Bebop1088

We missed our ship in the Bahamas… Here is the story. My boyfriend and I started dating just a few months ago. He is unable to take off of work from April-September while on call and was able to get a week off last second. Luckily I was able to take a last second vacation week too. Although we explored other options for the short time frame and the convenience of the all inclusive feel we opted for a great deal on a cruise. Neither of us had passports. His had expired during COVID and I have never had one only traveling outside the US with the military and on past cruises. We booked 9 days before sailing. I have cruised at least 15 times in my life and him just twice. Neither of us since the start of covid. We are amazed at the ease during Embarkation. The total process from being dropped off at the door to walking on the ship was less than an hour. We secured our COVID tests before arriving, and were surprised to hear our ship was sailing at less than 50% capacity. We were told there were 1600 crew aboard and 1400 passengers. The cruise itself is quiet for our liking, the parties and events are small. Not many activities as with past cruises. On the positive side we never waited long for a drink and were able to secure dining reservations whenever we wanted to. There was no music or entertainment on sea days by the pool but there was always someone with a speaker playing their own music. We are notified a few hours prior to arrival at our first port (Port Canaveral) that the ship would not arrive on time. Instead we would spend an overnight there and not be able to stop at the private island the next day. Although disappointing we understand the change. The cruise line stated weather as the reasoning. I learned after the fact that another Norwegian cruise ship did in fact go to the private island the next day but that is neither here nor there. We arrive in Nassau Bahamas with two other cruise ships already in port. We try to log into the Norwegian app to verify the sail time for the day but you can only do so on the ships Wifi which anyone who has cruised knows is not the easiest task. We are among the first to leave as we had an early morning excursion deep sea fishing. We have with us just a small backpack, I put our birth certificates, sun tan lotion, our cruise cards and IDs, my camera and phones in the bag. The excursion is decent, although we did not catch any fish we spent 4 hours on the water. We are dropped off back at the pier around 12:30PM. This excursion is listed on our tickets as a ½ day excursion. When we get back to the pier we elect to go for a quick lunch at Senor Frogs. We are still unable to login to check the departure time, we know in retrospect we should have asked before leaving the ship that morning however we assume as with my past sailing history and other cruise ship passengers at senor frogs that it is most likely a 4:00PM sail away time. We decide to eat quickly and head back to the ship by 3:00PM to be on the safe side. As we are sitting there about to finish out lunch we hear the notable Honk of a cruise ship horn signaling one of the 4 ships in port was ready to leave. Jokingly I say “How funny would it be if that was out ship?” and we laugh as we wait for our check to pay. Within two minutes I look over my shoulder and realize OUR CRUISE SHIP IS MOVING! I signal to him to look and he laughs until he realizes I am not joking. I throw $300 cash on the table and we take off running towards the boat. Also in retrospect realizing this is unnecessary as the ship is not going to come back for us. We continue our sprint arriving at the customs area to the pier where we not so graciously cut in front of the lines of people and tell them we have missed our boat. The staff contacts the Port agent who pulls us to the side. He immediately gets on the phone with the cruise ship, who does not answer. He takes us into a small office. In conversation with him he tells us that usually the ship will notify him if they are aware of anyone who did not make the boat, which they did not do this time. He also says that no one from the ship has given him anything for us. From what I gathered it is customary for the cruise to go into your stateroom and leave anything immediately necessary (Medication, important documents, wallets) with the port agent. He takes us in his personal vehicle and advises we will need to check into a hotel, and visit the US Embassy tomorrow. At this point it is 2:30PM. While driving past the Embassy we notice that there are still security agents outside, so we ask the port agent what time they close, he rolls the window down and yells to a security guard who tells him 3:00PM. We thank him and jump out of the car hoping to catch someone at the embassy before they close. Although no one at the embassy will see us they allow us to talk on the phone to a representative. They send out the necessary paperwork to apply for an emergency passport, as well as tell us where to go to get our passport photos taken. We scurry through Nassau using my phone as GPS to find the passport photo center. We arrive just before they close and they advise me that they cannot take my passport photo. See we were deep sea fishing all day, all I had on was a bikini, shorts and a tank top. Passport photos need to meet certain requirements. I tell my travel companion to take off his shirt…. And that is how we both end up taking passport photos in an “Only fish” shirt. We walk back towards the tourist section of Nassau, find a bench and start working on securing what to do next. We take an inventory of what money and resources we have. Between us we have $700 cash, I move money to my Cash app card knowing my bank card wont work internationally. He has credit cards where I do not. We go online and find a hotel within walking distance that has a room available for the night. We check into the hotel, complete the paperwork from the Embassy. I contact Norwegian cruise line to explore our options. Norwegian tells me that because of the ‘Jones Act’ we are unable to meet up with the cruise at the next port (this turns out to be a blessing since the cruise did not even stop at the next port) they tell me that I need to fill out a lost item claim for our luggage online and that’s all we can do theres no phone number just an online form. We Let our families know the situation and purchase bare necessitates to get through the day. We spend $90 for phone chargers, get a T-shirt either of us can wear, two toothbrushes and deodorant. We decide to take a walk through the resorts nearby, we settle on Margaritaville and head to the bar for a drink and a quick bite to eat. While at the bar we explain the situation to the bar tender, he is amazing. He offers us local information on where to purchase some clothing and basics if we need and even offers to take us the following day after his shift if we need him to. While we are there we start considering our options. We are unsure how long it will take to get our passports the next day, so we cannot immediately book flights home. I start exploring some ideas for hotels should we need to stay another night, our hotel has already informed us they have no vacancies the following night. I am a recreational gambler and I regularly receive offers for Atlantis Paradise island but when I call to see if they can accommodate us I am advised to call back during regular business hours. We head back to the hotel, we shower and wash all our clothes in the sink and hang them to dry. We wake up bright and early to be the first in line at the Embassy. We quickly realize none of our clothes dried overnight and proceed to use the hair dryer to get them to a wearable level of dampness. We pack everything we own into my small backpack. We arrive at the embassy 15 minutes before they open… they advise we cannot bring my bag into the embassy. The only things we can have are our wallets and car keys. We explain we have no place to store the bag and they can provide no options for storage. We run back to our hotel who agrees to hold the bag for us (thankfully!) and its back to the embassy we go! We wait for a few minuets after passing through security. Since we have completed the paperwork we are able to get through the process relatively quickly. We are interviewed and we pay for out emergency passports ($165 each) they tell us to come back at noon to pick them up. They tell us its acceptable for one of us to come inside with both IDs and the other can wait outside with our bag. The only thing we need to do in the interim is to book out travel plans to return to the US and email them. The whole process is less than 2 hours. We get a cup of coffee and discuss out options. We are torn between getting the first flight home and trying to make the best of the situation and enjoying Nassau for the day. We elect that if my casino offer is viable at the Atlantis we will stay the night, if not we will book a flight as early as possible and fly home in our swimsuits. I am lucky enough to get a casino host who is sympathetic to our situation. I am able to book two nights at the Atlantis for a whopping $10 a night. We secure the room for two nights however, we book an early evening flight for the next day. We figure this will allow us plenty of time to enjoy the atlantis and still be back in the USA around the same time we would arrive from our cruise had we stayed on the ship. We find an amazing Taxi driver who takes us to the local Nassau mall, and even walks with us through the mall to ensure we are not taken advantage of as tourists. We buy basics, we each get a pair of jeans, a shirt and a sweatshirt, and underwear (living in a bikini is not for the weak). And our taxi driver takes us to the Atlantis. We walk in and are in awe of the situation. How in 24 short hours we went from not knowing how we would get back to the US to checking into a gorgeous resort, passports in hand and travel arrangements made. We enjoy all the resort has to offer, we try all the water slides see the animals and even realize we have a shark enclosure in our backyard! The following day we head to the airport, because of the nature of our trip I decide not to check out of the hotel room until we are on our flight on the way home. My intuition proves to be on point when after 6 hours in the airport our flight is cancelled. Airlines are used to this, they are trying to make arrangements with local hotels for lodging….except its spring break in the Bahamas and vacancies are few and far between. We are able to rebook our flight for the next day and head back to our waiting room at the Atlantis. So many flights were cancelled that evening that people actually had to sleep in the airport! The airline finds our situation almost comical, they give us vouchers for the taxi ride to and from the hotel and directions on how to get reimbursed for food. Eventually we are able to board a flight (that was delayed again) and get back to the states. We land late on Sunday, sun burned, exhausted but able to laugh at ourselves. So what did we learn from this…. Even if you think you wont need it- Take your passport, birth certificate, ID, credit cards, and some cash with you when you are in port. Check (and double check!) your itinerary and all aboard time for the ship The ship will leave without you, but if you’re a responsible cruiser you don’t have to stress over it. Travel with someone you can stand! We were lucky enough to work together well, I know personally I know some people I would never want to go through that experience with. Positive attitude makes all the difference. As much as the situation was scary we were not the first people to miss the ship, and we wont be the last either!