So if you get left at a port ....

[ar1950]

Many people no longer wear watches. .....................

 

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That's why there are those $10 watch sales on board. :D

[keithm]

If you are on a ship sponsored shore excursion; the ship may wait depending on how many are in your group. If they leave, then the cruiseline will get you to the next port. If you are on your own or private tour and miss the ship; you have to pay to get to next port. So, depending on how far apart the cities or countries, it may cost you a lot.

This IS the reason we only do ship sponsored excursions! I've seen WAY too many idiots running to get to the ship, to have it happen to us.

[lindyloo17]

Sadly in some ports I'm not too keen on the trips offered. And have found some private drivers etc to take us where we want

I will ask to be back in plenty of time and take a watch on this holiday 😀

[RNCheryl]

We were on a Royal cruise a couple of months ago. Docked in Nassau. Hubby had business associates there, and went for a business lunch. I walked around the dock for a few moments and back to the ship. Well, we got to 12 minutes before sail away, and he was not on board. I had called/texted during the previous half hour, with no response. He made it on board, but just barely.

 

What I have learned: if you are in a foreign country, have your passport with you. Had he missed the ship, he had nothing but his US drivers license and credit cards. How to get from Nassau to St.Maarten.

 

Plus I gave him the evil eye and associated treatments

[ar1950]

We were on a Royal cruise a couple of months ago. Docked in Nassau. Hubby had business associates there, and went for a business lunch. I walked around the dock for a few moments and back to the ship. Well, we got to 12 minutes before sail away, and he was not on board. I had called/texted during the previous half hour, with no response. He made it on board, but just barely.

 

What I have learned: if you are in a foreign country, have your passport with you. Had he missed the ship, he had nothing but his US drivers license and credit cards. How to get from Nassau to St.Maarten.

 

Plus I gave him the evil eye and associated treatments

 

You may want to read the link that I posted (second post of this thread). It tells what one guy had to do. And yes, he missed the ship in Nassau. Not an easy procedure and actually a little scary.

 

BTW, here it is again: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2121215

[donaldsc]

that's why there are those $10 watch sales on board. :d

 

+1. I love the people who say "I don't like to wear a watch" or "I use my cell phone to get the time" and then ask me if I have the time. I am tempted to reply - 'No. You should wear a watch." Some day I will but then they will just go and bother someone else.

 

Don

[caribill]

I'm only familiar with iPhones, but it's easy to keep it from changing the time.

 

Just because it is easy does not mean that everyone will do it.

 

It is easy to set a watch to the correct ship time, but you always meet people who did not adjust their watches to a new ship time.

[rjohn40787]

When you are on board the ship, where can you see the "ship time" posted? Is there a clock near the gang plank when you disembark at ports?

 

 

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[RedEarth]

I read a story somewhere of a HAL ship that was calling at a Swedish port last summer and had to call off tendering operations early due to a sudden change in the weather. The ship wasn't even able to retrieve the tenders and several hundred passengers will still ashore. HAL chartered some local coaches to take the passengers to Copenhagen by road to meet the ship which was due to dock there that evening and the tenders returned to the harbour to refuel and then made the voyage to Copenhagen in convoy under their own power. I presume that there were enough passengers not on board the ship to allow it to set sail without a full complment of lifeboats.

[Cruiser411]

I read a story somewhere of a HAL ship that was calling at a Swedish port last summer and had to call off tendering operations early due to a sudden change in the weather. The ship wasn't even able to retrieve the tenders and several hundred passengers will still ashore. HAL chartered some local coaches to take the passengers to Copenhagen by road to meet the ship which was due to dock there that evening and the tenders returned to the harbour to refuel and then made the voyage to Copenhagen in convoy under their own power. I presume that there were enough passengers not on board the ship to allow it to set sail without a full complment of lifeboats.

 

A few years back, a sudden storm came up and stranded a Princess excursion in Haines, Alaska. Golden Princess was in Skagway and had to sail. Princess put everyone up in a hotel for the night and then transported them to the next port.

 

As for the HAL ship sailing without tenders, there are plenty of life rafts on board cruise ships that would be able to handle the passengers aboard.

[jagsfan]

I read a story somewhere of a HAL ship that was calling at a Swedish port last summer and had to call off tendering operations early due to a sudden change in the weather. The ship wasn't even able to retrieve the tenders and several hundred passengers will still ashore. HAL chartered some local coaches to take the passengers to Copenhagen by road to meet the ship which was due to dock there that evening and the tenders returned to the harbour to refuel and then made the voyage to Copenhagen in convoy under their own power. I presume that there were enough passengers not on board the ship to allow it to set sail without a full complment of lifeboats.

 

 

I'd love to read the details of the story. What an adventure!

 

 

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[Thrak]

+1. I love the people who say "I don't like to wear a watch" or "I use my cell phone to get the time" and then ask me if I have the time. I am tempted to reply - 'No. You should wear a watch." Some day I will but then they will just go and bother someone else.

 

Don

 

I have had a number of people tell me to "throw that damned watch into the ocean". They tell me that retired people don't need to be "tethered" to a watch and schedule and blah, blah, blah.... It gets a bit old. I wear a watch. It's my choice. Why do these people presume to tell me what I "need" to do? Sheesh... I do tend to have people ask me for the time when they see that I have a watch so it must not be all that useless.

[Potstech]

When you are on board the ship, where can you see the "ship time" posted? Is there a clock near the gang plank when you disembark at ports?

 

 

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On the phone in your room. Set your watch/device before you even leave your room. I do and have never had a problem.

[davekathy]

...What do you do if you miss the ship?

 

You get to wave goodbye to the ship and have a great view of the ship leaving. :D

[notentirelynormal]

You get to wave goodbye to the ship and have a great view of the ship leaving. :D

 

Don't forget the most important part. You can take a video and post it all over YouTube about you begging for the ship to come back. You can come on CC and complain just because you left your small children on board you still wanted to do some shopping. You can call the newspapers. Yup, there is a lot you can do.

[brian1]

Hi,dont take the $10 watch bought onboard,as we havent had one yet that has lasted more than 24 hrs,cheers,Brian.

[skynight]

I thought Princess always set the ship time to the local port time for this very reason. Am I wrong?

You are correct. My experience after many Princess cruises and many ports of call, with very very few exceptions Princess sets their ship time to match port time.

[cruisincdns]

• Of course, it goes without mentioning that you need to make sure you have your WATCH (not cell phone) set to ship time as that is the time ships come and go by...not port time. Cell phones will 'ping' and re-set themselves to port time if your data is turned on. Go by your watch!
  

 

You can use your cell phone ONLY, and ONLY, if you go to the Time/Date Settings of your phone and TURN OFF the automatic date and time setting. Then, you can manually set your phone to ship time and be good for the rest of the cruise. Just remember to turn the automatic data and time setting on when you arrive to your home port to sync up with the network.

 

Paul

[MrMan]

Every Princess cruise I have been on ship time and local has been the same. I think the iPhone/ watch debate is a little overblown. This seems to be situation looking for a problem

 

 

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[caribill]

Every Princess cruise I have been on ship time and local has been the same.

 

I have been on several Princess cruises where the ship time and port time were not the same for a single port.

[wrongwaywatson]

We have been in a few ports where ship time and port time were different by one hour. They announced it several times over the intercom system, our cabin steward mentioned it to us and people were reminding us as we got off the ship. There was also a large sign stating so as you got off the ship

[wrongwaywatson]

When we renewed our passports this past time, we paid extra and got the small cards. They are about the size of a drivers license. We thought that they would be a good thing to have in ports. Also, when my husband goes to Canada fishing the card is sufficient and he doesn't need his passport book.

[4x4bob]

And, the very first photo I take at every port as I leave the ship is one of the "Be Back By" sign that is posted by the gangway as we leave the ship. That way if I have any doubt about what time to return I just look at my camera.

 

Bob

[azteachergal]

I would NEVER leave the ship at a foreign port without my passport and a least one major credit card. You never know what might happen where having appropriate documentation is critical. I'm not a doom and gloom person but your have to consider things like an accident, a medical emergency, etc.

 

As others have said, if you're on a Princess sponsored excursion you will not be left behind. On my first cruise it was time to leave Cabo (a port where a tender is used) and apparently a couple had not returned to the ship. The couple was paged a few times and our departure from Cabo was delayed by about 45 minutes. The couple was late returning from Cabo but did make finally make it back to the ship (I watched from my balcony).

[Colo Cruiser]

Getting a little worried now with all the stories of it taking hours to tender... then having to be back to port 2 hours before ship leaves...

This cuts an 8 hr dock to 4 hrs !

 

 

What!!