lexdisic Posted May 30, 2014 #51 Share Posted May 30, 2014 On a Hal Ship, we were coming back from a trip to Saigon and the ships crew were waving to us we approached the ship, to hurry on board. As we got back on board, the crew said we were the last and immediately prepared to sail, which we did within minutes of getting back on. We were nearly 1 1/2 hours early !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean s Posted May 31, 2014 #52 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Just curious...why was the ship leaving so early? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notentirelynormal Posted May 31, 2014 #53 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Just curious...why was the ship leaving so early? Once everyone is on board the ship can leave early. That can help with dock payments but more importantly that will help with fuel. They can sail slower and save money. If all are aboard there is no reason to just sit there until the scheduled sail time. We've had them leave early many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexdisic Posted May 31, 2014 #54 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Once everyone is on board the ship can leave early. That can help with dock payments but more importantly that will help with fuel. They can sail slower and save money. If all are aboard there is no reason to just sit there until the scheduled sail time. We've had them leave early many times. Exactly - It was scheduled to leave at 10pm - we arrived 8.30ish - The port is quite away from Saigon so suspect most passengers elected to get back early. We didnt find out when the last person boarded. On the next port, the ship left behind a group in Cambodia as they were late, but eventually met up with the ship in Thailand. They did not even give the group 5 mins - we sailed very promptly. When we chatted to the captain he said "if everyone else made it back - why should we wait for them ?" - I would expect he made exceptions for ship tours though ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmalino Posted June 1, 2014 #55 Share Posted June 1, 2014 You can also have a block placed on the minors cruise card preventing them from leaving the ship if necessary. When I asked about this a few years ago Princess told me that ALL minor cruise cards were blocked on port days unless an adult's was also scanned to ensure that teens especially didn't decide to leave the ship without permission. Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giselleacttwo Posted June 1, 2014 #56 Share Posted June 1, 2014 When I asked about this a few years ago Princess told me that ALL minor cruise cards were blocked on port days unless an adult's was also scanned to ensure that teens especially didn't decide to leave the ship without permission. Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app The also suspend "sign in/out" privileges from the kids' center while the ship is in port. So if the kids are checked in there for the day they won't get out unless a parent is there to pick them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomsayin Posted June 1, 2014 #57 Share Posted June 1, 2014 On the next port, the ship left behind a group in Cambodia as they were late, but eventually met up with the ship in Thailand. They did not even give the group 5 mins - we sailed very promptly. We once had a tour guide tell us the difference between a passenger and a hitchhiker was about 3 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critterchick Posted June 1, 2014 #58 Share Posted June 1, 2014 St. Petersburg is a unique case. Its not the ship that wouldn't let them reboard without their passports but more than likely Russian authorities who go out of their way to be difficult. Imagine having to stay behind in Russia! And then having to deal with a stolen/lost passport (which is a very big deal now in the U.S.) through the U.S. embassy. Its for that reason, contrary to another poster, that unless a country REQUIRES us to present the original passport to their immigration, it stays locked in the cabin safe and we carry paper copies with us along with the port agent phone number. On the other hand, if a country doe not require you to show your passport when getting off the ship, they won't require it for you to get back onboard, either. I would rather lose my passport, re board and start dealing with a replacement from the comfort of the ship than fly to whichever city has an embassy, hope that it is open and deal with getting a replacement. Our passports come with us if we are in a foreign port or if our US port is the last one before a foreign port (ex Hilo, HI before 5 days to Victoria). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MauiLvrs Posted June 1, 2014 #59 Share Posted June 1, 2014 The usual schedule is passengers must be back on board 30 minutes before scheduled departure. Passengers are required to be onboard before the All Aboard time :eek: Any time between that and departure belong to the ship and they could sail immediately. On the Crown in April ... someone as we were leaving ... The party in front of us asked when is All Aboard ... Officer replied 4:30. They asked What time do we have to be back on board ... :confused: Officer replied 4:30! You can also have a block placed on the minors cruise card preventing them from leaving the ship if necessary. Wonder ... could I do that for DW so she doesn't get lost and late shopping ;) We always leave our passports in the safe, and carry our passport cards when going ashore. What are you flying to your cruises? Our last two ... we were able to take our RV9 :D Next one ... probably not :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveThisCruisingThing Posted June 1, 2014 #60 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Once in port, how long is it before one needs to be back on the ship BEFORE it leaves that port? Ex. a good idea would be 1 hour before it leaves or 30 minutes? I give myself an hour. Unless, I am in the area by the ship (Victoria and Ensenada have shopping areas right by the ship) then I do 45 minutes. I always go on ship sponsored tours and the ship won't leave without if you are on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdg51 Posted June 1, 2014 #61 Share Posted June 1, 2014 On one cruise the ship stayed at the 1st port but left someone on the next. Reason...the 1st time in addition to some passengers, there were crew members missing. The people who didn't make it back the 2nd time had demanded to be left downtown for shopping on the way back to the ship even though the tour people were warned not to leave anyone behind because they were due back right before the ship needed to leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MauiLvrs Posted June 1, 2014 #62 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I give myself an hour. Unless, I am in the area by the ship (Victoria and Ensenada have shopping areas right by the ship) then I do 45 minutes. I always go on ship sponsored tours and the ship won't leave without if you are on one. Us too... Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlasali Posted June 2, 2014 #63 Share Posted June 2, 2014 About 10 years ago, we were at Costa Maya. After returned from a tour, we saw a bikini-clad girl in her teens, obviously drunk, dancing on the bar. A ship blew its horn and sailed away. She laughed, pointed and said, "there goes my ship!" DH and I looked at each other thinking, "where are her parents?" We assumed they had to be somewhere near by. Later as we walked to our ship, we saw that same girl talking to a security guard. Perhaps it is because we were the parents of a teen daughter, in college at that time; but I am still haunted by the image of that young girl in a bikini and towel, alone, hours away from an international airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remydiva Posted June 2, 2014 #64 Share Posted June 2, 2014 St. Petersburg is a unique case. Its not the ship that wouldn't let them reboard without their passports but more than likely Russian authorities who go out of their way to be difficult. Imagine having to stay behind in Russia! And then having to deal with a stolen/lost passport (which is a very big deal now in the U.S.) through the U.S. embassy. Its for that reason, contrary to another poster, that unless a country REQUIRES us to present the original passport to their immigration, it stays locked in the cabin safe and we carry paper copies with us along with the port agent phone number. Here here ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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