Will the ship leave port without you ??? What do you think???

[Fila]

I posted this question previously on the old board but it never got transfered over. Many of you had very funny stories about passengers that did or nearly did get left behind.

 

Well I can say that nearly all cat 12 passengers on the Inspiration went to their balconies to watch the stragglers board prior to the ship pulling up the gangway. We to wanted to see if the ship would indeed leave port without those who dared to challenge the ships time limit.

 

The following is a picture of a bus full of "ships excursion" passengers in Costa Maya on Sept 1st. The bus literally drove up onto the pier and drove a 1/4 mile down it to deliver it's passengers directly at the Inspiration's gangway.

 

For those of you who do not already know, Carnival WILL wait for passengers that take the ships excursion.

 

http://home.mminternet.com/~drmccall/Costa%20Maya%20Rush.jpg

[ryansmemom]

Yes, all cruise lines will wait for passengers who are late if they are on an excursion that has been BOOKED THRU THE CRUISE LINE , however, NO cruise line will wait for passengers who are off on their own.

 

If you are on a cruise line sponsered activity, the cruise line bears some responsibility and is able to track your whereabouts. If you are flying solo, they are off the hook and you are on your own. One of the advantages of booking excursions thru the cruise line is you can be sure you will NEVER be left behind.

 

Linda

[Krazy Kruizers]

I can't think of any cruise line that won't wait for passengers who have taken the ship's excursions.

We have seen lots of people who went shopping on their own or took tours on their own miss the ship - including one HAL employee.

On our first cruise we took a small boat to see Soufrier - ship's excursion. The excursion ran over. The ship was scheduled to leave at 5 PM. All 8 of us got back to the pier at 5:30 - the ship was waiting for us. Being as it was our first cruise and we knew we were supposed to be back at the ship by 4:30, we were a little nervous. But when we got back and saw the ship still there, we broke out into broad smiles. The cruise line was Cunard.

[springtxbill]

Yes the ship will leave without you. it will however hold up for it's excursions to return.:)

[karenh1127]

Seems almost worth the extra $$ you pay to take excursions thru the cruise line. I sure wouldn't want to be left. It would be our responsibilitiy to get to the next port which could be your return port and all your money is onboard in your cabin! EEK! Your kids could even be on the ship!! I couldnt leave mine onboard because they are too young but some people do. I keep weighing the pros and cons of booking excursions on my own or not. This thread just might help me make up my mind!!

[Nliedel]

If you have a short time in port I would take the cruiselines excurisons and not chance it.. If you have plenty of wigggle room then go for an independant.

[LoriLinay]

My last cruise I was fortunate enough to be in the Owner's Suite. The bridge of this particular ship, jutted out a bit over the water on the port side. While in St. Thomas I believe, we were ready to set sail. But they kept paging 2 people. Over and over again. The captain was out on the bridge peering down the pier. Even had binoculars. We were within 20 feet of him. I yelled over, "this must kind of put a damper on your day". He looked at me and rolled his eyes in disgust. Finally, we turned to someone and said "Let's go". He was NOT a happy man.

 

I am always amazed at the people who will continue to get off the ship (especially in St. Thomas because of the mall right there) when there are virtually minutes left before the ship leaves.

 

I love sitting on my balcony watching all the late comers...

[QueensChick]

Last week on AOS there was a couple who missed the ship in St. Lucia. They had to be brought out by the pilot boat. They donned life vests and had to jump for it from the small moving boat onto our huge moving megaship. They made it, God bless 'em. They received a huge round of applause and hoots & hollers from all of us out on our balconies and the outdoor promenade. I was just glad it wasn't me. ;)

 

I say, if your out on your own, give yourself lots of time to do your shopping, sightseeing, snorkeling or whatever. If they tell you that your ship is saling at 5:30 and kindly request that you please be back on board by 5PM, make sure you can be back by 4PM or skip it. Make allowances for traffic and other unforseen happenings. There's nothing worth seeing if it's going to make you miss your ship.

 

 

"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking."

-Marcus Aurelius Antonius

[tef43]

They had to be brought out by the pilot boat. They donned life vests and had to jump for it from the small moving boat onto our huge moving megaship.

And to think, they had to pay no small amount for that experience.

[elmorejj]

I have seen it happen twice in Cozumel, too much partying at Carlos `N Charlies I think!! This is a good reason to have a passport, if you are left behind, and you have to get to the next port, or home under your own steam, try showing your drivers license to a foreign airline!! Carry a copy of your passport when off the ship....jean :cool:

[cjpickel]

I have personally observed passengers and cruise employees, who have literally 'missed the boat'! Most have been in St. Thomas, however, one was in the Southern Carib, maybe Aruba. I read the threads about cruise line excursions and agree, that their excursions are your only guarantee, except in extreme situations. The urgency to leave port at the published times is to avoid extra fees imposed by the local port. The busier the port the greater the pressure to 'pull off' on time. Two other examples I have observed; I witnessed a fatality in Mexico which of course kept us in port additional hours and my own lateness to an embarkation. My stupid travelling companion had a hot date and was not ready on time, combined with a broken water main causing traffic to delay on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Fortunately, my cell phone worked, I had jotted down the local agent's phone number for the cruise line and was able to **reach** somebody on a Sunday. The cruise line held the ship for us. Finally no lines at the dock!!!

 

Frequently, I have heard that the ship must leave port on time to make the next port on time. This is not true. Rarely the distance between two ports is great enough to require full speed.

 

I tend to enjoy high activity and during my twenty years of cruising have been injured twice. Both times required a visit to the on board infirmary. I was not charged a medical fee as I had been on a cruise line shore excursion.

 

Personally, I have done almost all of the cruise line excursions and have tired of being herded cattlelike on and off of buses, and the obligatory shopping or 'straw market' visit that seems somehow to get embedded in every shore excursion. I keep my watch on 'ship' time, verifying several times, educate myself if I have not visited a scheduled port before and negotiate my own tours. I save lotsa $$, avoid crowds, see unique port offerings that are frequently missed by the cruise line excursions and shop where I WANT to shop.

[catmand]

I agree 100% with cjpickel...(and how are your jerkins?)..... for someone who has been on a great number of ships and seen a number of places the on the bus. off the bus thing could get old BUT, I would always book through the line if I am in a new area and actually most other times as well. Whatever works best for you but I don't have to wear a watch when home, I sure don't want to wear one on a cruise tour, if indi tour and late, you may very well be left at the dock.

.and then you could sing the old Otis Redding song...:D

[hajekfam]

I finally personally know someone who missed the ship in Alaska. My boss asked me about cruising because we have cruised quite a bit. I gave her a few pointers and told her - remember to stay on ships time because the ship will leave without you. She got her times confused and was enjoying the scenery when she realized that she had the times wrong. She ran to the dock to see the gangplank go up and the ship pull away.

Luckily, she and her friend were able to take the pilot boat out to the ship and climb up the rope ladder. Very fortunate for her because if the captain did not feel she could climb, she would have had quite an expensive plane ride to the next port.

When she told me about it, I told her that now I can finally say I personally know someone who missed the ship while in port.

[critterchick]

hajekfam, did your boss tell you whether it cost her $$ and if so, how much? Inquiring minds want to know!

[Elizabeth Gillian]

A few years back, my parents decided to go on a cruise that my husband and I had scheduled. I am still thrilled that they went since my mother died the following June but since they were with us, we had no one to take care of the children(17 months and 7 at the time). Please no flames but we took them with us. In Montego Bay, my husband and son went on the Dunn River Falls excursion. My parents, aunt and my daughter and I took the City/Rose Hall. For some reason, my daughter and I were put in a different van. (This was a ship excursion) There were two single females and a married couple with us. When we stopped at a more upscale shopping area, the driver told us what time to be back and I left the diaper bag and the couple left some of their purchases in the van. A few minutes before we were to meet, the baby and I strolled up and there was no van! The couple then showed up. We'd been left!! Thank heaven for the husband, he found a driver from the same company who contacted the driver. He came back with word that "our friends" (the 2 females) had told him not to wait for us because we said we were going to take a taxi back. I was to much of a lady to do it but those woemn were tracked down on ship and given the riot act by the ship's staff.

[bombero]

Yes, all cruise lines will wait for passengers who are late if they are on an excursion that has been BOOKED THRU THE CRUISE LINE, however, NO cruise line will wait for passengers who are off on their own.

One of the advantages of booking excursions thru the cruise line is you can be sure you will NEVER be left behind. Linda

I don't know where you heard such nonsense but, you are so wrong... What the cruise lines say, and what they do can be entirely different... They are under no obligation to wait for you..."Left behind with 5 others by Celebrity

".. Bombero :mad:

[hajekfam]

hajekfam, did your boss tell you whether it cost her $$ and if so, how much? Inquiring minds want to know!

She really didn't say - I think she was so embarassed about missing the ship.

[llanning]

We were among three bus loads of passengers that were very late getting back from an excursion in China. The train never came so they rounded up buses for us. One bus broke down. Once it was fixed, the drivers had to be directed over cell phones to get us back to the ship. Obviously, the captain waited for us. We missed our dining time but they opened another room for us. Also, two weeks ago in Grand Cayman, we had the privilege of being on the bridge as we weighed anchor. We could hear immigration telling a Celebrity ship that they had two passengers on the pier and if they didn't come back for them, Celebrity would be fined the next time in port. After a long silence, the ship returned to the harbour so the tenders could deliver the couple. The Captain of our ship said that must be something new. I guess Grand Cayman didn't want any overnight guests.

[Nliedel]

if you book an excursion through the Cruiseline and the excursion is late the company may leave without you but is obligated to get you to the ship or the next port. If they refused to do that then you have some recourse with the line.

[happysinglemom]

My plan was to take the ferry over to St. Johns in the morning, and then return to St. Thomas to kick around town for some shopping so we'd be close to the ship for our return in the afternoon. However, I was so taken aback at all the shops in St. Thomas - I just had no idea - that we spent the entire morning in and out of them. Before we knew it - it was 12:30. So we caught the 1:00 ferry, figuring we still had enough time to go check out Trunk Bay and get back to the ship. Well, that 1:00 ferry did not leave until 1:30, and we got to Trunk Bay at 2:15 or so. Left there at 3:00 (my son just HATED to leave - it was beautiful!) and got back to the ferry dock at 3:15. The ferry window was not selling tickets to either ferry yet (there was a Charlotte Amalie Ferry - the one we took over, and the Red Hook ferry) so we waited. Finally at 3:30 the window opened, and I asked which ferry would get me back quicker, and she recommended the Charlotte Amalie ferry, because Red Hook usually had delays, even though it was a quicker ride. The Red Hook Ferry was supposed to leave at 4:00, and was a 15 - 20 min ride, and then a cab ride to the ship, but the Charlotte Amalie was scheduled to leave at 3:45, and was a 30 min ride, and a very short cab to the ship. So we bought tickets for the Charlotte Amalie, and waited. And waited. And waited.

 

At 3:30, the Red Hook ferry started boarding, with no sign of our ferry. I asked where our ferry was - and we were assured that it would be there "in plenty of time, mon". Ha. One man mentioned that there was a private boat that I could hire for $60, but I really thought that would be overkill, I decided to be patient. Meanwhile, others that were also trying to get back, were starting to get very nervous. Me? I was pacing and sweating. At 4:00, the Red Hook ferry left. Now I was getting seriously worried. As was my son, but I was trying to stay calm for his sake. 4:05. No ferry. 4:10 - No ferry. At 4:12 - there she came. I was freaking out by then - I knew that there was no way on this earth that we could possibly make the ship. Especially since the ferries sit there trying to fill up before they leave. Well, saints be praised, we were no sooner on the boat that it gunned the engines and took off. My son was grinning, and thinking we had it made. I, smiling back, but looking at my watch, was wondering where we would be spending the night, and how much island hopper fare would set me back. Well, we flew through that choppy water, and my heart was racing the whole time. It was about 4:35, and we were almost to the point where we could see the ship, and darned if the ferry did not veer off to the right and make a stop at the Mariott resort to disembark some special tour passengers!!

 

Well, at that point, my son was visibly worried, and looking at me for some sign that everything would somehow be okay. And I looked at him, and smiled, and said - "You know what sweetie - there is just nothing we can do about this. So there is no point in freaking out about it. This is a vacation - an adventure, so let's just count this as part of our adventure. We have no excursion planned tomorrow - and I certainly have money to get us to the ship - no matter what it costs - it's only money. So the biggest thing we need to think about is do we want to spend the night in St. Thomas. Okay?" :rolleyes: Of course - this was all a big front - inside I was a nail-biting lunatic. But - it made my son feel better. Well, after the ferry pulled away from the Mariott, the captain spoke over the loudspeaker "what time you people have to be back on the cruise ship?" We all yelled "5 o'clock!!!". "Well, don;t worry - we get you back in time" he said. Of course right now it is 4:55!!!! "We take you straight to the cruise ship dock, and then we take everyone else back to Charlotte Amalie." Wow - I thought - maybe we have a chance in he**? My son's eyes are huge now - he's thinking wow we are going to make it!! My hands were holding my bag so tight - just waiting to hop off that ferry as soon as it pulled up. We hopped off at 5:02, and then we hit the ground running. We had to run the length of THREE cruise ships (ours was at the end of course!) to get to the gangplank. I was so out of breath - and I'm a runner!! I told my son to RUN!! "Run ahead and tell them your mom is coming - they won't leave your mom behind!!" Of course, halfway there these dock workers are waving their hands at me telling me "No need to hurry lady - they not leave you - you got plenty of time - they no leave till 5:30". Well - about that time I was close enough to see that there was a whole crowd of people at the gang plank just getting on, and my son was almost up there, so I slowed down just a bit to catch my breath, and we walked on board at 5:08. Lord I was exhausted. And THAT was formal night!! (And we made it there too!!) ;)

 

Lesson learned??? You bet. The rest of the cruise, every day my son was tapping his watch at me by 2:30. :D

[Racegoer]

speaking of Carlos & Charlies its fun to watch them clear it out before the late night sailings from Aruba, you seen some interesting sights

[imsulin]

Bombero - if you're still on this Board, would you mind sharing your experience about being left behind on the Celebrity tour? Thanks!

[Oma24boys]

I have to agree about "ships time" versus "port time"...my lady friend and I thought we were going to be left behind at Costa Maya and in reality we were an hour early boarding. But...you should have seen us running like manics trying to get to our ship thinking we had only 5 minutes before the ship left port!:eek:

[hunterafri]

Here is a quote from Princess Cruise Line that I received from them in my Pre-Cruise Document. It is located in the Question and Answer part on Page 68 of the brochure. It states:

 

"Q. WILL I MISS THE SHIP IF I GO ON TOURS?

 

A. One very important feature of taking an excursion organized by Princess is that we closely monitor the departures and returns of all our tours. Therefore, our ships do not sail until all of our organized tour transportation has returned, so you can be assured that you won't miss the ship. Please keep in mind that when you make your own arrangements in port or if you leave an organized tour, we will no longer be aware of your whereabouts; so be sure to schedule yourself with ample time to return to the shop before it sails."

 

Enough said.

 

Best Regards,

 

Vic

 

60 Bahama Star

73 Rembrandt

79 Starwind

80 Norway

80 Nordic Prince

84 Iceland

85 Germany

86 Sweden

87 Norway, Holland, Denmark

88 Germany

89 England, France, Italy

90 Brazil, Peru, Argentina

91 Columbia

92 Venezuela

96 Zimbabwe

97 South Africa

97 Peru

98 Argentina

98 Kenya, Tanzania

99 South Africa

00 Zimbabwe, South Africa

03/15/03 Noordam

11/17/04 Royal Princess

05/01/05 Jewel of the Seas

[Host Walt]

OK, I'll add one.

 

Back in 1992 we were sailing on the Star Princess from Venice to Barcelona. We docked at Livorno on a nice sunny morning and boarded our Princess arranged excursion to Florence.

 

After lunch we were hit with a torrential and long rainstorm but the tour went on. My wife and I became separated a few minutes before the bus was scheduled to pick us up for the return trip. She was with the tour guide and I was with a small group that straggled behind to see a fe more items in the Cathedral.

 

I boarded another bus and got back to the ship in good order. My wife's bus, however, was not back by sailing time. I could not convince the Princess

shorex staffer that there was still a bus out there. She said all buses had been checked in and she had already advised the Cruise Director to give the Captain the all clear. She assured me that my wife was somewhere on board and would turn up soon.

 

The gangway was pulled up and the horn blasted just as the last bus pulled in. The ship had already departed, I was watching from the rail and a bunch of rainsoaked pax were screaming their heads off at the dock.

 

I ran to the pursers office and was told that they had already been advised that the bus was sighted and the Captain was negotiating with the pilot to return to the dock.

 

They did and the last bus boarded through the provisioning hatch, through the crew quarters and finally back to the passenger area.

 

There was no word on what happened to the ShoreEx staffer but my wife and I now have contingency plans for every port stop, including alternative transportation options if the ship leaves without us.