Self Guided Excursion Problems?

[huskerdan25]

I'm sorry, I don't usually post negative thoughts. But I find this just another example of people blaming others for their actions (or lack of) and not wanting to take responsibility for same.

 

When you are told what time to be back, you should not only confirm that you heard correctly but should make certain that your watch is set the same as the tour guide's. This isn't kindergarten, they shouldn't have to come FIND you. It is YOUR responsibility to get back in plenty of time. Why should others on the tour waste their time waiting for you? That's plain inconsiderate to expect them to do.

 

I find it petty that you will sever ties with a particular cruise line that has served you well because of something that was your fault to start with. We have sailed with Carnival, RC, NCL & HAL and have taken excursions both ship sponsored and independent on each. I really don't think you will find any that will treat a similar situation differently.

 

Well said! But we live in a culture where very few people ever take blame for their mistakes and will look to put the blame elsewhere. Sad. Late is late, whether it's a few minutes late (whatever that is) or more than a few minutes late. The driver is under no obligation to wait for stragglers and shouldn't. Inconvenience the majority for a few? And because you were late, you blame Princess and may not cruise with them again? Wow. Take some responsibility here, learn from this and make sure you are not late, even a few minutes late next time.

[wineglass]

I have been on many tours with both cruise lines and land tours. there always seem to be at least one couple or person that's always late, usually its the same couple stop after stop. after a while, the rest of us are kind of tired of having to wait for these same people. If they eventually get left, which happens sometimes, we all say "about time".

It YOUR responsibility to be there on time, so be there! Don't whine to Princess because you can't read a watch.

[M4dC0w]

There is always a straggler or 2 that ruin it for everyone, and blame everyone else for their problems for THEIR actions.

 

Maybe the OP will learn their lesson, but I doubt it.

[vampiress]

another thing, if the bus had waited, and all the people on the bus on time complained, then princess might have had to do something for the larger group of inconvenienced passengers.

[donaldsc]

My wife and I were recently on a Northern Europe cruise (part of the 2017 WC on the Sea) from Dover to NY. We went on a 'self-guided' excursion to the North Cape in Norway (beautiful, by the way!). To make a long story short, we (apparently) misread the time to return to the bus and were (perhaps) a couple of minutes late in returning -- to find that the bus was gone. There had been no effort by the driver or the 'escort' of the tour to attempt to find us, according to others on the bus. When we went to the ShoreEx people after we did return (from our own resources), they didn't seem to care and when I had a call from the Princess HQ in Santa Clarita, they pretty much said the same thing -- that they don't wait for people that are late and we were out of luck (that we were going to agree to disagree...). Does anyone else have any experience of this sort? We have cruised with Princess for twenty years and well over 200 days, and have never had this treatment before. We are certainly through with ANY Princess shore excursions and are contemplating moving on to other lines.

 

I have no sympathy for you. If they say to be there at x o'clock, be there 5 or 10 minutes early, not 5 minutes late. BTW - you say that there was no attempt by the driver or escort to find you. What did you expect them to do - run around the parking lot where I am sure that there were many buses calling out your name.

 

DON

[WVBill]

There is always a straggler or 2 that ruin it for everyone, and blame everyone else for their problems for THEIR actions.

Maybe the OP will learn their lesson, but I doubt it.

 

There always seems to be some who forget "Princess" is the name of the cruise line, not their title.

[RDC1]

Since the event has already occurred the OP should be able to give exact information instead of " we (apparently) misread the time to return to the bus and were (perhaps) a couple of minutes late in returning -- to find that the bus was gone. "

 

 

Exactly how late were you. I expect that you do know. The way you posted sounds more like a way to spin it in your favor.

[Cindy]

I side with those who think this is entirely your responsibility. While it would have been nice for you if the bus waited, they certainly were under no obligation to do so. As for looking for you, I'm afraid that's way beyond what would be a reasonable expectation from an on your own tour.

 

I think you should be thankful you missed the bus and not the ship, chalk it up to experience, and move on. I think you would be foolish to stop cruising with Princess after 20 years due to something that's entirely your fault, but that's your decision.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

We once were in a similar situation where the whole bus waited 40 minutes for a couple to return. It was a limited amount of time allotted to that particular stop & everyone else managed to return on time except this one couple.

Consequently we didn't stop at another place on the tour because of their thoughtfulness.

It was one of the main reasons why we no longer do Princess tours on large buses. We'd rather go in a van with an independent driver. It's cheaper and you get to spend more time at the same locations without any hassle.

[beckntom]

We once were in a similar situation where the whole bus waited 40 minutes for a couple to return.

 

 

I would have been furious! And, yes, one of the reasons we prefer private tours!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Another no sympathy vote, we are always back at designated meeting place in advance, I can not enjoy myself cutting it close. And when we are doing a port DIY on the way out of the ship I always reconfirm what " ships time" is. Sometimes local time is not the same.

 

I'm not sure I understand OP saying they "apparently" misread the time. You either did or you didn't! Better you had a tour bus leave without you than the ship leave without you!

 

 

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[Funkat]

We once were in a similar situation where the whole bus waited 40 minutes for a couple to return. It was a limited amount of time allotted to that particular stop & everyone else managed to return on time except this one couple.

Consequently we didn't stop at another place on the tour because of their thoughtfulness.

It was one of the main reasons why we no longer do Princess tours on large buses. We'd rather go in a van with an independent driver. It's cheaper and you get to spend more time at the same locations without any hassle.

 

Exactly!! When you are on a big bus tour, the whole tour only moves as fast as the slowest of the group. Sometimes that is VERY SLOW. It seems like it takes forever just to get off the bus. Then, you have to wait for the entire group to get back on board at each stop, even the stragglers that can't somehow ever manage to get back on time. This is exactly why we only book small tours with independent tour guides. We are much happier and tend to save a good bit of $$$$.

[Aus Traveller]

I am probably the only one posting who actually thinks the driver should have waited but for no more than 5 minutes if timing was that tight. I don't know how late the OP was but I have been on many excursions where we waited longer than 5 minutes for people to show up.

 

When I posted previously on this thread of our not being able to find the bus location and therefore taking a taxi back to the ship I had learned through email with the bus company they had waited 10 minutes for us. This was not a ship excursion but a local bus company that provides tourists with transportation to a specific location. It was actually booked in advance online (it was not a local public bus). Because of the late hour we were told in advance that instead of dropping us off in town where we got the bus they would drop us off at the ship because timing was tight and they didn't want us to miss the last shuttle back to the ship.

 

Based on the information available I really think the OP's bus should have waited at least 5 minutes.

I agree with you. Waiting five minutes or so is totally reasonable and I have often seen the bus wait 5 or 10 minutes. Anyway, if a few others arrive at the bus right on time, it would take a few minutes for them to board the bus. But, the passengers cannot assume the bus will wait five minutes. I think that may be where the problem arose.

[RDC1]

I agree with you. Waiting five minutes or so is totally reasonable and I have often seen the bus wait 5 or 10 minutes. Anyway, if a few others arrive at the bus right on time, it would take a few minutes for them to board the bus. But, the passengers cannot assume the bus will wait five minutes. I think that may be where the problem arose.

 

 

The problem with waiting is the slippery slope. If people know that the bus will wait 5 minutes then the return time just got pushed back. If it is waiting 5 then why not 6, or 10.

[Aus Traveller]

To make a long story short, we (apparently) misread the time to return to the bus and were (perhaps) a couple of minutes late in returning -- to find that the bus was gone.

From what I can recall, when there is an extended stop (more than 10-15 minutes) the time to get back to the bus is usually a 'round figure' - half past or o'clock. To misread the time and be a couple of minutes late doesn't make sense. If they misread the time they may have thought they had an extra hour before they had to get back to the bus. This would indicate they were more than a couple of minutes late.

[kitkat343]

I would hope the bus would wait 5 minutes for people. But if there is a tight connection or the bus needs to be somewhere else later, I can understand why that didn't happen.

 

We were late once when we were taken to some awful "authentic" town near Ephesus. The place was littered with stalls selling garbage, with one sign stating in English they sold genuine fake watches. We wandered off the paved streets and found a really good authentic restaurant, but got lost coming back. We were running around trying to find the bus and I was shocked when we ran into other late people who were slowly walking around. They had no idea where the bus was either but they figured they'd find it eventually and the bus would wait for them. Thankfully everyone got on (us first since we were running) but if we'd been left behind it would have been our fault.

[justafem]

You were late and somehow that's Princess's fault? Come on take responsibility for YOUR own mistake.

 

There were 60 other people on the bus, they should have to be inconvenienced because YOU can't tell time or are so inconsiderate that others don't matter. Which is it, are you an idiot or an a$$hole?

 

I once found a raincoat on ART while in Disneyland. Turned it in to the driver and thought nothing about it. Next day, I was confronted by the "loser" of the raincoat and accused of stealing his precious $5 raincoat. I even showed him our raincoats (which I had the forethought to bring with, instead of having to buy in the park), that were different from the ones sold in the park. I was still blamed for his error. 10+ years later, I'm still speechless about his transfer of blame.

 

You are at fault. Suck it up, be an adult and get on with life.

[Cruise2End]

Sorry I feel no pity for the OP. We lost an hour in Florence because a woman strayed from our group. We finally left Pisa and she caught another tour group to "catch up with us" in Florence. Two days later we were on another tour at a different port and again she had strayed from her group and they were searching for her again! Some have no consideration for others. This is one of the reasons many will avoid the large bus tours that Princess offers. Who wants to spend a good portion of your port day waiting for others to show up

[kmorg1234]

I'm sorry, I don't usually post negative thoughts. But I find this just another example of people blaming others for their actions (or lack of) and not wanting to take responsibility for same.

 

When you are told what time to be back, you should not only confirm that you heard correctly but should make certain that your watch is set the same as the tour guide's. This isn't kindergarten, they shouldn't have to come FIND you. It is YOUR responsibility to get back in plenty of time. Why should others on the tour waste their time waiting for you? That's plain inconsiderate to expect them to do.

 

I find it petty that you will sever ties with a particular cruise line that has served you well because of something that was your fault to start with. We have sailed with Carnival, RC, NCL & HAL and have taken excursions both ship sponsored and independent on each. I really don't think you will find any that will treat a similar situation differently.

 

 

This, exactly. Thank you so much for expressing it so succinctly and precisely. When I am on a tour, I do not want to wait for anyone else who decides to be selfish enough to show up late- we are all paying good money to go on an adventure. Why can't people do the right thing to show up on time, to be considerate and thoughtful of everyone else? If anyone is even one minute late, and the bus has left without them, then they should realize that it was their own mistake. Accountability- a lost trait.

[kmorg1234]

I would hope the bus would wait 5 minutes for people. But if there is a tight connection or the bus needs to be somewhere else later, I can understand why that didn't happen.

 

We were late once when we were taken to some awful "authentic" town near Ephesus. The place was littered with stalls selling garbage, with one sign stating in English they sold genuine fake watches. We wandered off the paved streets and found a really good authentic restaurant, but got lost coming back. We were running around trying to find the bus and I was shocked when we ran into other late people who were slowly walking around. They had no idea where the bus was either but they figured they'd find it eventually and the bus would wait for them. Thankfully everyone got on (us first since we were running) but if we'd been left behind it would have been our fault.

 

SMH on this one. Please be cognizant on your surroundings, esp when traveling abroad- it's for your own safety.