personally how many cruise have you been on that returned to port early?

[Ashland]

Over 30 cruises and the only disruption was one missed port because of a hurricane warning and the port we missed we were on a B2B and this was to be the only repeated port and when we did get there locals said the hurricane had missed them.

[Shmoo here]

On 2/3/2021 at 5:42 PM, Shmoo here said:

None. 25 cruises since 2008.

Sorry have to amend this answer.  We did have one cruise (Mediterranean -  Barcelona round trip) that returned to Barcelona almost a day early.  The day before Barcelona was to be a sea day, but the weather was so awful (rainy and dreary) that the Captain thought he'd come back early.  There was also a large number of passengers remaining onboard from that cruise for a B2B with the WBTA following.  Coming back early allowed those remaining with the ship the option of more time to do things while in Barcelona.  

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

 

im' trying to gauge tolerance for booking future cruises by people on the forum. most people here have many more cruises and probably more money spent on cruises each time , than me.  even if i was super rich an could book the 30K a week suite, id sure be unhappy on day 2 i had to turn around and go back to the origin point, and be locked in my super suite, just because 1 person got it.  its the same inconvenience no matter who you are or how much you spent on board. 

 

per the small sample here so far. it does seem that a huge portion of people have never really been sent back in the way the virus will be sending people back. while i love gambling at the slots, i cannot gamble even my cheap 4K balcony room knowing i could be turned around on day 2. 

 

 

We booked another World Cruise last month, as soon as it was published - Viking Ocean 2023 WC. We have no concerns with Viking, as based on our experience, they look after the pax.

 

The 2020 WC was cancelled after 99 days of 120 days, with us receiving a 30% FCV and a cash refund of about 35%. So if our '23 cruise is cancelled after a few days, I am sure we will be well compensated and will rebook the next available WC.

 

If booking a cruise, choose the cruise line carefully.

[spirit rev]

We returned to Auckland late the night before we were to disembark due to a medical emergency. This was a short 3 day NZ cruise. Other than the one who was ill (and the family) no one disembarked until the next morning. 

[neverbeenhere]

Historically, I don’t think your are gambling with your funds. Cruise lines have generally well compensated us for various inconveniences. Never have we complained to obtain compensation. 
 

In have a close friend who was on an Oceania world cruise (100+ day) when Covid sent them home. Compensation ended for them as a full refund and a free cruise credit. 
of course, the financial situation of the lines is much different today. 

[neverbeenhere]

Sorry I can’t edit my misspelling on my particular device that I’m currently using. 

[isosika]

We have been on about 24 cruises and one had one early return and that was only a one day loss on the cruise.  The reason was the ever increasing cases of norovirus onboard.  The cruise line did everything they could to mitigate the issue but could not bring it under control.  Passengers didn't help as we watched dozens of people bypass hand washing and hand sanitizing stations at will.  We returned to Fort Lauderdale and the cruise line took very good care of us.  Oddly, we returned to port on 2/1/20, the beginning of the pandemic,  with no corona virus onboard, only norovirus.

[Traveling Library]

Once in June 1990 on the Bermuda Star.  Left NYC heading to Nova Scotia.  Less than 24 hours later the ship ran aground on the Cleveland Ledge just outside of Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  Coast Guard came. Lots of news helicopters. Eventually we were evacuated by ferry to New Bedford MA and bused to Boston.  We stayed overnight at the Hilton Boston and took a taxi home (we live 15 miles from the city). Two days later, thanks to our travel agent, we were on an airplane to Bermuda for our vacation.  

Edited February 7, 2021 by Traveling Library

[Sekhmet]

We have had this happen to us once on a Celebrity Galaxy cruise to the Baltic and St Petersburg - here's the reason:

 

On 2 June 2001, while departing Amsterdam in the Netherlands for a two-week cruise the Galaxy touched bottom on an outskirt of Forteiland at Ijmuiden due to heavy northwesterly squalls, resulting in major damage to the port side propeller. The ship returned to the Port of Amsterdam for inspection and disembarkation of the passengers. The cruise had to be cancelled as the Galaxy went into drydock at Blohm + Voss in Hamburg, Germany. There it was discovered that all four blades of the port side propeller would have to be replaced; however the ship only carried two spare blades on board. To solve the problem two extra propeller blades carried on board Galaxy's sister ship MV Mercury were flown from the Caribbean to Hamburg and installed on the Galaxy. Following repairs the ship re-entered service on 16 June 2001.

 

Celebrity were excellent - staff were flown in, first from the UK then from Florida to arrange repatriation, hotels, other onward travel etc.  We were easy, just needing flights back to Birmingham, but many of the US passengers were staying in Europe for extended periods, and the Line organised for them to be accommodated and transported to catch up with their future plans.

 

We were all refunded the cost of the cruise, and given another, free 14-night cruise - we used ours to rebook onto the first come-back cruise mentioned above which meant we did get our Baltic trip that year.  Because we were the only passengers from the so-called "Propeller Cruise" to venture back straight away, we got a bit of VIP treatment, including an invitation to dine at the Captain's Table.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Sekhmet

[BigGuy25]

Once, shortly after departure from a port, we returned to the port because someone onboard became critically ill.  But, shortly after docking, we cast lines and we’re at-sea again!