karenna00 Posted July 20 #1 Share Posted July 20 Hello! Can anyone on subsequent cruises from the incident where the family was left behind in Ketchikan provide some insight on how things are going now? Have any changes been made by NCL or the tour operator? We are scheduled to go on an NCL tour excursion that also includes the Lumberjack show in a few weeks and are traveling with kids and seniors- one with mobility challenges that uses a walker/wheelchair while in port. The description of the chaos after the lumberjack show is worrisome. We definitely don't want to be left behind!! Does anyone have any tips on how to navigate the NCL excursion tour buses after the show? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 20 #2 Share Posted July 20 Best wishes. There is simply not enough transportation available in Ketchikan to accommodate all of the cruise ships that are there, between tours and NCLs shuttle requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PelicanBill Posted July 20 #3 Share Posted July 20 I doubt any correction will be visible unless someone can report positive matching of tickets taking place. That's the only thing that can be done. This was a one in 10,000 tours situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonvoyagie Posted July 20 #4 Share Posted July 20 It has also come out that there was a second smaller Regent ship at Ward Cove and they boarded the bus this family was supposed to go on. Being a resourceful cruiser and knowing the all aboard time as well as the last shuttle bus time. And be willing to call a cab to get me back to the ship are all things you can do to insure this won't happen to you. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare karatemom2 Posted July 21 #5 Share Posted July 21 2 hours ago, bonvoyagie said: It has also come out that there was a second smaller Regent ship at Ward Cove and they boarded the bus this family was supposed to go on. Being a resourceful cruiser and knowing the all aboard time as well as the last shuttle bus time. And be willing to call a cab to get me back to the ship are all things you can do to insure this won't happen to you. Those are good points, but it is important for people going to Ketchikan to know that grabbing a taxi there is not easy or readily available. It is a tiny town, very few cabs, most of which book out on port days for extended private tours. And the few that might be available are going to be in high demand for the Ward Cove run as the ship departure time approaches. You may find yourself out of luck if you think you are going to be able to just get a cab back to the ship at a moment's notice. Given this situation happened with an NCL shore excursion where one could reasonably assume you would be guaranteed to be back on the ship on time - I think I would avoid booking any excursion, even an NCL excursion, that ended too close to the last shuttle bus time. We found the Ward Cove situation pretty poor the two times we were there with NCL. The second time we booked a private tour to make sure we had a guaranteed ride back in plenty of time for all aboard without having to worry about the ridiculously long shuttle lines and potential to miss the ship. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NW Pacific Posted July 21 #6 Share Posted July 21 We did the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan a year ago October. I was worried about the time of the Show and back to the Ship. think the show was 1:30pm, sail away 4pm) Asked at the Excursions Desk, said no problem. Still worrisome, we were on first bus leaving from the Ship, when let off told to get on our number bus when leaving Show, I could see no taxis running around. Since there was a huge crowd at the Show, not sure how many were NCL cruisers or another Ship. I insisted we leave the Show early, to get a bus back. There was much talk about have your ticket on you, do not loose, boarding buses will be crowded. urgh. Anyway we left early and got on our bus. I can believe how the passengers could not get a ride back to Ship on time. Obviously two sides to every story, but transportation other the NCL Provided is very limited in Ketchikan, only as I observed?? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julig22 Posted July 21 #7 Share Posted July 21 3 hours ago, bonvoyagie said: It has also come out that there was a second smaller Regent ship at Ward Cove and they boarded the bus this family was supposed to go on. Being a resourceful cruiser and knowing the all aboard time as well as the last shuttle bus time. And be willing to call a cab to get me back to the ship are all things you can do to insure this won't happen to you. Yes, there was another ship in port. Whether or not the family was actually trying to get on "their" bus - hard to actually say. Odd that only a family group of 9 had an issue. It's also possible that they were trying to board a regent bus (they said there were people on the bus from the other ship), not their own. And that bus was full. But doubtful anyone will ever know those details. But because the Regent ship had a much later sail time, the regular shuttle to Ward Cove would have still been running. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted July 21 #8 Share Posted July 21 (edited) Since this turned into a national media story, most corporations would be highly motivated to avoid it happening again. Hopefully, the tour providers subcontracted by NCL will be proactive in the future about making sure all passengers have their stickers before allowing them to reboard the tour buses, and explain to the passengers at the beginning of the tour why it is important for them to keep the stickers on so they will be allowed to rebound their shuttle back to the ship. Please make sure that you have the phone number of the port agent, and that you leave your passports in your safe. Call the port agent immediately if your bus is full and leaves without you. Ensure that you have a few days supply of all necessary medication. When you arrive at the lumberjack show, I would also recommend locating where the port shuttle stop is. If your tour bus leaves without you it might be faster to take the port shuttle back to the port rather than waiting for NCL to send another bus to you. I'd recommend taking any possible mode of transportation back to the port available instead of waiting on NCL. Given the fact that this was a news story recently, if you are similarly stranded you can also consider using twitter/social media/ the mainstream media to make people aware of your plight immediately. Edited July 21 by kitkat343 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomewhereGirl Posted July 21 #9 Share Posted July 21 (edited) 6 hours ago, kitkat343 said: When you arrive at the lumberjack show, I would also recommend locating where the port shuttle stop is. If your tour bus leaves without you it might be faster to take the port shuttle back to the port rather than waiting for NCL to send another bus to you. ^^^This is excellent advice. Know where the shuttle stop is. In 2021 (the first year of Ward Cove), the shuttle bus drop off was at the Lumberjack Show end the pier. Maybe if it was this year, the current story might have been avoided. Back in 2021, I took the Lumberjack Show excursion from Ward Cove, and then was scheduled to take a separate one-way NCL boat excursion from town back to the ship. Couldn't find exactly where the boat excursion dock was. There was no signage and there weren't many people around. There was only 1 other ship in port, weather wasn't great, not many people on the streets. So I hung around where I thought the excursion would meet (instructions were not the best). Time was ticking. Luckily another couple showed up. We got to talking, and finally decided to get on the shuttle, which they knew was right there at the end of the pier that year. So thankful to that couple. I wouldn't have known where the shuttle was otherwise. Luckily the whole paid shuttle thing had ended on an earlier sailing so that was a non-issue. Last year the shuttle drop-off was at the opposite end down at Berth 4. This year? Maybe it's not even the same all season? Edited July 21 by SomewhereGirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward Son Posted July 21 #10 Share Posted July 21 I'm going with the consensus that the tour operator was the ultimate cause of this situation. It could have been the family. It seems strange that they were the only ones to miss the ship. But I'm going with the tour company. That said, what is NCL going to do? How many tour operators are there in Ketchikan that can handle the number of people taking excursions from a 4000+ pax ship? Good luck with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julig22 Posted July 21 #11 Share Posted July 21 1 hour ago, Wayward Son said: I'm going with the consensus that the tour operator was the ultimate cause of this situation. It could have been the family. It seems strange that they were the only ones to miss the ship. But I'm going with the tour company. That said, what is NCL going to do? How many tour operators are there in Ketchikan that can handle the number of people taking excursions from a 4000+ pax ship? Good luck with that. While the details probably won't ever be made public (no need), it could be fairly easy to actually determine what most likely happened. Phone records plus driver records - assuming their arrival time is documented. If the last bus to arrive was destined for Regent, they were trying to get on the wrong bus - and that driver might have been correct that there would be another bus, just later. If the driver for tour bus ### says 9 people didn't show up, they missed their bus. Or nobody was checking on anything and people without tickets took their seats. Or the NCL rep that should have been there to direct traffic didn't show up - or left. What will happen - NCL will just cover the expenses or the tour company will make a claim to their insurance. Just like NCL is being held responsible because they hired the tour company, the tour company is responsible because they hired the drivers. Most of the bus drivers are college students there for the summer so the actual employees might get sent home, more likely just told to step up their game. And NCL needs to make sure that there are NCL reps directing traffic at the end of the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted July 21 #12 Share Posted July 21 4 hours ago, Wayward Son said: I'm going with the consensus that the tour operator was the ultimate cause of this situation. It could have been the family. It seems strange that they were the only ones to miss the ship. But I'm going with the tour company. That said, what is NCL going to do? How many tour operators are there in Ketchikan that can handle the number of people taking excursions from a 4000+ pax ship? Good luck with that. It is absolutely correct that there are limited tour providers in Alaska, primarily composed of temporary workers. I've never seen the lumberjack show, and when I sailed to Alaska I docked directly in Ketchikan, so I don't know exactly how many passengers attend this show. The descriptions other posters have included on the other thread seem to indicate that there are a lot of passengers who attend the lumberjack show, and that it is rather chaotic trying to catch transportation back to the ship. If this is the case, then perhaps NCL can send a crew member to the parking lot at the end of the show to help direct traffic and also to stay in contact with the port agent/ person coordinating transportation. If someone had been able to communicate the fact that this family missed their original bus to the people coordinating transportation quickly, then another bus would have been dispatched immediately and this would have been a minor inconvenience for the family and not a national news story. In a port in which there was more give in the schedule, this wouldn't be necessary - the ship could hopefully wait a bit for a late passenger without delaying its arrival. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julig22 Posted July 21 #13 Share Posted July 21 9 minutes ago, kitkat343 said: If this is the case, then perhaps NCL can send a crew member to the parking lot at the end of the show to help direct traffic and also to stay in contact with the port agent/ person coordinating transportation. If someone had been able to communicate the fact that this family missed their original bus to the people coordinating transportation quickly, then another bus would have been dispatched immediately and this would have been a minor inconvenience for the family and not a national news story. In a port in which there was more give in the schedule, this wouldn't be necessary - the ship could hopefully wait a bit for a late passenger without delaying its arrival. As I recall, there were multiple people at the show, directing traffic to the correct busses. Those who had just come to the show went to their busses, I was on a multi-stop tour and was directed, both by our tour guide and those at the show, to return to our assigned bus # (which I think was the last one to arrive). But there wasn't another ship in Ward Cove, so only NCL passengers had a reason to board the bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare shof515 Posted July 22 #14 Share Posted July 22 Next year in May 2025, both the Encore and Joy is scheduled to dock at Ward Cove on the same day. Encore is 7am to 1pm and the Joy is 7am to like 5pm. how does ward cove handle two breakaway plus ships, can the shuttle bus cope with two big ships at the same time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azappraiser Posted July 22 #15 Share Posted July 22 4 hours ago, shof515 said: Next year in May 2025, both the Encore and Joy is scheduled to dock at Ward Cove on the same day. Encore is 7am to 1pm and the Joy is 7am to like 5pm. how does ward cove handle two breakaway plus ships, can the shuttle bus cope with two big ships at the same time? On Thur Apr 24th, the Bliss & Jade are both scheduled to arrive at 6:00am, and on Fri the 25th, the Encore & Joy both arrive at 7:00am. On Fri May 9th, the Encore is scheduled at 7:00am, with the Joy scheduled at 8:00am On Fri the 23rd, both the Encore & Joy are scheduled to arrive at 7:00. Here's the complete schedule: https://www.cruisetimetables.com/ketchikan-alaska-cruise-ship-schedule-2025.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2SeaTheWorld Posted July 22 #16 Share Posted July 22 On 7/20/2024 at 3:13 PM, karenna00 said: Hello! Can anyone on subsequent cruises from the incident where the family was left behind in Ketchikan provide some insight on how things are going now? Have any changes been made by NCL or the tour operator? We are scheduled to go on an NCL tour excursion that also includes the Lumberjack show in a few weeks and are traveling with kids and seniors- one with mobility challenges that uses a walker/wheelchair while in port. The description of the chaos after the lumberjack show is worrisome. We definitely don't want to be left behind!! Does anyone have any tips on how to navigate the NCL excursion tour buses after the show? Thanks! I was thankful I had booked the NCL excursion for the Totem Park & Lumberjack show in '23. It was a madhouse downtown. We had assurances from our tour guide she would maintain contact with the Bliss & let them know of all delays in getting out after the show. Traffic was horrific & we were 15 min. late on final call back to ship for all excursions, but our guide assured us the ship was being held. It was. So that's my advice, if wanting to tour/see the show, in Ketchikan, it's worth it to book with NCL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dilbertsdaddy Posted July 22 #17 Share Posted July 22 (edited) Just goes to show that there are lots of details that can trip you up and those details are not always readily available when booking. I did the lumberjack show last year on Celebrity and walked right across the street to the ship. How would one know that with NCL that is not an option? I just learned that on my upcoming NCL cruise I can't buy booze while in port in Greece and Italy. Had I known that I might have done the free at sea, but it made no sense since my wife does not drink. And since they require onboard at 2 HOURS before sailing, I can't even hang out at a bar near the port till last minute so I'll be boozeless for two hours until we sail. I have a fair amount of OBC for booze but now might not have time to use it. 2 of the 9 nights we sail after my bedtime! BTW, sounds like they really should have waited for these folks. Edited July 22 by dilbertsdaddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julig22 Posted July 22 #18 Share Posted July 22 8 minutes ago, dilbertsdaddy said: And since they require onboard at 2 HOURS before sailing, I can't even hang out at a bar near the port till last minute so I'll be boozeless for two hours until we sail. I have a fair amount of OBC for booze but now might not have time to use it. 2 of the 9 nights we sail after my bedtime! BTW, sounds like they really should have waited for these folks. 2 hours only applies to the day you embark. Otherwise, it's usually 30 minutes before you sail, last tender/shuttle is usually 45-90 minutes before you sail, depending on the distance. And AFAIK, you can add the FAS package before your trip, assuming you didn't book sailaway. As to waiting, they don't have time to wait in Ketchikan. And there has been NO mention of when the ship actually left - maybe they did wait for as long as they could. Maybe the ship was already underway when they found out WHY the family was late. It's not like a ship can just turn around and come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dilbertsdaddy Posted July 22 #19 Share Posted July 22 1 minute ago, julig22 said: 2 hours only applies to the day you embark. Otherwise, it's usually 30 minutes before you sail, last tender/shuttle is usually 45-90 minutes before you sail, depending on the distance. And AFAIK, you can add the FAS package before your trip, assuming you didn't book sailaway. As to waiting, they don't have time to wait in Ketchikan. And there has been NO mention of when the ship actually left - maybe they did wait for as long as they could. Maybe the ship was already underway when they found out WHY the family was late. It's not like a ship can just turn around and come back. good to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakcruiser Posted July 22 #20 Share Posted July 22 1 hour ago, azappraiser said: On Thur Apr 24th, the Bliss & Jade are both scheduled to arrive at 6:00am I will be on the Jade. Should be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruiseny4life Posted July 22 #21 Share Posted July 22 (edited) 40 minutes ago, dilbertsdaddy said: I just learned that on my upcoming NCL cruise I can't buy booze while in port in Greece and Italy. Had I known that I might have done the free at sea, but it made no sense since my wife does not drink. And since they require onboard at 2 HOURS before sailing, I can't even hang out at a bar near the port till last minute so I'll be boozeless for two hours until we sail. I have a fair amount of OBC for booze but now might not have time to use it. 2 of the 9 nights we sail after my bedtime! When do you sail? If you're more than two/three days from sailing, you can still purchase the Free at Sea beverage package for just gratuities. EDIT: Also, it's only two hours before sailing on embarkation day. Typically, you need to be onboard half an hour before sailing on port days. Watch Freestyle Dailies and the signs at the gangway when you leave for the actual time you must be back. Edited July 22 by cruiseny4life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azappraiser Posted July 22 #22 Share Posted July 22 41 minutes ago, yakcruiser said: I will be on the Jade. Should be interesting. Interesting on arrival, yes. You'll have a few hours in Ketchikan with 4000 fewer people as the Bliss departs at 1:15pm... the Jade doesn't leave until 4:00pm. Shuttles should be much less crowded. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjesq99 Posted July 22 #23 Share Posted July 22 3 hours ago, Go2SeaTheWorld said: I was thankful I had booked the NCL excursion for the Totem Park & Lumberjack show in '23. It was a madhouse downtown. We had assurances from our tour guide she would maintain contact with the Bliss & let them know of all delays in getting out after the show. Traffic was horrific & we were 15 min. late on final call back to ship for all excursions, but our guide assured us the ship was being held. It was. So that's my advice, if wanting to tour/see the show, in Ketchikan, it's worth it to book with NCL. Didnt the family that got left also book the excursion through NCL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BirdTravels Posted July 24 #24 Share Posted July 24 On 7/22/2024 at 6:28 AM, shof515 said: Next year in May 2025, both the Encore and Joy is scheduled to dock at Ward Cove on the same day. Encore is 7am to 1pm and the Joy is 7am to like 5pm. how does ward cove handle two breakaway plus ships, can the shuttle bus cope with two big ships at the same time? They handle it just fine. It is blatantly obvious that the group was screwing around. Missed their bus. Missed a subsequent bus. There is probably 90 minutes between last bus and ship departure, but they still missed the ship. Personally, if I was going to miss my departure, I would have paid someone, anyone to drive me the 8 miles down the road to the ship. Then they run to the media making victim noises hoping that someone will overlook that the fact that they were the ultimate cause of the issue, and were mad when, 90 minutes later, the ship left without them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare tetleytea Posted July 24 #25 Share Posted July 24 I echo the advice to book a private tour, or cab driver, who will drop you off at Ward Cove. We found a driver on the day of. Not only does that give you extra security, but it gives you more precious time to actually enjoy Ketchikan. That Ward Cove visit is not very long. I've already made up my mind, but this idea that "if you book a shore excursion through the ship, we will wait for you...unless we can't" doesn't sound very reassuring. They even do that for legit pier runners. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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