Missing the Ship???

[Tithonus]

They will certainly leave you if you're late, whether you are on a ships excursion or not. They do try to tell you that you are "protected" if you are on a ships excursion, but that is NOT guaranteed.

[LovesCruising]

They will certainly leave you if you're late, whether you are on a ships excursion or not. They do try to tell you that you are "protected" if you are on a ships excursion, but that is NOT guaranteed.

 

I have not heard of a ship leaving when one of their excursions is delayed.

[cruiseonthebrain]

We have watched plenty of pier runners. It always amazes me that they keep running even after the ship has clearly pulled away.

[golfadj]

I have not heard of a ship leaving when one of their excursions is delayed.

 

Royal Caribbean did it a year or so ago. Think a storm was coming and capt decided he needed to move the ship.

[breenw]

We always do private tours but I am always mindful of the time we have to be back to the ship. The private tour companies have all been extremely aware of the ship sailing times and we have never come close to missing the ship. If by chance we had mechanical problems such as a tour bus with a flat tire, I'm sure we would flag someone down or hail a cab to get back...LOL! So far, we've never had to worry about that but I also don't book any excursions that end within 2 hours of our return to the ship time.

[crusinpsychRN]

Glad you were able to help in some way but I would be interested in why they didn't believe you that you weren't related? Imagine if this were a very small child and they insisted you were related to them? Great give a kid to a total stranger even though that total stranger says we are not that kids family.

 

So what did they say after you calmed the girl down and you asked them why they didn't believe you when you said you weren't related? Are they stupid?

 

They never asked again. For the rest of the trip people would ask us how our daughter was. Unfortunately, she had a torn tendon on one foot and 6 months later was not able to walk. She attempted to sue the onwer of the property (not a Carnival excursion) b/c the monkey was a pet of the guide. She was on horseback, the horse was frightened by something, reared and she fell to the ground. The monkey the guide was holding attacked her biting her all over her face, arms, back and legs. She was covered in bloody bandages when we got to the tender. Last time we corresponded she had not received any compensation at all for her medical bills.

 

When we arrived at the ship, everyone on the tender responded the best way possible. No one stood up to start the process of getting on the ship. Everyone was quiet while the medical staff lifted her wheelchair from the tender to the ship. Only after she was taken to medical did others even start to stand to debark the tender. She stayed in her cabin the rest of the trip.

 

We stayed in touch for awhile after this on CC. Her name is Kelly. I hope she has recovered.

[Dicecatt]

Once in Nassau we did a shark dive with Stuarts Cove...we made sure they knew we were on a Disney ship and what time we needed to get back, but the van that had a few other Disney passengers (that had just been snorkeling so a different boat) in it left while we were walking out to it, nearly empty :rolleyes:. They didn't realize the importance of getting us back until I started to panic...then they hurried us through traffic and all the way to the port (which I believe was like 35-40 minutes away). I could tell the driver was freaked out too.

 

Another time we were in Naples, and we skipped the museum because we were so panicked about the time. We really had time, but in my experience Disney usually leaves exactly on time so we were super aware of the time constantly. I've never personally seen people get left, although I have heard pages. Those were the only two instances we even cut it close and it was not very enjoyable to be so nervous.

[MommaBear55]

Has anyone on here done a non ship excursion, been late returning and then missed the ship? Or maybe know someone that has missed the ship? I know the cruise line states that they will leave passengers if they are late but I wasn't sure if that might be a scare tatic to get you to use the ships tours.

 

Also what about calling the ship and letting them know you are stuck in traffic but on the way and you will be a little late?

 

I have been on around 25 cruises and never met anybody that missed the ship. So thought I would ask.

 

Also see all the postings on the NCL board as you asked the exact same thing there :( :confused:

[CruisingSoon88]

A few years ago while on a Princess cruise, we took their excursion to Meagan's Bay in St. Thomas. When it was time for us to meet back at our bus we were all there standing and waiting. After waiting 30 minutes for someone to pick us up, someone talked to another driver there and they looked worried and quickly used their radio to call someone. He told us that our driver had forgotten to come back and get us and that he had picked up another tour. They had to scramble to find a bus to come and get all of us. We ended up being there 2 hours longer than we were supposed to be. Luckily it was Princess's tour and they held the ship for us. I'm sure that driver was in big trouble!

[rhinomike]

Also see all the postings on the NCL board as you asked the exact same thing there :( :confused:

 

Yes. I cruise both lines and wanted to hear stories from both lines.

 

Did I do something wrong? Is that against the rules?

[ucmom3]

Watching the pier runners---way better than the ship's organized activities! LOL. You can Google pier runners and see lots of them. It is hysterical listening to the passengers on the ship cheering them on.

 

This our favorite time, especially Cozumel...lol Grab a drink, find a nice spot along the handrail, and wait. Once we seen a guy try to do some cartwheels while rushing back, that was a VERY bad choice, he fell on his head, but he got up and continued with help from his friends. I'm definitely goons try Google...haha

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[blueshine]

Watching the pier runners---way better than the ship's organized activities! LOL. You can Google pier runners and see lots of them. It is hysterical listening to the passengers on the ship cheering them on.

 

We were laughing so hard when we saw 3 people running down the pier in Puerto Rico yelling "wait for us" one fine evening. And even harder when they got close enough to identify as our nephews who were hanging out at Senor Frogs!:p

[nickimom]

Yes. I cruise both lines and wanted to hear stories from both lines.

 

Did I do something wrong? Is that against the rules?

 

NOPE!!! If you don't ask, you don't know.

 

I appreciated the question and the answers. I have done excursions on my own in Cozumel, Belize, Jamaica and Honduras, and I have never had a problem getting back on time. I have watched the run of shame back to the ship. In Belize, we were hours away from the boat, but we left early and checked our times. I really rely on info from Trip Advisor, Cruise Critic, and the websites of the places I am using, or the emails I get from them. The Belize trip was the farthest away. This time I will do an expedition w/ Carnival in St. Thomas as the cost will be about the same when transportation to the ziplining is added in.

[MUDBALL]

Came very close while in Jamaica on my last cruise. We had taken a private tour and was running close on time and the tour guide wanted us to stop one last place. I'm sure they get a kick back of thing we buy. Anyway so we head back to the ship and our driver runs into the back of a truck. The truck takes off and our drive doesn't know what to do. He ends up taking us back to the ship with the crew waving us on board. I think we had 10 minutes to spare. If we would have stop for the wreck we would have missed it for sure. I will not cut it that close again.

[Out to sea!]

They will certainly leave you if you're late, whether you are on a ships excursion or not. They do try to tell you that you are "protected" if you are on a ships excursion, but that is NOT guaranteed.

 

Yes, there is a chance (albeit a small one) that a ship will leave a ship excursion behind. But the chances are remote since they are required to get you to the next port versus you having to pay out of pocket yourself.

[MichelleChell]

Royal Caribbean did it a year or so ago. Think a storm was coming and capt decided he needed to move the ship.

 

I remember that and i was a rare thing. Also Royal took care of them and got them back to the ship. Capt was keeping the ship and passengers safe.

[Gravedigger]

Last year Sonny Liston tours in St. Thomas misssed the boat due to heavy traffic, He flew the parties to Grand Turk the next day.

[oldmedic]

Came very close while in Jamaica on my last cruise. We had taken a private tour and was running close on time and the tour guide wanted us to stop one last place. I'm sure they get a kick back of thing we buy. Anyway so we head back to the ship and our driver runs into the back of a truck. The truck takes off and our drive doesn't know what to do. He ends up taking us back to the ship with the crew waving us on board. I think we had 10 minutes to spare. If we would have stop for the wreck we would have missed it for sure. I will not cut it that close again.

 

what company??

[golfadj]

I remember that and i was a rare thing. Also Royal took care of them and got them back to the ship. Capt was keeping the ship and passengers safe.

 

If i remember correctly at first they wanted the passengers to pay at least some of the costs such as hotel but cooler heads prevailed and RCCL eventually did right by the passengers.

[tigercat]

We booked a private excursion in Cozumel to do the Dolphin swim. Our original time was in the later afternoon but our TA managed to get us in to the excursion in the morning. Thank goodness because our ship was on ship time and Cozumel's time was different. The people that were doing the excursion in the later afternoon would have been late getting back to the ship or would have had to not do the swim.

tigercat

[mountaincruiser20]

We met a couple of guys last Oct. in Nassau who had just missed another Carnival Boat. We were in the Bacardi store and they each bought a bottle and walked back with us to where the Sensation was. They all sat down and enjoyed the sunset before trying to find out how they were getting home.

[dadroy]

Yes. I cruise both lines and wanted to hear stories from both lines.

 

Did I do something wrong? Is that against the rules?

 

I don't think you did anything wrong, but many people like myself read several boards. RCI, Celebrity, Carnival, Hal, ask a cruise question, first time cruisers, disabled cruising, Home ports Los Angeles, ports of call, Mexico and Caribbean and NCL.. I guess if I wanted to post your question, I could post it on ALL of these boards. I would guess it would be difficult to go back and read all of responses from each of the boards.

 

If I don't post on all the boards, which one would I post to? Individual line or the general ask a cruise question.

[aimee0715]

We usually book private excursions and have not had any problems. Last year, we booked a Sandals Royal Bahamian day pass through Island Excursions which included transportation to and from Sandals. Our driver dropped us off at the port. But he didn't drop us off at the usual place. We were dropped off at a gate which did not require us to go through the shopping area. The guard at the gate was requiring everyone to show their driver's license or passport. We had 8 people in our group and everyone had identification except one couple who just had their cruise cards. I REALLY had to pee. So after hopping around on one foot until we got to the front of the line, I showed the guy my DL and turned to everyone else and said I would see them on the ship. I proceeded to run to the ship. 20-30 minutes later my very sloshed husband (because Sandals is all-inclusive, after all :D) showed up to the cabin. He giggled and said, "They wouldn't let Rodger and Erin through the gate." WHAT?! "Nope, they wouldn't let them. They'll just have to stay here tee hee hee." Talk about sobering up fast! I went next door and knocked on their door, no answer. I met another friend in the hall who confirmed that they had been held at the gate. Ship's horn was blowing. We hauled ass down to the purser's desk. Thank God for FTTF--no waiting! I explained the situation and she was able to confirm that our friends had just been scanned in.

 

Our friends told us that the guard at the gate was with the Bahamian military. He told them that if you go through that gate, it is a higher level of security. If you go through the shopping area, those people are civilians and only check ship cards. He sent someone down to the ship to check to see if our friends were legit (?) and that person never came back. The guard finally took them to the ship himself. By that time, the gangplanks had been pulled up. The ship left within minutes of them boarding.

 

I'm sure they would have been left if the guard had screwed around any longer and we had not been on the ship to alert them to the problem. That could have happened to them on a ship's tour as well though since the hold up happened at the port gate.

 

I used to not take any credit cards or ID other than ship card ashore with me but I started doing so a couple years ago after watching a few videos of people getting left.

[MommaBear55]

Yes. I cruise both lines and wanted to hear stories from both lines.

 

Did I do something wrong? Is that against the rules?

 

It's not against any rules I know of. Just seems like there are a lot of the same threads, right now three about missing the ship. It would be nice to have all the info in one place, but people spread out their answers when there are multiple threads.

[2 cruzen]

It's not against any rules I know of. Just seems like there are a lot of the same threads, right now three about missing the ship. It would be nice to have all the info in one place, but people spread out their answers when there are multiple threads.

 

Well, if you want to know what each cruise line is like, then you would have to ask on each board. Personally, I only read CCL, with the exception of the one year we sailed on HAL.