How to very nearly miss the boat

As we were about to leave Bermuda on the QV, with the gangway already taken in, 2 missing passengers ran from a bus to the ship, and the gangway was put out again so they were able to come on board. A very close call - the next port was Port Canaveral.

Wow, that does look like a close call.

Incredible.

Keith

Hope they got a right rollocking off the Captain too many leave until last minute or even past time they are supposed to be onboard.

Hope they got a right rollocking off the Captain too many leave until last minute or even past time they are supposed to be onboard.

The officer who got off the ship to escort them back on board did not look at all happy. It was our first port of call and we realized that if the captain said you had to be back at a certain time, that's the time he meant, not 15 minutes later.

At least they had the courtesy to run! Wow, what a close call!

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That is one of my worst nightmares!

I wonder if that was a local bus they got off of or an excursion (not Cunard) bus.

We saw that happen in Istanbul.

It was like something out of an Ealing comedy !!

A taxi came whizzing towards the ship, horn going and 2 people frantically waving out of the car's windows. But the ship had already left and was just a few metres from the berth. I thought they were going to jump !

The word on the ship was that they got on board in the pilot boat.

Gee...

That must be a real pain in the backside on those Caribbean island hopping cruises.

Not too much of a drama when the ship is floating up and down the coast of Italy or Greece. Inconvenient Yes, but you'd be at the next port of call way before the ship I would say.

What a nightmare! I remember an excursion in Abu Dhabi, when I got off the bus, as everybody else, to take a picture,which did not take much longer than five minutes altogether. When I turned round there was no bus anymore and I found myself alone in the middle of Abu Dhabi. I had waited for about 20 minutes when a taxi stopped and took me to the ship ...

Gee...

That must be a real pain in the backside on those Caribbean island hopping cruises.

Not too much of a drama when the ship is floating up and down the coast of Italy or Greece. Inconvenient Yes, but you'd be at the next port of call way before the ship I would say.

We were on Crystal Symphony, on embarkation in Long Beach, in the days when private cars and taxis could drive right up to the ship. The gangway was raised, and the ropes were about to ge released, when the whole process reversed itself, and the gangway lowered.

Evidently, a gentleman onboard had appealed desperately to the reception desk, to hold the ship because had forgotten his required medication. He told them his driver was on the way with it.

The Captain was notified, and he agreed. As we watched from the de k, a huge, black luxury car came speeding up to gangway. A man in livery jumped out with a paper bag in his hand. He gave it to a security officer, and the gangway was raised, and we cast off.

We learned the rest of the story at dinner one night at the Doctor's table. As they placed the bag on the conveyer belt to go through x-ray, the bag burst open, and the vital medication was ******! (Evidently, that name brand male pill is censored on Cruise Critic.)

Ricki

We were once moored behind one of the Costa ships in St Petersburg and watched it start to sail away. As it went about ten feet a car raced up and a couple got out. The ship then returned to the berth to pick them up. Some one commented that it must have been the chief engineer and his girlfriend to get such consideration.

A slightly different sort of being late arriving on ship: A few years ago, my husband and his father were flying out from Heathrow to New York to sail back on QM2. There was a problem with the plane which resulted in a 5-6h delay. There were 36 Cunard passengers on the flight and after phone calls, Cunard advised them to take the flight but that there was no guarantee the ship would wait and they might have to turn around and fly back! Some of the passengers decided not to fly as a result. However my husband and his father decided to go. They landed and were rushed through, onto a coach and to the ship in about 20 minutes. It turned out that one of the Cunard group of passengers was a virtuoso violinist and a key part of the entertainment for the voyage and that was the reason the ship had ended up waiting even though it was delayed way after the scheduled sail away. They had a fantastic time on board but they were disappointed they had missed their dinner!

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We often cruise QM2 to the Caribbean at Christmas. It's common to hear announcements looking for a couple of passengers in the half hour between all onboard and sailaway.

We waited for quite a while in St Maarten this Christmas. After they called names, I watched for "dock runners." I think two of the three people were driven to the ship in one of the little carts. But the third one never showed.

Many years ago, on a Canada cruise on QE2, we were in Halifax during the Tattoo. We knew about it in advance and really wanted to go, but were afraid to risk it. So when they offered it as a tour, we booked the tour. Traffic getting away from the venue was horrible. Our bus was lucky and got us back on time, and we watched as the others arrived. And then we waited and waited for one last bus. The word was we absolutely could NOT leave until that bus got back because the Captain was on it.

I think it was in Tortola this year, when the QM2 waited and waited and finally the dock runners arrived (maybe it was a ship's excursion; I don't recall). The bridge officer gave a toot-toot on the ship's whistle as if to say "Get a move on!"

Not a dock runner story, but a somewhat related missing passenger story...

During a back-to-back crossing last year, we took the Cunard shore excursion to Winchester on turn-around day in Southampton. At the appointed time for everyone to be back on board the coach in Winchester to return to Southampton, we were short one passenger. We waited 45 minutes and then headed back to Southampton still short one passenger.

Since all the couples on the coach could account for their spouses/significant others, it was assumed that the missing passenger must be a single traveler. A cross-check was made by phone of the tickets that were collected in Southampton to determine who on the excursion were single travelers. The guide then called off those names one-by-one to verify who was on the coach. When he got to "Mrs. T...", there was no response.

Shortly before the ship's departure time, an announcement came over the ship's speakers paging Mrs. T. Unfortunately, I don't know anything further about this story. To this day I wonder whatever happened to Mrs. T.

Not a dock runner story, but a somewhat related missing passenger story...

 

During a back-to-back crossing last year, we took the Cunard shore excursion to Winchester on turn-around day in Southampton. At the appointed time for everyone to be back on board the coach in Winchester to return to Southampton, we were short one passenger. We waited 45 minutes and then headed back to Southampton still short one passenger.

 

Since all the couples on the coach could account for their spouses/significant others, it was assumed that the missing passenger must be a single traveler. A cross-check was made by phone of the tickets that were collected in Southampton to determine who on the excursion were single travelers. The guide then called off those names one-by-one to verify who was on the coach. When he got to "Mrs. T...", there was no response.

Shortly before the ship's departure time, an announcement came over the ship's speakers paging Mrs. T. Unfortunately, I don't know anything further about this story. To this day I wonder whatever happened to Mrs. T.

I hope she enjoyed her holiday in Winchester! ;)

Not a dock runner story, but a somewhat related missing passenger story...

 

During a back-to-back crossing last year, we took the Cunard shore excursion to Winchester on turn-around day in Southampton. At the appointed time for everyone to be back on board the coach in Winchester to return to Southampton, we were short one passenger. We waited 45 minutes and then headed back to Southampton still short one passenger.

 

Since all the couples on the coach could account for their spouses/significant others, it was assumed that the missing passenger must be a single traveler. A cross-check was made by phone of the tickets that were collected in Southampton to determine who on the excursion were single travelers. The guide then called off those names one-by-one to verify who was on the coach. When he got to "Mrs. T...", there was no response.

 

Shortly before the ship's departure time, an announcement came over the ship's speakers paging Mrs. T. Unfortunately, I don't know anything further about this story. To this day I wonder whatever happened to Mrs. T.

This also reminds me about the 2008 world cruise, which was last Q.E.2. World cruise,when we docked at Montevideo for a over night stay, due to leave at 2.OO pm, but a elderly couple thought they would have a little stroll before sail away, we left before they returned, next port of call Falkland Islands, but as we approached the pilot boat came out saying to windy to use the tender boats, so we carried on to Punta Arenas once again to windy for the tenders to be used but they did launch one to take one of the entertainers off and pick a new entertainer, plus one elderly couple.

I bet if they did cruise again they never returned late again, must have been a quite harrowing and expensive experience.:rolleyes: The

I remember that couple on the world cruise of the QE2 in 2008 and the many ports that we couldn't get in to. Those 2 passengers who missed the ship in Montevideo were extremely careful in all other ports once they finally got on board again. They were the talk of the ship for many days.

We were on Crystal Symphony, on embarkation in Long Beach, in the days when private cars and taxis could drive right up to the ship. The gangway was raised, and the ropes were about to ge released, when the whole process reversed itself, and the gangway lowered.

 

Evidently, a gentleman onboard had appealed desperately to the reception desk, to hold the ship because had forgotten his required medication. He told them his driver was on the way with it.

 

The Captain was notified, and he agreed. As we watched from the de k, a huge, black luxury car came speeding up to gangway. A man in livery jumped out with a paper bag in his hand. He gave it to a security officer, and the gangway was raised, and we cast off.

 

We learned the rest of the story at dinner one night at the Doctor's table. As they placed the bag on the conveyer belt to go through x-ray, the bag burst open, and the vital medication was ******! (Evidently, that name brand male pill is censored on Cruise Critic.)

 

Ricki

Doctor can lose his license for that.

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For what?

Doctor can lose his license for that.

 

 

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No names and no way of identifying who it was!

Ricki

We were on Crystal Symphony, on embarkation in Long Beach, in the days when private cars and taxis could drive right up to the ship. The gangway was raised, and the ropes were about to ge released, when the whole process reversed itself, and the gangway lowered.

 

Evidently, a gentleman onboard had appealed desperately to the reception desk, to hold the ship because had forgotten his required medication. He told them his driver was on the way with it.

 

The Captain was notified, and he agreed. As we watched from the de k, a huge, black luxury car came speeding up to gangway. A man in livery jumped out with a paper bag in his hand. He gave it to a security officer, and the gangway was raised, and we cast off.

 

We learned the rest of the story at dinner one night at the Doctor's table. As they placed the bag on the conveyer belt to go through x-ray, the bag burst open, and the vital medication was ******! (Evidently, that name brand male pill is censored on Cruise Critic.)

 

Ricki

Years ago, a physician friend of ours recommend we buy stock in the pharmaceutical company that was about to re-brand sildenafil citrate, which at the time, was prescribed to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension . A new usage was discovered, and the drug would be marketed under a new name, sure to make millions, he told us. Needless to say, the pharmaceutical company did well (and no, we didn't buy the stock).

Anyway, apparently, there are different uses for the same medication, as is often the case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sildenafil

In 2012 we were on Holland America's Veendam and in Bermuda for 3.5 days, docked in Hamilton.

We had 4 people miss the ship - after being docked for like 85 consecutive hours with an always open gangway. People are idiots.