NCL's Policy on leaving passengers at a port???

[AnneNchris]

I was just wondering what NCL’s policy was in regards to passengers not making it back to the ship on time…am I correct in saying that if a NCL sponsored excursion runs late then the ship will wait…but if someone is on a private excursion that runs late the ship sails as planned??? I was just wondering the boards (nothing like avoiding getting a paper done) and stumbled upon some threads like this…soooo…I began to wonder how NCL handles this??? Has this happened with NCL where they have left passengers behind??? Has anyone here ever been left behind….man oh man…I could find anything to worry about, LOL:eek:

[Holg]

Yes,

 

NCL Excursion: "We never leave anyone behind"

 

On your own: "You're on your own"

 

Also: A week ago today the Wind left without 200 people who had flights that arrived late to Honolulu.

[seahorse]

I would say that on every cruise that I have been on someone has been left behind somewhere.

 

NCL is no exception.

[BeachBumMama]

Yes,

 

NCL Excursion: "We never leave anyone behind"

 

On your own: "You're on your own"

 

Also: A week ago today the Wind left without 200 people who had flights that arrived late to Honolulu.

If airfare isn't booked with the cruise as a package through the cruise line, yes, you are on your own also when it comes to getting to the ship etc. All cruise lines pretty much have the same policy when it comes to this. I can understand it, they have a schedule to keep and if they had to wait on a handful of passengers sitting at Carlos n' Charlies without a care in the world, they'd be late leaving, late arriving to the next port, passenger excursions would be out of whack etc. I'd be peeved if I had to wait for passengers in all the Mexico ports who were sitting at Carlos n' Charlies without a thought to the time.:p Not that there's anything wrong with doing that:D , but you get my point.

[Lotteryfan]

On my cruise vacation last year the names of a few people were called several times at each port as we were about to sail away. NCL apparently wanted to know if that person or people were on the ship. They were told to report somewhere on the ship. I have no idea whether they made it on the ship or not.

[erieboater]

On my cruise vacation last year the names of a few people were called several times at each port as we were about to sail away. NCL apparently wanted to know if that person or people were on the ship. They were told to report somewhere on the ship. I have no idea whether they made it on the ship or not.

 

That was our experience, as well. They paged two passengers a couple of times over a 15 or 20 minute period. Don't know if these folks made it back but I know the last tender came back to the ship after that. Didn't see if the two tardy passengers were on the tender.

[FirstSail06]

We were on the Dawn last summer. In the Bahamas our sponsored tour ran late and the ship waited for us. After we boarded there was a couple that appeared to be running late too and arrived as the ship was preparing to leave. It seemed that they had gone shopping.

 

The ship's crew were pulling the gangway in. Luckily they placed it back on the wharf so the couple could come aboard. It does appear though that if they would have been a few more minutes late they would have been left behind. Then by company policy they would have needed to fly to the next port of call to meet the ship, or fly home.

[johnql]

The ship will leave as scheduled if you're on an independent excursion. If it's a ship-sponsored excursion, the ship will PROBABLY wait. In most instances, the ship will wait but in certain circumstances, the ship will still sail. However, if you're on a ship-sponsored excursion, the ship is responsible for getting you to the next port to get back on the ship. Specific circumstances that I can recall where the ship did not wait was in Alaska where a helicopter excursion couldn't return because a storm came in unexpectedly and the passengers could not return to the ship within a reasonable amount of time. The ship then ensured that the passengers were able to catch up to the ship at the next port (at the cruise line's expense, of course).

[jannandjohn]

we were on a ship in the Greek Islands, they pulled the gangway up as a woman came running along..screaming out

"STOPPA DE SHIP"......STOPPA DE SHIP"

the crew just smiled at each other ...then waved at her as they moved the ship out!!...she would have been in a big lot of bother, either catch a small plane( if there is one??) to the next port or a ferry,(??) they don't have very good timetables over there...

I often wondered what became of that woman...

[micheleg]

When we were in Europe with the Jewel, we had an aft suite. As we were pulling away from both Florence and Rome, all we could do was wave to the folks that were pulling up in private vehicles. Many passengers missed the ship, and we even left Rome one hour later than planned because the NCL tour buses hadn't made it back yet. So yes...they wait for any NCL excursions, but no...when they say you're on your own....they really mean it.

 

We never take the organized excursions through the cruiselines, but when we're in Europe, we only use a private guide that knows the times and traffic, or we take the NCL sponsored train or bus into the city.

 

In the Caribbean, just be aware of the time...only once in Aruba did we ever cut it close and had to literally run to make the ship...lol..now that was excitement! :eek: LOL...we all still talk about that day!

 

Hope this helps and have a great time! :)

[Stillfloatin']

Twice I've been sitting out on my balcony enjoying the view as we sailed from a port only to have a small vessel (both times, local Police cruisers) come speeding up to the ship, and sure enough, our ship stopped while the late people were loaded onboard. The first time this happened was in Roatan when we were sailing the Jewel. It was a young couple and they were obviously inebriated and just waved and bowed to all the passengers watching them from the ship.

 

The second time was this past October on the Star and this happened when we were sailing out of Cabo. This time, it was a VERY drunk young woman who had to be hoisted by harness into the open door on the starboard side of the ship. It took several minutes because she was so out of it. Even then, she was waving and smiling and bowing to all of us as though she was the star of Broadway. It was very entertaining for us, but in both instances, we wondered why the ship stopped and allowed these passengers to board at sea and if there were any financial repercussions for them. Never got the answer to those questions. Still wondering. :confused:

[odblnt]

Yes,

 

Also: A week ago today the Wind left without 200 people who had flights that arrived late to Honolulu.

 

Just before Christmas last year I had some friends who were coming from Washington State. They flew into Seattle the evening before so they would have no problem making the Sunday morning flight but... there had been a big ice storm and their hotel was without power, so they had to spend the night in the airport. :mad:

 

Then... their flight the next morning on Hawaiian Airlines was HOURS late. They were supposed to get in around 12:30, but didn't arrive until about 8:15 (yes, 15 minutes after sailing). :mad::mad:

 

They must have booked through the cruise line, because they were held on the plane (with about 30 other passengers) and a representative from NCL took the entire group to another gate where either the last flight of the night had been held for them or they provided another flight. They took them on to Kauai that night, put them up in a hotel and they boarded the ship the next morning. (Of course, my wife and I were down in baggage claim with leis and didn't get to see them.)

 

Pete

[fin]

One of the more entertaining threads here was the couple left on Roatan due to their own stupidity. They did not have an easy time getting home.

 

In Jamaica, the Ecstasy picked up a handul of people who had missed their own Carnival ship.

[mikedw]

This is cruel to say, but I'm sure seeing the expressions of the people as they see there ship sail off into the sunset must be priceless:)LOL

[smeyer418]

About three years ago we were on the Dawn leaving the Bahamas for the trip back to NY. The Ship leaves at around 1 pm. We got back to the ship around 12:45 went to the Venetian room to eat lunch(its at the back of the ship). We weighed Anchor were leaving after a few minutes I noticed the dock was getting bigger again. We went back to pick up about 4 people. It was nice of the Captain he didn't have to and its the reason that Azipods are generally so good, it was easy to reverse and we weren't going so fast and those people were REAL lucky...

[jkloni]

We have never been late for a ship, but I would feel very sorry for anyone that was left ashore. Wouldn't matter what reason they were late.

 

I guess I'm thinking....what if it were me? :eek:

 

Watching people running and screaming for the ship would only make me sad.....I most certainly wouldn't laugh or get any enjoyment out of watching that.

 

To each his own. :rolleyes:

 

Oh, and we ALWAYS fly in 1-2 days early. Never have we flown in the day of embarkation. I'm too paranoid. (I fly every week for work and don't need the added stress of wondering if I'll make it to the ship.)

 

Kathy

[bjbdlb]

I was on a Greek cruise in which a parents were traveling with their two teenage sons. As it became apparant that the sons were not onboard, the father got of the ship to find them. Mom was alone as the ship set sail. The sons got onto a sister ship to get to the next island port and Dad wound up on the ferry.

 

On another cruise, the ship was held up for an hour in Pireus, as the ship was awaiting the late flight arrival of a new ships entertainer. Finally, the ship had to leave the port and waived goodbye to the entertainers as they arrived at the pier after castoff. Fortunately, in this instance, it was easy for them to rent a car and drive to the next port, (For Olympia). Leaving Santorini, two tenders had to chase the ship in motion.

 

If the cruiselines showed any lenience for passengers not back when they are supposed to be, no one would respect the all aboard time and they would rarely cast off even remotely ontime.

[seaitall]

We have left people behind everytime we have docked at Cozumel. Different cruise lines. When it is time to sail, it is time to sail. Some ships have waited a little extra time, but some not. If you are going to drink heavily in port, try to have a designated clock watcher!!

[Stillfloatin']

I agree with everyone that it's up to the passengers to make sure they are back in time for sailaway. But I'm still hoping SOMEONE can tell me why some passengers get to catch the police cruiser back to the ship that stops to pick them up? What sets them apart from everyone else?

 

I know on our last Pearl cruise, my roomie's cabin key didn't register when she re-embarked in Tortolla. Unlike previous occasions, no second security check was done. Sure enough, about 10 minutes before sailaway, while she was in the shower, I got a call asking if she was onboard. I explained what had happened. I don't know if they would have waited for her if she WEREN'T onboard or not, but they sure seemed happy to hear she was back on the ship. :D

[Wrk4Vacation]

On the Star, In Cabo, we waited 40 minutes for two sets of passengers late back to the ship. Pasengers waiting on the ship for 'sail away' were aware of the delay and they were aware of the names being paged over the PA. NCL was very thorough and fair. I would suggest that you watch the time based on the ships time and not worry.

[donaldsc]

Two stories -

 

1. We did an Antarctica cruise and the ship left Ushalah (sp?) about 3 hours late. One woman, who had made all of her travel arrangements through Vantage including her flights, did not get there on time and the ship waited for her. Of course, there was no next port she could catch the ship in.

 

2. We have some friends who cruise extensively. They were on one cruise that was a repositioning from the US to Europe. On the last stop in the Western hemisphere, one couple rented a car independently to go to the beach and got stuck. All they had on them was their bathing gear, minimal money, no passport, and their credit cards. The ship left without them and they caught up with it 5 days later at the first stop in Europe.

 

DON

[Don Haynes]

If you are late, hope that one of NCL sponsored shore excursion is late too. Otherwise you will see the ship sail away.....

[AnneNchris]

If you are late, hope that one of NCL sponsored shore excursion is late too. Otherwise you will see the ship sail away.....

 

Just so everyone knows I have NO intentions what so ever of being late at all...I actually enjoy being on the ship when so many are off of the ship...I really was kinda just doing a conversation starter because ever since the Dawn stuff hit the boards there is a lot of understandable upsetment...however...I will tell you that after reading the responses on this thread I had a long talk with my husband and my mother about if they do anything that is not NCL sponsered they will be doing it without me...well of course that does not include shopping...

[beachchick]

If airfare isn't booked with the cruise as a package through the cruise line, yes, you are on your own also when it comes to getting to the ship etc. All cruise lines pretty much have the same policy when it comes to this. I can understand it, they have a schedule to keep and if they had to wait on a handful of passengers sitting at Carlos n' Charlies without a care in the world, they'd be late leaving, late arriving to the next port, passenger excursions would be out of whack etc. I'd be peeved if I had to wait for passengers in all the Mexico ports who were sitting at Carlos n' Charlies without a thought to the time.:p Not that there's anything wrong with doing that:D , but you get my point.

 

Not to mention the fines which ships can incur if they do not leave a port at the specified time (or close to that time at least). The ships contract to be in X port from A time to B time; if they overstay, they get to pay more port fees. On top of that, sometimes other ships are scheduled to come in, so they have no choice but to leave.

 

However, I completely agree that the ship's schedule (and the convenience of all the other pax) trumps the few who miss the ship for whatever reason.

 

beachchick

[MagnoliaBlossom]

we wondered why the ship stopped and allowed these passengers to board at sea and if there were any financial repercussions for them. Never got the answer to those questions. Still wondering. :confused:

 

We had a very similar situation when leaving Cozumel two years ago. The wives of the 3 "gentlemen" told me later that the charge was $300 cash per person and the "chase boat" does not guaranty that they can catch the cruise ship. apparently some captains are more willing to slow down for the chase vehicles than others. Our 3 guys got loaded aboard, much to the amusement of the entire ship hanging over the rail. Meanwhile, another boat was chasing down another vessel that had departed just before us. They went a long, long way out and I don't know if they ever caught that ship.