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

[bhhd54]

Last October while on the Dawn we were leaving the Bahamas and they kept calling a passenger. They later told us that the husband was on board and they gave him the choice of leaving his wife there or packing everything up and waiting for her. They helped him pack everything and decided to wait for her. Apparently she went shopping and thought she had to be back at midnight and not noon. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall when he found her.

 

Sue

[bardzie]

If the ship[ leaves port and a passenger is left behind what happens in the case where the ship hold the passengers passport?

[BeachBumMama]

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...

You just have to 'weigh' the chances of something going wrong.:)

In most places a great beach might be 30 minutes away. It's nothing to take a taxi to a beach for snorkeling for approximately $20.00 for the cab ride. Ship excursion might be $69.00 a person because they'll take you to the beach and then to a shopping spot but you're restricted to their schedule and activity with no deviation. As long as you give yourself more time than needed to get back you'll be fine.

 

On the other hand, in some places it can be an all day journey to the ruins and back, something like that I book ship excursions rather than chance it.

 

Lot's of research, knowing exactly what you want to do and how long it takes to do it, and being very, very aware of the time!:D

[Stillfloatin']

[\quote]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.

 

Thank you! Now I finally have the answer. Gotta love these boards. :D

[BeachBumMama]

Apparently she went shopping and thought she had to be back at midnight and not noon. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall when he found her.

 

:eek: Ahhhhh... Yeah, THAT conversation had to have been a good one.:p

 

If the ship[ leaves port and a passenger is left behind what happens in the case where the ship hold the passengers passport?

Hopefully, they'd at least have their ID. If they were flying to another port to meet the ship, I wouldn't imagine it would be that hard to do without passport. It would be difficult if that was the last port and they'd have to fly back to the U.S. Or more difficult if it was flying from U.S.V.I to British. And I suppose in Mexico, depending on where they were left and where the ship was going, one could rent a car? I'm playing this all out in my mind, it's got me to thinking maybe I should do some research on it just in case.;)

[daveco58]

Me and 8 new best friends, after a particularly fun time at Senor Frogs in Mazatlan, were required to explain ourselves to the Federales. By the time we satisfied their curiosity and "posted bail", which took the form of emptying our pockets, the boat was long gone. Fortunately, one of our little coterie had enough room on his credit card to get us on a ferry to Cabo to rejoin our dull and boring cruise ship. I don't believe Carnival ever knew we were missing.

I will add, that is the last time I ever missed a sailing, and the last time I ever drank with a bunch of bachelors from Boston.

[shoreguy]

Me and 8 new best friends, after a particularly fun time at Senor Frogs in Mazatlan, were required to explain ourselves to the Federales. By the time we satisfied their curiosity and "posted bail", which took the form of emptying our pockets, the boat was long gone. Fortunately, one of our little coterie had enough room on his credit card to get us on a ferry to Cabo to rejoin our dull and boring cruise ship. I don't believe Carnival ever knew we were missing.

I will add, that is the last time I ever missed a sailing, and the last time I ever drank with a bunch of bachelors from Boston.

 

Sort of like these folks from Sweden I meet in Carlos n Charlie's trying to reach the ceiling with shot glasses.

[BeachBumMama]

Fortunately, one of our little coterie had enough room on his credit card to get us on a ferry to Cabo to rejoin our dull and boring cruise ship.

I'll be doing the Mexican Riviera early next year and have added this little note to myself just in case... Mazatlan to Cabo... ferry:p That is too funny!

Sort of like these folks from Sweden I meet in Carlos n Charlie's trying to reach the ceiling with shot glasses.

That's a lotta shots:eek:

[daveco58]

Before you, or someone else in your party, proposition a waitress at Senor Frogs, find out how many male relatives she has working in the kitchen, where they keep the big knives. :rolleyes: I am just sayin....

[Gank1037]

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 think it comes down to how big of a bribe you give the Honduran Port patrolman that's piloting the cruiser. Those guys probably make $300 per month so if a couple of drunk tourists offer them $100 each to speed them out to their departing ship, they're going to take the money. If it happens daily, they actually make a decent living but I can guarantee that ride is not free!!;)

[Stillfloatin']

I think it comes down to how big of a bribe you give the Honduran Port patrolman that's piloting the cruiser. Those guys probably make $300 per month so if a couple of drunk tourists offer them $100 each to speed them out to their departing ship, they're going to take the money. If it happens daily, they actually make a decent living but I can guarantee that ride is not free!!;)

 

That makes sense. I wonder if the cruise line also charges for the "inconvenience" of stopping the ship?

[Jill SC]

On a cruise last year, at Casablanca the cruise ship was held up waiting for three bus loads of people on ship sponsored excursions who were held up because of a traffic accident. The ship sailed as soon as they were on board. At another stop there were so many people lined up to get back on board the last half hour that the ship was an hour late sailing.

 

On another cruise, someone left behind on the dock in Gibraltar took a water taxi out to chase the ship, which slowed down and let them back on board.

[just4now]

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.

 

Interesting. So, if my flight from Tampa, arranged by NCL is late, they'll wait?

 

ETA: Oops, shoulda read odblnt 's post, I guess that answers that question!

[Texas2804]

When I was on the Dream a few weeks ago, I went to the ship's officers Q&A. A passenger asked the very same question...and I had been wondering about the answer. Captain Mogic (who by the way was wonderful) responded that in his time on the Dream they have had people miss the ship but they have only ever left 2 people behind at a port. (They were at Carlos n Charlies in Cozumel.) What usually happens if they miss the ship is people take the pilot's boat to meet the ship or charter some other boat in the port to catch up to the ship. He also did mention that this was also at their own expense. He did say something about $300 for riding with the pilot's boat to the ship....:eek:

[Stillfloatin']

Yikes, guess we independent tour folks better start carrying a wad of cash, just in case. :eek:

[johnql]

Captain Mogic (who by the way was wonderful) responded that in his time on the Dream they have had people miss the ship but they have only ever left 2 people behind at a port.

I'm not sure I understand the difference and how he can even draw a distinction.

[NCL_Cruiser]

I'm not sure I understand the difference and how he can even draw a distinction.

 

Missing the ship means they weren't on when the ship left the port....Left behind in port means they weren't on the ship when it reached the next port. You can miss the ship and not be left behind in the port by catching a boat ride as the ship is sailing away.

[barns46]

last month my 23 yr old son called us from the Bahamas..@ 2:30 am west coast time " mom...I did something stupid" He had missed the R.C. Maj. of the seas..He had no passport no cell phone and he was trying to be "smart" by leaving his wallet on board...He had no ID at all.... $9 bucks to his name... I was frantic..His dad was mad!! It took him about 7 hrs to catch up at coco kay. it ended up costing $70. for plane taxy .. which he was billed for on his credit card on file with R.C.

[BeachBumMama]

last month my 23 yr old son called us from the Bahamas..@ 2:30 am west coast time " mom...I did something stupid" He had missed the R.C. Maj. of the seas..He had no passport no cell phone and he was trying to be "smart" by leaving his wallet on board...He had no ID at all.... $9 bucks to his name... I was frantic..His dad was mad!! It took him about 7 hrs to catch up at coco kay. it ended up costing $70. for plane taxy .. which he was billed for on his credit card on file with R.C.

:eek: Ahhhhh... I guess you were frantic!

I'm adding this little note to my notes I'm collecting along the way of this thread. In Bahamas... plane taxi...:p Glad that was the ship's next stop.:)

[johnql]

Missing the ship means they weren't on when the ship left the port....Left behind in port means they weren't on the ship when it reached the next port. You can miss the ship and not be left behind in the port by catching a boat ride as the ship is sailing away.

Thanks, that makes sense.

[Aura23]

On our March 3-10 cruise on POA a group of six people caught up with the ship on third day, we assumed weather related (snow) problems combined with near capacity planes caused their late arrival. On the final day of our cruise two people were paged at least six times before we left Nawiliwili, and at least twice after, never did hear if they missed it or not.

[Sea Hag]

but I never go ashore without passport, driver's license, credit card, and a fair amount of money. I figure that anything that can happen, will. I want to make sure I have plenty of resources to deal with the "anything" no matter what it is.

[mousey]

Whoa!:eek: I wasn't even going to click on this post, but decided at the last second that maybe there would be some funny stories to be read. I personally find the guy that's "making notes" pretty funny!:) Anyway, I'm really glad I did click on this post because we leave Sat. 4/7 on the Star for Mexico and I'm going to do what "Sea Hag" does. We were told that because it is Easter week traffic is going to be heavier than on normal days because more people come into the cities for the holiday. I didn't give it a thought before because we have never even come close to missing our ship. But, hey, Sea Hag, is right, better to be safe than sorry! :D Thanks for the tip Sea Hag!:cool:

[Holg]

In my earlier post I was not saying the Wind did a bad thing by leaving people in Honolulu, I was merely reporting on something that happened.

 

Later that same cruise, the people in the cabin next to us got left on the far side of Maui by a excursion bus driver. He refused to transport them back to the ship because they had originally not been on his bus. Whether he should or should not have done that is not the point of the story. When I got back, I told the card-swiping people on the gangway "the folks in cabin xxx got left behind by the bus driver and they are, I guess, making their way back as best they can." The card-swiping people were all "oh thank you SO much for letting us know. We will keep and eye out for them"

[MrMate]

A true story, which shows the spirit of a happy ship:

 

It was a windy and rainy evening we had left Nassau. Just after departure we learned that a nanny and a child was left at the pier in Nassau, while the parents were onboard. Normally this is of course the passengers responsibility to be back onboard on time, but anyone with a heart could easily imagine the mother's feelings being separated from her infant.

 

So - first we tried to get some assistanse from the pilot boat, but the swells were too rough and we could not take the chance of handing over the child from the pilot boat to the ship.

 

Fortunately we were not in a hurry as the next port of call was GSC, just a good stone throw away

 

Our excellent captain called for a quick meeting on the bridge and we decided to give lee to lower one of our tenders to go back to the pier and pick up the Nanny and the child. With the permission from the port authority one tender with the appropriate crew headed for the breakwater and the pier as the ship manouvered safely outside waiting. The tender came back and were hoisted onboard carrying one happy nanny and the even happier mother and father were waiting on the deck. The following reunion scenes were very touching to anyone and would have made a perfect picture if it wasn't for the nasty odour of wommit comming from the tender and the motorman knocked out from seasickness