Anyone ever miss the boat?

[Widespreadpanic]

Here's the situation: We are cruising in August and I would like to book a full-day, independent tour on a sailboat. Another couple from our cruise has already booked this sail, and, of course, the captain would be aware of our port arrival & departure times. My challenge is that my SO is very concerned about making it back to the boat before it leaves. I have read to leave 2 hrs. between the tour return time and the ship departure time, which sounds reasonable to me. Has anyone ever missed the boat? What was your experience - was it due to an independent tour operator? What was your option at that point? (My SO even checked and yes, there is a flight between this port and the next one!)

 

Thanks for any help you can give!

[chrysalis]

If you are booked with a Princess excursion, the ship will wait for you...if you are late and on an independent tour or just doing your own thing, then you are SOL......and must find your way to the next port (do ya have ID, cash or card, etc on shore?...lots of people don't).

 

There was a thread here from someone who missed the boat, and had a bad time of it in Venezuala, without passports and money.

 

Bottom line.....don't be late

[dorisday]

if your doing an independant tour always ask either the Pursers desk or the shore Ex desk for the contact details of the Princess Port Authorities of that particular port of call.

They will be able to assist you if (fingers crossed you dont) miss the ship.

You will have to incurr all costs of meeting up with the ship.

 

If the ship is "just" leaving port, there are occassions where the pilot's boat will take you out to the ship, however if you are not very mobile, this will not be the case, as you will have to sometimes climb a rope ladder to get onboard.

 

My advice is " Dont miss the ship "!!!!

[cruiserjanet]

Some will wait but most will not. Case in point...they shouldn't have waited for this couple in Kauai. They were 45 minutes late to the ship and were cussing out security (we have lots of witnesses) who were reprimanding them for being late to the ship. Talk about ungrateful. :mad:

[CBCit]

I've missed the boat many times, but never on a cruise!

LOL: sorry, couldn't resist.

[Widespreadpanic]

I've missed the boat many times, but never on a cruise! LOL: sorry, couldn't resist.

There's at least one in every crowd...:rolleyes: :D

[hootmon]

We didn,t but we saw a passenger miss the boat in Mazatlan. He was lucky enough to hire a local with a fishing boat. They brought him up a rope ladder. His only comment was "I will have to work a hell of a lot of overtime to pay for this!" I am sure there was one happy Mexican in Mazatlan. :)

[Rollexx]

Seen something pretty funny, well probably not funny to the two gals but...

Pulling away from the dock in St Thomas, we were maybe 100 ft out, when a cab comes racing halfway down the dock, stops and two women pile out with about four big bags each. They come running, yelling "THATS OUR SHIP"!!!! We just kept on backing up. They ran all the way to the end of dock screaming for the ship to stop..no such luck. Word around ship later was that a boat brought them out to us, but no boat came out of the harbor while it was still visable, and the ship never stopped, so I question that.

[can786]

I was on a cruise with a group one time and two women in our group didn't pay any attention to the daily newsletter or to the sign posted at the gangway that clearly stated both the departure time and the time to be back onboard. This was in Nassau. They were quite surprised to arrive at the pier later that afternoon and find the ship gone. They caught up with the ship two days later at the next port (San Juan) and said they had learned a very costly lesson. They had to fly from Nassau back to Miami, spend two nights in a motel and then fly to San Juan. Of course the flights were booked last minute so they payed dearly for them.

[Cruisin' Grandma]

Last year while in Barbados we were standing at the front of the ship waiting for the sail-a-way. They had paged two names a couple of times, so we knew someone wasn't on the ship. We finally started backing out of the dock, were about 3/4 of the way out when this woman pushing a stroller came running out of the terminal building shouting "my boat, my boat".

 

She was in luck to find the port authority and he brought her around the end of the dock to a small pilot boat. Before she could get on board, two more people came strolling out of the terminal looking quite shocked that the ship was leaving. The Captain didn't stop, but the small pilot boat came alongside and the latecomers had to transfer to the ship via the bo'sun's chair. The scary part was, the child was only about a year old and couldn't get in the chair herself. One of the crew stood on the roof of the pilot boat, and handing the child up and across the gap to a crew member in the ship.

 

We found out later that they got a real dressing down from the Captain, were confined to their stateroom for a day and were chagred $250.00 each for the cost of the pilot boat.

 

The moral is, give yourself plenty of time to get back to the port. "Don't miss the ship."

[Pam in CA]

On our Royal Princess cruise last year from Manaus to Rome, the port lecturer kept on telling people that if they went on their own, to make sure they brought their camera so they could take pictures of the ship as it sailed away. Yup... two couples did just that in Barcelona. They had to take an overnight train to Cannes to meet the ship the next day.

 

Another time, again a Royal Princess cruis in the Med, one of our ports was in Naples. My sister chose the ship's tour on the Amalfi Drive. The traffic was so bad that they were over two hours late getting back to the ship. If someone had done that on their own, the ship wouldn't have waited.

[F5Loar]

1000's annually have been left behind sitting at the door way at Carlo's and Charlies or Senor Frogs waving at the ship as it pulls away into the sunset.

Beware of island time vs. ship time. They are not always the same. And don't ask your bartender if he knows when the ship leaves as he'll say you have another hour and the next round is on him to keep you there. Out of 26 cruises I recall it happening on 4 of them. The cost of your cruise will seem cheap compared to getting home on your own with no passport in hand.

[Pam in CA]

1000's annually have been left behind sitting at the door way at Carlo's and Charlies or Senor Frogs waving at the ship as it pulls away into the sunset.

Beware of island time vs. ship time. They are not always the same. And don't ask your bartender if he knows when the ship leaves as he'll say you have another hour and the next round is on him to keep you there. Out of 26 cruises I recall it happening on 4 of them. The cost of your cruise will seem cheap compared to getting home on your own with no passport in hand.

F5Loar, I notice that you have not cruised on Princess previously. Generally, Princess ships adjust ship's time to local time so that passengers don't get confused. However, you have excellent advice. The Princess Patter will always alert you to any time change and your cabin steward will also put a notice on your bed the night of any time change. Make sure you change your watch accordingly and pay attention to the time while on shore. Always plan to be back on the dock an hour prior to sailing.

[Widespreadpanic]

such a list of stories about people missing the boat. Pam, what a great line the port lecturer had - "to make sure they brought their camera so they could take pictures of the ship as it sailed away." It's unfortunate that all the stories will seem to bolster my SO's feeling that we should not book a tour other than a Princess-sponsored, which are fairly crowded and regimented.

 

And all these stories are about OTHER people missing the boat. I guess no one wants to admit they might have mis-timed their tour...:o

[Cruisin' Chick]

1000's annually have been left behind sitting at the door way at Carlo's and Charlies or Senor Frogs waving at the ship as it pulls away into the sunset.

Beware of island time vs. ship time. They are not always the same. And don't ask your bartender if he knows when the ship leaves as he'll say you have another hour and the next round is on him to keep you there. Out of 26 cruises I recall it happening on 4 of them. The cost of your cruise will seem cheap compared to getting home on your own with no passport in hand.

 

That's excellent advice to be on the same time as the ship (some cruiselines might not be on local time). I always bring the Patters with me so I can double check on the sailaway time (it also has the Port Agent info on the front page). And if you in a tender port, add padding there. Often the line to catch a tender gets very long close to the deadline (usually about a half hour before sailaway as the crew needs time to hoist those puppies back into place).

 

On our Alaskan cruise, one excursion we were on ran late due to weather conditions, and got us back to the ship late. As we booked it thru Princess, the Sapphire waited for us and eight other people who were on the tour with us. I heard that our names were called over the PA system.

 

Just remember, there's always the possibility of mechanical problems, traffic jams, and other obstacles.

[chris2597]

We heard announcements while waiting to leave a port asking for so and so to report that they were on board....they announced it over and over...I think we stayed at least 45 min past our original time. We later asked the CD about it and he said it happens all of the time....and that they ship really does try to wait for late pax, if possible....something about the cruiseline getting dinged for missing/left behind pax's and that it was in the ships best interest to locate the pax.

I have a fear of not getting back to the ship in time, but our group has always left a lot of leeway time for getting back...

Maybe you should ask your tour operator if he feels that you will be back in time...once he tells you ok....ask if he will put it in writing and pay the cost of getting you to the ship, if he doesnt fullfill the terms....I would be interested to see if they back up what they say..

[F5Loar]

I don't see that signature stuff any more due to spam blockers but I've been on plenty of Princess ships. Going on the Crown this week. I've found it's up to the Captain of the ship not the line as to which time he stays on. Just when I thought I had it figured out my next cruise proved me wrong. Bottom line is pay attention to that ship time vs. port time. They are are not always the same. Just like some states do the daylight savings time, others don't.

[chasetf]

We didn,t but we saw a passenger miss the boat in Mazatlan. He was lucky enough to hire a local with a fishing boat. They brought him up a rope ladder. His only comment was "I will have to work a hell of a lot of overtime to pay for this!" I am sure there was one happy Mexican in Mazatlan. :)

In Juneau we saw basically the same thing. We left the pier, headed out, only to have a tug boat follow us out, then come along side and transfer two passengers with their shopping bags. Hope the got a good deal on the shopping and the tug boat ride. :D

[nets33]

such a list of stories about people missing the boat. Pam, what a great line the port lecturer had - "to make sure they brought their camera so they could take pictures of the ship as it sailed away." It's unfortunate that all the stories will seem to bolster my SO's feeling that we should not book a tour other than a Princess-sponsored, which are fairly crowded and regimented.

 

And all these stories are about OTHER people missing the boat. I guess no one wants to admit they might have mis-timed their tour...:o

I wouldn't worry too much about it... Did an Alaskan Princess cruise and booked excursions at every port ourselves.

 

We did confirm the start and end time of each excursion and compared that against the time that the ship left port. If you take those precautions and leave yourself time to get back to the ship you should be OK.

 

K

[Love Boat Dream]

I usually book our own excursions, but this time we took the ships because I was concerned about getting back since the port was about a 2 hour ride from Florence. On the way back, some of the people on the bus (not me!) tipped (bribed!) the local guide to take us to Pisa on the way back. She said if everyone was back on board the bus a little earlier than our appointed time, they would do it. We all made sure we were back.

 

But, on the road to Pisa, we hit horrible traffic. I don't think we were able to turn back. When we got there, she gave us 15 minutes to run over to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and make a bathroom stop and off we went, back into the traffic.

 

We got back to the ship an hour late for sailing (we were supposed be be back a half hour prior to sailing) They pulled up the gangway right behind us and we sailed away the fastest I've ever seen! I bet that guide didn't work for Princess again so I hope her tip was good!

[Bettyboop66]

Several years ago maybe 1997 or 98 we were on a cruise on the Veendam, and two larger women missed the boat. they had to pay a small ship, not sure how much but the rumor was BIG BUCKS, to bring them to the ship. My husband and I happened to be on the "right" side of the ship to watch the women climb onboard. I must say it was the funniest thing I have ever seen. I think we even took pictures, I will have to see if I can find them and post them on here. That taught me to NEVER miss the boat.

[KatWag]

We've done our own excursions on several recent trips, but I'll be very honest and say that getting back early is on my mind a LOT when we do that. I think you need to just accept the risk involved and then decide if what the private excursion offers is worth it. And if you do decide to go for it, follow the advice of several earlier posters: make sure you have your passport info, money, credit cards and the info on the Port Agent in case you need it.

[PhoenixCruiser]

I don't see that signature stuff any more due to spam blockers but I've been on plenty of Princess ships. Going on the Crown this week. I've found it's up to the Captain of the ship not the line as to which time he stays on. Just when I thought I had it figured out my next cruise proved me wrong. Bottom line is pay attention to that ship time vs. port time. They are are not always the same. Just like some states do the daylight savings time, others don't.

 

Ahh, then you probably are not aware that your clocks no longer work, all we see is a black and green box :eek:

 

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[Pam in CA]

Another story took place years ago on the Sun Princess. One of our ports was Isla Margarita which is a Venezuelan island off the coast with very, very limited air service (maybe a few flights a week at that time). Our cruise was stopping there, then making a transit through the Panama Canal and on to Acapulco, which was where we were disembarking. Two couples went off on their own to the beach and missed the ship. I have no idea where they ended up or what happened to their possessions since we had no ports for the next five days until Acapulco. I would guess that it cost them a fortune to get off Isla Margarita and wherever they were going. Ironically, that was the same cruise where, because of weather in Boston, I missed the first two days of the cruise (even though I was flying to San Juan the day before) and when I finally arrived in Martinique, I was given $500 onboard credit for the two days I'd missed plus because I'd used Princess air, all re-routing and extra travel was paid for by Princess or AA, including meal vouchers and hotel.

[woodofpine]

I've seen folks jumping harbor pilot vessels to reboard the departed ship... Personally, that would make me 'a little' tense so I never cut it too close.

 

That said, I rarely use cruiseline excursions. Generally, they're not as good a value (cost AND quality) as independently arranged excursions. Most ship excusions are very good quality BUT the impersonal herd aspect detracts. Also, I have a family of six so $10-20 pp savings quickly add up.

 

In coastal Italy and for other long distance excursions (Paris, Berlin) I'd go with the line though for the assurance of a waiting ship. As a youngster (in the 60's) I remember sitting with my parents in traffic trying to get from Genoa to Portofino (like 3-4 hours! what is it, maybe 20 miles?) I don't think things have gotten much better in recent decades on the coast.