What options are available for abandoned passengers?

[lori450]

I'm sure 'abandon' was a poor choice of word and the OP realises passengers miss the ship and aren't abandoned.

 

I like CC and these forums but half of posts are taken up contradicting people or picking people up on words, grammar and spelling. It gets rather tedious !!!!!!

 

Yes. Try to ignore it and just enjoy the fun posts. It's always been there and always will be.

[Kenlorz]

Reading this thread is actually making me feel BETTER, believe it or not. We will be on our first cruise in March on the Allure and I've been nervous about making it back on board in time for all aboard. We will be at Mr. Sanchos and plan to leave there 1 full hour before the all aboard time frame (only a 10-15 minute taxi ride). I have heard that Cozumel is known for the running of the drunks and there will be 6 ships in port that day, so I've been wondering if we could potentially get caught up in long lines going through customs/security and, therefore, be in danger of missing the ship. I see now that the ships don't just pull away with dozens of passengers still standing in line.... whew..

[gcvt]

Back in the 90's I witnessed a pilot boat carrying passengers who missed the ship. The ship slowed down to almost a stop and the pilot boat pulled up along side and 2 passengers climbed aboard, they same way the pilot climbs aboard when reaching a port, and the way Customs climbs aboard today. Don't know how much they had to pay for this, but I'm sure there was a charge of some sort. Do they still do this, I wonder? Perhaps not cause it seems a little dangerous for a novice.

 

We went through this in Vancouver once. My Mother had taken a bus tour while I relaxed in the hotel. The tour bus broke down and we missed the ship. I think it cost $200 for the water taxi to take us out to the ship which had stopped for us. We almost made it through the cruise without anyone knowing it was us :o

[Coralc]

On our last Oasis cruise we left four people in Jamaica.

 

Stranded passengers can either make their own arrangements to fly home or to the next port.

 

I have mentioned this before. We were in port with a Carnival ship in St. Maarten. Shortly before departure we were taking the water taxi back to our ship(s) with Carnival Passengers.

 

A woman sitting across from us suddenly yelled, "OMG, I left the ship's walkie talkie sitting on the table at the restaurant!"

 

The young woman sitting next to us said calmly, "Don't worry, the ship will wait while you go back and get it."

 

We all looked at her incredulously. :D

 

And she said, "What? They can't leave without you, all your things are onboard in your cabin. What would you do without your stuff? "

 

:D:rolleyes:

[rubrrick]

If you travel internationally..........get a phone that will give you all of the help that you will need. They are under......well under $100.00, with calling minutes packaged in on some phones. I wish that I could tell you mine...... but it says ekit, and for around $75.00, I have $45.00 of prepaid minutes, around the world. I have a UK phone number.

 

I have used this phone 3 times while in Europe, and I have over $35.00 left on my usage fee.

 

Google international phones.........and if you are a world traveler, you will need one.

 

Rick

[grand isle joe]

If you travel internationally..........get a phone that will give you all of the help that you will need. They are under......well under $100.00, with calling minutes packaged in on some phones. I wish that I could tell you mine...... but it says ekit, and for around $75.00, I have $45.00 of prepaid minutes, around the world. I have a UK phone number.

 

I have used this phone 3 times while in Europe, and I have over $35.00 left on my usage fee.

 

Google international phones.........and if you are a world traveler, you will need one.

 

Rick

 

We use "Eurobuzz" in Europe. It is a phone like tracfone where you buy the phone for 29.00 and they charge you for the minutes you use when you give them a credit card on file. The company has different phones that work in different parts of the world. It too has a UK number. Good tip Rick.

[critterchick]

I have all our important documents scanned and saved onto a credit card size flash drive, it fits in the same plastic pouch my sea pass card is kept in so I have it where ever I go.

 

I have on it:

 

Passport

Birth Certificate

State Drivers License

Travel Insurance

Health Insurance Card

Copy of Credit Cards

 

Travel Papers,

Flight tickets

Hotel Bookings

 

List of emergency contacts

 

Kathleen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

It's an interesting idea, but I don't think that any of that will help you get home as quickly as if you had your passport with you. A copy may help expedite getting a replacment document at the embassy/consulate, but I don't imagine that any airline will accept a printed copy for travel.

 

We always carry our passports if we would need to fly home from a port where we missed the ship. We'll keep a copy in the cabin. So if we lose them or they're stolen in port, we would still be able to get back to the ship (assuming our Seapasses aren't also lost or stolen) and could deal with getting replacements or otherwise satisfying CPP that we are allowed into the US at the end of the cruise.

[rubrrick]

We use "Eurobuzz" in Europe. It is a phone like tracfone where you buy the phone for 29.00 and they charge you for the minutes you use when you give them a credit card on file. The company has different phones that work in different parts of the world. It too has a UK number. Good tip Rick.

 

 

Thanks, and Jean (critterchick) who follows more of the laws of the land, because of her background, can give you a better insight than I can.;)

 

Rick

[Ladysilver]

..another drunk couple bites the dust......That's why we have a balcony......It is one of my favorite places to watch people running towards the ship.:D

 

 

Me too! :rolleyes:

[CoupleUK]

I bet those passengers who missed the ship will never pre-pay their Gratuities again. :D

[Driftwoodgal]

After a scare getting back to the ship in Rome my passport will always be with me. Copies of it as well as drivers license etc will be in the safe on the ship.

 

I have always prided myself with making sure I would be back in plenty of time to the ship. Losing a friend in the Vatican and searching for her for hours was a nightmare. This was all done with a tour guide. If we hadn't made it back to the ship my copy of my passport wouldn't have done me much good trying to fly to the next port. My passport now stays with me, if it is stolen I will replace it using my copy from the safe on the ship. If they get my passport they probably have my credit card too, so that number is memorized along with phone numbers to my banker.

 

I guess an extended stay in Rome wouldn't have been to bad, but that is for another trip.

 

After this mishap I don't judge people as much when they are running to the ship. Who knows, things happen all of the time. You could be in a taxi an involved in a wreck, stuck in a traffic jam, or what ever. Just sad some probably don't have a clue what to do if they miss it.

 

Kezzie62... great information. I will have to talk to a techie friend about this.

[xxHadleyxx]

We also have scans of all relevant files(including our passports and German residency permits) available via email for access at any time.

 

Carrying passports with us on land is not even an option on many Eastern Med cruises. Whenever we visit Turkey the ship holds all US passports until AFTER our stop(s) in Turkey.

 

Then again, we always plan to be back on board at least an hour before sail away--I am not one for close calls:)

[cruiseguy1016]

Many experts advise NOT taking passports if not required to. The obvious reason: the odds of your passport being stolen are vastly greater than the odds of your missing the ship.

 

That having been said, this topic has been discussed ad nauseum on Cruise Critic. I surely hope this note will not start it up again. :confused:

 

Who are these "experts"? Cruise critic members? If you are stranded in a foreign country, what good is your passport locked in your safe on the ship? A copy will not get you out of the country. It will prove that you own a passport and it will probably make getting a new one a little bit easier but that's it.

 

I strongly disagree with your second statement. To all of you people that worry about your passport being stolen, what do you do with it?, wave it around?, leave it sitting on a bar?, leave it on your beach towel while you are swimming? I treat my passport the same way I treat my wallet. I protect it and it never leaves my possession. For someone to steal my wallet, they would have to do it at gunpoint. I am a lot more worried about a taxi breaking down or a tour bus getting caught in traffic, causing me to miss the ship, than I am about losing my passport.

[HokiePoq]

After a scare getting back to the ship in Rome my passport will always be with me. Copies of it as well as drivers license etc will be in the safe on the ship.

 

I have always prided myself with making sure I would be back in plenty of time to the ship. Losing a friend in the Vatican and searching for her for hours was a nightmare. This was all done with a tour guide. If we hadn't made it back to the ship my copy of my passport wouldn't have done me much good trying to fly to the next port. My passport now stays with me, if it is stolen I will replace it using my copy from the safe on the ship. If they get my passport they probably have my credit card too, so that number is memorized along with phone numbers to my banker.

 

I guess an extended stay in Rome wouldn't have been to bad, but that is for another trip.

 

After this mishap I don't judge people as much when they are running to the ship. Who knows, things happen all of the time. You could be in a taxi an involved in a wreck, stuck in a traffic jam, or what ever. Just sad some probably don't have a clue what to do if they miss it.

 

Kezzie62... great information. I will have to talk to a techie friend about this.

 

We had our scare in Rome, too. We thought we'd allowed plenty of time to catch the train back to the port. It would have been if several trains had not been cancelled due to a holiday. Picture about 400 people at the station waiting for cancelled trains. At the last minute, a non-scheduled train came and took us back to port where hundreds of people ran for the ship, making it with about 5-10 minutes before sailing. We'll never know if the ship would have left that many people.

Only time I recall a ship being held was in Guatemala when the ship waited for a ship's excursion to return from Honduras. Plane was late.

[grand isle joe]

When we were in Corsica the ship sat a couple of hours at the pier after departure time waiting for an excursion bus to return. Turns out the bus was in an accident (not the bus drivers' fault) and they had to send another bus out to the other side of the island to pick up those on the bus. Turns out some of those which we dined were on that bus involved in the accident. They were very happy that night to use a ship sponsored excursion.;)

[awboater]

On our last Oasis cruise we left four people in Jamaica.

 

I guess then the people on our ship should consider themselves lucky.

[awboater]

would you rather be stranded in a foreign country without a passport as you missed the ship and did not take it with you.

 

or

 

would you rather be stranded in the United States at the cruise terminal because your passport was stolen during an excursion?

 

I think #2 would be preferable.

 

And passport requirements vary between country and country, but some countries I think require you to carry a passport at all times if you are a foreign visitor.

[TEXASMUNK]

This may start a new tavel trend!

 

Im agin ehow easy airport security would be! walk on through, nothing to declare, no checked baggage fees, and if they require a hand pat down, you know that agent might be a little kinky!

 

And oh yeah, those towels? Besure the airline does not try to charge you for using one of their onboard blankets.

[poncho1973]

I have all our important documents scanned and saved onto a credit card size flash drive, it fits in the same plastic pouch my sea pass card is kept in so I have it where ever I go.

 

I have on it:

 

Passport

Birth Certificate

State Drivers License

Travel Insurance

Health Insurance Card

Copy of Credit Cards

 

Travel Papers,

Flight tickets

Hotel Bookings

 

List of emergency contacts

 

Kathleen

 

That's a stolen identity waiting to happen.

[Kezzie62]

That's a stolen identity waiting to happen.

 

No all the files are encrypted and passworded... so not a stolen identity waiting to happen. It is a safety measure that has proved its self to be the best way to protect your self on a cruise ship... If we has to abandon ship the lanyard would be around my neck and yes we would loose everything but I would at least be able to prove who I was and provide all the correct copies so that replacements could be issued as quickly as possible.

 

It also can be used if we have to evacuate our home or if we are traveling by land..

 

Kathleen

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[RumRunner01]

This is a great idea. I might do something like this.

 

I have all our important documents scanned and saved onto a credit card size flash drive, it fits in the same plastic pouch my sea pass card is kept in so I have it where ever I go.

 

I have on it:

 

Passport

Birth Certificate

State Drivers License

Travel Insurance

Health Insurance Card

Copy of Credit Cards

 

Travel Papers,

Flight tickets

Hotel Bookings

 

List of emergency contacts

 

Kathleen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[lori450]

No all the files are encrypted and passworded... so not a stolen identity waiting to happen. It is a safety measure that has proved its self to be the best way to protect your self on a cruise ship... If we has to abandon ship the lanyard would be around my neck and yes we would loose everything but I would at least be able to prove who I was and provide all the correct copies so that replacements could be issued as quickly as possible.

 

It also can be used if we have to evacuate our home or if we are traveling by land..

 

Kathleen

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

That is brilliant. How do you do that? Is it something you buy? How do you get it encrypted?

[Kezzie62]

bought a credit card sized flash drive and then I scanned everything that I wanted to have on it. I encrypted it in MS Word and added password protection to the files as well.

 

The only things I have to update on a regular basis are travel docs and contact list.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[lori450]

How do you encrypt with MS Word? and add a password? where can I buy a credit card sized flash drive?

[kuddles14]

We were on the Freedom of the Seas this past April. When we were leaving Grand Cayman the captain called out two names to call guest relations. After a while we found out that the couple were not on board. A pilot boat came right up side the ship and pulled away. No one got off the pilot boat. Thought this was extremely strange. It happened again. Then a second pilot boat came by and the couple climbed on board the sip and off we went. About an hour late. The next day we found out that the staff had trouble finding the couples passports and that was the only reason they made it back to the ship. The first pilot boat was there to get their passports and take them back to shore.

 

The reason they were late, they were looking at the clocks in the stores forgetting we were on ships time NOT island time. During a Q and A the next day, the Captain did tell us that the couple will be getting a very large bill for delaying the ship