Edge Late Leaving St Maarten Due To Late Returning Passengers

[cruiserchuck]

For me, I believe it is more likely I would lose my passport or have it stolen, as opposed to missing the ship.

 

I was on a cruise once where a passengers passport was stolen while on shore, and they had to leave the cruise.  

[DCPIV]

If I'm on a ship sponsored excursion, my passport stays on board. They know where I am and what's going on, and they'll take care of business.

 

If I'm off on my own, I bring my passport with me. 

[mom says]

1 hour ago, cruiserchuck said:

For me, I believe it is more likely I would lose my passport or have it stolen, as opposed to missing the ship.

 

I was on a cruise once where a passengers passport was stolen while on shore, and they had to leave the cruise.  

Well, there are ways to carry your passport to mitigate such risks. Instead of just shoving it into a pocket or purse/backpack, where it could be stolen by a talented pickpocket, or fall out. A money belt, neck wallet or hidden pocket, properly worn, greatly increases the safety of carrying valuable documents.

 

We prefer to carry our passports with us when off the ship, but only do so with a moneybelt or neck wallet. If the excursion is to a beach/ involves swimming, we leave it on the ship. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

Passport, not every sailing allows you to keep your passport; on my embarking Singapore sailing you had to "surrender" it when checking in or they wouldn't let you on the ship.  Got it back the second to last day of the cruise.

 

Shore excursions, if you're going to a third world country, you might be surprised how much cheaper a private driver is compared to paying for 2+ excursions.  The majority of ship sponsored excursions require you meet and depart way later than the ship docks.  Not only does this waste time but often if you book a private driver or non-ship tour company, you may be able to get to the attractions before the ship crowds (there can multiple ships in a port) and in some cases take before photos without hoards of people in them.  I booked a non-ship tour to visit Pompeii, for nearly the first 15mins we didn't see another soul, it progressively got busier then about 90mins later the buses came and the place was a zoo.  In Rome, I booked a non-ship-tour company and it was able to drive and park right up to some fountains and/or statues, let us out for a few minutes to take photos then it was off to the next place, we were able to stop at least a dozen times.  We were able to see so much more than the ship tour because they would just drop you off and you'd need to follow a guide on foot every where.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

On 7/7/2021 at 5:44 PM, roxette said:

The cruise line make sure you will get on the ship in next available/possible port at their expense if you take a shore excuersion with the cruise line. It is not always posible for the ship to wait. 

 

 

Yep. Sh*t happens. Years ago an unexpectedly extreme heavy fog completely shut down Juneau. All passengers from multiple ships who were on tours were stranded on shore overnight.  HAL had two ships that had to leave passengers behind the next morning but HAL took very good care of the stranded passengers who were on ship tours and got them to their ships the next day.

 

The passengers stranded on shore who weren't on ship tours were all on their own.

 

My ex-boss and her husband were on the helicopter tour from the Westerdam that got stranded overnight on Mendenhall Glacier and they spent the night in an emergency tent on the glacier.  Ex-boss loved the entire day/night and said it was the best travel experience of her entire life 🙂

 

Here's a post from Crew News.

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by Cruising Is Bliss

[RICCruisers]

Here is the final determination on the original topic of this post from a passenger onboard Edge.

 

**UPDATE**

Per Captian Kate: These passengers were unvaccinated travelers. All unvaccinated passengers were only allowed to get off at ports of call on Celebrity Curated Excursions. These guests chose to wonder onto St Martin on their own. Due to their actions when they returned they had to go through a St Martin Health Authorization screening and get cleared to be on the island as they were booted off the ship for violating protocols for a healthy return to sailing. Good to see the protocols working.

[bEwAbG]

Thanks for the update.  Someone mentioned on another thread that this had happened, and I wondered if it was the same people you were talking about. 

 

Would love to have seen their reaction to being told that the rules do, indeed, apply to everyone. 

[mom says]

1 hour ago, RICCruisers said:

Here is the final determination on the original topic of this post from a passenger onboard Edge.

 

**UPDATE**

Per Captian Kate: These passengers were unvaccinated travelers. All unvaccinated passengers were only allowed to get off at ports of call on Celebrity Curated Excursions. These guests chose to wonder onto St Martin on their own. Due to their actions when they returned they had to go through a St Martin Health Authorization screening and get cleared to be on the island as they were booted off the ship for violating protocols for a healthy return to sailing. Good to see the protocols working.

Thanks for posting the follow up. Excellent response to the incident, and I hope it is widely publicized, so other unvaxxed pax will think twice about thumbing their nose at the protocols.

[KKB]

2 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

Here is the final determination on the original topic of this post from a passenger onboard Edge.

 

**UPDATE**

Per Captian Kate: These passengers were unvaccinated travelers. All unvaccinated passengers were only allowed to get off at ports of call on Celebrity Curated Excursions. These guests chose to wonder onto St Martin on their own. Due to their actions when they returned they had to go through a St Martin Health Authorization screening and get cleared to be on the island as they were booted off the ship for violating protocols for a healthy return to sailing. Good to see the protocols working.

OH MY GOODNESS--I heard it was a "medical emergency"

WOW--how foolish!

And thanks for ruining it for the rest of us--the cost to St. Maarten as some passengers may now choose to not get off; the cost of testing passengers on Celebrity; the annoyance/anxiety of getting the test on passengers.

How YOUR actions can severely impact others..

[Smmessineo]

3 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

Here is the final determination on the original topic of this post from a passenger onboard Edge.

 

**UPDATE**

Per Captian Kate: These passengers were unvaccinated travelers. All unvaccinated passengers were only allowed to get off at ports of call on Celebrity Curated Excursions. These guests chose to wonder onto St Martin on their own. Due to their actions when they returned they had to go through a St Martin Health Authorization screening and get cleared to be on the island as they were booted off the ship for violating protocols for a healthy return to sailing. Good to see the protocols working.

These idiots are the perfect example of "F&#@ around and find out".  

I am glad Celebrity is doing this right. 

I will be on the September 4  sailing , and I will feel safer on the Edge than i did during my trip to the supermarket here in Florida today.

[BND]

There's a YT video about the incident by La Lido Loca.

[Cruising89143]

2 minutes ago, Smmessineo said:

These idiots are the perfect example of "F&#@ around and find out".  

I am glad Celebrity is doing this right. 

I will be on the September 4  sailing , and I will feel safer on the Edge than i did during my trip to the supermarket here in Florida today.

Agree. Kudos to Celebrity. Just watched the video on YouTube of them being removed from the ship. 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

Kudos, still curious to why it took 3+ hours which now requires burning way more fuel to go at a faster speed.  You figure there are a few phone calls to make and some paperwork to fill out and packing but how long would that really take?  There are many pre-covid reports of cruise ship employees packing the bags of pax who get kicked off the ship while on port.  Unfortunately this most likely won't be the last incident like this.

[AbbyCruiser45]

18 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Kudos, still curious to why it took 3+ hours which now requires burning way more fuel to go at a faster speed.  You figure there are a few phone calls to make and some paperwork to fill out and packing but how long would that really take?  There are many pre-covid reports of cruise ship employees packing the bags of pax who get kicked off the ship while on port.  Unfortunately this most likely won't be the last incident like this.

I think the reports were closer to 2 hours. I think it sounds about right though. They had to locate the passengers, meet with them to cover the legal/contract points of why they were getting kicked off, test them with PCR, wait for results, and have the guests pack up their room. Such a shame these two guests would break the rules. 

Edited July 10, 2021 by AbbyCruiser45
typo

[CalTexCruiser]

I hope Celebrity pursues legal action against these two a-holes to get reimbursed for all expenses incurred, including increased fuel burn to make it to the next port.

[koolZip]

On 7/7/2021 at 7:36 PM, stinkyenglishteacher said:

Glad it wasn’t a huge deal and that they’re safe.
 

Full disclosure: nothing makes me quite as happy as watching folks drunkenly rush down the pier in Cozumel. I get back on board and find a prime spot just to watch this event, which I wish was an Olympic sport. 

Olympic sport or reality TV show, I think.

[ItsADryHumor]

57 minutes ago, koolZip said:

Olympic sport or reality TV show, I think.

WHERE CAN I GET ONE OF THESE?! 🤣🤣🤣

[mom says]

Everybody sing it with me  🎵 " na na na na,   na  na  na  na,   hey heyy ,   goodbye"  🎶

[Bailey & Sophie]

On 7/8/2021 at 8:08 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

If you miss he ship, they take your passport out of your safe for you and leave it at the pier with your luggage.

 

I've watched many youtube videos of pier runners missing the ship. I've never seen luggage on the pier for them. If people are 45-60 minutes late, is that even enough time to determine that thay are indeed NOT returning on time, AND enough time to pack up the room?

[Reel Love]

6 hours ago, koolZip said:

Olympic sport or reality TV show, I think.

That shirt is hilarious!

[mom says]

31 minutes ago, Bailey & Sophie said:

 

I've watched many youtube videos of pier runners missing the ship. I've never seen luggage on the pier for them. If people are 45-60 minutes late, is that even enough time to determine that thay are indeed NOT returning on time, AND enough time to pack up the room?

If they are 45-60 min late, then by definition, they haven't returned on time. 🙄

They don't get their luggage. They get their passports, if they were left in their safe. And even that is just a courtesy. That's it. It's then up to them to catch up to the ship down line. 

Edited July 11, 2021 by mom says

[KKB]

6 minutes ago, mom says said:

If they are 45-60 min late, then by definition, they haven't returned on time. 🙄

They don't get their luggage. They get their passports, if they were left in their safe. And even that is just a courtesy. That's it. It's then up to them to catch up to the ship down line. 

I think the cruise line tries hard to at least get everyone their items...

They want to maintain protocols but not screw the passenger.

My thought--DO NO BREAK THE RULES!

[koolZip]

18 hours ago, stinkyenglishteacher said:

WHERE CAN I GET ONE OF THESE?! 🤣🤣🤣

https://thenauticruiser.com

[Bailey & Sophie]

20 hours ago, mom says said:

If they are 45-60 min late, then by definition, they haven't returned on time. 🙄

They don't get their luggage. They get their passports, if they were left in their safe. And even that is just a courtesy. That's it. It's then up to them to catch up to the ship down line. 

 

Thanks.

[Jeremiah1212]

Gene Sloan (via ThePointsGuy) is Tweeting saying per Celebrity, this story is not true.