What happens when you totally miss the ship?

Here's something I've never seen before - coming back on the ferry in St. George, Bermuda. We were on the NCL Spirit, but the RC Grandeur as docked at the Dockyard as well. We were almost back to the ships, but when we saw the Grandeur pulling away from the dock. No big deal, as far a we were concerned, but a lady near us was watching the ship leave without her. To her credit, she did not panic or lose it, but my wife and I were wondering what did or might have happened to her. I know in the case where the ship heads to another port you can catch up, but what happens when the ship is returning to it's destination port? Was this lady just simply out of luck and had to find airfare home? What would happen to her luggage if she did not live near the port? Seems like a HUGE PAIN. For what it's worth, the ferry was about 30 minutes late, but even if it were on time, she still would not have made it back, so she should have known better. Just curious if anyone has any insight. Thanks!;)

Yes, she certainly was in for a hug pain. The cruise line has no liability in this case. Any travel insurance would not cover her. She would need to buy a ticket to fly out of the last port. Hopefully, hse had her passport with her if she had to fly to the US from a foriegn port. She will probably need a hotel & meals for the night. Those are also on her. She would have to either get to the ship to get her stuff or pay to have it shipped home. All of these expenses would be on her.

Yes, she certainly was in for a hug pain. The cruise line has no liability in this case. Any travel insurance would not cover her. She would need to buy a ticket to fly out of the last port. Hopefully, hse had her passport with her if she had to fly to the US from a foriegn port. She will probably need a hotel & meals for the night. Those are also on her. She would have to either get to the ship to get her stuff or pay to have it shipped home. All of these expenses would be on her.

We figured it would be pretty bad. I'll bet she learned her lesson, though - Don't be late for the ship!!

If you don't arrive at the ship, if they are holding your passport, it will be turned over the port agent. NOTE: Always bring Port Agent contact info ashore with you. On HAL ships, that info is contained in the daily port info sheet/map that is handed out - Not in the Daily Program.

You are on your own to get home.

They will pack up your things and upon your agreement to pay the high shipping charges, will ship your belongings to you.

Not fun!

If you don't arrive at the ship, if they are holding your passport, it will be turned over the port agent. NOTE: Always bring Port Agent contact info ashore with you. On HAL ships, that info is contained in the daily port info sheet/map that is handed out - Not in the Daily Program.

 

You are on your own to get home.

They will pack up your things and upon your agreement to pay the high shipping charges, will ship your belongings to you.

 

Not fun!

That might be the case if they were HOLDing the Passport but not if it was locked in thiere cabin safe.

Another reason to bring it with you ashore, so that debate will rage on.

Not having your passport when you need to fly from a foriegn port back to the US would be a pain on top of all the other hassles you are having.

I believe if it is obvious you are missing the ship, the Purser's Office will go to your cabin and check your safe to see if your passport is there. EM

I was on the Voyager in February. The last port of call was Cozumel. There was a young couple who did not make it back in time and they were left behind as the ship headed for Galveston two days later. The Purser (or someone in authority) went to their cabin and opened the safe. They removed their passports, credit cards, etc. and gave them to the port agent. The couple had to buy one way airline tickets to Houston (very $$$ for last minute tickets), take a taxi to the port arriving before the Voyager docked. They were allowed back onto the ship after the ship was cleared by customs to retrieve their belongings. A very expensive lesson but luckily they were able to retrieve their passports. No passport = no airline ticket into the USA. No exceptions.

For those who have not traveled by air on business since 9/11, purchasing a one way ticket at the last minute and not checking any luggage will set off bells everywhere. The federal government will be alerted and you well may not be able to board the aircraft. If you do board, when you land in the USA, there will probably be some officers that want to have a chat with you.

Missing the ship happens all the time for various reasons. Moral to the story is do not miss the ship. Arrive back at the ship with time to spare in case of delays such as traffic, accidents, etc.

That might be the case if they were HOLDing the Passport but not if it was locked in thiere cabin safe.

Another reason to bring it with you ashore, so that debate will rage on.

Not true, I met someone on my last cruise whose daughter and SIL had missed the ship in a Mexican port (on an earlier cruise, not the one we were on). Their passports were removed from their safe and left with the port agent for them.

Yes, she certainly was in for a hug pain. The cruise line has no liability in this case. Any travel insurance would not cover her. She would need to buy a ticket to fly out of the last port. Hopefully, hse had her passport with her if she had to fly to the US from a foriegn port. She will probably need a hotel & meals for the night. Those are also on her. She would have to either get to the ship to get her stuff or pay to have it shipped home. All of these expenses would be on her.

Paul I think you are wrong. The ferry was late- almost all travel insurance covers when you miss a ship because of a transportation delay. but you are right this will be a HUGH pain.....

Paul I think you are wrong. The ferry was late- almost all travel insurance covers when you miss a ship because of a transportation delay. but you are right this will be a HUGH pain.....

OP said that even if the ferry had been on time the woman would have missed the ship. Sounds like somethng to fight with the insurance company over.

My question is, how in the world could anyone miss a ship? You know what time it's leaving!!!! Geez, you cant' even make that up.

Here's something I've never seen before - coming back on the ferry in St. George, Bermuda. We were on the NCL Spirit, but the RC Grandeur as docked at the Dockyard as well. We were almost back to the ships, but when we saw the Grandeur pulling away from the dock. No big deal, as far a we were concerned, but a lady near us was watching the ship leave without her. To her credit, she did not panic or lose it, but my wife and I were wondering what did or might have happened to her. I know in the case where the ship heads to another port you can catch up, but what happens when the ship is returning to it's destination port? Was this lady just simply out of luck and had to find airfare home? What would happen to her luggage if she did not live near the port? Seems like a HUGE PAIN. For what it's worth, the ferry was about 30 minutes late, but even if it were on time, she still would not have made it back, so she should have known better. Just curious if anyone has any insight. Thanks!;)

My question is, how in the world could anyone miss a ship? You know what time it's leaving!!!! Geez, you cant' even make that up.

The ferry was over 30 minutes late and this was explained.

OP said that even if the ferry had been on time the woman would have missed the ship. Sounds like somethng to fight with the insurance company over.

true, but the fairy was late and this compounded the problem.

This is what is not good about Bermuda. the monster ships can only dock at the dockyard, and not St. Georges or Hamilton. Most people will take the ferry to those places as it is much less expensive than a taxi.

However, If I had been this woman I would have paid for the taxi.

What this tells me-as the ship was docked probably 3 days in Bermuda- I would not leave the dockyard area the day the ship leaves. I know the ships usually leaves around midday, when they return to the US. I would not go anywhere very far, knowing the ship would be leaving around noon.

One cruise I was on, a good sized group (from our CC roll call) had booked an excursion on their own and the tour operator had a car accident. No one was hurt, but they were late returning. However, the tour operator called the ship (Celebrity Constellation) and the ship was held up. I thought that very nice for the ship to do that. In this case though, they were waiting for a good number of people. I doubt they would wait for one or two people

The RCI Grandeur was returning to Norfolk where it had set sail from. Its departure was at 4pm.

The reason the lady didn't show panic is that she probably knew she was late and had hoped the ship would wait for her. Anyhow, looking at the St. George's - Dockyard ferry schedule this lady took a huge risk by catching the 3pm ferry (rather than 2pm) to arrive back at Dockyard at 3:40 while she was meant to be back on board the ship at 3:30. And as OP said THAT ferry ran 30 mins late!

She got to stay another day in beautiful Bermuda - at her own expense.

Tip: don't travel to the other end of Bermuda on the ship's departure day.

The RCI Grandeur was returning to Norfolk where it had set sail from. Its departure was at 4pm.

 

The reason the lady didn't show panic is that she probably knew she was late and had hoped the ship would wait for her. Anyhow, looking at the St. George's - Dockyard ferry schedule this lady took a huge risk by catching the 3pm ferry (rather than 2pm) to arrive back at Dockyard at 3:40 while she was meant to be back on board the ship at 3:30. And as OP said THAT ferry ran 30 mins late!

 

She got to stay another day in beautiful Bermuda - at her own expense.

 

Tip: don't travel to the other end of Bermuda on the ship's departure day.

It seems she still took a risk going to one of the other docks if she should be on ship by 3:30. It is a shame she did not pay the extra for a taxi when she saw she would be late. 10 minutes late? I would have chosen the taxi over the ferry-for peace of mind. That would have been enough for me.

It seems she still took a risk going to one of the other docks if she should be on ship by 3:30. It is a shame she did not pay the extra for a taxi when she saw she would be late. 10 minutes late? I would have chosen the taxi over the ferry-for peace of mind. That would have been enough for me.

The ride on road from St. George's to Dockyard takes an hour extra (making it 1:40) due to slow speed limits here.

I think she missed the 2pm ferry - if she did, she should have hopped in a taxi straight away and head out to Dockyard instead of waiting for the 3pm ferry.

true, but the fairy was late and this compounded the problem.

 

This is what is not good about Bermuda. the monster ships can only dock at the dockyard, and not St. Georges or Hamilton. Most people will take the ferry to those places as it is much less expensive than a taxi.

 

However, If I had been this woman I would have paid for the taxi.

 

What this tells me-as the ship was docked probably 3 days in Bermuda- I would not leave the dockyard area the day the ship leaves. I know the ships usually leaves around midday, when they return to the US. I would not go anywhere very far, knowing the ship would be leaving around noon.

 

One cruise I was on, a good sized group (from our CC roll call) had booked an excursion on their own and the tour operator had a car accident. No one was hurt, but they were late returning. However, the tour operator called the ship (Celebrity Constellation) and the ship was held up. I thought that very nice for the ship to do that. In this case though, they were waiting for a good number of people. I doubt they would wait for one or two people

I've told this story before. We were on the NCL Dawn and were in the Bahamas. The ship was scheduled to leave at 1 pm. We got back around 12:30 and went down to the main dining room to have lunch and were sat near the rear window which looks out from the rear of the ship... We left pretty much on time as we are watching the dock get smaller the dock starts to get larger again...the wonders of a podded ship we had returned to the dock to pick up two extremely lucky late returners....The Captain said he had plenty of extra time to make it up and decided that the best thing to do was just to return...On your room card on NCL they have the phone number of the ship so if you are late the best thing to do is call!

One thing she could have done was to take the pilot boat out. The pilot (Bermudian) steers the ship into international waters and the pilot boat follows. The pilot then hops from the cruise ship onto the pilot boat to go back to shore. If she caught the pilot boat, she would have been able to get back on board. Many pax have done this (saw some on cruise a while back), but it's VERY expensive. And, it's up to the pilot to allow it or not.

On one of my trips we picked up late pax and took them home with us. It was the last port and we were also going to arrive in Miami. When we arrived at 5:00 am they left to go back on their ship. Messages back and forth arranged for them to get back on board their ship. They had to pack in a hurry and hand carry everything off themself. I wonder what they had to pay for us to take them from Coz to home.

On one of my trips we picked up late pax and took them home with us. It was the last port and we were also going to arrive in Miami. When we arrived at 5:00 am they left to go back on their ship. Messages back and forth arranged for them to get back on board their ship. They had to pack in a hurry and hand carry everything off them self. I wonder what they had to pay for us to take them from Coz to home.

My hubby's workmate got stuck in Cancun during 9-11 and could not get back to the US as there were first no flights, and then no flights to US, from other countries. She ended up boarding a Carnival ship to return to Tampa from Cozumel, and then she flew home from Tampa. Carnival charged her I think, $120 each for her and her husband. Since there was a sea day after Cozumel, they were on ship 2 nights. So not bad, I thought. Of course, I think, because of that situation, Carnival was being generous, and was not trying to make money, but simply being kind.

I hope you bring extra insurance or a big bank book and alot of money with credit cards. cause if you have no insurance this is going to cost you big $$ to get back on the ship or to the next port,.My advice, get there early... book your flights home later... do not ever book your flights home at 11 am... cause the customs you have to go through takes not less than up to 3 hours... so its best to book later so you have to wait its ok to wait you make friends with others at the airport going home... you never know who you maybe meeting...it can be the next man of your dreams!!:rolleyes:

When I was on the Pride last year, there was a group of singles that decided to go to a bar and I guess no one watched the time, because as we were pulling out of the port they were just getting back. Some of them tried yelling for the ship to stop, but I really don't think the bridge could hear them. We left the dock at 10:00 at night and what I heard from some of them that got back early was that they thought that they did not close the doors until 10:00. When they say to be back at by 9:30, is that the time they close the doors or when do they actually close the doors to passengers getting back on the ship.

When I was on the Pride last year, there was a group of singles that decided to go to a bar and I guess no one watched the time, because as we were pulling out of the port they were just getting back. Some of them tried yelling for the ship to stop, but I really don't think the bridge could hear them. We left the dock at 10:00 at night and what I heard from some of them that got back early was that they thought that they did not close the doors until 10:00. When they say to be back at by 9:30, is that the time they close the doors or when do they actually close the doors to passengers getting back on the ship.

while they say they close the doors at 9:30 they normally close it shortly thereafter(as much as 20 minutes) but if they say they are sailing at 10 that is when they try to actually sail or a few minutes thereafter....in other words when they say 9:30 that is when you should be there. I was on the dock somewhere a few minutes after that and was allowed on without problem...but I really wasn't happy being that late.

If they say passengers have to be on board by 9:30, they can sail anytime after that. Be late at your risk.