A reminder to stick with ship tours in remote places

[edgee]

12 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

So it will wait for you.

 

Until it doesn't.

 

Some people prefer urban legend.  Some prefer the black letter of reality.  Everyone can make their own minds up.  I'll just say "better to read the fine print in advance, than reading it later"

 

 

Could not disagree more. Folks who are wedded to the fine print often miss the practicalities of how things really operate. Contractually speaking, according to your citation, the cruise line has disclaimers basically saying that they can leave you anywhere...Cruise line or private tour...no difference. That differs from the way things operate. You are much more likely to be left onshore if late due to a private excursion than on a ship's tour.

[Lastdance]

56 minutes ago, edgee said:

You are much more likely to be left onshore if late due to a private excursion than on a ship's tour.

I wonder what the statistics say.  We always do our own tours, but have never been late.  My DH did have to run back to our driver and get my hot pink raincoat out of the trunk of the SUV, as she was still in the parking lot talking with her husband, as he was also dropping off clients.  Thank goodness he(my DH) was a runner, not to mention very quick at retrieving.  He was called “fast-fast” for the rest of the cruise by quite a few of the crew.  

 

I do hope everything worked out for those cruisers who were left, regardless of who was right or wrong.

Edited March 31 by Lastdance

[EJL2023]

14 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

I wonder what the statistics say.  We always do our own tours, but have never been late.  My DH did have to run back to our driver and get my hot pink raincoat out of the trunk of the SUV, as she was still in the parking lot talking with her husband, as he was also dropping off clients.  Thank goodness he(my DH) was a runner, not to mention very quick at retrieving.  He was called “fast-fast” for the rest of the cruise by quite a few of the crew.  

 

I do hope everything worked out for those cruisers who were left, regardless of who was right or wrong.

It seems they end up being on quite the adventure. Per some postings it sounds as if the next port where they may have been able to join has been cancelled. I saw that mentioned a couple of times in that thread. Next port I think it said was in Senegal. 

[Snaefell3]

My last thought on the matter...  Nevermind whose fault it is, it's still your problem.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, edgee said:

Could not disagree more. Folks who are wedded to the fine print often miss the practicalities of how things really operate.

 

And folks who ignore the fine print are the ones who get blindsided.

 

Plus, I wonder how much evidentiary weight a judge will accord to "Well, you Honor, Edgee told me that the ship would wait, so...."

 

 

[edgee]

2 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And folks who ignore the fine print are the ones who get blindsided.

 

Plus, I wonder how much evidentiary weight a judge will accord to "Well, you Honor, Edgee told me that the ship would wait, 

So I guess your "judicial"standard means there is no difference in how likely a ship is to wait for a private tour vs. a ship sponsored tour...so you would not recommend using that differentiation in choosing a tour. I believe smart traveling involves making smart choices with the information one has at the time and I normally choose a ship's tour when that tour involves a tender port or when cruising in a remote location. We evidently disagree. That's the way it often goes on CC.

[Mrs f.]

3 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

It seems they end up being on quite the adventure. Per some postings it sounds as if the next port where they may have been able to join has been cancelled. I saw that mentioned a couple of times in that thread. Next port I think it said was in Senegal. 

According to the news i heard the next port is The Gambia Monday morning...is it Monday there yet? Do you know what port was cancelled? Just curious 

Edited March 31 by Mrs f.

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, edgee said:

So I guess your "judicial"standard means there is no difference in how likely a ship is to wait for a private tour vs. a ship sponsored tour...so you would not recommend using that differentiation in choosing a tour. I believe smart traveling involves making smart choices with the information one has at the time and I normally choose a ship's tour when that tour involves a tender port or when cruising in a remote location. We evidently disagree. That's the way it often goes on CC.

 

I believe @FlyerTalker is correct. There are no guarantees that the ship will wait, regardless of ship tour or private tour.

 

How likely it is to wait is a different matter. You are probably correct that they will consider all the expenses they will occur by leaving behind guests of a ship tour, and are more likely to wait for a ship tour than private tour. But more likely does not equal guaranteed as they want you to believe. I believe that even a very unlikely event of being left behind is worth the risk, compared to how much you are overpaying on ship tours.

 

It's matter of personal preferences, but it's important to know all the facts. Booking a ship tour does NOT guarantee that the ships will wait in a unlikely even of delay.  

[EJL2023]

3 hours ago, Mrs f. said:

According to the news i heard the next port is The Gambia Monday morning...is it Monday there yet? Do you know what port was cancelled? Just curious 

Gambia is the cancelled port. Per a post due to unfavorable tidal issues. 

[clo]

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

excursions

Excursions - PLURAL?????

[pinotlover]

One example may mean nothing, but the ship ( Nautica) did leave a passenger, on a ship’s tour,  in 2019 in Edinburgh. Or at least tried to!😂. Lady had walked away from a tour already and gotten lost. The tour guide and tour group spent an hour looking for her. Later, she walked away again. Ship left the inner harbor, but the harbor master stopped the ship in the locks to get her back aboard the ship. The lady was so bat crazy, I doubt the local authorities wanted to deal with her. After another episode in the next port, DS banned her from all further ship tours. The ship couldn’t mandate she had to always remain aboard, but she was on her own. I think she was then placed on the No Sail list.

 

That ship had sailed without her. She was lucky to get back aboard 

[Snaefell3]

Sheesh!  Why haven't I or someone else chimed in way upthread with...

 

Always know the Port Agent when you step ashore at a port of call!

 

They're the folks who will be holding your passport if you've left it in your cabin safe. They're the folks who'll get cruise-sponsored tours to the next port of call.

They're the folks who'll help the rest spend money to get to the next port of call.

[TRLD]

On 3/30/2024 at 12:03 PM, FlyerTalker said:

So, if they were off on their own, how does it jive with:

 

"We’re told seven American passengers and two Australian passengers were left on the island.

The Campbells say a number of those passengers are elderly with one having a heart condition, one a paraplegic as well as a pregnant woman. They say one of the elderly passengers suffered a concussion, multiple injuries and amnesia while on a Norwegian Cruise Lines-sponsored tour of the island."

 

So one of those left was on a NCL tour?  And we had a paraplegic on their own excursion?

 

Doesn't pass the sniff test, IMO.  There's more to this story.

 

 

The person with the concussion while on a NCL tour was a medical removal from cruise to a facility on the island. Who just happened to meet up with those that missed the ship while on a private tour. Or so says the article I read.

[TRLD]

On 3/30/2024 at 3:39 PM, edgee said:

Not true. A ship sponsored tour means the ship will wait regardless. I assume your example in NZ relates not to a ship sponsored day tour, but an overnight excursion catching up late to the ship at a different port. Ship sponsored responsibility to get to next port normally applies to a delay getting to embarkation not a delay returning from a day tour.

Nope. Have been on 2 different cruises on 2 different where those on a ships excursion had to rejoin at a different port. Know details on a couple of others. Basically the ship is more likely to wait if it is a ship excursion, but will leave if the delay is too long and they must.

 

If they do leave the ship will handle all of the details and expenses to get the excursion passengers back to the ships. In the two cases on the cruises i.was on the ships made unscheduled stops to pick them up. One in Manta Ecuador to pick up Machu Pichu excursion passengers. The second in Panama to pick up passengers that could not return due to a mud slide in Costa Rica.

[TRLD]

Then there is the question no one has asked was this private tour the one  organized in the cc roll call for that cruise?

[tine-tine]

Has anyone ever phoned the number given by Oceania of the Port Agent and received a reply? We were on a O trip in Cuba and the bus left without us, despite being nearby in the castle and being within the time given to return, tried to phone the Port Agent - no reply.

A couple on my last cruise had a.medical emergency and there was no rely from number for the Port Agent but they were lucky that the Agent must have been informed by the ship's doctor of their attendance at hospital and he went to the hospital to see them and the ship waited for their return. 

I often wonder if this number is in reality an office hours and if there is a language barrier how easy is it to get help if required?

[Snaefell3]

7 hours ago, tine-tine said:

I often wonder if this number is in reality an office hours and if there is a language barrier how easy is it to get help if required?

Uhhh...  YMMV?  😉 

 

Your answer will be different in Hamilton or Barcelona than in São Tomé.  If the Port Agent is *an* agent, he will be pierside to get handed pier-runners' passports, etc.

[ronrick1943]

I think people that make a choice to go on their own have to be responsible to get back to the ship on time.  Why should a very few people make everyone else wait.......Same with tours, how many times have you waited on a bus for someone because they are late for a tour.  Come on, people should be responsible.

[Snaefell3]

28 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

I think people that make a choice to go on their own have to be responsible to get back to the ship on time.  Why should a very few people make everyone else wait.......Same with tours, how many times have you waited on a bus for someone because they are late for a tour.  Come on, people should be responsible.

"Entitled shopper" (love that phrase)?  À la lanterne!

Stuck on a bus, waiting for "all clear" from a bomb squad?  Not so much.

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I think people that make a choice to go on their own have to be responsible to get back to the ship on time.  Why should a very few people make everyone else wait.......Same with tours, how many times have you waited on a bus for someone because they are late for a tour.  Come on, people should be responsible.

We have waited several times at sailaway for people out on their own. Saw them get out of taxis so the ship might wait a reasonable amount of time. Have also seen people in launches allowed back on. I believe there was a good reason they didn’t wait or let them on from the coast guard launch. Could have been they would have to climb a ladder or sea conditions. 
 

My favorite bus story was in Iceland. We were on a small minibus tour and this couple had not returned ant a toilet stop.  After 20 minutes the driver was frantic. I noticed a supermarket and made a guess. So I volunteered to go with the driver into the market and sure enough there they were shopping unconcerned. Everyone was unhappy at the couple. 

Edited April 1 by Charles4515

[AMHuntFerry]

13 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

We have waited several times at sailawa for people out on their own. Saw them get out of taxis so the ship might wait a reasonable amount of time. Have also seen people in launches allowed back on. I believe there was a good reason they didn’t wait or let them on from the coast guard launch. Could have been they would have to climb a ladder or sea conditions. 
 

My favorite bus story was in Iceland. We were on a small minibus tour and this couple had not returned ant a toilet stop.  After 20 minutes the driver was frantic. I noticed a supermarket and made a guess. So I volunteered to go with the driver into the market and sure enough there they were shopping unconcerned. Everyone was unhappy at the couple. 

I would have messed with them by having the bus driver move the bus out of sight, then run over to the late-ones saying, "OMG, the bus left without us!" 😄 OK, I probably would have only thought of it later, and I wouldn't have the courage/slightly-mean-streak to actually do it (although my spouse probably would...such a joker).

Edited April 1 by AMHuntFerry

[Kay S]

We were on an excursion in Ireland when a woman didn't return to the bus on time.  Her husband was frantic.  He found he stuck inside an elevator with doors that would not open.  Security got her out.  It was a long drive back to the pier (a couple of hours) but we did make it on time.  She said she was yelling for help and beating on the doors for over 10 minutes.  

[clo]

3 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I think people that make a choice to go on their own have to be responsible to get back to the ship on time.  Why should a very few people make everyone else wait.......Same with tours, how many times have you waited on a bus for someone because they are late for a tour.  Come on, people should be responsible.

FWIW I'm a punctuality freak. If I'm on time I consider myself late. So you can imagine how I react to people who ARE late.

[EJL2023]

11 minutes ago, clo said:

FWIW I'm a punctuality freak. If I'm on time I consider myself late. So you can imagine how I react to people who ARE late.

This is kind of me too….we were on a small group tour in Portugal (not cruise related). A woman on our first stop traveling alone took off, which was ok as it was during lunch and we were having free time.  Now we are over 30 minutes past our meeting time and nothing. She had even given her cell number to someone else on the tour.  This person kept on calling her and no answer. Everyone on tour out looking for her close to our meeting point. Finally the tour guide finds her wandering aimlessly. Of course her phone was dead….nice…she just gets in van, Not a word of feeling bad for the unnecessary delay, etc…next stop she goes to get off and tour guide said…only if I go with you since it was a short stop where we were on our own for a while. 

 

….

Edited April 1 by EJL2023

[osandomir]

12 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

This is kind of me too….we were on a small group tour in Portugal (not cruise related). A woman on our first stop traveling alone took off, which was ok as it was during lunch and we were having free time.  Now we are over 30 minutes past our meeting time and nothing. She had even given her cell number to someone else on the tour.  This person kept on calling her and no answer. Everyone on tour out looking for her close to our meeting point. Finally the tour guide finds her wandering aimlessly. Of course her phone was dead….nice…she just gets in van, Not a word of feeling bad for the unnecessary delay, etc…next stop she goes to get off and tour guide said…only if I go with you since it was a short stop where we were on our own for a while. 

 

….

Unfortunately this happened often on the group tour. If that I find it difficult to be patient and keep myself from reacting strongly against those people. We always appreciate when the tour guide constantly reminding everybody to stay on schedule.