Ever miss the ship while on a Private Excursion?

[Tallcruiser]

Has anyone ever missed the ship because they couldn't get back to port in time from a Private tour. Not from a Ship sponsored excursion! But late for any reason from a Private tour?

[room010]

Not us, but our friends decided to take a taxi to a tourist spot in Numea and were very late getting back to the ship where increasingly urgent and irate tannoy announcements let us all know the Captain wasn't happy! They got back just as the gangway was being raised and so got on board by the skin of their teeth to an enormous cheer from everyone :o Literally another minute and they would have been stranded. They received a major dressing down from the Captain and didn't risk any more private excursions.

 

They basically lost track of time and miscalculated how long it would take to get back. Their driver's very 'laid back' attitude didn't help either because they realised they were in trouble and asked him to hurry up but he didn't seem to understand the urgency of the situation!

[pg.]

We have only ever used ship excursions twice. In 6 cruises. We have taken buses, taxis and small boats ,, all privately , and never had a problem. We allow twice as much time as you might think you need to get back and have never even come close to a problem. I do alot of research on where and what to do. The two ship excursions were snorkling from a boat when hubby and I were on honeymoon, and inexperienced in cruises,, ( we could not beleive how over priced shore exes were)and once I took a cruise alone with my 12 yr old to Mexico and was sick of fighting off vendors from other ports so booked a private beach visit, which was very nice.

 

I think if I ever did a shore visit to a place like Rome, which is far from port, I would pay the extra for ship shore ex.. but for Caribbean and Mexico its not really needed,,. unless you want to do certain things.

[John Bull]

The question has been asked on here many times, with very very very few examples quoted, and they tend to be second-hand.

Private tour operators are very very careful to get you back in good time.

Taxi drivers hired from the port are pretty good, they know the importance of back-on-board time. But they can't work miracles if you are lackadaisical.

Buses, trains, & esp ferries carry a risk, always worth catching at least one before the last possible one. And allow time to switch to a "plan B" such as a taxi - not always possible with a ferry, hence the greater risk.

But the biggest risks are:

-confusion between ships time & local time.

-confusion about when is back-on-board time.

-inadequate margin for delays (We always aim to visit the nearest sights last - we can shorten the time there or skip altogether if delayed earlier in the day)

-too much alcohol.

-not enough common-sense

 

We tend to do things independently, & have never come close to missing a sailing

John Bull

[maryann ns]

You need to be careful to distinguish between private tours and do it yourself tours which may involve hiring taxis as well as independent travel on trains, busses, etc. If you take a private tour with a company well known here, they will not rish their reputation by having you return late.

 

As John Bull says, if you are doing it yourself, you need to be careful.

[happy_travellers]

sorry wrong board

[CruiserBruce]

We had two people, in separate ports, miss sailaway on our just completed Noordam cruise. Both had to fly to the next port, one missed a day at sea.

 

Don't know if they were on private tours, or DIY.

[matj2000]

The people on these boards make it sound like it happens all the time, when in fact it is very rare. In all my cruises I doubt anyone has ever been left behind.

Some folks run a little late, but that is common...

[DonnaK]

We do private tours or go off on our own in the Caribbean every time. There are ways to minimize the risk of missing the ship, such as using reputable private guides recommended on CC whose reputation and business depends upon them getting you back to the ship on time. We also get an early start, and plan to return to the ship about 2 hours sooner than we need to. We've never had a problem, and quite honestly we've never seen it happen to anyone else on any of our sailings.

 

We would only consider a ship's tour if it were something exclusive to the cruiseline and couldn't be booked independently, or if it were an all-day excursion that took us far from the pier (such as the Mayan ruins in Mexico)

[grumpyjr88]

John Bull gives good advice.

 

I've done two DIY tours on two seperate cruises without any problems. The cab drivers and tour guides at the port know what time you have to be back. And if you're totally on your own, just plan to be back 2 hours before the ship leaves. If you're early, you can always relax at that last bar for a drink or two before getting onboard.

[dannysdad]

If you do miss the ship you could always look for help.........!

 

 

:D:D

[Hlitner]

We have advising folks, for many years, how to do things on their own in most European Ports. Every once in a while somebody will ask us a question like, "do you ever worry about missing the ship?" My answer is no because we deal with that in our planning (usually have a Plan B) and if it ever happens (we have not missed a ship in more then 2 years of cruising) we will simply make our way to the next port. We also tell folks if you are going to fret about such issues you should either stay within shouting distance of the ship or take the overpriced cattle-calls known as ship excursions. But, if you are unhappy with those excursions please do not whine, complain to guest relations, tour desk, etc. because you made the choice for the cattle-call. And it is a choice.

 

Hank

[junglejane]

The question has been asked on here many times, with very very very few examples quoted, and they tend to be second-hand.

Private tour operators are very very careful to get you back in good time.

Taxi drivers hired from the port are pretty good, they know the importance of back-on-board time. But they can't work miracles if you are lackadaisical.

Buses, trains, & esp ferries carry a risk, always worth catching at least one before the last possible one. And allow time to switch to a "plan B" such as a taxi - not always possible with a ferry, hence the greater risk.

But the biggest risks are:

-confusion between ships time & local time.

-confusion about when is back-on-board time.

-inadequate margin for delays (We always aim to visit the nearest sights last - we can shorten the time there or skip altogether if delayed earlier in the day)

-too much alcohol.

-not enough common-sense

 

We tend to do things independently, & have never come close to missing a sailing

John Bull

 

I think John Bull has summed it up quite well. I have yet to read a story about a reputable private tour operator who failed to get pax back to the ship on time. The stories I have read are all second-hand and sound like they involved too much alcohol and partying on shore.

 

A good private tour operator plans his or her route to minimize the risk of problems. I remember one of our drivers in Scotland explaining that the order in which we were visiting sites was designed to avoid having to return via a particular bridge that was often crowded in the late afternoon.

 

The last thing the private tour operators want is a customer who misses the ship. They know how much their business depends on internet recommendations. If anything, we've felt that a few of them rushed us back to the ship a little too early (more than 2 hours prior to last boarding) under the guise of "extra margin of safety."

 

Of course, you can never completely eliminate risk. I always make sure to carry the ship newsletter with the phone number of the ship's agent in port.

[silverado44]

The people who get left behind are usually the ones drinking at a port bar and lose track of time.

[mikewrit]

Perhaps owing to my time on one of Uncle Sam's big gray cruise ships, where missing a movement was a criminal offense, I cannot help but read these missing-the-ship threads. As John Bull and hlitner suggest, the threads almost always follow the same arc through dead-cert but second-hand accounts through disparagement of cruise-line cattle calls to general agreement that such fears have never been realized by anyone participating in the roundelay.

[CruiserBruce]

If I was one who missed the ship due to the very good and valid reasons listed above, I wouldn't be here bragging about it. On the HAL board there was a person who did miss a ship sailing, and of course, it wasn't their fault. They were independent travelors.

 

The two I mentioned above were confirmed by the Captain.

[Tallcruiser]

Has anyone ever missed the ship because they couldn't get back to port in time from a Private tour. Not from a Ship sponsored excursion! But late for any reason from a Private tour?

 

I think this is a pretty straight forward question. Opinions were not requested. A debate was not requested. Like many I have enjoyed well researched independent/private tours as well as the ship sponsored excursions in my 20 plus past cruises.

From my experience I would say that having travel insurance is probably a must either way.

This is not a poll or subject for debate. I wanted to see if I could get a clear picture if there were people on CC who could say first hand they had missed their ship on an independent excursion.

 

Not a debate just a clear question. If no one answers, I have my answer. That's all.

[notentirelynormal]

I think this is a pretty straight forward question. Opinions were not requested. A debate was not requested. Like many I have enjoyed well researched independent/private tours as well as the ship sponsored excursions in my 20 plus past cruises.

From my experience I would say that having travel insurance is probably a must either way.

This is not a poll or subject for debate. I wanted to see if I could get a clear picture if there were people on CC who could say first hand they had missed their ship on an independent excursion.

 

Not a debate just a clear question. If no one answers, I have my answer. That's all.

 

Wow- this is a pretty rude response.

[andy11]

No.

[andy11]

This is not a poll or subject for debate. I wanted to see if I could get a clear picture if there were people on CC who could say first hand they had been rebuked for posting a reply.

 

Not a debate just a clear question. If no one answers, I have my answer. That's all.

[kitty9]

Wow- this is a pretty rude response.

 

Yes, indeed, a very rude response. Perhaps such posts should include the following, "If you can't understand my question, or don't follow my train of thought, don't bother responding". Everyone on these boards fully realize that when you post a question, you're going to get all sorts of responses and at times, things will go a bit off topic. It's just the nature of the beast. Maybe if the op had included that he didn't want a response from anyone unless you were the actual person who missed the ship, he wouldn't have become so upset.

[tartanexile81]

I think this is a pretty straight forward question. Opinions were not requested. A debate was not requested. Like many I have enjoyed well researched independent/private tours as well as the ship sponsored excursions in my 20 plus past cruises.

From my experience I would say that having travel insurance is probably a must either way.

This is not a poll or subject for debate. I wanted to see if I could get a clear picture if there were people on CC who could say first hand they had missed their ship on an independent excursion.

 

Not a debate just a clear question. If no one answers, I have my answer. That's all.

 

Well I doubt if you'll get any answers because I don't think people here like being spoken to like that. :( As in all threads, posters will inevitably give their opinion or relate an anecdote and basically just enjoy helping each other. :) Everyone who posted said something relevant about missing the ship or how to avoid doing so and I was really intersted to read them.

 

And in reply to HLitner's comment, there is a possibility of missing the ship on a ship's excursion. We were on one this summer and left behind a family of 4 in Sorrento. They missed the coach, even thought we waited for 30 minutes and sent out search parties. We only got back to the ship with a few minutes to spare so they must have missd it.

[Hlitner]

.

 

And in reply to HLitner's comment, there is a possibility of missing the ship on a ship's excursion. We were on one this summer and left behind a family of 4 in Sorrento. They missed the coach, even thought we waited for 30 minutes and sent out search parties. We only got back to the ship with a few minutes to spare so they must have missd it.

 

WOW! This could make me a fan of ships excursions. If they would leave behind anyone who was late to the bus that would be a real plus. One of the things that drove us away from taking bus tours (many years ago) was that it seemed like there were always some "thoughtless rude" passengers on every tour who liked to keep the bus waiting while they were doing last minute shopping.

 

Hank

[chipmaster]

I had to do a ship tour this past cruise and I guess in every crowd of 30-40 you'll find someone that keeps time differenlty. On our bus we had a group of 6 that came back 10-15' late and a really special couple 10-15' after that. So like Hank, I'm in the DIY either my on hired tour or really myself. It was fun being last on the boat :D

 

WOW! This could make me a fan of ships excursions. If they would leave behind anyone who was late to the bus that would be a real plus. One of the things that drove us away from taking bus tours (many years ago) was that it seemed like there were always some "thoughtless rude" passengers on every tour who liked to keep the bus waiting while they were doing last minute shopping.

 

Hank

[Tallcruiser]

Wow, knock me down on the play ground and give me a wedgie for asking a question! I am not a rude person.

There are right now threads and posts about passengers who have missed ports. I like reading them also. I have also had some experience with missed ships for other reasons. I was truly interested in finding out if anyone here had actually and personally missed the ship while being on an independent, pre-organized excursion.

It gets debated a lot. There are people who have strong opinions about using one or the other.

I use both. I have read many stories where someone knew someone it happened to. On my cruise last week a couple was left behind, due to a miss hap in an ATV vehicle they had rented.

I was hoping to weed out the arguments sometimes raised, and get to some actual accounts, if any, of personal experiences with a missed port while on and independent excursion. I just never hear any and wondered how it was handled first hand.

I think my question was fair. My background is not in writing and often without hearing the inflections in ones voice, a question can be misinterpreted.

Now I am going to go brush my self off and relieve myself of my wedgie and hope someone is out there that might help answer my question.