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Who has missed the ship?

pntnnc

By pntnnc,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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scchasgal

scchasgal

Posted
Posted
...due to a private tour getting back late? Tell me what happened. I am a little worried never had a non carnival excursion. We are booked with myfriendmario in Panama.

 

I have done private tours without any problems, but you don't give any details, how long is your excursion and when is it suppose to be over and when is the ship departing? These are all important questions plus doing enough research to make sure they are a reputable company.

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pntnnc

pntnnc

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I have researched and could not find any problems. What makes me nervous is it come back to the port 30 minutes before time ship leaves. It is a full day locks, indian village waterfall trip. They guarantee getting you back or will pay your way back and say they have not had anyone miss yet? I know it sounds a little risky but....

 

I could not find any posts about myfriendmario that were not positive.

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vacruizer

vacruizer

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Posted
I have researched and could not find any problems. What makes me nervous is it come back to the port 30 minutes before time ship leaves. It is a full day locks, indian village waterfall trip. They guarantee getting you back or will pay your way back and say they have not had anyone miss yet? I know it sounds a little risky but....

 

I could not find any posts about myfriendmario that were not positive.

 

Not something I'd be comfortable with in Panama but many cc members have used Mario with great success. It's all a matter of how much risk you want to take. At the time I was researching mario several years ago, there were quite a few reports of getting back to the ship after sailing time but luckily the ship hadn't departed due to late ship tours. I wasn't comfortable with it and decided to book with the ship for the first time.

 

After visiting Panama, I felt I made the right choice for me. Traffic can be horrible and the driving is the worst I've ever seen - it makes Mexico look tame. A common ploy in Panama is where locals create roadblocks and demand payment for you to pass. Colon is also a pretty rough place. Very sad - it looks like something out of one of those "Save the Children" commercials. Not a place I'd want to be stuck if I missed the ship. Panama itself is a wonderful place once you are outside of Colon. But 30 minutes is not enough leeway for me personally. All it would take would be a flat tire, someone getting hurt on your tour, or a traffic jam on the way back in to the city for you miss the ship.

 

I'm sure lots of other posters will say the opposite and I know Mario is a reputable operator so it all depends on your own risk tolerance.:)

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scchasgal

scchasgal

Posted
Posted
I have researched and could not find any problems. What makes me nervous is it come back to the port 30 minutes before time ship leaves. It is a full day locks, indian village waterfall trip. They guarantee getting you back or will pay your way back and say they have not had anyone miss yet? I know it sounds a little risky but....

 

I could not find any posts about myfriendmario that were not positive.

 

Never on a non Carnival excursion would I cut it that close.

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dkb363

dkb363

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I will just share our experience in Panama. We do private tours all the time and never have any problems. However, when it is a long tour, we go through carnival. A year ago we went to Panama and toured the locks. Because it is a long ways away, we went through Carnival. We were over an hour late getting back to the boat. They said it is not unusual for that to occur - because the tour boats going through the locks are last priority - if a freighter is there, they get first shot at the locks. There were about 200 of us on the tour - so I was not worried at all, I knew the ship would wait. I research extensively private tours before going, and I believe in them. However, I do not want to put myself in a position that I am worried about getting back. Again, we do way more private tours than tours through Carnival - and I agree they have a vested interest in getting you back. I believe Mario has a great reputation, but sometimes things happen outside of someone's control. I just wanted to give you our experience.

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salty dingo

salty dingo

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I have researched and could not find any problems. What makes me nervous is it come back to the port 30 minutes before time ship leaves. It is a full day locks, indian village waterfall trip. They guarantee getting you back or will pay your way back and say they have not had anyone miss yet? I know it sounds a little risky but....

 

I could not find any posts about myfriendmario that were not positive.

We did the tour with My Friend Mario in Panama and it was fantastic. No problems at all. There's not much chance of any problem - the route of the tour is heavily traveled and they all have radios.

 

I suppose if the Panama Canal swing-bridge went out and you were on the wrong side of it, that could be a problem, but never heard of that happening. Bridges just don't go out that often.

 

FYI - the ship left an hour late because the line to get on the ship was extremely long. Well after the ship *Should* have sailed, there were still people waiting in line to board.

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pjtulsa

pjtulsa

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We do not take ship excursions but this one would be too close for comfort for me... I dont think I could enjoy myself knowing that we would be that close to sailing... I would go with the sure thing and that would be the Carnival excursion that way you know the ship will be there when you get back no matter how late.

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Go-Bucks!

Go-Bucks!

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My decision about whether to take the ship's tour or a private one depends alot on where I am. In countries where the tourist trade is more developed and the infrastructure is excellent, then I'm OK with a private tour.

 

When I was on a Panama canal cruise, I booked one private tour in Colombia. Our last stop was lunch and the service was extremely slow even though they were expecting us. I was getting nervous as the traffic was heavy too. We barely made it back to the ship on time and were running. Way too scary!

 

All our other tours were ship sponsored, as we were in Central America and I was concerned about their roads and vehicles. After going on those tours, I highly recommend NOT doing private tours in Central America. If anything would happen unexpectedly, I'm not convinced that they could quickly implement a Plan B. Better safe than sorry - I'd rather spend more money than be stuck.

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golfadj

golfadj

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My friend mario says they have insurance covering all expenses of passengers getting back after the ship sailed.

 

Also claims none of his customers have ever missed the ship.

 

Last Feb we took his tour and pushed him to get back and we claimed the ship always sails an hour late.

 

We got back about 15 minutes before sailing and the ship left on time.

 

Typically though we like to get back at least 90 minutes before sailing.

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pozz

pozz

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We do not take ship excursions but this one would be too close for comfort for me... I dont think I could enjoy myself knowing that we would be that close to sailing... I would go with the sure thing and that would be the Carnival excursion that way you know the ship will be there when you get back no matter how late.

excursions,might be a little more cost ,but think of it as an insurance to get back on the ship

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barbgazz

barbgazz

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My friend mario says they have insurance covering all expenses of passengers getting back after the ship sailed.

 

Also claims none of his customers have ever missed the ship.

 

Last Feb we took his tour and pushed him to get back and we claimed the ship always sails an hour late.

 

We got back about 15 minutes before sailing and the ship left on time.

 

Typically though we like to get back at least 90 minutes before sailing.

 

Maybe he does have insurance, but we all know that insurance doesn't pay right away. Does that mean he will pay out of his pocket? or do you pay out of yours and wait for reimbursement?

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vacruizer

vacruizer

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My friend mario says they have insurance covering all expenses of passengers getting back after the ship sailed.

 

Also claims none of his customers have ever missed the ship.

 

Last Feb we took his tour and pushed him to get back and we claimed the ship always sails an hour late.

 

We got back about 15 minutes before sailing and the ship left on time.

 

Typically though we like to get back at least 90 minutes before sailing.

 

Stories like yours are what kept me from booking with Mario a few years ago.

 

I don't care about the insurance - I'd rather pay more in that instance and not have my cruise interupted!

 

Lots of places I've done independent tours - Panama isn't one of them.

 

Glad it worked out for you, though!

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