Have you ever been left behind in a port, or almost been left behind?

[kimsbfl]

My worse nightmare is to miss the boat. I can't imagine how upsetting that would be. Has this ever happened to you or almost happened to you?

[abridalmaven]

:eek: when we were in Aruba we were out eating and drinking with friends ( Stretch and his DW right here from CC) who were staying on the island. We were having such a good time, we did not pay close attention. It was late and we hustled back to the ship, and luckily we saw crew also running back so we knew they had to wait for them. They did pull the gangplank up about 5 minues later. But luckily, the bar was very close to the pier.:eek:

[nlcentralchmps03]

:eek: when we were in Aruba we were out eating and drinking with friends ( Stretch and his DW right here from CC) who were staying on the island. We were having such a good time, we did not pay close attention. It was late and we hustled back to the ship, and luckily we saw crew also running back so we knew they had to wait for them. They did pull the gangplank up about 5 minues later. But luckily, the bar was very close to the pier.:eek:

No, not us, but saw a man left behind in Ocho Rios.

 

What a disaster that would be!

[The Big Booper]

Which is why you should always take id, ccards,cash and a copy of that days compass with you when you get off the ship.The compass always lists the ship's land agent for that day's stop.

[wrp96]

On my first Voyager cruise, in Grand Cayman. We took a ship's shore excursion to Stingray City but our original excursion left without us (left 30 minutes early, it was pouring rain so there was a lot of confusion). The RCCL staff threw us on another excursion - but didn't take any notes that we were on that excursion. We were still at Stingray City when the ship was supposed to leave. When we got back we ran for the tender they were holding for the excursion (making sure we got there ahead of everybody else since they didn't know we were on that excursion). As the tender pulled away from the dock, we saw people running up trying to get us to come back. We didn't turn back for them. As soon as we got back to the ship, the ship pulled away - over an hour late. At dinner that night, we found out that they had been calling our name out over the loud speakers, and all our tablemates were wondering if we had missed the ship. A few of the people we left behind were able to catch up with the ship in Cozumel, but then we left more people behind in Cozumel.

 

In Costa Rica this past March I took an extremely long ship's excursion (we were the first off the ship in the morning) that involved a 3+ hour drive each way. On the way back it started raining and so we were late getting back. I slept part of the way back and woke up about 6pm, when the ship was supposed to be leaving and we were still an hour away. Everyone around me was panicking, but I was calm knowing they would wait for us (hey, they waited for me in Grand Cayman). Every 5 minutes our tour guide would get a call asking for an update on our location. When we arrived at the pier, they opened up the barriers preventing vehicles from driving down the pier (we'd had to walk the length of the pier to the parking lot that morning) and our bus drove down the pier to the gangplank. They literally threw us through the security check point as we boarded, and as soon as the last of us was onboard, they pulled up the gangplank and we pulled away.

[JkEw]

On my last cruise (early December) There was a young lady that lost her wallet/purse in St Maarten and was quite upset as it had ALL her ID :eek: I'm not quite sure what happened but she was with some family members so she probably was allowed back on the boat.

 

I always leave a copy of my passport and drivers license in my rooms safe, just in case.

[Merion_Mom]

On my first Voyager cruise, in Grand Cayman. We took a ship's shore excursion to Stingray City but our original excursion left without us (left 30 minutes early, it was pouring rain so there was a lot of confusion). The RCCL staff threw us on another excursion - but didn't take any notes that we were on that excursion. We were still at Stingray City when the ship was supposed to leave. When we got back we ran for the tender they were holding for the excursion (making sure we got there ahead of everybody else since they didn't know we were on that excursion). As the tender pulled away from the dock, we saw people running up trying to get us to come back. We didn't turn back for them. As soon as we got back to the ship, the ship pulled away - over an hour late. At dinner that night, we found out that they had been calling our name out over the loud speakers, and all our tablemates were wondering if we had missed the ship. A few of the people we left behind were able to catch up with the ship in Cozumel, but then we left more people behind in Cozumel.

 

In Costa Rica this past March I took an extremely long ship's excursion (we were the first off the ship in the morning) that involved a 3+ hour drive each way. On the way back it started raining and so we were late getting back. I slept part of the way back and woke up about 6pm, when the ship was supposed to be leaving and we were still an hour away. Everyone around me was panicking, but I was calm knowing they would wait for us (hey, they waited for me in Grand Cayman). Every 5 minutes our tour guide would get a call asking for an update on our location. When we arrived at the pier, they opened up the barriers preventing vehicles from driving down the pier (we'd had to walk the length of the pier to the parking lot that morning) and our bus drove down the pier to the gangplank. They literally threw us through the security check point as we boarded, and as soon as the last of us was onboard, they pulled up the gangplank and we pulled away.

How exciting!

 

(the kind of excitement that could stop your heart!)

[wrp96]

How exciting!

 

(the kind of excitement that could stop your heart!)

 

Yeah, I don't get off the ship without a credit card and my passport now (and travel insurance)!

[The Big Booper]

On my first Voyager cruise, in Grand Cayman. We took a ship's shore excursion to Stingray City but our original excursion left without us (left 30 minutes early, it was pouring rain so there was a lot of confusion). The RCCL staff threw us on another excursion - but didn't take any notes that we were on that excursion. We were still at Stingray City when the ship was supposed to leave. When we got back we ran for the tender they were holding for the excursion (making sure we got there ahead of everybody else since they didn't know we were on that excursion). As the tender pulled away from the dock, we saw people running up trying to get us to come back. We didn't turn back for them. As soon as we got back to the ship, the ship pulled away - over an hour late. At dinner that night, we found out that they had been calling our name out over the loud speakers, and all our tablemates were wondering if we had missed the ship. A few of the people we left behind were able to catch up with the ship in Cozumel, but then we left more people behind in Cozumel.

 

In Costa Rica this past March I took an extremely long ship's excursion (we were the first off the ship in the morning) that involved a 3+ hour drive each way. On the way back it started raining and so we were late getting back. I slept part of the way back and woke up about 6pm, when the ship was supposed to be leaving and we were still an hour away. Everyone around me was panicking, but I was calm knowing they would wait for us (hey, they waited for me in Grand Cayman). Every 5 minutes our tour guide would get a call asking for an update on our location. When we arrived at the pier, they opened up the barriers preventing vehicles from driving down the pier (we'd had to walk the length of the pier to the parking lot that morning) and our bus drove down the pier to the gangplank. They literally threw us through the security check point as we boarded, and as soon as the last of us was onboard, they pulled up the gangplank and we pulled away.

 

That Costa Rica pier is a lonnng one, fun watching the busses maneuvering in the morning trying to take the groups off and snaking around the other busses and people.

 

BTW, did you hear the one about the drunken male upgrade fairy who also changes the day-of week signs in the elevators and pees and misses the bowl in the ladies restroom causing sloshed females to slip and hurt their fannies.

 

Early tax season giddiness. Please, someone, stop me........

[MonaCK]

No... but...

On our cruise this past December, we missed our plane to get to Florida. Luckily, we were flying down the day before, but were unable to get on another plane.

 

So we drove 22 hours to florida. We made the ship, but had visions of pulling up to the port just as it was pulling away. ;)

[sheepman]

We missed a flight in Minneapolis (bad weather) to Baltimore for a 12 nite repositioning cruise, the next available flight was an hour too late to catch the Grandeur/Seas. The trip ins. co suggested we catch the ship in Bermuda, changed our A/L tickets to New Jersey & Bermuda, the next day we flew to Bermuda, stayed another nite there.

 

The wind was blowing a gale (50 mph sustained) the next day and the ship never docked in Bermuda. We had spent a $1,000 in A/L tickets, much in hotels, ect.. The RCCL agent in Bermuda was no help, he didn't meet us at the pier, (we finally reached him on the phone), couldn't tell us where the ship was going next since it was now ahead of its itinerary (and he acted like he really didn't care!). We went back to the airport and luckily a kind Continental agent helped us change our New Orleans Amer. A/L return tickets over to tickets back to Montana.

 

The ins finally paid its maximum for the A/L and cruise fares but we were out the $1,000 to fly to Bermuda and of course missed our friends and anniversary on the ship. A real trip to hell and back!

 

Now we arrive at the port city a day ahead, continue to carry insurance and pay more attention to time for connections at airports. Using tours other than ship sponsored tours leaves it up to you to get back in time, be careful! And if you do have truuble get documentation from everything and everybody you deal with, it'll come in handy for your insurance claim!

 

Roy

[In the Pink]

No, but the ship had to wait over an hour for us on a ship's excursion on our first cruise. We were docked in Cozumel and took and excursion to Tulum and Xel Ha. We took too long at Tulum and then had a very short time to Xel Ha, so short that my husband decided it wasn't worth it to get in line to get snorkel gear, get changed etc. By the time I got my gear and got changed I only had about 30 minutes left to snorkel around very near to shore.

 

When we got back on the bus, the guide did a head count and there was a couple missing. We realized they were a very nice young couple. He went back in several times looking for them and couldn't find them. He said we were already running 30 minutes late and then he waited for them at least another 30 minutes, with everyone else on the bus already, and he finally had to leave.

 

When we got to the dock at Playa del Carmen to take the ferry back to Cozumel, they were there waiting for us! We were all so glad to see them! They had gone to do the cave tubing but there had been a dry season so the river was low and not running fast, so it took them longer than the brochure said it would, or something like that. When they finally got back to where they could get out, they got a cab and had him fly so they actually beat us back.

 

Anyway, when we got to the ship, there was only one rope still tethering her and it was thrown as we were crossing the gangplank!

[Jay Bee]

Which is why you should always take id, ccards,cash and a copy of that days compass with you when you get off the ship.The compass always lists the ship's land agent for that day's stop.

 

On this last cruise we were told in the announcements on every port day to take ID. At first, I thought it meant that they had started to check IDs in foreign ports, but no one ever asked. I think instead that they are making people prepare for missing the ship.

 

Jan

[Sheik]

We never missed the ship. We were on the Voyager and did a 10 hours ship sponsored tour to Tulum and Xel-Ha. The tour ended 2 hours too late, but the ship waited. OK, there were 30 people on that tour, so that had to wait ofcourse.

[diamond girl 000]

Fortunately, the closest that we have ever come to this is exactly that - close! In Curacao, we were running, literally, to get back to the ship. We were one of the last half-dozen couples to board. We were maybe three minutes behind, at most. No problem - except for the thirty or so people out on their balconies applauding, whistling and taunting!:eek: NEVER again! Thankfully we weren't the very last ones!

[Sue L]

We were on a ship's excursion, on one of our first cruises, in Guadalope and the local bus drivers went on strike leaving their buses parked diagonally across the roads, basically shutting down all the roads in the country. We were warned not to go off on our own by the ship's crew that morning on the announcements, because they were warned that this strike "could" happen, but that those on ship's excursions would be taken care of. They had plenty of tours available but many ignored the warnings.

 

We were near the end of our tour, when our driver got a call. He stayed in constant contact with the ship and he started taking us to the other side of the island, which was away from the port area. Traffic was a mess and boarding time was getting very close

 

We pulled off the main road, down another little road which was little more than a dirt track. This came out to a beautiful beach with a pier. Within minutes, a whole bunch of other similiar vans came onto this beach. The driver is still telling us , "don't worry"! We did feel much better seeing all the other people.

 

After waiting for about a half hour some of the people started pointing and cheering. We look over and there is our ship coming around the island. Within a few minutes we see them lowering a bunch of tenders and start speeding to the little pier.

 

The tenders picked us all up, but they left over 50 people behind who had gone off on their own.

 

We have had several other close calls, but we usually take ship's excursions because we know that they will wait.

 

Sue

[willysgrandma]

No, not us, but saw a man left behind in Ocho Rios.

 

What a disaster that would be!

 

Especially if you don't have a passport, cause as of later this month you will REALLY be stuck if you have to try and fly to another port without a passport-especially a U.S. port.

[Sheik]

After waiting for about a half hour some of the people started pointing and cheering. We look over and there is our ship coming around the island. Within a few minutes we see them lowering a bunch of tenders and start speeding to the little pier.

 

The tenders picked us all up, but they left over 50 people behind who had gone off on their own.

Sue

 

Wow :eek:

[MercedMike]

The departure from St. Maarten is a long straight sail right out from the dock, with a beautiful of the island behind the ship. We were sitting on our balcony enjoying that view, when we noticed a very small boat bouncing over the waves toward us. A guy was on the front of the boat waving hard.

 

As the little boat came close, a young blonde girl came out on the front of it, waving frantically with one hand and trying to hold her very short skirt down with the other. Of course by this time there were lots of fans on their balconies waving back at her!

 

The little boat bounced up to the ship, and two guys on the boat grabbed the girl and literally threw her over to the ship! I am sure there were lots of deckhands waiting there to catch her and help her onboard! A great cheer went up from all the balconies!

 

Moral: Don't miss the ship unless you enjoy being the star of a show!;)

[MercedMike]

We have only missed the ship once in 29 cruises, thank goodness.

 

Before our British Isles cruise, leaving from Southhampton, we spent several days in Iceland. After departing Iceland in the morning, about two hours out over the Atlantic the pilot came on the PA and announced we had an engine failure! We spent a loooooong two hours getting back to Iceland, and sat around the airport for hours waiting for them to fix the plane. The upshot was that we arrived at Heathrow just about the time Royal Princess sailed from Southhampton, her next port being Falmouth in Wales.

 

We had called ahead, and a Princess rep met us at the airport. He was not very helpful, basically just told us to get a taxi to the train station. So we headed off to Paddington Station. The English cabbie was a very nice guy, parked in a no parking zone at the station and took us inside, led us up to the window, showed us where our platform was and took good care of us.

 

We got on the night train to Falmouth. It was scheduled to arrive at 8:02 AM, and I want to tell you it did not arrive at 8:01 and it did not arrive at 8:03. Precisely at 8:02 we were on the platform. We could see the ship from the train depot, and soon found a cab and got to the dock. An assistant Purser was waiting at the foot of the gangplank with a list of about 10 or 12 people who had missed the ship. He had crewmen grab our bags, escorted us aboard and all was well. In fact, Princess even gave us shipboard credit for the day of cruising we missed!

 

In this particular instance, we had made a conscious decision to take a risk by flying in on departure day -- in order to extend our stay in Iceland. We did so knowing that the ship would not go far that first day, and there was a good infrastructure to get us to the next port. So it was an exception. Fortunately for us it worked out well.

 

We almost always arrive the day before, especially when the ship will be at sea or in less developed countries or islands the next day. After that experience, even more so!

[teacherkim]

When we were in Antigua on the AOS it was just a few minutes before the ship was supposed to leave and several people were running down the pier, yellling and waving, etc. A ships officer down at the gangplank fancied himself a comedien and was making a big show of tapping his watch and starting to lift up the end of the gangplank like he was not going to wait; he was also encouraging onlookers from the ship to clap and jeer. It was all very funny UNTIL 2 employees came running up very late. I do not know what language he was yelling at them in but I did not need to speak it to understand his meaning, reminded me of a drill sergeant in army movies!!

[rokcop]

On last year's cruise, we were standing at the rail of our aft balconey cheering and jeering those late for the ship in St Maarten. We watched as people casually walked and stopped to take pictures even after the scheduled departure time. The last passengers we saw were two women who didn't seem to plan or care that they were not physically able to walk, let alone run back to the ship. One woman, who was a bit "gravity enhanced" had to stop every few feet to rest until the cart, which had stopped running several minutes earlier, was put back in service to collect her. The other woman, pictured below, got a different kind of assistance from a crew member. Someone yelled "you should've taken advantage of the great deals on watches" and everyone on the balconies roared with laughter and cheered the crew member running to aid the woman.

[cruiseaholics]

We nearly missed the Navigator leaving Miami once.

 

We flew same day from Dallas to Miami using RCCL air (Delta), which required a connection in Atlanta. After a scheduled 2-hour layover, the connecting flight was delayed 1+ hours because they'd decided to downsize to a smaller aircraft. :rolleyes: The only trouble was they forgot to tell this to their ground crew, so once we finally boarded the plane, we sat at the gate for another hour or so while the luggage was moved from the larger plane to our smaller one.

 

The instant the wheels touched the ground in Miami (just after 4pm with the NV scheduled to leave at 5), we called RCCL on our cell. They said not to worry... they knew the flight was late and the ship had been notified... but to find an RCCL rep ASAP in baggage claim.

 

We did and were told to hurry to the bus... NOW... but we didn't have our checked luggage yet... no one did. It was still in the process of being unloaded... the carousel hadn't even started up at that point. "We'll catch your bags up," she said. "Nope, I can't trust you on this one," I thought to myself.

 

Being a somewhat high maintenance gal, the idea of cruising without my luggage was NOT an acceptable possibility to me, nor was it to my DH as he knew I'd be hell to live with for the next 7 days without it. :p Fortunately, the conveyor started up within a couple of minutes and we were able to snag our bags... all of them(!) while the agent was distracted by other guests.

 

From there, we "ran" to the bus and when asked for our names by the next RCCL rep, he said, "Hmmm... you're not on the list. Oh well, go ahead, I see you have your docs, etc." :confused:

 

Once on the bus, we waited around 20 minutes for the other guests who were sharing our unfortunate situation and then we were off. The ride to the port was tense for all of us but it was a major relief to see our ship was still there as we pulled into the parking lot.

 

But then the bus driver told us that we were to remain seated once parked so that he could unload all of our bags first. This process seemed to take forever but of course, I was a bit stressed-out so maybe it was just me, lol. The driver DID have make sure he got all of his tips in a calm and organized fashion, right? (This plan of his didn't work at all well for another couple on the bus... a honeymoon couple who never saw one of their bags again even though it was there when they tipped the driver and porter.)

 

It was 5:25 when the bus door opened and we launched ourselves off the bus, tossing cash at the bus driver and the porter, and then ran into the port building.

 

"You don't have to run anymore," said one of the agents behind the check-in desk. "You're going to make it now."

 

Well, he was right... oh, and check-in was a breeze :p. I looked at my watch as my foot touched the deck for the first time... it was 5:30. Whew! And less than 10 minutes later, the NV was underway.

 

Time for a drink.

 

In retrospect, there were some positives to this embarkation... no long lines AND we missed the muster/mustard drill, lol. We received an instruction sheet telling us what to do in case of emergency and that was that.

 

Also, yes, we know that flying same day is risky... but sometimes we gamble. This cruise was a spur of the moment decision. We'd just disembarked the NV two weeks prior (our first cruise with RCCL) and had had such an amazing time that we booked this one the night we got home. (We didn't know about booking onboard back then.)

 

Since then, we've flown both a day ahead and the day of our cruises and haven't had any other close calls (knock on wood). We don't use RCCL air anymore, though because we've found better deals and more importantly, non-stop flights booking directly with the airlines.

 

We also take a cab to/from the airport - especially in Miami - versus using RCCL transfers.

[Micki Dee]

Last month on the Brilliance a young woman missed the ship in Costa Rica by not more than 5 minutes. They sent her out to the ship in a tug and transferred her over. A fellow CC member has a few pictures of her being transferred to the ship.

[Alexru12]

have almost missed the ship twice. you would think i would learn a lesson. the first time was in the bahamas and was partying with the crew so i figured i was safe. we were all met by security as we were stumbling along the dock on the way back, i was politley escorted to my cabin, the crew members on the other hand had to line up by the gangplank and wait for the captain to come down. i can only assume it was not pretty.

the second time i was shopping in st thomas trying my best to bargin on the cutest little jeweled globe. my girlfriend kept insisting we were going to miss the ship, but when you looked out the shop window you could see the ropes from the bow to the pier. so i told her to watch the rope and if it went lax we would run for it. well i finaly got the globe for the price i wanted, then they had to find to a box,etc. etc. we ended up running for the ship, was greeted at the gangplank by an officer of the ship, he somehow knew our names, did not ask for our seapass cards, as the machines were put away, and they pulled the gangplank up almost before we were over it. the ship was pulling out before we made it back to our room. they had called our room, our travel companions room had been called, how they knew who we were with?, called our name on the loudspeaker several times, etc. etc. it was explained to me by the ships officer the importance of being back on time, in no uncertain words, i showed him my globe and asked if he liked it. don't think he did! have learned my lesson well, am always back at least an hour b4 depart time now.