Dawn passengers left “stranded” on African island

[WonderMan3]

https://wpde.com/amp/news/local/couple-stranded-african-island-norwegian-cruise-line-passengers-abandoned-ship-captain-allegedly-denies-reentry-so-tom-and-prncipe-coast-guard-south-carolina-march-29-2024

[tony s]

Another “great “ example of customer service and good pr by NCL

[beastlet]

This is why we only take the more expensive Norwegian tours, instead of booking local tours. It clearly says if you are not back by a certain time, you can not get on the boat. If they had been on a tour booked by Norwegian the boat would have waited for them.

I don't know how I feel about this. The guidelines are pretty clear. Their tour guide should have been careful to have them back in time, and they should have been paying close attention to the the time. I don't know in reality how easy it would have been for NCL to send a boat back for them.

[Two Wheels Only]

"...eight guests who were on the island on their own or with a private tour missed the last tender back to the vessel,..."

 

I've taken excursions that were booked through the cruise line.

I've taken excursions that were not booked through the cruise line.

 

I've been late returning to the ship while on a cruise line's excursion.

I've never been late returning to the ship while on a "non cruise line's" excursion. 

 

If an over-priced cruise line's excursion comes with the assurance that the ship will wait (up to a point) if I am late, I'll pay the extra...especially since I can use OBC to pay. 

[Shidah]

Agree, everyone knows the risks of not being back to the ship on time and that is why picking the right excursion or staying with a NCL excursion is so important.  Couple blames NCL when they should be blaming the private tour operator.  Everyone is a victim these days with no personal accountability.

[david_sobe]

They were frantically searching for cookies and hashbrowns.  A local bakery kept telling them 5 more minutes and the cookies would be done.  Lesson learned.  I would rather have a doughy cookie than miss the ship.

[yakcruiser]

I mostly do independent tours or explore on my own but I do realize that if I don't make it back to the ship on time I'm SOL. I have saved more than enough over the years to pay for a plane, train or automobile ride to the next port. All that said if I were in a port off the coast of Africa that doesn't have many cruise ships visiting, I might stick with a NCL excursion.

[beastlet]

30 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

If an over-priced cruise line's excursion comes with the assurance that the ship will wait (up to a point) if I am late, I'll pay the extra...especially since I can use OBC to pay. 

 

It is not "up to a point." If you book the tour through NCL, the ship will wait for you period. 

[mjkacmom]

4 minutes ago, beastlet said:

 

It is not "up to a point." If you book the tour through NCL, the ship will wait for you period. 

Unless they can’t, then they will get you to the next port. 

[beastlet]

4 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Unless they can’t, then they will get you to the next port. 

 

Yes, I suppose. But you are not stranded, and any expenses will be on Norwegian's dime.

They do wait a while though. My parents were on a tour in St. Petersburg that got stuck in traffic and was hours late. When they got to the ship, the captain was standing there waiting and people were on the deck and clapped while they all got on the ship. 

Edited March 30 by beastlet

[julig22]

9 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Unless they can’t, then they will get you to the next port. 

Correct. Sometimes they wouldn't be able to wait. They may need to leave on time to make the next port. They may have a scheduled time for tugs/pilot boats, shipping channels. And in some ports, the tide can be an issue.

 

We were told by the captain at a Q&A that the best thing to do if you are late on a private excursion is to call the ship - if they know you are on your way and have an ETA, they will tell you what to do - either they'll wait or tell you how to proceed to get to the ship at the next port of call ( on your dime LOL)

Edited March 30 by julig22

[Two Wheels Only]

13 minutes ago, beastlet said:

 

It is not "up to a point." If you book the tour through NCL, the ship will wait for you period. 

 

To be clear, once the ship-sponsored excursion returns, the guest doesn't get to wander around the port window shopping figuring "....they'll wait for me...I was on a ship's excursion...". 

 

That's why I put "to a point" because some guests think that the ship will wait indefinitely....it won't. 

[beastlet]

2 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

To be clear, once the ship-sponsored excursion returns, the guest doesn't get to wander around the port window shopping figuring "....they'll wait for me...I was on a ship's excursion...". 

Of course! The ship will only wait until the excursion returns. It's just protection against a late return of the excursion, not being an idiot afterwards. That didn't even occur to me that someone would think that.

Edited March 30 by beastlet

[itsnotjustme]

I always say once I embark on a cruise ship, my responsibilities plummet. Tough questions like which restaurant for dinner, what entertainment, etc.  My biggest responsibility on a cruise it to meet the all-abord time.  It certainly sounds like members of the group were aware they could be late but did not sway the tour operators to make sure they were not.

 

I do not blame NCL.  Even if in the harbor still, they would have to make an additional tender round trip, and possibly re-lower and re-lift that tender.  That would make them late for the next port penalizing all the passengers or make them spend a lot of extra money in fuel for faster cruise speed.

 

[LongIsland-Cruiser]

6 minutes ago, beastlet said:

Of course! The ship will only wait until the excursion returns. It's just protection against a late return of the excursion, not being an idiot afterwards. That didn't even occur to me that someone would think that.

It didn’t occur to me either.   Until I read it.  Then I was like ‘yep.  That would totally happen’

[Two Wheels Only]

Just now, beastlet said:

That didn't even occur to me that someone would think that.

 

I've seen it happen in Mexico.

I've heard people say it on a tender in Grand Cayman. 

I've seen it posted by people on the forum. 

 

Too many people want to shop after their excursion returns. In most cases, that's not a problem. If the ship's excursion returns a little bit late, that shopping plan might have to get cancelled. 

[graphicguy]

There are too many questions here….something’s missing!

 

Excursion operator called the Captain?  They have the Capt’s phone?  Talk about the tour operator trying to CYA!  The guests are seasoned NCL cruisers?  They didn’t know the ship’s policies?

 

Something’s missing!  

 

[julig22]

6 minutes ago, itsnotjustme said:

I do not blame NCL.  Even if in the harbor still, they would have to make an additional tender round trip, and possibly re-lower and re-lift that tender.  That would make them late for the next port penalizing all the passengers or make them spend a lot of extra money in fuel for faster cruise speed.

 

It's not uncommon in Mexico to see people taking water-taxis to the ship when they miss the last tender.

[julig22]

1 minute ago, graphicguy said:

There are too many questions here….something’s missing!

 

Excursion operator called the Captain?  They have the Capt’s phone?  Talk about the tour operator trying to CYA!  The guests are seasoned NCL cruisers?  They didn’t know the ship’s policies?

 

Something’s missing!  

 

Maybe they didn't call the captain directly but there is always port info, including how to contact the ship. Which is exactly what they should do.  But it's up to the captain at that point to decide if they can wait. If they waited to call until after all the tenders were back at the ship and lifted, it was probably too late.

[PROCRUISE]

30 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Correct. Sometimes they wouldn't be able to wait. They may need to leave on time to make the next port. They may have a scheduled time for tugs/pilot boats, shipping channels. And in some ports, the tide can be an issue.

 

We were told by the captain at a Q&A that the best thing to do if you are late on a private excursion is to call the ship - if they know you are on your way and have an ETA, they will tell you what to do - either they'll wait or tell you how to proceed to get to the ship at the next port of call ( on your dime LOL)

The tour operator did contact the ship and NCL offices. The captain, of  his STILL ANCHORED ship, refused to allow them to board.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, tony s said:

Another “great “ example of customer service and good pr by NCL

Yeah right. The story was clearly written to get clicks. See how many they got just from this post. Other than the people were late and left behind, there is very little factual information in the story. 
 

“Local coast guard radioed the ship and the ship refused to respond”… yeah right. You k ow that never happened. 
 

“The only way NCL has to contact their ships is via email”… and I have pacific beach front property to sell you in Oklahoma. 
 

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. 

Edited March 30 by BirdTravels

[Distinctive-Destinations]

32 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

To be clear, once the ship-sponsored excursion returns, the guest doesn't get to wander around the port window shopping figuring "....they'll wait for me...I was on a ship's excursion...". 

 

That's why I put "to a point" because some guests think that the ship will wait indefinitely....it won't. 

But those overpriced port shops are so hard to pass up with their long lines to buy $10 refrigerator magnets and bottles of booze that you could drink for free onboard.

[MrsTocko]

34 minutes ago, beastlet said:

 

They do wait a while though. My parents were on a tour in St. Petersburg that got stuck in traffic and was hours late. When they got to the ship, the captain was standing there waiting and people were on the deck and clapped while they all got on the ship. 

We were on a ship excursion due back at 4.  Ship due to leave at 5 with all aboard at 430.  Tour guide wanted to take a detour, adding 45 minutes, it was 4pm at this point, when the entire bus of 60 people were protesting that we had to get back, we skipped that “bonus” detour.  We got back to port at 4:20, and the captain was on the pier waiting for us.  We left right away.  Yes, we did everything right…ship excursion, back “technically” on time, no dilly dally in store at port before security.  But the panic was still there.   We have rarely booked outside the cruise line, but when we have, we make sure we are not cutting it too close to all aboard…

 

the article said they were experienced cruises, and with NCL to boot.  Not the fault of the Cruise line.

[graphicguy]

5 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yeah right. The story was clearly written to get clicks. See how many they got just from this post. Other than the people were late and left behind, there is very little factual information in the story. 
 

“Local coast guard radioed the ship and the ship refused to respond”… yeah right. You k ow that never happened. 

Thinking the same.  

 

The tour operator said s/he contacted the CAPTAIN and reported they would be late after assuring the passengers they had plenty of time to get back before all aboard.

 

I don’t think any of that happened and it’s an effort by the tour operator to wash their hands of responsibility!

[Kortehgehn]

Is Captian Hakan Svedung still master of the Dawn?  If so, I would say there's definitely more to the story than is being reported; those types of decisions aren't arbitrary.  Either way, it's certainly not the cruise line's fault.  It's pretty clear when the departure times are; if they are "veteran cruisers," they should know that.  I think that there is obviously more to this story.

Edited March 30 by Kortehgehn