How many ports have you missed?

How many ports have you missed out of the cruises that you have taken either on OC or some other CL?

We must have been very lucky.

400 days cruising- most on Princess- none with Oceania

Missed 2 ports on Princess- weather Newport, ship sailed a day late because of delayed dry-dock so canceled Aruba.

1/2 day Boston because Princess failed to notify the harbor.

River cruise- Amsterdam to Budapest- low river but just changed boats 1/2 way with no missed ports

Land tours can also have problems- snow in the Alps caused us to miss 1 of 2 days in Zermatt.

Advice I am reading is not to take a cruise because of the ports. If this is true my question is-should you just keep taking the least expensive cruise over and over again and just stay on the ship rather than take a cruise with ports you would like to see ?

I am assuming it was meant to mean if you are going to be more than disappointed that you didn't get to a port than going directly by other means will probably assure you will get there?

Does anyone know the reason why there are so many missed ports on O?

Is it because the smaller ships do not handle as well?

or because of the smaller ports O tends to visit

or is it because the Captains they hire do not have the experience to deal with all the weather issues they encounter.?

We have booked our first 3 Oceania cruises and will hope luck stays with us.:)

One cruise on Oceania with one missed port, Rio Grande. They said it was too rough to dock.

 

Numerous cruises with other lines and numerous missed ports. The tender ports I always expect to miss and look on it as a bonus if we make it in.

 

Worst was missing two ports in one two week cruise, due to a force 11 in the Bay of Biscay. The captain said if we went into Lisbon we wouldn’t be able to get out again! And when we arrived at La Gomera in the Canaries, another ship was in our dock unable to move out due to the strong winds. Luckily they were able to add one extra port, La Palma, so we were only one down overall. But La Gomera was the port I particularly wanted to visit as we had already been to the others before, so I was disappointed.

 

But as has been said, you have to expect the unexpected when cruising!

On our Samba Serenade cruise we made it to Rio Grande on an R ship. IMO you didn't miss much, very little tourist infrastructure but perhaps they are improving with the stops that O/NCL seems to always make on this routing.

We made it to La Gomera (bit of a scare getting out however but we did make it) on another R ship and it was the highlight of our Canary Islands cruise. I hope you do make it there eventually, easier to do from England than North America!

As for OP, yes, we've missed a handful of ports (sailed only O and Az and only ports missed have been on O, though we've taken twice the number of O cruises), the most recent being to Waterford last year which was due to weather. Not on our must-see list so we weren't too fussed over it.

I think if you go on longer cruises (e.g., say over 14 night), you're going to hit statistics where it is going to be more likely that you're going to have a missed port due to a medical health issue/emergency.

Does anyone know the reason why there are so many missed ports on O?

Is it because the smaller ships do not handle as well?

or because of the smaller ports O tends to visit

or is it because the Captains they hire do not have the experience to deal with all the weather issues they encounter.?

 

We have booked our first 3 Oceania cruises and will hope luck stays with us.:)

all of the above

they pick up someone at the dock to be Captain for the cruise :rolleyes:

Seriously stuff happens

Does anyone know the reason why there are so many missed ports on O?

Is it because the smaller ships do not handle as well?

or because of the smaller ports O tends to visit

or is it because the Captains they hire do not have the experience to deal with all the weather issues they encounter.?

 

We have booked our first 3 Oceania cruises and will hope luck stays with us.:)

6 of the 7 I missed were on Princess; 1 on Celebrity! :'):')

But, seriously, the captain has the expertise and wisdom to make the best decision for passenger and crew safety! I'm glad they care about us. Better to miss a port than have a disaster.

Why do passengers think they know more than the captain???

6 of the 7 I missed were on Princess; 1 on Celebrity! :'):')

 

But, seriously, the captain has the expertise and wisdom to make the best decision for passenger and crew safety! I'm glad they care about us. Better to miss a port than have a disaster.

 

Why do passengers think they know more than the captain???

Just goes to show that things happen and one cruise may not make a port but many, many other cruises do make the port. I really doubt that one cruise line misses ports any more than another. Medical emergencies and weather are both not predictable.

We have always felt very confident that the captain will keep us safe and it is only he who should decide if a port should be missed or not.

OK so I know I am going to get killed for saying this,however here goes. I can understand weather conditions or ship problems causing the missing of ports but why do people who have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel go on these cruises knowing that if an emergency happens they are causing others to miss out on a port? I just literally spoke with my in laws who are 88 and 86 and are flying to Greece in a few weeks and I asked them about going on a cruise (they have been on over 30 over the years and without me bringing it up, my father in law said well if I should get sick I don't want to cause others to have to suffer. They both hike several times a week and are in pretty good shape.

OK so I know I am going to get killed for saying this,however here goes. I can understand weather conditions or ship problems causing the missing of ports but why do people who have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel go on these cruises knowing that if an emergency happens they are causing others to miss out on a port? I just literally spoke with my in laws who are 88 and 86 and are flying to Greece in a few weeks and I asked them about going on a cruise (they have been on over 30 over the years and without me bringing it up, my father in law said well if I should get sick I don't want to cause others to have to suffer. They both hike several times a week and are in pretty good shape.

Instead they should just sit at home and wait to die?

Besides, plenty of “healthy” 50+ years olds get surprise heart attacks, broken limbs and other things that may inconvenience you.

Stuff happens to all of us.

Instead they should just sit at home and wait to die?

Besides, plenty of “healthy” 50+ years olds get surprise heart attacks, broken limbs and other things that may inconvenience you.

Did I say that they should just sit home and die? I knew that someone would say some people in their 50's have heart attacks and that is true but when at least 70 percent and I may be underestimating here of the folks on OC are at least 75, the odds are a tad bit higher on who will get the heart attack.

Did I say that they should just sit home and die? I knew that someone would say some people in their 50's have heart attacks and that is true but when at least 70 percent and I may be underestimating here of the folks on OC are at least 75, the odds are a tad bit higher on who will get the heart attack.

That’s just it - it can happen to a teenager with appendicitis or person of any age with a broken limb, etc. Many things may require a medical evacuation, not just “ailments” of elderly folks.

Hopefully people will use common sense when traveling far from home.

That’s just it - it can happen to a teenager with appendicitis or person of any age with a broken limb, etc. Many things may require a medical evacuation, not just “ailments” of elderly folks.

Hopefully people will use common sense when traveling far from home.

OK I see that I am beating a dead horse here. So not going to go back and forth with you. Yes things happen to people of all ages but a teenager's chance of having an ailment such as a broken leg is almost null as compared to an 80 plus person who never gets out of the house except to go on cruises and yes I know there are people in their 80;s who are in pretty good shape. My parents and In laws are but when you know that there is a chance of you getting sick while on a cruise. STAY HOME!!

There is always a chance of getting sick but how do you when that will happen??

DH had a gallbladder attack on one cruise should we have stayed home it was not something he planned ??

I still have my appendix should I stay home incase something should happen while I am cruising

You make no sense ..

I don't know if Oceania does it more than other lines. I don't think we missed any. The one that Oceania misses but advertises as a port of call is Pitcairn Island. The islanders do come on board, but I don't think any mainstream cruise line actually visits the island.

No longer a port of call but a sea day described as "Pitcairn Islands Onboard Experience". Finally an achievable expectation rather than the false hope of "maybe this time, I'll be lucky, maybe this time, we'll stay" (apologies - still stuck in my head from a recent local production of Cabaret)

There is always a chance of getting sick but how do you when that will happen??

DH had a gallbladder attack on one cruise should we have stayed home it was not something he planned ??

I still have my appendix should I stay home incase something should happen while I am cruising

You make no sense ..

LHT you are not reading what I am saying. Put on your glasses. So let me rephrase. I see a lot of Seniors that have no activities in their lives except going on cruises. The chances that something will happen to them are a lot higher than those seniors who do work out. I see a lot of seniors on OC and I am just waiting for something to happen but I also see seniors that I admire the shape they are in and hope and pray I am like that in 30 years.

... Most our our cruises are to get to out of the way places either difficult or overly expensive to get to via land cruise. Places we really want to see, we do land tours. I would never waste my money booking a cruise to the Easter Islands, for example, especially if the rest of the itinerary didn’t excite me. To high of a risk of disappointment.

 

We still do, and have booked for this summer, river cruises on Uniworld that provides far greater exposure to exotic ports of call than ocean cruises. ...

River cruises might not miss the ports due to weather but might miss sailing all together and it turn into a bus trip. While it might not happen often add up all the sailings that were cancelled or turned into expensive bus trips a couple of years back (and before that) and is the equivalent of a lot of missed ports of call. Water too high, water too low. Bottom line there is risk either way.

Most our our cruises are to get to out of the way places either difficult or overly expensive to get to via land cruise. Places we really want to see, we do land tours. I would never waste my money booking a cruise to the Easter Islands, for example, especially if the rest of the itinerary didn’t excite me. To high of a risk of disappointment.

Many of the posters here feel much the same way. The lure of getting to Easter island relatively easy by cruise ship vs. the much more immersive land trip is appealing to many especially if ticking it off a list. I am considering an Antarctic cruise that includes Falkland islands. I will be disappointed if we do not make land fall. Would I go instead by land; doubtful. I think I don't want to invest the (limited) money or the (limited) time to make a special land trip there. So maybe one day I'll post when asked how many posts we've missed I'll add one more but that statistics only matters if it's port I really want to make and like you, I would do that trip by land. So how many missed ports really does not matter that much to me.

My first cruise was New York-Le Havre on French Lines' Liberte; I celebrated my 21st birthday on the crossing and have loved cruising ever since. I may have missed some ports but only one stands out:

On September 11, 2011 we were on a TA London -New York off the coast of Greenland. Obviously we would not be disembarking in NYC. The cruise line made--and paid for-- alternative flights from Boston for all affected passengers.

We did stop in Nova Scotia and I can't remember being prouder being an American by their portside bagpipe welcome and the graciousness of the Canadians who deserve ao much credit and thanks.

We missed the statue of Liberty but were escorted, in a subdued Logan airport, to our flights by guard dogs and military wielding AK-47s.

I will never regret--or care about--any missed port. Life is too short and I will live each day (hopefully aboard a cruise ship!) .

LHT you are not reading what I am saying. Put on your glasses. So let me rephrase. I see a lot of Seniors that have no activities in their lives except going on cruises. The chances that something will happen to them are a lot higher than those seniors who do work out. I see a lot of seniors on OC and I am just waiting for something to happen but I also see seniors that I admire the shape they are in and hope and pray I am like that in 30 years.

well let me explain to you

People will get sick no matter how they live their lives

we just went to a funeral of a good friend who was very active all his life ... still worked as a butcher 5 days a week

He had a massive stroke in March & passed last week

He was 71

Another person we know does nothing all day but sit around on his Ipad he is 90

When your number is up your number is up

Who are you to judge who should cruise or not cruise :eek:

One missed port on our first cruise twenty years ago so it was NOT Oceania :D

Only missed 2 ports in 36 cruises.

Have overall missed several ports for weather, and about 5 more for medical. Also have had about 6 stops at ports to offload medical passengers. I believe it is just part of cruising.

OK I see that I am beating a dead horse here. So not going to go back and forth with you. Yes things happen to people of all ages but a teenager's chance of having an ailment such as a broken leg is almost null as compared to an 80 plus person who never gets out of the house except to go on cruises and yes I know there are people in their 80;s who are in pretty good shape. My parents and In laws are but when you know that there is a chance of you getting sick while on a cruise. STAY HOME!!

Sounds like cruising is not for you.

:rolleyes:Maybe you will find the perfect cruise line for you where they only allow the young! Of course they will have to sign a guarantee that they will not have a medical emergency that would cause you to miss a port.

I wish you the best on your land travels.

Sounds like some people have been very lucky with only one or two missed ports. Better avoid sailing with me!

Another example was our cruise this January in South Africa. Mossel Bay, a tender port, was missed due to rough seas. We were meant to have two days in Richards Bay, but only got one due to the South African water shortage. They wouldn’t let us take on water, so we had to go to sea to run the ship’s desalination plant. Apparently it cannot be run in port. So that was two port days missed in a 14 night cruise. Oh, we also had to turn around and sail several hours back to Durban with a medical emergency. Rumoured to be a broken leg sustained in rough seas. Luckily they were able to make up the lost time. (Not Oceania by the way).

To be honest, we consider it pretty amazing if we end a cruise having visited every port!

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We missed a port in Greenland due to too much ice in the port. Seems like this happens often. Missed one of the Greek islands on another small ship line due to a storm coming. Went to a different island that doesn't see many cruise ship and tours were quickly arranged with locals. Don't remember the name of the island Kos? but they had a sponge diver museum. Turned out to be a highlight of the trip. Late to Ketchikan when a dock had been destroyed by a Celebrity ship a few days before. Again, ship tours were rescheduled so it all worked out.

Mary

We made the Falklands - 65 and sunny - but missed Punta del Este on the same cruise. Not what you would guess since PdE is quite the summer resort and this was December (their June more or less). It was a storm that headlined the BBC World's daily weather, and our ship got as far as the harbor pilot boat but seas were obviously too rough for tendering. Next day in the Falklands was stormy and we would have had to skip it...

Only 8 cruises, but that was our only missed port so far. We have seen scattered early or late arrivals or departures for medical or weather issues, even one pause in the Chilean fjords for a helicopter evacuation.

Well, I cruise for ports as well. But I am willing to deal with the occasional disappointment. But interestingly, we had two days on shore on Easter Island!

 

Frances

We also had two days ashore on EI this past winter on our Lima/Papeete cruise. Truly magical!!! :D

We have over 300 nights on O, missing 2 ports in the Med on our 2010 cruise (our second), then had no missed ports for awhile, but lately there have been quite a few, mostly weather related, and I think all on the R ships. Last cruise from Dubai to Cape Town there were many medical emergencies with maybe a half dozen passengers having to debark prior to their final destination. Things happen, accidents, illness. It's life. I feel sorry for those who are affected, whose cruise gets disrupted, whose lives are in turmoil because of whatever happened. As for me, I will continue t sail the itineraries I choose, and if a port is missed, I can handle it without a lot of angst.