Family left behind

[mollyeilis]

When we obtained our passports we also paid a little extra and purchased PASSPORT CARDS. We carry these into ports (more convenient than bulky passports) so that we will have official U.S. identification.

 

Your license is official US ID. The passport card does nothing to help if you still need a passport to move on. You'll need to pay to get another passport.

[chengkp75]

Your license is official US ID. The passport card does nothing to help if you still need a passport to move on. You'll need to pay to get another passport.

 

Actually, no. Your license confirms your identity to your face. It does not authenticate your citizenship. Therefore, getting a replacement passport using a driver's license is more difficult than using a passport card, which authenticates both your identity and your citizenship. Yes, you will need to pay for a passport either way, but the embassy or consulate will not have to confirm your citizenship through CBP prior to issuing the temporary passport.

[swoopy2110]

What do they do if someone misses the last tender boat in CocoCay? Presumably there is no one on the Island other than when there's a cruise ship there

[constable145]

While the ships do have brigs, and the line is authorized by the flag state to detain any passenger who is a danger to themselves or others, any Captain that placed passengers in the brig, simply for being drunk and/or being late returning, would be liable for legal action. More commonly when a guest is merely drunk, Security will detain them in their own cabin (unless a balcony) and place a Security officer outside in the passageway.

What experience do you have in incarcerating people? I have extensive.

 

I'm confident that no Master of any major cruise line would do something that is subjecting themselves to any liability.

 

Maritime law gives the Captain an amazing amount of authority.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Lady Chew]

To the person who asked about embassy & consulate info ... I usually get the information online before leaving home.

 

Sometimes it can be found in the port-specific handouts the ship provides.

 

On one of our early cruises, there was a leather-bound book in the cabin that had basic information on all of the countries the line visited, including the embassies. That's when I got the idea for the index cards ...

[kyangel]

We were on the same cruise and had a balcony with a view of the port and saw everything. We did a private excursion and returned back to the ship at approx 3:30 pm and went straight back to the room. We went out to the balcony to look at the view of the Celebrity Silouhette docked across from us and watch the folks making their way back to the ship. 4pm was the time everyone was due back on the ship and the captain made that very clear. We were to leave port at 4:30. Horns blew at 4. Again they blew several minutes later a few more times. Shortly after, we watched several groups of passengers running to the ship, with cheers and boos from those watching from the balcony. The OP stated that the left behind passengers were "5 minutes late." While they missed the ship by about 5 minutes from when it pulled away, they were an hour and 15 min late from getting on the ship when they were supposed to. We pulled out of port at 5:15, 45 minutes past departure time. We watched the man in red shorts and his companion walk, not run, to the ship just after it had pulled away. They were 1 hour and 10 minutes late from when they were supposed to be on board. I hate that happened to them and hope they made it home safely. Good lesson to learn to be back on the ship when you are supposed to or the ship WILL leave.

Edited March 29, 2016 by kyangel

[jagsfan]

So many people think a driver's license is proof of US citizenship! I also have heard people say the same thing about social security cards and military ID. None of those require US citizenship.

Years ago a friend was robbed in his St Petersburg hotel room. His wallet and passport were stolen. He woke up as two men ran out of his room, but couldn't catch them. This was in the mid 90's. Pan Am flew him home with no ticket, and somehow he talked his way into the US. That would never happen today. Even with your passport in hand, and a major credit card, the expense and the hassle of getting home would be horrific. Most of us scrimp to be able to cruise. Imagine adding several thousand dollars because you missed the ship by ten minutes.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[rucruisn2]

Sorry you had to go through that but bet the kids learned a lesson from it.

 

I do have a question however. Many state hat Royal will go to your cabin to get ID from the safe and leave it with the port agent. I have always wondered if this was true or not. Sounds like from your post they did not. Did they and the kids didn't know or was their ID still in their cabin after the ship sailed?

 

I hope never to need to know the answer myself but would like to clear thus us from first hand experience. Thanks.

 

Royal went into the safe and got the passports and id. They faxed copies to the Marriott where they were staying. Port agent had nothing to do with this. Also, a hurricane was closing in on them and the American Consulate was closed. Luckily I was able to fly them back to Miami and then to Nassau where they re-joined the cruise. Their passports and everything were back in the safe. I should add that due to the hurricane and other problems I was able to get their travel insurance to cover all the costs. Also, cudos to the Marriott. They were great in this emergency!!!

Edited March 29, 2016 by rucruisn2
add something

[rucruisn2]

Sorry you had to go through that but bet the kids learned a lesson from it.

 

I do have a question however. Many state hat Royal will go to your cabin to get ID from the safe and leave it with the port agent. I have always wondered if this was true or not. Sounds like from your post they did not. Did they and the kids didn't know or was their ID still in their cabin after the ship sailed?

 

I hope never to need to know the answer myself but would like to clear thus us from first hand experience. Thanks.

 

Yes, the ship had already sailed. I called Royal and explained the problem. They then went into the safe and got the passports and ID. They faxed copies to the Marriott where I had the kids go to. Also, a hurricane was closing in and the American Consulate was closed. The airport was closing in the morning so I luckily got them on the last flight out and eventually flew them to rejoin the ship. Their cabin with all their stuff was waiting for them. I should add that because of the hurricane causing them to miss the ship, their travel insurance eventually paid for everything. I was beyond stressed over this. Hope I never have to go thru this again.

[MrSidewayz]

So having the port agent number would be helpful how? To make sure you get your stuff or to beg them to wait for them?

 

If you are en route to the ship but delayed, and they at least know you are on your way and you can give them an ETA, it helps your chances of not being left behind.

 

Also once all on board time has gone and you are still MIA the Port Agent will be making calls to the Police Stations, Emergency Rooms etc. in case something terrible may have happened..

[Turtle05]

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/03/28/uk-tourist-rescued-after-trying-to-swim-to-cruise-ship.html

 

This is certainly ironic given that someone just said "don't try to swim for the ship, or you'll get pulled under water." :eek::eek::eek:

Edited March 30, 2016 by Turtle05

[TulipBee]

I was once on a ship in Europe (Celebrity) that was supposed to leave at midnight. Woke up at about 4am to the sounds of us leaving port. Found out the next day that over 200 people were unaccounted for due to a train delay (can't recall the port name, but it is the one in Germany where people often take a several hour round train trip to Berlin). Lots of people who were not on a cruise excursion were grateful that many people on an excursion were on the same train, so they didn't miss the boat. At the very next Port I was on a cruise line excursion when the bus got a flat tire and we were over an hour late (they of course waited for us as per the guarantee).

 

Since then I have been paranoid and either make sure I am back with an hour to spare, or on a cruise sponsored excursion.

 

I've never had a cruise line take my passport from me and hold it.

 

I noticed earlier in the thread someone questioning getting a new passport so quickly. In most places it won't be an actual passport you get but an "emergency travel document" which they can issue at the Embassy anywhere. It will be good to get you out of the country you are in and into your own country, but that is about it. It's the same document they issue if your passport is stolen or lost whilst overseas.

[TulipBee]

Oh, and on the Embassy phone number issue - not sure about other countries, but for Australians, all you need to do is program the Consular Hotline for Canberra into your phone. Through that one number they can help you get in touch with the relevant High Commission/Embassy wherever you are in the world - no need to have a different number for every port. And in some cases it is not even the Australian Embassy you will be contacting, Australia is represented by Canada in a lot of places, so if you can't find the Australian Embassy, always try for a Canadian one instead (they will usually also have a plaque out the front saying they also look after Australian's if there is no Aussie one in that country).

[Virtopia]

This thread was a great read! I never thought to bring port info with me before but now I will.

 

I always get back to the ship 2 hours before its set to depart. The latest I've gotten back was with 30 minutes before all aboard and I was stressing big time. I hope to NEVER experience being a runner because I would surely miss the ship.

[Langley Cruisers]

What do they do if someone misses the last tender boat in CocoCay? Presumably there is no one on the Island other than when there's a cruise ship there

 

I have yet to hear of this happening; you can very obviously hear the ship blowing her horn to tell all passengers to get thee to the tender boats - they know who is missing.

[chloe kitty]

We were on a ship a few years ago. We befriended an elderly, 84 year old woman. She told me her story of being left behind in Turkey.

She was traveling alone, but did share a cabin with someone she did not know prior to the cruise. In Turkey, she took a ships tour for the day. When she was dropped off, she had to walk thru a market area to get to the ship. She became lost. She did not walk very fast, and was a little unsteady. She was late getting back to the ship. The crew went to her cabin and spoke to the other woman, who said that she went shopping. She did not. She had some problems with this roommate prior to this. So, the ships crew thought she left after the tour to go shopping, and left her there. The next stop was to by Istanbul. The port agent came to help her. He brought her to the Embassy, where she obtained a new passport. While there, she met a young couple who went to dinner with her, and later dropped her at the bus station. The ships agent helped her arrange bus transportation to Istanbul.

She was first upset, but after boarding the bus, decided that it was a great experience. She loved the bus trip and watched some movies on board. The bus arrived prior to the ships arrival. She waved hello to the ship docking. It all worked out well for her. I would have been hysterical! Of course, she wanted nothing to do with her roommate from that point on.

Edited March 30, 2016 by chloe kitty

[bigeck]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2121215&highlight=missed+the+ship

 

I read the original when it was originally posted. It was like reading a book.

Does make you think.

[linkerbink]

We (my sister and I) had an experience where although we didn't come even close to missing the ship, it was a nerve-wracking experience nonetheless. We were in Puerto Vallerta and decided to take a local tour. They pulled up in a well-worn bus, which should have been a red flag. We happened to be with a mother and daughter from the ship who were assigned to the table next to ours in the dining room. Anyway, the tour took us up into the mountains to visit a tequila factory. All went well until time to leave...the bus wouldn't start! The driver tried for what seemed like an eternity without luck, then decided to just let it roll down the hill and try to jump start it. Whew...it worked! The tour included a stop for lunch which made us very nervous, but the driver was smart enough to leave the bus running during the whole lunch stop. We got back in plenty of time, but it was a lesson on how things can unexpectedly go wrong. If we had been stuck up in the mountains, who knows how or when we would have made it back.

[Turtle05]

We were on a ship a few years ago. We befriended an elderly, 84 year old woman. She told me her story of being left behind in Turkey.

She was traveling alone, but did share a cabin with someone she did not know prior to the cruise. In Turkey, she took a ships tour for the day. When she was dropped off, she had to walk thru a market area to get to the ship. She became lost. She did not walk very fast, and was a little unsteady. She was late getting back to the ship. The crew went to her cabin and spoke to the other woman, who said that she went shopping. She did not. She had some problems with this roommate prior to this. So, the ships crew thought she left after the tour to go shopping, and left her there. The next stop was to by Istanbul. The port agent came to help her. He brought her to the Embassy, where she obtained a new passport. While there, she met a young couple who went to dinner with her, and later dropped her at the bus station. The ships agent helped her arrange bus transportation to Istanbul.

She was first upset, but after boarding the bus, decided that it was a great experience. She loved the bus trip and watched some movies on board. The bus arrived prior to the ships arrival. She waved hello to the ship docking. It all worked out well for her. I would have been hysterical! Of course, she wanted nothing to do with her roommate from that point on.

 

Oh my this poor lady. She sounds really sweet and not too bothered by it other than the bad roommate. I get so anxious about being late that the thought of missing the ship might actually send me into cardiac arrest!

[GottaKnowWhen]

Do they leave you behind? Check out this youtube video! It turned into a bad day for this couple! :(

 

Notice the shadow of the ship on the dock as it pulls away. Also interesting is listening to the dialog of the passengers on the ship who are shooting the video.

 

E

 

 

 

Best. Video. Ever.

[JaniceB]

With so many people having smartphones these days, and storage being practically free, photograph everything you can think of on your phone :)

 

To be fair, iirc the cruise compass usually has the port agent info in a "cut out and keep" box. If you don't want to tear up your Compass for some reason, get a second (or 3rd!) copy from beside guest services before you go to bed, and mutilate those instead.

 

I use Google Keep to photograph anything and everything I need to note. Once you're on wifi/data it synchs across all devices - tablets, laptops, phones, but you don't need to be using data all the time.

 

You can also set reminders on notes as well if you want them to pop up at a certain time.

 

Thanks for the tip about Google Keep.

[bigque]

That's one of my favorite aspect of cruising, standing on the balcony and watching all those folks running after the ship as it pulls away. Funny, I have never seen a ship stop and back up to pick up those tardy cruisers.:D

 

There are YouTube videos out there of this happening! :cool:

[Rockymaya]

Wear a watch and learn to tell time.

[Bobal]

That's one of my favorite aspect of cruising, standing on the balcony and watching all those folks running after the ship as it pulls away. Funny, I have never seen a ship stop and back up to pick up those tardy cruisers.:D

 

There are YouTube videos out there of this happening! :cool:

 

And I have actually witnessed it happening :D

[bigeck]

A few years ago we were in Ajaccio. An older couple come back to the ship around 4pm for a 5pm sail away. She then decided to go and buy something at a shop she really liked.

The ship left on time and with a sea day next then the end of the cruise in Malaga.

Lucky for her the pilot took her out to catch the ship.

Happy ending but her husband was going to kill her