Will the ship wait for me?

[MTJSR]

I found this interesting as it also relates to questions we see here from time to time. This is from a web log of Captain Albert of Holland America. Some wonder what happens when passengers are late arriving to the ship. Will they wait for me? is the most common question. I assume Princess's Captains agonize over the same calculations explained here.Captain Albert writes:

"There was a spot of bad weather somewhere over the United States and that got our Air/Sea ticketing department all excited. Even to such an extent that they were asking me if I could delay the departure time, if necessary. That decision involves looking at a large number of things. The most important ones: One; How long can I stay and still make the next port on time, while running a safe speed all the time? I have to cross the North Sea and there are areas where the traffic is so dense that racing through them at full sea speed it is not always good seamanship. Two: How will this affect my fuel consumption, in relation to the number of people affected? It does not make much sense to spend $20,000 extra on fuel if one or two guests have to be flown to the next port and it would cost only $ 500. Three: Are these people flying on HAL tickets or are they on own arrangements? E.G lays the responsibility of a timely arrival at the ship with themselves or with the company. Four: even if they land on time, will they make it quickly to the ship? Traffic Jams could delay their arrival by yet another hour. Five: If I delay the ship and I would not make the next port on time, would this be fair to the guests already onboard? This is a consideration that comes into play when we are talking higher numbers. Normally if the next port call can be extended then is not such a big issue but if it can’t then it takes a good bit of consideration".

[TracieABD]

Very interesting.:)

Considering the greater good....

[Toto2Kansas]

Ships can wait if they are able to do so (taking into consideration all the factors involved), but that really explains why sometimes it isn't possible, while other times it can be done. Thanks for posting it, very informative!

 

I am not willing to take the chance of being one of the lucky ones! ;)

[Marmaduke]

I have been on a cruise where we left about 20 people behind in Venice, they missed the last shuttle boat from St Marks back to the dock yard. The ship waited an extra 20 minutes but finally had to leave. There is also a high cost to occupying a berth at the docks. With the help of the ships agents the missing people finally caught up with the ship a day and a half later when we docked in Messina for the afternoon. I dread to think how much it cost them, i just hope they had insurance which covered them.

[chipmaster]

Since the ship liklely never cruises at maximum speed they can easily make up an 30' to maybe even an hour delay all other things equal, but when you take a nearly 100,000 ton ship and push it a little faster one can forget the impact on a lot of things and most important as your post suggest the finances. There was / is a reason when oil spiked airlines and cruise ships got smacked.

 

No different than figuring your MPG at 55 versus say 75 MPH :D

 

I found this interesting as it also relates to questions we see here from time to time. This is from a web log of Captain Albert of Holland America. Some wonder what happens when passengers are late arriving to the ship. Will they wait for me? is the most common question. I assume Princess's Captains agonize over the same calculations explained here.Captain Albert writes:

"There was a spot of bad weather somewhere over the United States and that got our Air/Sea ticketing department all excited. Even to such an extent that they were asking me if I could delay the departure time, if necessary. That decision involves looking at a large number of things. The most important ones: One; How long can I stay and still make the next port on time, while running a safe speed all the time? I have to cross the North Sea and there are areas where the traffic is so dense that racing through them at full sea speed it is not always good seamanship. Two: How will this affect my fuel consumption, in relation to the number of people affected? It does not make much sense to spend $20,000 extra on fuel if one or two guests have to be flown to the next port and it would cost only $ 500. Three: Are these people flying on HAL tickets or are they on own arrangements? E.G lays the responsibility of a timely arrival at the ship with themselves or with the company. Four: even if they land on time, will they make it quickly to the ship? Traffic Jams could delay their arrival by yet another hour. Five: If I delay the ship and I would not make the next port on time, would this be fair to the guests already onboard? This is a consideration that comes into play when we are talking higher numbers. Normally if the next port call can be extended then is not such a big issue but if it can’t then it takes a good bit of consideration".

[BosoxI]

Well, DW and I hired a cab in Messina and the rascal was late picking us up. We made a wild and rather dangerous ride back to the Celebrity ship, arriving exactly at the posted departure time. The gangplank had already been pulled and a second one had to be extended just for us. That Captain was not delaying one second for us and, frankly, I don't blame him. He's got his job and hundreds of passengers to worry about. It sure does make a good story for us, though.

[paul929207]

Thanks for the posting. It is very interesting

[bhopal21]

I am not willing to take the chance of being one of the lucky ones! ;)

 

Me either. I never want to test whether or not the ship will wait on me.:eek:

 

Mike:)

[LuAnn]

Well, DW and I hired a cab in Messina and the rascal was late picking us up. We made a wild and rather dangerous ride back to the Celebrity ship, arriving exactly at the posted departure time. The gangplank had already been pulled and a second one had to be extended just for us. That Captain was not delaying one second for us and, frankly, I don't blame him. He's got his job and hundreds of passengers to worry about. It sure does make a good story for us, though.

 

How scary!! I guess that reminds me...that when we "do our own thing" we DO need to be careful!!! Glad you made it!! LuAnn

[Times Prince]

Another factor the Captain broadcast for our departure from Vancouver is the tide. He cited that if he delayed further there may be an issue with fitting under the bridge spanning the entrance to the harbor. I don't know how many departure ports this may affect, but it does influence Alaskan cruises.

[RickEk]

Ships can wait if they are able to do so (taking into consideration all the factors involved), but that really explains why sometimes it isn't possible, while other times it can be done. Thanks for posting it, very informative!

 

I am not willing to take the chance of being one of the lucky ones! ;)

 

I'd second that... having been on a Princess excursion that got back late (in Limon) and having to run for the ship was not the most fun. But knowing the ship was waiting for us definitely gave us some peace of mind as we were stuck in traffic.

[grandmato4]

Interesting reading and informative. Nothing surprising but still a good bit of information for all those that ask, "Will the ship wait for me? " and even better for those that say "Why didn't the ship wait for me!" :)

[FLACRUISER99]

I have been on a cruise where we left about 20 people behind in Venice, they missed the last shuttle boat from St Marks back to the dock yard. The ship waited an extra 20 minutes but finally had to leave. There is also a high cost to occupying a berth at the docks. With the help of the ships agents the missing people finally caught up with the ship a day and a half later when we docked in Messina for the afternoon. I dread to think how much it cost them, i just hope they had insurance which covered them.

Venice canals are only deep enough for large cruise-ships at high tide, this is one port you do not want to be late at.

[debandbruce]

A couple of weeks ago when the Oasis was on the travel channel there were 46 people not back in time. I forget how long it was before everyone was on board but it was well over an hour. They said it would cost $45,000 dollars in fuel to make up the time, which they did. The next night once again people were late including " a millionaire" as they put it who got back on just under the wire. The rest of us enjoying our holiday back on board are oblivious to the frenzy this causes. They never explained if it was late tours or why they were late, but wow that is quite an extra expense for the cruise line.

[MTJSR]

Obviously when cruising we must be on our best behavior, as we can impact a whole lot of people thru our actions. It's really rather selfish when someone doesn't consider who and how many others they affect by their actions. If I held up a couple thousand people and cost a company many tens of thousands of dollars, I would have to hide in my cabin just from the sheer embarrassment.:eek:

[RickT]

If you are on a ship excursion, the chances of them waiting for is much greater due to the larger number of passengers on the excursion, and their implied responsibility to take care of all the travel details related to the excursion.

 

Otherwise... good luck. On Princess I often find the ship leaves port later than they tell you (at least this has been my experience on my sailings) which also buys you a little time. On Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, the ships leave exactly when scheduled.

 

We were on a Celebrity cruise in Venice and a lady was slowly walking back to the ship when she noticed the ship was pulling away from the pier, she yelled/screamed/waved but to no avail. There was an officer on the back of the ship who simply tapped his watch when other passengers tried to get him to make a call and have the ship return.

 

I ALWAYS make sure I leave plenty of time to get back to the ship.

[Pam in CA]

Since the ship liklely never cruises at maximum speed they can easily make up an 30' to maybe even an hour delay all other things equal, but when you take a nearly 100,000 ton ship and push it a little faster one can forget the impact on a lot of things and most important as your post suggest the finances. There was / is a reason when oil spiked airlines and cruise ships got smacked.

 

No different than figuring your MPG at 55 versus say 75 MPH :D

Don't forget that in order to reach maximum speed, the ships with diesel engines must fire up those engines which burn a very expensive fuel. They don't do it unless they have to. It's not just a matter of putting the pedal to the metal; there are a lot of other factors involved.

 

Once, we were in Montevideo which had a narrow entrance and the cruise ships that were docked there had to arrive, and leave, in order because if one didn't leave, it would block the others from leaving. A Celebrity ship was going to be leaving 20 minutes late and our Captain got on the PA system with the message, "For the passengers who can't tell time, this is good news." Sure 'nuff, about 20 minutes later, two cabs raced up to the ship with four passengers getting out of one, two out of the other. The gangway was just being pulled in for our departure so they made it by the skin of their teeth. If they'd missed the ship, they would have had to try to fly to the Falklands (very iffy proposition since I believe there's just one flight a day or maybe it's two flights a week) and if not, meet up with the ship five days later in Ushuaia. That would have been a VERY expensive shore excursion.

[C&F]

On my very first cruise aboard the RCCL Nordic Empress to Bermuda, the CD told a funny, but true, joke.

He said if you are on Front Street having a drink and hear the ship blow it's horn once, finish your drink and start casually making your way back to the ship. If you hear the ship's horn twice, down your drink and run back to the ship. If you hear the ship's horn three times, take your time finishing your drink and order a whole lot more because the ship has already sailed!

[ggo85]

On certain crusies (such as European river cruises), ships have times for going into the locks. If the ship misses its slot, it may be a LONG time until it can get another one. So, they don't wait.

 

On our Norwegian Coastal Voyages cruise along the coast of Norway, the ship left people in port -- it was the buzz of the ship. And that was dicey for them b/c some of the towns visited are essentially land-locked. Until the next ship visits (a week later), there's not much they could do to get out. :eek:

[RickEk]

A couple of weeks ago when the Oasis was on the travel channel there were 46 people not back in time. I forget how long it was before everyone was on board but it was well over an hour. They said it would cost $45,000 dollars in fuel to make up the time, which they did. The next night once again people were late including " a millionaire" as they put it who got back on just under the wire. The rest of us enjoying our holiday back on board are oblivious to the frenzy this causes. They never explained if it was late tours or why they were late, but wow that is quite an extra expense for the cruise line.

 

 

Well, when it's 15 minutes to the planned sailaway time and they're paging "Mr. Jones of Baja 101" and other folks, you know those are the ones who haven't checked back in yet. :) On a Mexican Riviera cruise, a couple of young men missed the ship twice! First in Mazatlan and then in Cabo. I'm assuming they had to fly home... :p

[Thumper69]

Well, when it's 15 minutes to the planned sailaway time and they're paging "Mr. Jones of Baja 101" and other folks, you know those are the ones who haven't checked back in yet. :) On a Mexican Riviera cruise, a couple of young men missed the ship twice! First in Mazatlan and then in Cabo. I'm assuming they had to fly home... :p

 

 

Tequila will do that to you............:D:D

[cactusrose]

This was posted by someone on a roll call. Gives you an idea of what happens when you miss the ship.

 

[RickEk]

This was posted by someone on a roll call. Gives you an idea of what happens when you miss the ship.

 

 

Yeah, there's a bunch of these type of videos on YouTube. Don't let it ever be you!... :D:p

[Pam in CA]

On certain crusies (such as European river cruises), ships have times for going into the locks. If the ship misses its slot, it may be a LONG time until it can get another one. So, they don't wait.

 

On our Norwegian Coastal Voyages cruise along the coast of Norway, the ship left people in port -- it was the buzz of the ship. And that was dicey for them b/c some of the towns visited are essentially land-locked. Until the next ship visits (a week later), there's not much they could do to get out. :eek:

On one of my cruises, we were delayed waiting for a Princess tour and our pilot was re-assigned to another ship. We had to wait until another pilot and departure slot was available.

 

I remember one of the best Port Lecturers I've ever met, Joe May, saying, "If you're on an independent tour, be sure to bring your camera with you because if you haven't planned enough time before reboarding, lose track of time, are stuck in traffic or your taxi has a flat, you can use it to take a picture of the ship as it sails away." About two ports later, we left four people behind in Barcelona who didn't make it in time; they met the ship very early the next morning in Cannes, having taken an overnight train.

 

On one cruise years ago on the Sea Princess, we were doing a full Panama Canal transit and our last port before the Canal was Isla Margarita, Venezuela. Two couples failed to make it back on the ship and our next port was our disembarkation port, Acapulco, five days later. That must have been an expensive beach break.

 

If you are on a Princess tour and the ship has to sail or is scheduled to pick up the passengers at another port but fails to make the port, they will take care of you and get you to the next port. That happened a couple of years ago on the Sapphire Princess Sydney > LA cruise. We dropped a group of passengers off in the Fjordland National Park on a tour across New Zealand and we were to pick them up in Dunedin the next day. We weren't able to get into Dunedin due to weather so we sailed on to Auckland where they reboarded two days after they were dropped off. Princess took care of hotels, flights, and other expenses.

[mtaylor04]

Interesting read, thanks.

 

I hope I am never in a situation like those people in the videos