Pier runners

[Extra Kim]

I almost missed teh NCL Epic on my first cruise ever. We took the train to what must have been Florence and on our way back the train "broke down", anyway that's what they told us. We needed to change train and it took a lot of time. We later found out that someone had jumped infront of the train and that's why we needed to change.

 

There was a lot of passangers that where near to miss the ship. I had spent the day with a family from Hawaii. I got into a taxi van near the train station and a woman and her two children got in, but her husband didn't. They all left the taxi and I never saw them again, I don't know if they got back onboard.

[wwcruisers]

We were leaving Bermuda once - I was relaxing on the balcony with a glass of wine as the ship pulled out when I heard screams coming from other balconies. I then realized that the ship was in reverse! Two young girls were running toward the ship. I'd never known a ship to actually back up to collect stragglers, but I'm guessing that these were just teens and likely had frantic parents on board.

 

Boy, they were lucky! There's no "just get to the next island" with Bermuda -- it's a LONG flight home! :eek:

 

In addition to all of the excellent advice about using a watch (rather than phone), set to SHIP's (not necessarily local) time -- take a copy of your ship's daily planner with you. Not only will it have sail-away and "all aboard" times, but it should also contain the name, address, and phone number of the port agent. That's you're go-to person, in case of an emergency or unavoidable delay on shore. :cool:

[lady_cruiser]

actually I believe the proper etiquette is to boo the slackers and cheer the runners.

 

You are right but what I've seen how some slackers seem to enjoy the negative attention and I refuse to give it to them.

[TruckerDave]

Gosh, I find no joy in watching "pier runners" trying to get back to the ship on time. It's hard to laugh at an unfortunate situation of another.

The vast majority are not drunk ... just lost track of time which was their own fault but still not funny.

 

LuLu

 

Nope sorry....I am going to continue to laugh at them. It's their own darn fault for waiting until the last minute. No sympathy at all, just ridicule and laughter. :rolleyes:

[notentirelynormal]

Nope sorry....I am going to continue to laugh at them. It's their own darn fault for waiting until the last minute. No sympathy at all, just ridicule and laughter. :rolleyes:

 

I have to wonder if OCruisers didn't miss or almost miss the ship and that is why they always post how they don't think it is funny and people should be more understanding and that most people aren't drunk. What is that saying? I think you protest too much.

 

For me, I like to be back on board in plenty of time before sailing. I like to be leaning over my railing watching the stragglers and if you are late and taking your sweet time, yup I'm one of the ones booing you. If you are struggling I'm also one of the ones cheering you on. YOUR attitude decides MY attitude. You don't care about me, I don't care about you.

 

Like I said, the number of people on a ship that miss because of an actual emergency is very minimal.

 

How many of us have been on an excursion when there is ALWAYS one couple that is late getting back on the bus holding up 50 other people, each and every stop. They had to go to the bathroom, get an ice cream cone or are still shopping. When the guide says be back ON the bus in 10 minutes he means 10 minutes not 10 minutes and then another 20 or so while the rest of us wait for you. I remember one trip we waited almost 20 minutes extra while someone had to have ice cream and when they got back on the bus everyone booed them. They were shocked. :eek: Really? Didn't you notice as you were slowwwwlly walking back to the bus, how the guide was encouraging you to hurry and as you were climbing slowly up the stairs that every single other person was already in their seats?

 

We were also late getting back to the ship because of this same couple. Do I have sympathy for them. Nope. Were we pier runners of sort? Yup! I'm pissed that they were so arrogant that they thought the entire ship should wait for us to return because they needed an ice cream cone. The second we were on board the ship left. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

Edited October 16, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[vacation luvver]

When the guide says be back ON the bus in 10 minutes he means 10 minutes not 10 minutes and then another 20 or so while the rest of us wait for you. I remember one trip we waited almost 20 minutes extra while someone had to have ice cream

No, that guide did NOT mean 10 minutes, because he waited an extra 20 minutes for whoever got ice cream. If the guide really had meant 10 minutes, the bus would have left without the ice cream people. That's what people have learned - that when a guide says to be back on the bus in 10 minutes, he really means "Take your time! Don't worry, we'll wait for you, no matter how long you take."

[Shorex]

No, that guide did NOT mean 10 minutes, because he waited an extra 20 minutes for whoever got ice cream. If the guide really had meant 10 minutes, the bus would have left without the ice cream people. That's what people have learned - that when a guide says to be back on the bus in 10 minutes, he really means "Take your time! Don't worry, we'll wait for you, no matter how long you take."

 

There have been times I wished the bus would have left. Here's the guide's dilemma: if he waits, he gets poor reviews and reduced tips, as well as his company displeases the shore excursion management for not adhering to the published schedule; if he doesn't wait, the selfish ice cream people scream bloody murder, want a full refund and a free cruise. That's why he waits.

[notentirelynormal]

No, that guide did NOT mean 10 minutes, because he waited an extra 20 minutes for whoever got ice cream. If the guide really had meant 10 minutes, the bus would have left without the ice cream people. That's what people have learned - that when a guide says to be back on the bus in 10 minutes, he really means "Take your time! Don't worry, we'll wait for you, no matter how long you take."

 

Exactly. Then watch everything light up as everyone complains about the poor couple that got left in the middle of no where in Australia while on a ship sponsored trip. According to the news article - because these poor people will have to tell the world about it - they were on time, the bus left early, no one warned them..... These people were oblivious and the guide DID mean it. She went looking for them. She told them you need to get back on the bus now. They ignored her because they were waiting to get their ice cream. People were yelling out the window - hurry up. They slowly wandered back.

 

You are right, the driver should have just pulled out. Would have taught them a lesson. Oh, wait. It wouldn't have because Princess would have had to send someone else because as so many CC members have said, if you are on a ship sponsored excursion they won't leave without you. We were an hour drive away. The balconies were full waiting for our arrival. Most of us hurried to get back on the ship. Guess who didn't?

 

I can see the ship waiting for you when the tour is late because of traffic or other unforeseen things but what about the couple that says "we are on a ship excursion so I don't have to hurry. That's the reason we book them".

 

Maybe the solution is to put on all shore excursions tickets that if you miss the transfer because of your own actions like not being back to the dedicated transportation then you are on your own.

 

Or better yet, have a busload of people sitting on the pier watching their ship leave because that one couple made them late. Let the wrath of those others take care of the issue. Can you just imagine the wildfire effect of that. The spoiled would soon realize that it is not always just about them. Lesson would be learned quickly. No I'm not really advocating hurting someone but could you just imagine that arrogant couple being yelled at by 50 strangers? Or quietly staring at you? Let your imagination go wild LOL.

 

In the long run it would be cheaper for the cruise line too. Sure they have to fly 52 people to the next port but think how much money they save in waiting time.

 

In all honesty, people that hold up everyone else is the reason I hate taking ship sponsored excursions anymore. I've sometimes spent as much time waiting on the bus for others to return as we did at the actual stop. If you have an actual issue like mobility challenges I have no problem with you taking a few minutes extra. I have mobility issues too. But by the same token you start back to the bus a little sooner then the rest. For the record though every time I've been held up has been from able bodied passengers.

[OCruisers]

I have to wonder if OCruisers didn't miss or almost miss the ship and that is why they always post how they don't think it is funny and people should be more understanding and that most people aren't drunk. What is that saying? I think you protest too much.

 

 

The only times we have ever been late getting back to the ship were on excursions though the ship so, of course, the ship was waiting so that was not the same thing as a "pier runner" and not a problem. :)

 

Still, I get no pleasure out of watching others who are desperately trying to make it back to the ship for whatever reason.

 

LuLu

[MtnDweller]

Phones do not automatically show local time. It depends on both the phone's settings AND whether or not you have a cellular connection that will update the time. If you put the phone in airplane mode, it will NOT update as you change time zones. Also, if you have a CDMA phone and are in Europe, you won't get a signal and it won't update.

 

An old-fashioned, gasp, wristwatch is your best friend. Also, follow this procedure, just to be sure.

 

1) Check wristwatch vs ship's time before leaving the ship.

2) Check wristwatch vs local time as you arrive in the terminal building.

 

If #2 matches, then you can also use publicly displayed clocks to help you keep track of time.

 

Whenever you go somewhere from the ship....time how long it takes you for the outbound, be it taxi, bus, walking - whatever. Then double that for planning the return trip.

 

Final tip....take the number of the port agent with you ashore. If, God forbid, you have some kind of emergency, you will be able to communicate with the ship through them.

 

Thank you for this tip. We haven't sailed on our first cruise yet and I feel like I would have been a pier runner as I would have used the time on my phone. :D

[skrufy]

Sadly to say we were one. 2004 we were in Key West, wandered around town and then went back to the Mallory Square area to catch the shuttle back to the pier. The ship was docked at the Navy pier and you had to use the provided transportation to get through security. Well, we waited and waited and no bus. Finally a bus came and stopped to ask if we were waiting to get back to the ship, advising us its about to depart. The driver was so kind to take us to the ship, getting there 15 minutes before departure. We did not have to run but we got a round of cheers from the crew and some cruisers. Once we were on board we laughed. We were definatly worried during the 10 minute ride to the pier.

[MrMan]

This is one of my favorite cruise activities as well, along with watching the provisions being loaded. My favorite was on HAL in Bermuda. Ship was docked downtown. We were definitely waiting on someone. Ship even sounded its horn rattling all of downtown several times. 30 minutes late strolling at there own pace were the two female show dancers carrying big bags of duty free cosmetics. They had no since of urgency. They got a resounding boo due to their attitude. I suspect they also did not have a job once they got back to home port.

[Treven]

I was on a ship-sponsored excursion on Aruba a few years ago and at one of the stops we were short one pax when we were getting ready to leave - it was an elderly single gent. We waited and we waited until I saw him wandering in the wrong direction. He evidently had gotten lost/confused as to where things were. I told the tour guide what I saw and he dashed off to collect our wayward siteseer. Fortunately we made it back to the ship before being too late.

[vacation luvver]

I can see the ship waiting for you when the tour is late because of traffic or other unforeseen things but what about the couple that says "we are on a ship excursion so I don't have to hurry. That's the reason we book them".

 

Maybe the solution is to put on all shore excursions tickets that if you miss the transfer because of your own actions like not being back to the dedicated transportation then you are on your own.

Oh my goodness! While I have always booked ship's excursions because I knew the ship would wait for me if necessary, it never occurred to me that I could be late returning to the bus and that the bus would have to wait for me because it was a ship's excursion. To me, the ship waiting for me and the bus waiting for me are two completely different things.

 

On one ship's excursion, our bus was divided into two groups to take turns going into a small building to see a movie. We should have been divided into three or four groups, because there weren't enough seats for half of everyone. And then we were divided into two groups to tour an old house. We should have been divided into three groups, because not everyone could fit into the rooms. After the tour, we stopped at a drugstore and had to wait for 15 or 20 minutes for one of the passengers to buy stuff. I figured that she told the tour guide before the tour started that she needed to go to a drugstore to buy stuff, and the tour guide decided to inconvenience everyone else on the tour by cutting short the amount of time we used to see the movie and tour the house so that there would be enough time for that woman to go to a drugstore. I hope that woman gave that tour guide a really big tip, because I don't think the other people on the bus gave the guide very much. I went to the shore excursions desk afterwards to complain, but as soon as I mentioned the tour, before I could utter a word of complaint, I was told, "Yeah, we heard all about that tour. We'll refund you 60% of the cost."

 

On another ship's excursion, we got back to the ship several hours after it was supposed to sail, not because of any traffic problems, but because the tour guide announced that the ship HAD to wait for us, and he instructed the bus driver to drive around in circles. Other passengers were frantic that the ship wouldn't wait for us, even though I tried to reassure them that it would wait. I didn't know what to do. I eventually learned from cruisecritic that I could have called the port agent and told him what was going on, but I didn't know that at the time, and when we got back to the ship and found all of the officers outside waiting for us, worried out of their minds, I told them that it was completely the fault of the tour guide. I asked in case this happened again if the ship had a phone number that I could call, and I was told no.

 

I really don't know why that tour guide delayed us by so many hours. It certainly didn't result in big tips for him.

[artmc]

Years ago we were on the Carnival Miracle (as I recall) in Cozumel. The Carnival Inspiration was moored directly across from us on the other side of the pier and was set to leave 30 minutes after us. The Miracle side thrusters had just started and we were literally about three feet from the pier when this young man (early 20s) comes running up, falls to his knees and starts crying "WAIT......PLEASE......etc." sounding as if he spent way too much time at Jimmy Buffett's or Señor Frog's.

 

Naturally people on deck were making comments like "you booze, you lose" and the like. Anyway, after maybe 30 seconds of this, the man gets up, dusts himself off and (obviously sober, or at least sober enough) points to the Inspiration and shouts "that's okay, I'll just take this one!" At this point his two friends join him and they casually walk to the Inspiration entrance, pointing at all of us and laughing hysterically.

[wwcruisers]

LOL, artmc -- To quote Larry the Cable Guy: "Now, THAT'S funny -- I don't care who you are!" :D;)

[Bonnie J.]

Last year we were on the Sunshine in Mahogany Bay. That night two older sisters joined us for dinner. They were on the Glory but missed the ship. We were going to the same next port so they were brought aboard the Sunshine for the night. The next day they got back on the Glory!

[WaveSplasher]

Last year we were on the Sunshine in Mahogany Bay. That night two older sisters joined us for dinner. They were on the Glory but missed the ship. We were going to the same next port so they were brought aboard the Sunshine for the night. The next day they got back on the Glory!

 

Damm they were lucky that the Sunshine was going the same route as the Glory.

 

But wow, i didn't know you could board another ship if you miss yours. Also if the ship was fully occupied, where in the world are they going to sleep for the night?

[moniquet]

We have often watched the stragglers, or should I say staggerers:) many appear to be exhibitionists ang get their 2 mins of being noticed. They are the ones who never run and have that look at me face. Have even seen one strolling back with a drink in her hand. Some are just idiots. Last ones I saw the man had walking difficulties, would think they were aware of their capabilities of time taken to walk back to the ship.

[sparks1093]

Damm they were lucky that the Sunshine was going the same route as the Glory.

 

But wow, i didn't know you could board another ship if you miss yours. Also if the ship was fully occupied, where in the world are they going to sleep for the night?

 

I'd sleep on a lounger on the pool deck if I had missed my ship:eek:.