Jump to content

What really happens when you miss the Ship


jveevers
 Share

Recommended Posts

We all know that the Ship wont wait if you are late back at a Port.

But what do you do if you are stranded in one country and the next Port is a different country. You are there without anything especially a passport. A lot of the destinations do not have an embassy to assist. Just wondering, fingers crossed it never happens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They will go into your cabin...get the stuff out of your safe, and leave it with the Port Authority. It's best NOT to miss the ship....always have a WATCH (not your freaking cell phone), and make sure it's set to the same time as the ship's clocks...clocks are at EVERY exit!

Edited by cb at sea
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully, the porters agent is holding your passport as you run up the empty dock. If not, you will need to make your way to the nearest embassy, at your expense and the embassy will assist you in getting an emergency passport.

 

Depending on the port, there might be options to get to the next stop. Some port agents will be more helpful than others. It's a crap shoot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the ship is able to find your Passport (assuming you even have a Passport) and leave it with the Agent....you would simply contact the agent, get your Passport..and make arrangements to either catch up to the ship or fly home. If you do not have a Passport, you are stranded on the island (or country) until the US Consul is able to get you an emergency Passport (this can take several days). Meanwhile, you are stranded at your own expense. In the end, you will eventually get back home (or catch your ship) but it will be a very costly (in terms of money) lesson.

 

There are some other factors that impact on the cost/time. If you hold a valid Passport, even if you don't have it....the Consul can quickly verify its existence and obtain a replacement within 1 or 2 days. But if you one of those folks doing a closed loop cruise, do not even have a Passport...then its a more complex procedure since the Consul has to take you through the steps to obtain a new Passport. This can add days (time equals money) to the process. And if all this happens on a weekend (or holiday) when the Consul is closed....it can add even more days. This is why experienced international travelers always have a valid Passport. All those documents you use for a closed loop cruise are worthless if you miss the ship. You cannot fly home (or to another country) without a valid Passport.

 

Hank

Edited by Hlitner
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They will go into your cabin...get the stuff out of your safe, and leave it with the Port Authority. It's best NOT to miss the ship....always have a WATCH (not your freaking cell phone), and make sure it's set to the same time as the ship's clocks...clocks are at EVERY exit!

 

 

Not the port "authority," rather the port "agent" someone (a commercial enterprise) contracted by the cruise line (or any merchant ship) to represent their interests ashore.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the ship is able to find your Passport (assuming you even have a Passport) and leave it with the Agent....you would simply contact the agent, get your Passport..and make arrangements to either catch up to the ship or fly home. If you do not have a Passport, you are stranded on the island (or country) until the US Consul is able to get you an emergency Passport (this can take several days). Meanwhile, you are stranded at your own expense. In the end, you will eventually get back home (or catch your ship) but it will be a very costly (in terms of money) lesson.

 

There are some other factors that impact on the cost/time. If you hold a valid Passport, even if you don't have it....the Consul can quickly verify its existence and obtain a replacement within 1 or 2 days. But if you one of those folks doing a closed loop cruise, do not even have a Passport...then its a more complex procedure since the Consul has to take you through the steps to obtain a new Passport. This can add days (time equals money) to the process. And if all this happens on a weekend (or holiday) when the Consul is closed....it can add even more days. This is why experienced international travelers always have a valid Passport. All those documents you use for a closed loop cruise are worthless if you miss the ship. You cannot fly home (or to another country) without a valid Passport.

 

Hank

 

Great summary - to which I would add the fact that if you happen to miss your ship while at a port call at St. Maarten (one of the most popular), there is no resident U. S. Consul - rather a visiting agent from the U. S. Consulate to the Netherlands Antilles (in either Curaçao or Aruba). So those who say you should just "go to the U. S. Consul" are not being all that helpful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They will go into your cabin...get the stuff out of your safe, and leave it with the Port Authority. It's best NOT to miss the ship....always have a WATCH (not your freaking cell phone), and make sure it's set to the same time as the ship's clocks...clocks are at EVERY exit!

 

Why the not so subtle knock on cell phones. They tell time just like a watch. I am sure that the reason a person misses the ship doesn't typically have anything to do with their timing device. It usually has to do with alcohol, poor planning, and nonship sponsored excursions. Did I mention alcohol?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why the not so subtle knock on cell phones. They tell time just like a watch. I am sure that the reason a person misses the ship doesn't typically have anything to do with their timing device. It usually has to do with alcohol, poor planning, and nonship sponsored excursions. Did I mention alcohol?

 

Beside a tremendous number of people don't realize their phone may switch to local time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The cruise line will search through your room for your passport?:eek:

 

 

Some cruise lines (in fact, most premium/luxury lines) require that all passengers on all itineraries have a passport and, most often, surrender them to the purser at embarkation.

This practice assures that passengers are spared the need to be involved in most port customs/immigration clearances and secures the passport's location (for ease of retrieval and transfer to the port agent ashore) in the event that the passenger misses the ship's departure from any particular port. Thus, no need to "search your cabin."

IMO, the only reason all cruise lines don't do this is twofold: the expense in staff time of managing the passports and the probability that many passengers would not cruise if they had the added expense of acquiring a passport.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We all know that the Ship wont wait if you are late back at a Port.

But what do you do if you are stranded in one country and the next Port is a different country. You are there without anything especially a passport. A lot of the destinations do not have an embassy to assist. Just wondering, fingers crossed it never happens.

 

The ship newsletter has port agent phone number and address so always take that info with you. If the port agent is not waiting for you on the dock, contact them for help. He should also have your passport if you left it in your safe or the ship had it. He will help you with details for getting to next port or home. Hope you have funds.

 

 

The cruise line will search through your room for your passport?:eek:

 

No. Security will check your safe. That's all.

Edited by NMLady
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've taken several cruises where the ship's time was an hour ahead or an hour behind local time. The only instance that it caused any problem for us was in Costa Rica when our privately arranged tour guide wasn't waiting for our little group. We were an hour ahead of local time. We still had plenty of time to do the scheduled activities and make it back to the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All the cruise's I've been on switch to local time Too. :confused:

 

.

 

1) Change your cell phones setting so it doesn't change in a new time zone.

 

2) Set a timer on your phone. If you are stopping at a port the time (9 AM to 6 PM for example) you have to spend is posted. If you get off the ship at 10 AM, you've got 8 hours before the ship sails. Set your phone timer for 7 hours. When it rings start walking back to ship.

 

3) Don't get blootered. The #1 cause of missed sailaways is alcohol. (and yes, it nearly happened to me!)

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The cruise line will search through your room for your passport?:eek:

 

Our steward on one of our cruises told me he had to do that once. It was an unusual circumstance; security had opened the safe and the passports weren't there, so they had two stewards and two security people look throughout the room for those passports (which they found in a drawer). The steward told me that it was a three day holiday in the country where they were docked, so without those passports, the passengers wouldn't be able to go anywhere, hence the unusual search.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unanswerable question. Original Post was from Perth, Australia. Does he have his actual Passport and Visas with him.. Or Photo-copies? Does he have his Credit Card? Ship's swipe card? Cell Ph? Is he travelling alone? Injured? Drunk? Penniless? In jail? Were others left also? Is he a fugitive from justice. A minor? Too many unknowns here....

I have personally been left by the ship, so I speak from personal experience here. 1. KNOW the ship's agent Ph# for that country and contact them if they haven't already found YOU. 2. Arrange to fly, bus or whatever to the next Port-o-Call...or fly home. 3.Reboard the ship later if you want. 4.You COULD be in a pickle, however, if you're clueless.

I am totally unaware of anyone going to MY cabin to look for my documents...ever. LocoLoco1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why the not so subtle knock on cell phones. They tell time just like a watch. I am sure that the reason a person misses the ship doesn't typically have anything to do with their timing device. It usually has to do with alcohol, poor planning, and nonship sponsored excursions. Did I mention alcohol?

 

Um...cell phones do NOT tell time just like a watch. If the cell phone picks up a local signal, it may/will switch to local time, which may be different from ship's time. And the ship leaves on ship's time, not local time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We met an older lady on a cruise. When they were in Nassau they took a tour and she wanted to do some shopping when they got back but he didn't. He got on the ship, she went shopping. She thought she had to be back at 5 but when she got to the pier, she saw her ship 'out there'.

She was taken to a hotel where she had to pay for the hotel, dinner & breakfast. She was then flown by sea plane to Half moon cay, Carnival's island. There she met her husband who had panicked when she wasn't back on the ship!

The total cost to them for her missing the ship was $1800!

 

We always get back on the ship at least an hour before we have to!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...