it had something to do with the ship being forced to leave the port at their scheduled time.

 

So please don't be late if at all possible, princess sponsored or not.

 

I think that was on Carnival. Are you talking about the scuba diving excursion where the OP knew if they took their second dive they would be late, but they assumed the ship would wait since it was a ship sponsored excursion? So they stayed and dived some more, got to the pier 30-40 minutes late and the ship had left? People took issue with their role in the whole fiasco and arguments ensued, the thread was pulled.

 

Lesson learned: get to the ship on time no matter who you're booked with.

[spongerob]

Don't always think that just because you left the ship as part of an excursion, that you have carte blanche to return "whenever". As long as your group is together, the ship should wait for you. Some tours, though, end well before the ship is due to leave and are reported as being completed, and others allow people to tour independently afterward. In those cases, you are on your own if you are late. Basically, once the tour group breaks up, you can't count on the ship waiting for you.

 

That isn't as clear as I'd like it to be, so here is an example. Assume a tour from a port located some distance from the city you are visiting, Boston, for example. Your tour will take you into the city, and at the completion of the tour you will be given the option to return to the ship, or remain in the city and use the shuttles provided to return at a later time. If you don't return with your bus, you are assuming responsibility to be back to the ship on time, even if that isn't explicitly stated.

[JKJoannie]

I think that was on Carnival. Are you talking about the scuba diving excursion where the OP knew if they took their second dive they would be late, but they assumed the ship would wait since it was a ship sponsored excursion? So they stayed and dived some more, got to the pier 30-40 minutes late and the ship had left? People took issue with their role in the whole fiasco and arguments ensued, the thread was pulled.

 

Lesson learned: get to the ship on time no matter who you're booked with.

 

It was on the Princess thread and I'm pretty sure it was Princess. It did have to do with some type of scuba diving thing.

[envy4u]

On every cruise we have been on we have left passengers behind for missing the ship . I hope I never have to wave goodbye .

[marinearchit]

When I was on the Caribbean Princess over Thanksgiving, we were at dock in St.Maarten with 2 other ships. Carnival Triumph next to us on the other side of the dock. And Navigator of the Seas behind us. Origionally the ship were supposed to depart Navigator, Caribbean Princess, Triumph.

 

Well, I was on my balcony waiting to depart, and everybody started yelling about some girl running down the pier.

 

From what I heard she was on the Navigator and was late getting back. The ship waited for her and redeployed a gangplank. I don't know if it's true. but it fits. The ships ended up leaving....Triumph, Navigator, then us.:rolleyes:

[rebeccalouise]

I was shocked to hear that three crew members stranded in a port. The crew has no way to catch up with the ship to my knowledge. I would think that three crew members are important to the running of the ship. Seems odd that they wouldn't wait for them- even if they docked their wages or told them that they wouldn't get another day off for a while or some other punishment.

[bunduo]

Leaving Rome (Civitavecchia), the ship was pretty good distance away from the dock when a little boat came bouncing up next to the ship. The crew opened the pilot door grabbed a couple that missed the boat to board the ship. We watched the whole thing from our balcony. The door was a lot higher than the little boat. The crew had to haul up the girl while they were pushing from below. The guy was taller and stronger and didn't have as much trouble. It would have been scary. We saw them in the hallway and they didn't speak English which made us wonder if they didn't hear or misunderstood what time they had to be back on board.

[Colo Cruiser]

Leaving Rome (Civitavecchia), the ship was pretty good distance away from the dock when a little boat came bouncing up next to the ship. The crew opened the pilot door grabbed a couple that missed the boat to board the ship. We watched the whole thing from our balcony. The door was a lot higher than the little boat. The crew had to haul up the girl while they were pushing from below. The guy was taller and stronger and didn't have as much trouble. It would have been scary. We saw them in the hallway and they didn't speak English which made us wonder if they didn't hear or misunderstood what time they had to be back on board.

 

Wow they were really lucky. :eek:

[Mary Jane 711]

Ok, now I must respond to this one. Whoever said the passenger should return on time no matter what. Do you suggest they drive the tour bus back themselves? Start hitchiking before the whole bus is ready? I think we are really at the tour providers mercy in these cases. Think about it. Lesson learned...hmm bad mojo? Are ya really putting thought into your statements? I wasn't trying to stir anything up..Just was writing something I thought of interest. And I did hear that you can get left behind even if y our on a Princess sponsered excursion. If that were to happen, Princess would have to pay for you to catch up with the ship.

[dforeigner]

Someone posted somewhere on this thread last week that they were on a PRINCESS sponsored excursion and they were left behind. It was the first time I had heard that. They said it had something to do with the ship being forced to leave the port at their scheduled time.

 

So please don't be late if at all possible, princess sponsored or not.

 

If I recall correctly, there was a problem with the card readers and when these two individuals disembarked to go on a sponsored ship tour, their key cards were not scanned. Another couple on the same tour returned early because something to do with not wanting to dive or something and the crew on board the ship assumed that everyone from that tour (I believe it was four) were already back on board the ship. At the end, (if I recall correctly) Princess ended up paying for the plane ticket for the couple left behind. I do not recall whether they got a refund.

[Pam in CA]

It would be very unusual circumstances for Princess to leave a ship sponsored tour behind. I've been on a tour that was over an hour and a half late and the ship waited for us. It was a very, very long drive (4 1/2 hrs) that took longer because the Moroccan police decided to stop and inspect the bus. My sister was on a tour on the Amalfi coast that was almost two hours late -- there was traffic and there was nowhere for the bus or any of the cars to go. It's not as if you can find a shortcut.

 

If there's a mechanical or substantive reason for the tour to be late, I'm pretty darned sure the ship will wait. If it's a tour where the passengers deliberately delay the return, then I would guess it's up to the ship's captain.

 

It's not unusual to leave passengers behind in port. Every case I know of has been someone touring independently. One time, we were on a 12-day Sun Princess cruise from San Juan to Acapulco. Our last port before four sea days going through the Canal to Acapulco was Isla Margharita. Four people didn't make it back to the ship on time. They'd gone to the beach on their own. They would have had a horrible time just getting off the island and missed a good part of the cruise since the next port was disembarkation.

[JKJoannie]

If I recall correctly, there was a problem with the card readers and when these two individuals disembarked to go on a sponsored ship tour, their key cards were not scanned. Another couple on the same tour returned early because something to do with not wanting to dive or something and the crew on board the ship assumed that everyone from that tour (I believe it was four) were already back on board the ship. At the end, (if I recall correctly) Princess ended up paying for the plane ticket for the couple left behind. I do not recall whether they got a refund.

 

yes, that's the post I was referring to. I wish I could find it. I think they had to pay for everything and she was having trouble getting reimbursed. I read so many threads, I can't keep them straight. I just remember thinking that I had always thought that if it were a Princess excursion, they would wait.

[jean s]

We were on an Alaskan cruise on Coral Princess last summer. We took a Princess sponsored tour to the Yukon. We went off roading (it was a goup of 24) and there was a pretty serious accident. The vehicle in front of us tipped over and the two people were injured. Needless to say we were quite delayed...over an hour and a half late. The tour guide repeatedly assured us that he had called ahead and the ship would wait for us. When we got back the balconies were filled with passengers cheering for us. All 24 of us headed straight for a bar and destressed!

[Princess Chatterer]

it was announced yesterday that the Diamond left 1 passenger behind in Cabo last week, and 8 behind in Cabo the week before. They will not leave you behind if you are on a Princess sold tour...but if you book on your own....you're responsible for watching the time or getting a great photo of the ship sailing without you.....

 

"One excursion involved an overnight stay at New Zealand's Fjordland National Park. The ship was to navigate the narrow fjords the next day to pick up the passengers -- and treat us to unsurpassed scenery along the way.

 

But the night the 38 passengers were ashore, a ferocious storm rolled in, buffeting us with hurricane-force winds. The next day, Capt. Philip Pickford didn't want to risk the fjords. The group that went ashore required four days and four flights to catch up with us in Melbourne, Australia."

 

http://www.dailybulletin.com/entertainment/ci_4721307

[Princess Chatterer]

Duplicate delete. Thanks to CC slooooow web server.

 

And this was a Diamond Princess excursion I believe.

 

http://www.insidebayarea.com/travel/ci_4724743

 

P.S. They held the Sun Princess for about an hour at St. Locia for my excursion due to one of the two catamarans on the excursion having a motor problem. The Captain was really mad because he had to pay an overtime docking fee. That was the same Captain that threw a lawyers family off the boat when the security guys found drugs in his cabin after the lawyers kid phoned in a false bomb report to the bridge. The lawyer was going to sue Princess for damages but that's for another thread.

[TCF]

Take any port you like...but just for arguments sake let's say Cozumel!

A port already under pressure from having most of its piers wiped out in the hurricane...eight ships in the harbour...some tied up and some tendering.

During the week Dec 4th to 10th cruise ships depostited a total of 80,000 passengers on that Island. For the sake of argument let's say that all the ships that week carried 3000 passengers each...that means that about 27 ships came and left.:eek:

It is the Harbour Master who oversees the port...the coming and going of ships...and when he says leave...they leave! They leave if they are Carnival, RCCL, HAL..and yes...they leave if they are Princess!

So while the Princess policy is that no passenger on one of their excursions gets left behind ...remember it is the Princess policy, not the policy of the Harbour Master of Whatever Port! He doesn't give a damn!:eek: He's got boats to move and that is what is going to happen!

Tom:)

[Cruisin' Chick]

In Skagway, because of weather conditions, we got back to the dock a good 15 minutes or so after the ship was supposed to leave. We were on a Princess excursion so the ship waited for our group to get back. I understand our names were called.

[chasetf]

Ok, now I must respond to this one. Whoever said the passenger should return on time no matter what. Do you suggest they drive the tour bus back themselves? Start hitchiking before the whole bus is ready? I think we are really at the tour providers mercy in these cases. ......

I would not put myself at the tour provider's mercy. I would certainly want to know the guide is aware of the time, keeping track of their tourists, and if there is a problem, is able to handle it. We have been on a number of tours, and have experienced situations where all is not going to plan. Never missed the ship, but the guide phones in and lets their bosses know what is going on. That is the least I expect.

 

As I remember in the case cited above, where the ship's computer is not working, I would have hoped the tour company would advise the ship folks are late. People can depart tours, and do all the time. When they do (as we have many times to stay in town) we know we are on our own. I mention this because at that point we are no longer on a ship tour.

 

So the ship has to depend on the tour operator to alert them when a tour is late. If they don't, all the ship can assume is "everything in on schedule". If folks are late, and a tour is not reported late, then they must be on their own.