Anyone Missed the Ship Due to a Private Tour Company?

[Desertbelle]

We were a few minutes late arrived from a tour in Scotland, but just made the ship. Had me missed the tour, it would have taken a flight to Copenhagen to catch the ship. Not good.

That's what travel insurance is for. :)

Everyone is alive. Planes, trains, and boats available to get you to the next port. It's all good. Traveling is not for the weak. :D

[Cruising Is Bliss]

However, I'm wondering if anyone on a private tour has ACTUALLY been returned to the port after your ship has left? I'm not looking for a hypothetical but actual experience of it happening.

 

Yes. It happens. You are assuming tour buses never break down, traffic accidents never snarl traffic, and weather never turns bad.

 

The ship might wait a few minutes for missing passengers if it doesn't screw up sailing with the tides or winds in ports where that matters, or mean going faster (aka more fuel expense) to get to the next port on time, or cost them extra money to stay docked. MIGHT. I would not count on it. They absolutely will leave.

 

My boss and her husband were in Juneau last summer when heavy fog rolled in during the afternoon and completely blanketed the city. They and four other passengers spent the the night on Mendenhall in an emergency tent. There were a couple of dozen passengers on various ship-booked excursions who got stranded ashore overnight. The ship had to sail without them to get to Glacier Bay so HAL chartered a high speed catamaran (with brunch buffet and free drinks) so they could catch up to the ship at sea. HAL also refunded the full cost of ship-booked excursions for stranded passengers. Boss said it was one of the best experiences of her life and she would have been thrilled at twice the price even with no refund.

 

There were other passengers stranded ashore on tours, some on the same tours but booked privately. They made their own arrangements at their own expense and re-joined the ship in the next port.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Cruising Is Bliss

[Honeybearhollow]

Never missed the ship but once at Toulon France, (port in Provence area), we got back late and arrived about 5 minutes before the last on board time. Our driver missed a freeway exit and the next exit was about 40KM down the road and then we hit heavy rush hour traffic in the port city. I was the last on board and they had the gangway area cleared of all the usual items and pulled it up immediately after I boarded.

 

 

 

 

We also almost missed the ship in Toulon, France, last year. There were two busloads (about 40 of us) on a private Cruise Critic tour. We were in Aix and the guide said we could get back to the ship in 30 min. We left at 5:00 and the ship was leaving at 5:45. We hit a huge traffic jam just outside the port. We could see the ship, but we were just inching along. There was not a sound on the bus, except for one person with a GPS who was telling us estimated time to the ship. We were thinking how we were going to get to Barcelona. We made it with 5 min. to spare and I never want to go through that again.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Honeybearhollow

[SoCalTraveler]

I've heard lots of people say that they take the ship's excursions because if anything happens to cause a delay, the cruise line will hold the ship. I understand that.

 

However, I'm wondering if anyone on a private tour has ACTUALLY been returned to the port after your ship has left? I'm not looking for a hypothetical but actual experience of it happening.

 

Would you mind sharing the details and how did you meet up with the ship later?

 

Thank you.

 

We have taken private tours in many places with no problem, including St. Petersburg, Istanbul, and Athens. However, with complicated arrangements (such as Rome or Berlin) I would not use a private operator. (Our next cruise is totally a Celebrity operation from beginning to end.)

 

The worst situation we had was in Mykonos. The ship docked (some use a tender) some distance from town. You could buy a round-trip bus trip, but by the time my daughter and I had returned from another island the last bus had left for town. So we tried walking (1.5 miles over rough terrain) but eventually caught a cab. After we toured the town (it's not that big) we caught a cab back. Then the ship started asking for passengers. And asking. Finally, four people appeared running and got on board about an hour late. It seems that when they went to catch the last bus, there were too many people, and the driver left the four of them behind. And he was already running late. All of the town's 5 cabs were in use. So the four walked and ran until they found a cab heading back to town.

 

Now let's add the complication. No one on board had a passport. No one. All passports had been collected so that the Turkish immigration people could examine the passports in bulk before our next stop in Turkey. So if the four late passengers got stuck on Mykonos they had no way without significant assistance to fly without passports to Turkey.

 

Later that day, I went to the Purser's office for some reason, and walked in on a public fight between the assistant purser and one of the four guests. The assistant purser was dressing the passenger down, in public, for having been late. The passenger (and those of us watching) could not believe the scene. The passenger was furious at having been left behind at the bus stop, having been there on time, and was furious at getting dressed down in public.

 

At the end of the cruise, I walked in on a meeting of the ship's officers in the fancy steak restaurant. They were discussing Athens, where a strike was planned. The captain, who I had met and who knew my name, asked me about Mykonos. I told him of our experience, and he said that the ship had been done in by the local operator that the cruise line had hired. The bus should not have stopped running when it did to go to town (which is what caused my daughter and I to attempt walking) and the driver did not report that four passengers had been left behind at the last pickup. And they had no idea why he was late getting to "downtown" Mykonos to meet the frantic group of passengers.

 

As to the four runners, the captain told me that they had been suitably compensated and were happy.

[donaldsc]

There are several tour booking agencies that guarantee you will return to your ship in time or they will get you to your next port of call.

 

Assuming that you have a passport. If you are doing say a closed loop Caribbean cruise and you do not make it back. you may not be able to get anywhere w/o a passport.

 

DON

[yorkyred]

The cruise companies try to frighten people into paying for inflated tours but in my experience it hardly ever, if ever happens. We had two guys miss the ship on our last cruise but it was their own fault they got the timing wrong.

[Adidas4fun]

I have been on ships tours and private tours that have made it back minutes before sailing.

 

There is a world of difference between being relaxed knowing the ship has made a commitment to sail with you versus the frantic anxiety caused by fretting over the smallest obstacle in your last minute private return.

[black forest]

In Belize we took a private tour with a highly recommended guide. We were in a Minivan together with other guests and they wanted to stop for a late lunch. I really asked them to cancel this as I was really worried about being late. So we made for the last tender back to the ship. There were a lot of things going on that caused this delay during this day. We went very early to get the an early tender boat and then learned that we had to wait for another group of people which took about more than one hour to have them in the port. Then the guide offered zip lining and cave tubing. This groupe arranged to make both. Which was really fine with us except, that we had to wait at the closed tour bus in wet bathing suits until they came about 40 minutes late....

 

So next in Belize we booked a ships tour to Xunantunich - this tour was late for about 1,5 hours. The ship waited for us..... I usually book ship tours in tender ports. Gives me a good feeling and that important piece of mind which makes a good holiday....

[Iamthesea]

LOL, Does your husband have a weather policy? I recall a tour to Ljubljana when it was cold and pouring cats and dogs. Miserable weather.:D

 

Wasn't that weather a freak act of nature, not forecasted? Beautiful, sunny spring day that suddenly turned to gale force winds, cold, snow, rain and sleet. Burrrr

 

The worse for me was when the guide was 20 minutes late picking us up. :mad: And then there was our request to stop for hot chocolate that turned out to be hot pudding in a mug. :eek:

 

Well, at least we arrived back to the ship in plenty of time. :D Plus, we have a story to tell and will never forget that excursion. I don't think I will ever take the advice of Rick Steves again! :rolleyes:

Edited May 26, 2015 by Iamthesea

[dodger1964]

We haven't been late personally, but twice in the last 3 years have witnessed people boarding the ship from the pilot boat while at sea. Once in Caribbean and once in Europe. Once was 2 people and once was 4.

[wendyatpml]

We have taken many private tours all through Europe and have never had a problem. We look for private tours that have no more than 8 people. Cruise tours usually have full buses they are as fast as the slowest person.

 

It's also much less expensive for private tours. Check the ports posts and there will be a wealth of information. That is how I found all the private tours we went on.,

[Charles4515]

Wasn't that weather a freak act of nature, not forecasted? Beautiful, sunny spring day that suddenly turned to gale force winds, cold, snow, rain and sleet. Burrrr

 

The worse for me was when the guide was 20 minutes late picking us up. :mad: And then there was our request to stop for hot chocolate that turned out to be hot pudding in a mug. :eek:

 

Well, at least we arrived back to the ship in plenty of time. :D Plus, we have a story to tell and will never forget that excursion. I don't think I will ever take the advice of Rick Steves again! :rolleyes:

 

Rick Steves is overrated in my opinion.

[curtdesilets]

...but very often just walk around town at some ports.

 

On numerous occasions we have seen people running to the dock as the ship is leaving. I feel sorry for them, but more often than not, a ship will leave exactly at the listed departure time. Wear a watch! :eek:

 

I am weary of doing any full day private tours in remote area, just because things do happen. We saw a bus broken down on our Alaska trip 2 years ago in Wrangell. It definitely could mean trouble if you are scheduled to get to a ship very close to it's departure time. Sure the odds are slim, but there is a chance and the level of risk does go up when you have a tighter window of time.

 

On a British Isles cruise a few years ago, a bomb threat in Belfast pretty much shut down their transportation system. All of the busses, private and ship based, were delayed about 2-3 hours getting back to the ship. In that case, the ship did wait, obviously.

[Charles4515]

We have taken private tours in many places with no problem, including St. Petersburg, Istanbul, and Athens. However, with complicated arrangements (such as Rome or Berlin) I would not use a private operator. (Our next cruise is totally a Celebrity operation from beginning to end.)

 

 

I have used private tours in all the places you mention, including Rome and Berlin. I don't know where you got the idea though that Rome and Berlin are complicated! Rome you don't even need a tour. You can take a train there from the port and back. The trains run often. About every 20 minutes. Berlin I booked a deal with the same tour operator I used for St. Petersburg.

[curtdesilets]

Never missed the ship but once at Toulon France, (port in Provence area), we got back late and arrived about 5 minutes before the last on board time. Our driver missed a freeway exit and the next exit was about 40KM down the road and then we hit heavy rush hour traffic in the port city. I was the last on board and they had the gangway area cleared of all the usual items and pulled it up immediately after I boarded.

 

We also almost missed the ship in Toulon, France, last year. There were two busloads (about 40 of us) on a private Cruise Critic tour. We were in Aix and the guide said we could get back to the ship in 30 min. We left at 5:00 and the ship was leaving at 5:45. We hit a huge traffic jam just outside the port. We could see the ship, but we were just inching along. There was not a sound on the bus, except for one person with a GPS who was telling us estimated time to the ship. We were thinking how we were going to get to Barcelona. We made it with 5 min. to spare and I never want to go through that again.

 

Yikes! I think I will stick to Cruise sponsored tours, just to avoid the aggravation. Not just the aggravation of the delays, but the aggravation of my wife's death stares ! :eek: She would have none of this, and I would be in big big trouble.

 

Another anecdote: We were in Edinburgh for a full day ship based Excursion.

It was heading back to the port during heavy Rush Hour traffic. The bus could use the bus lanes and zipped back in time. The private excursions on mini busses, cars etc. were stuck in massive traffic. Don't know if anyone missed the ship, but it would seem that the frustration of knowing you might, was similar to your experience.

[Charles4515]

We have taken many private tours all through Europe and have never had a problem. We look for private tours that have no more than 8 people. Cruise tours usually have full buses they are as fast as the slowest person.

 

It's also much less expensive for private tours. Check the ports posts and there will be a wealth of information. That is how I found all the private tours we went on.,

 

In Europe most of my private tours were found by hooking up with fellow cruisers on the Cruise Critic roll call for my sailing. But if you can't do that many tour operators will do the hooking up with others on your ship for you. Never had a bad experience or came close to missing the ship.

 

For the Hermitage in St. Petersburg we booked our own special tour for 4 because we thought even 8 was a lot for that museum. Got to see the artists we prefered. That was wonderful. The cruise ship excursions were running around with 20 or 30, trying to keep up with their guide and all wearing wireless earphones. ICK!

Edited May 26, 2015 by Charles4515

[Jane2357]

Under Cruise Discussion Topics - How To Save Money on Your Cruise - Tips & Tricks there is a thread relaying an ACTUAL account of one man's experience of being left behind.

 

Klfhngr's story: I missed the boat in Nassau!

Edited May 26, 2015 by Jane2357

[chamima]

Under Cruise Discussion Topics - How To Save Money on Your Cruise - Tips & Tricks there is a thread relaying an ACTUAL account of one man's experience of being left behind.

 

Klfhngr's story: I missed the boat in Nassau!

 

This is a link to the (VERY LONG!!!) story:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2121215

 

I didn't read all of it but I did read enough to find out this guy was NOT on a private tour, he was with family and friends at a beach resort.

 

As has been said multiple times in this thread, private tour operators make their living from these tours. One bad review and they're done.

We haven't done a ship's tour in 30 some years.

I always research our tour providers and tell them the ship leaves an hour before it really does.

 

So, so far NO ONE has a personal report of missing a ship because of a private tour. (Going to a beach on your own doesn't count - no operator to make sure you're back)

[Charles4515]

Under Cruise Discussion Topics - How To Save Money on Your Cruise - Tips & Tricks there is a thread relaying an ACTUAL account of one man's experience of being left behind.

 

Klfhngr's story: I missed the boat in Nassau!

 

That story is interesting and educational but he was not on a private tour.

 

Also all going ashore should keep a copy of the daily with the port agent phone number. I believe the "Alfred" in the story was the port agent or an employee of the port agent, I don't believe he was there accidentally saying they were looking for the person. Or being a good samaritan.

[4774Papa]

This is a link to the (VERY LONG!!!) story:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2121215

 

I didn't read all of it but I did read enough to find out this guy was NOT on a private tour, he was with family and friends at a beach resort.

 

As has been said multiple times in this thread, private tour operators make their living from these tours. One bad review and they're done.

We haven't done a ship's tour in 30 some years.

I always research our tour providers and tell them the ship leaves an hour before it really does.

 

So, so far NO ONE has a personal report of missing a ship because of a private tour. (Going to a beach on your own doesn't count - no operator to make sure you're back)

We prefer private tours, in fact, I generally organize them myself. However, from time to time, we go with the ship's tour if the price is about the same and the distance from the port is long.

 

I have read on cc of people missing the ship because they were late due to traffic, etc. I don't think it happens very often. The problem is that if it happens and your are don't have your passport, you ship is going to another country, you have a serious problem.

 

If you research your private tour companies on TripAdvisor and elsewhere, you can determine how reliable they are.

[Charles4515]

We prefer private tours, in fact, I generally organize them myself. However, from time to time, we go with the ship's tour if the price is about the same and the distance from the port is long.

 

I have read on cc of people missing the ship because they were late due to traffic, etc. I don't think it happens very often. The problem is that if it happens and your are don't have your passport, you ship is going to another country, you have a serious problem.

 

If you research your private tour companies on TripAdvisor and elsewhere, you can determine how reliable they are.

 

I have done a few ships excursions to use up onboard credit. But those reminded me of why I prefer private tours.

 

On the private tours I always remind the guide or driver at the start of the time we have to be back at the ship and also refresh their memory later during the tour. I never felt there was going to be a problem and there never was.

[ChucktownSteve]

Thank you all for your input so far. There are some interesting stories.

 

However I didn't see where any of them included the poster missing the boat due to an independent tour operator.

 

I suspect it may be more the "fear" of it happening than the reality of a common occurrence.

 

BTW when I book privately, I always schedule the return at least two hours before last on board time.

[Bollinge]

We go on our own (mine) tours as we have seen enough of the world to wander around it unaccompanied.

 

There was one time in Guadeloupe when monsoon rains meant we were towards the last to embark.

 

Then again in Cannes, where we had rented a car to go to Monte-Carlo and then got stuck in rush-hour traffic on the way back through Nice. I had to drop the motor back to Avis.....my pal and his wife were having a fit and insisted on being dropped off at the pier. I found the Avis office and it was closed...... I gave the keys and a tip to the very helpful concierge at the adjacent Hotel Carlton, and headed sharpish to the pier.

 

Imagine my delight when my two hasty, suddenly unfaithful, friends were sat bobbing up and down on the last tender waiting for us and a couple of other stragglers.....:)

 

The worst time was when we were in Jamaica on Carnival for a 70th birthday for a friend who is a big cheese in the shore excursions business.

 

He had arranged umpteen events for our few hours ashore, Dunn's River Falls, zip-lining through the jungle canopy, lunch at the polo club etc. This was hopelessly optimistic, and we were running late, big time. I had eschewed the zip-line tour because of a shoulder injury, and was enjoying a splendid buffet lunch for forty people at the polo club, with only four diners.

 

We thought about getting a private taxi back to the ship without the zip-liners, but we were assured that everything would be OK. They pitched up in the end, enjoyed a leisurely lunch, and we headed back to the ship, at least 35 minutes late.

 

We we were all wearing green t-shirts emblazoned with the motif "Coffin Dodger's Convention" in honour of the 70-year old, and we did the walk of shame back to the vessel. Everyone was hanging off the rails and balconies and we received a certain kind of welcome.......

 

It's not what you know... someone had called the captain and he agreed to wait.

 

We were once in Gran Canaria with a hire car, and we encountered heavy traffic and road works back to the ship. We made it back, just about. Just as well, as the next port of call was Antigua, about 3500 miles away.

 

So, on another trip, I regaled a captain with my nautical tales - see above - and asked him: "If I was late today, how long would you have waited for me?"

 

"We sail 30 minutes after all aboard, and if I were to hang on for you or anyone else, it would cost $$$$ in extra fuel to make up the time, and it might make us late at the next port of call for the pilot, tug, berth, and shore excursions for thousands of other passengers."

 

I'll try not be late again......

Edited May 26, 2015 by Bollinge

[SantaFeFan]

Thank you all for your input so far. There are some interesting stories.

 

However I didn't see where any of them included the poster missing the boat due to an independent tour operator.

 

I suspect it may be more the "fear" of it happening than the reality of a common occurrence.

 

BTW when I book privately, I always schedule the return at least two hours before last on board time.

 

I am sure it has happened before to someone not a member of CC or not monitoring these boards at the moment. Or, they could be too embarrassed to admit it. :D

 

Responsible tour operators will make every attempt to get you back to your ship on time - their reputation depends on it. But things can go wrong and everything the operator does may not be enough to overcome the obstacles.

 

On our 2nd day in St. Petersburg, Russia we were with our guide at Peterhof Palace where we would take the hydrofoil back into the city. Our driver would meet us in the city for a return to the ship by 4:30. Unfortunately, the hydrofoil broke down on the way to the Peterhof and another would not be available until after 5:00, too late for us to reach the ship in time. Our guide called the driver who was waiting near the dock in the city, who hurried over to Peterhof, picked us up and got us back to our ship about 10 minutes before the deadline. Speed laws, if there are any in Russia, were certainly broken as we sped towards the ship to get there in time.

 

Not quite a miss, but this does demonstrates that unexpected situations can occur, some of which may not be corrected in time, no matter how hard the tour operator tries.

Edited May 26, 2015 by SantaFeFan

[wpgcycler]

Not sure it really matters WHY Klfhnger was left behind - I think his story does a great job of illustrating the consequences of it happening. Stuff goes wrong - maybe rarely but it does eventually go wrong. Just because no one has responded here that it happened to them on a private tour, in no way provides a guarantee that it won't. One needs to consider the consequences and make a conscious decision whether to roll the dice - it would appear the odds are awfully good but, eventually the wrong number will come up.