Has the ship ever sailed without you?

[astera]

I was then pulled aside by security and they did what every cruiser most dreads....

 

Great read, but I don't quite get the ending - what happened with security?

 

On my previous (non-Princess) cruise the opposite happened two times. The captain actually announced that since everyone is back on board we would be departing earlier than scheduled. :)

Edited February 7, 2016 by astera

[Aus Traveller]

Great read, but I don't quite get the ending - what happened with security? :)

Tracie continued the story in a slightly later post.:)

[holomuku]

We were on a small (110 pax) Windstar ship in the Greek Islands. It had a very rudimentary way of knowing who is on board- it was a piece of wood with little sliders for each cabin. When you left the ship, you moved your cabin to indicate you were out and then on the return you moved it back. We were in port and my husband decided to return to the ship why I stayed in port. He didn't move the indicator back because he assumed I would when I returned and unfortunately when I returned I didn't pay attention and didn't move it back because I assumed he had moved it back when he got back on. We were quite embarrassed when they paged our names right before sail away- you know what they say about assuming.

[TracieABD]

Great read, but I don't quite get the ending - what happened with security?

 

On my previous (non-Princess) cruise the opposite happened two times. The captain actually announced that since everyone is back on board we would be departing earlier than scheduled. :)

 

We were handed a sealed and signed envelope with the contents of our safe. Initially, they thought that it would need to be left with the Port Authority. There is this moment when you realize what a major bullet you just dodged. That was my moment.

[Bethcb]

OK, I have a good story...

Many years ago (~25) in Cabo San Lucas, we were traveling w another couple and the 2 women decided to take the tender back to the ship. The 2 husbands decided they wanted to go to Lover's beach and hired a private row boat to take them there. While in this boat in the bay, they were transferred to an even smaller row boat and the captain spoke only Spanish. They never made it to Lover's Beach. Our 2 husbands did not know 1 word of Spanish. They then realized it was going very slow and the last tender had left for the ship. The row boat captain tried to take them back to shore, but they kept pointing to the ship. Yes, he took them to the ship. When they got there, the opening to get onto the ship was about 6 feet higher than the water level. Our 2 husbands stood on the row boat and the ship's crew lifted them by their hands and dragged them up into the ship.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that they had $20 on them w ID, but no credit cards, etc. I hate to think of the fate of this accountant and lawyer had they been left ashore since they didn't know the language and back then Cabo was not like it is now.

My friend and I were more furious than anything and we rushed to the pool to wait for them. We couldn't believe our eyes when they were there having drinks. Somehow they made it there faster than us and to this day, we don't know how. We do however, always have a great story to tell!

[TwoCruisers]

Princess does not guarantee they will hold the ship if a tour is late. There are times when they cannot wait. What the guarantee is that if you are left behind due to one of their tours running late they will get you to the next port.

 

We have taken many private tours and never missed the ship. We have never gotten back o late that we were worried that we might miss it.

 

Actually, on the Princess web site it says:

 

Why Choose Shore Excursions through Princess

“We are able to hold the ship in the event your tour is delayed”

 

This sure gives the impression that they will wait for you.

[kitkat343]

Tracie, thanks for the story. I don't think you should be embarrassed about having your name called - the other passengers must have known the departure time changed since their tours were shortened, and realized this wasn't your fault at all.

[TracieABD]

Tracie, thanks for the story. I don't think you should be embarrassed about having your name called - the other passengers must have known the departure time changed since their tours were shortened, and realized this wasn't your fault at all.

 

Totally NOT embarassed about it... Now. At the time, it was a mixture of embarrassment, shock, awe, gratitude, relief, and confusion.

 

I was documenting the cruise (as I always do) by writing a live from blog.

 

As an aside, I wrote a letter of thanks to the captain of the Spirit. He sent back a handwritten note in response. He added a post-script that he was enjoying my "writing on Cruise Critic". :eek: That was the first time that had happened. (Not the last...)

[Cruisin' Chick]

We were on a ship-booked tour in Skagway that went up into the pass. Because of the foggy weather (and unfortunately the ship's departure time had been moved up by an hour sometime right before the cruise), our tour got back to the pier just after sailaway time. Our guide assured us he was in touch with the ship, which was just about ready to leave as soon as our group got on board. I heard later on that our names were announced so I guess you can call us bing bong people too. But we always are careful about taking the Patter for that port with us (so there's no question as to on board time is), double check all of our watches against the ship time, and don't go that far from port (not another town) if not on a ship-booked tour. We always aim to get back at least a half hour or more early -- it's the worry wort in me.

 

My hubby had a worker who went on a cruise with his wife, mother and mother's friend. The older women managed to miss getting back on board and apparently it was a royal pain for them to catch up with the ship, and caused a lot of worry on the part of the son.

[TracieABD]

We were on a ship-booked tour in Skagway that went up into the pass. Because of the foggy weather (and unfortunately the ship's departure time had been moved up by an hour sometime right before the cruise)' date=' our tour got back to the pier just after sailaway time. Our guide assured us he was in touch with the ship, which was just about ready to leave as soon as our group got on board. I heard later on that our names were announced so I guess you can call us bing bong people too. But we always are careful about taking the Patter for that port with us (so there's no question as to on board time is), double check all of our watches against the ship time, and don't go that far from port (not another town) if not on a ship-booked tour. We always aim to get back at least a half hour or more early -- it's the worry wort in me.

 

My hubby had a worker who went on a cruise with his wife, mother and mother's friend. The older women managed to miss getting back on board and apparently it was a royal pain for them to catch up with the ship, and caused a lot of worry on the part of the son.[/quote']

 

Patty! You are officially a card carrying member of the Bing Bong Club!

[cruiselvr1]

We refer to this in our planning process as 'be back aboard in time for the 'running of the passengers'. Especially fun if our balcony is portside :)

 

 

Especially in Mexico, because of the bars on shore. Almost every cruise someone is helped aboard. Especially in Cabo. Some of the others we have seen running to the ship are usually carrying shopping bags. It's a great show.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Silent Penguin]

We came too close for comfort in the Cayman Islands. When we rented a car for the day, the manager promised there would be someone in the office to drive us to the port after we returned the car. To be on the safe side, we returned to the car rental office with a couple hours to spare. But, when we got there, there was only one employee on duty and no one on hand to take us to the port. He called around to try to find someone to take us but eventually decided -since there were no other cars coming back that afternoon- to lock up the office and drive us himself. Between the calling around and the start of rush hour, the comfort zone evaporated to the point where I figure we missed the Bing-Bong by less than 15 minutes. By the time we were back in our room, the ship was preparing to leave.

[Silent Penguin]

Especially in Mexico, because of the bars on shore. Almost every cruise someone is helped aboard. Especially in Cabo. Some of the others we have seen running to the ship are usually carrying shopping bags. It's a great show.

 

Yes! This sounds like Cozumel.

[Relax Cruiser]

If any of you have been to Roatan, Honduras you would know that the walk from the ship to the pier takes a good 10-15mins (slow pace) and you have to go through some duty free shops. Well on our cruise last week "All Aboard Time" was 4:30pm and while we were sitting in the buffet having our lunch (we could see passengers coming up the dock) we saw one man coming back to the ship. Ok, we thought and didn't think anything of it. 5mins later (4:35pm) he was seen running back through the gates pleading with the security guards to let him out for few mins, why? Because his wife was still shopping!! They made it back to the ship as if they were running a marathon at 4:45pm. The whole area in the buffet those who were sitting next to the window had a grand time laughing at them!! It was a sight to see...one i'll never forget and make it a point to always be on time!

[Pam in CA]

Actually, on the Princess web site it says:

 

 

 

Why Choose Shore Excursions through Princess

 

“We are able to hold the ship in the event your tour is delayed”

 

 

 

This sure gives the impression that they will wait for you.

Paul is correct. They do not always wait for Princess tours. Princess cannot guarantee that the ship will wait. Sometimes, it's just not possible due to wind, weather, tides, harbormaster decisions, etc. That said, Princess will arrange, and pay for, any transportation (including airfare), hotels, food, etc. to get the passengers to the next available port. I've seen very tired passengers ready to reboard the ship the next day.

[FridaysChild]

This is a good story, and very humbly and honestly written, by someone who missed the ship in the Bahamas.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2121215

[astera]

We were handed a sealed and signed envelope with the contents of our safe. Initially, they thought that it would need to be left with the Port Authority. There is this moment when you realize what a major bullet you just dodged. That was my moment.

 

Wow, so things must have been on a knife's edge if they already emptied the safe. Scary stuff.

 

I've never taken risks with going onshore and usually get back hours before sail-time. I think Auckland was the only exception where I rushed back as I thought I remembered the deadline to be back... but was only 99% sure. :)

[caribill]

To be honest, having the actual departure time change is a true risk with private tours, hadn't actually thought about that one. Since most people won't have cell phones turned on in foreign ports, not sure how you would even go about planning for that admittedly rare occurrence.

 

Actually, it is a problem for every passenger not on a ship's tour or any tour at all. Passengers who take local public transportation to sight-see (even a HOHO bus) would not have any notice that the boarding time has changed. Nor would people out shopping or eating in a restaurant.

 

Although some have posted this is a good reason to book ship tours over independent tours, what they are really saying is do not leave the ship for any reason unless you are on a ship's tour.

[astera]

Passengers who take local public transportation to sight-see (even a HOHO bus) would not have any notice that the boarding time has changed.

 

What do you mean by the boarding time changing? Surely when you leave the ship and see that big sign with the times at which you are supposed to be back they won't change them it in the meantime?

[Aus Traveller]

What do you mean by the boarding time changing? Surely when you leave the ship and see that big sign with the times at which you are supposed to be back they won't change them it in the meantime?

In the story referred to in post No. 41, around midday, the captain had to change the boarding time because of severe weather coming in. This would be a very unusual circumstance, but it is interesting to see it can happen.

[Prezz]

My wife and I normally like use private tours for various reasons, mainly for small custom group tours. So I like to have on my possession a portion of the patter with the local shore company contact information, my passport and a credit card on me for the day. I have never had a problem with the boat leaving me behind but if there are problems I know I can find the local port rep and travel anywhere in the world with my passport and credit card to catch up with the ship at its next stop.

[Jersey42]

Original poster here. Thanks for some great stories. I found them interesting and entertaining. Of the 45 responses so far, here is a summary:

• None of the posters has ever been left behind.
  
• Five of the posters has had a close call, but only one of them can be attributed to a problem with a private excursion (TwoCruisers in post 24). Two of the close calls (TracieABD in post 10 and Crusin’ Chick in post 34) were due to the ship departing earlier than the announced time.
  
• Four of the posters have heard of others missing the ship for various/unknown reasons, but none were due to a problem with a private excursion. The link posted by FridaysChild in post 41 provides lots of details on one particular passenger who missed the ship.
  
• Three of the posters have seen others have close calls. Two were obviously drunk and one had an overdose of shopping.
  

Based on this small sample, I see no reason to avoid private excursions because of a fear of missing the ship. Of course, that assumes you take some reasonable precautions such as the ones I mentioned in the original post.

[Tripmaven]

Paul is correct. They do not always wait for Princess tours. Princess cannot guarantee that the ship will wait. Sometimes, it's just not possible due to wind, weather, tides, harbormaster decisions, etc. That said, Princess will arrange, and pay for, any transportation (including airfare), hotels, food, etc. to get the passengers to the next available port. I've seen very tired passengers ready to reboard the ship the next day.

 

Several years ago, we were on a Princess excursion in Scotland. There were four coaches with approximately 50 people each. There was an accident on the road as we were returning to the port after a long day. All four coaches were together. The local authorities closed the road in both direction in order to investigate the accident which, sadly, involved a fatality.

 

We were literally trapped due to the narrow roads with no place for a coach to turn around in order to find another route. The tour guides met together and carefully informed everyone that the ship would have to leave soon. In other words, there would be 200 passengers in a town with two B&B's that could handle maybe 20 people each. There was a discussion that we would spend the night in the local church and be fed by the local people until Princess could get us to the next port.

 

The coach drivers decided to try to orchestrate a "reverse" drive to the nearest side street. I think that option appealed to them more then hosting 200 cranky passengers. They succeeded and a police escort got us to the port with 10 minutes to spare. We all headed straight to the bar.

[Grover_]

On our British Isles cruise last year we took a Princess excursion to Paris. We returned to the ship 35 minutes after the ship was scheduled to depart. The ship was there waiting. As we boarded i asked the crew member at the pier if we were the last to board and he told me a bus had broken down on the return trip from Paris and they would not return for at least another hour. The ship waited for them.

[holomuku]

The issue of "take your passport ashore or not" has been debated many times.

 

Last year I lost (or possibly it was stolen- not really sure) my U.S. Passport. We had taken a Windstar cruise Dublin-Lisbon and then flown to Frankfurt to return to the U.S. (Don't care for smaller aircraft that fly out of Lisbon- like the larger aircraft Frankfurt- San Francisco). At any rate I discovered my passport was missing on Saturday morning. Synopsis- spent four extra nights in Frankfurt, spent close to $200 in taxis to get to/from U.S. Embassy (we were staying out by the airport, not in the city). I was able to get a new passport- I usually have copies of my passport with me when I travel but for whatever reason did not this time. I had my work identification and driver's license and somehow they worked it out. Very, very stressful. I would still not take a passport on shore with me for fear of theft- but I would be sure to take a copy of it both on paper and on my phone so I at least had the passport number. Many embassies will not let you take a cell phone into the building, but at least I would have had the number which I suspect would have made it easier. And by the way- our travel insurance covered the cost of the new passport. I never asked about the cabs or hotels as I don't think it would have been covered.