For Heavens Sake, be on Time!

[frqttrvlr09]

The people in group tours who are (consistently?) the last ones to get back on the bus...Well, I confess to THAT ONE too, though I am the first to complain when it isn't me. No one every said attorneys had to be consistent. The worst one not involving me that had serious negative potential consequences was on the last Regent tour. I was with a group from the ship on a tour of Santiago. I had literally just returned from my stranding and rescue by helicopter by the Peruvian military from Agua Calientes in Machu Picchu. I had gotten so fed up with the whiners and complainers in THAT group of passengers awaiting Regent's best efforts to fly us out of, by that time we were not in Lima (after Cuzco) to catch up with the ever sailing ship, which was by then en route to Valparaiso, that I hit the breaking point, hopped on line to kayak.com, and unilaterally purchased a one way ticket from Lima to Santiago. I arrived in Santiago in the middle of the night, got help from an English speaking passenger to hire a car and driver to take me from Santiago to Valparaiso to meet the ship several hours later, all in order to catch a shore ex that went back to Santiago for the day. Sounds stupid, and desperate I know, but it worked. Rathe than have my cruise holiday pass me by as I sat in a hotel room with cranky passengers in a humid, sterile hotel lobby in Lima, I was in Santiago! Anyway, we had gotten off the bus in Santiago to see the changing of the guard (pretty impressive, though not as much as the one in Athens), and as we mounted up back on the bus, one of the passengers on the tour was missing. The guide had been very clear where we were to meet, even had been carrying around one of those embarrassing flags with the name of the ship and tour # on it. The passengers were pissed, of course, and the guide was too but he was also worried, as she was (in fact) lost, and it was a very busy day/place in downtown Santiago. We drove around for a long time trying to see her, with the guide calmly but anxiously on the phone with his colleagues, in an effort to find her. A long time later, she hooked up with another of Regent's buses, and was not lost, but she was also not welcome back on our bus. Had she not found one of the buses, it would have been a pricey (I can tell you that) trip for her back to Valparaiso to catch the ship. She had gone off shopping....NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT (shopping).

 

Because I was later on a trip (same cruise) to Torres del Paine,in Chile,which is one of the most beautiful places in the world, almost as beautiful as any place in Alaska (I say with lots of experience and confidence) with a small group of people. We had flown by private charter plane and were in a small van to go to the Park, when we stopped at the only place to buy anything between the airport and the park, including in the park. I had not done any shopping per se on the trip, as there had not been much time, or potential quarry, anywhere, there had always been other things to do, and, to put it mildly, here, in this tiny shop literally in the middle of nowhere, I went a bit crazy. Chilean wines, beautiful jewelry, olive oil, stuffed animals, hats, gloves, woolen slippers. And of course, everything had to be first written down by hand, then transferred to receipt pads, then my credit card run through. Naturally, there was a very low limit on their credit card transactions per transaction and it took a long time (since we were remember in the middle of nowhere, so the phone connection was not great; my cell phone in fact did not work) so this went on, and on, and on. The guide had in fact stated before we left the van: don't use your credit cards. It takes too long. Obviously that didn't deter me. The shop personnel were thrilled (ka ching!), the guide was not, and my fellow passengers were furious. I was the last person on the bus, by a long ways. I knew they could or would, not leave without me, But I felt in my own selfish petulent way that it was payback, though not necessarily to these particular passengers, for all the people who at any time, anywhere, I had been on a bus waiting for. At least these passengers had a great view!

[raffeer]

But I felt in my own selfish petulent way that it was payback, though not necessarily to these particular passengers, for all the people who at any time, anywhere, I had been on a bus waiting for. At least these passengers had a great view!

 

....and those people felt that it was payback "for all the people who at any time, anywhere" they had been on a bus waiting for etc., etc.

[happy cruzer]

So would travel insurance possibly cover the fee? I haven't seen it in any policy.

 

Several people mentioned refunds from O because of air fare booked through O causing the missed boarding. That normally (it is totally optional for them to do anything once there is an air problem) is not covered O just acts as an agent in booking the air. Travel insurance is what covers trip delays.

[JimandStan]

So would travel insurance possibly cover the fee? I haven't seen it in any policy.

 

Several people mentioned refunds from O because of air fare booked through O causing the missed boarding. That normally (it is totally optional for them to do anything once there is an air problem) is not covered O just acts as an agent in booking the air. Travel insurance is what covers trip delays.

 

I don't believe that Oceania will assess the fee if the passenger has an excuse which may be verified, such as a delayed flight.

 

The trigger here is that the ship being delayed must be the result of the action or inaction of the passenger.

 

In a situation where the delay WAS the fault of the Passenger, it seems doubtful that Travel Insurance would cover the fee, UNLESS one had taken one of those "FOR ANY REASON" type policies.

[sailbynite]

We had just departed Kusadasi on the Nautica and the captain made an announcement asking everybody to come on deck on the port side. We complied and saw a boat speeding towards the ship and a couple climbed a rope ladder from the boat onto the ship. The captain told us all to applaud the latecomers and notified us (and them) that a thousand dollars had been charged to their shipboard account for the dropping of anchor. The point was well taken. Later in the cruise, as we passed through the Dardenelles, we again felt the ship drop anchor and went on deck. This time, we saw a boat right next to the ship and suitcases were being passed on board. We all cheered, because this was the luggage that had not made it to the ship when a plane arrived late, so people now had a change of clothing. Who says there is no good entertainment on Oceania?

 

While I would never condone being late, there can be extenuating circumstances, but for the captain of a ship to have your fellow passengers gawk and "applaud" latecomers is appalling. I could not even imagine how humiliating this must have been. Had this been me, I do not think I would be very happy, especially considering how stressed and upset you must have already been.

 

This all sounds terribly childish, insulting and rude. Not what I would expect from Oceania.

 

I have only been late for a departure once. Two of us were on our own in Florence (ship was actually docked in Viareggio, not Livorno due to rough seas). The ship (Regent Voyager) left a tender for us as it sailed out of port. We made it to the tender within minutes of when it would have been required to leave to catch the ship.

 

In our minds we had already made contingency plans to meet the ship at the next port. I also had a mobile phone (as did our driver) and kept in contact with the ship as we saw we would be late (there had been a highway closure for an over-turned tanker truck).

 

We boarded The Voyager via regular (onboard) gangplank and were warmly greeted by the cruise director. No applause, no laughter, no announcements and certainly no additional charge (for which they had every right to bill us). A matter of fact, the next night we were asked to the captain's table for dinner.

 

The only mention of our tardiness was by our captain. On following cruises he would approach me and (jokingly) wag his finger at me telling me not to be late. This became our inside joke... others would always look and ask what that was about.