We Missed our cruise ship in port... here is our story!

[Bebop1088]

On 3/24/2022 at 4:07 PM, JCDCA said:

No passport and no credit cards while traveling internationally?  Pretty big risk there.  Also you’ve been on 15 cruises without these essentials? 🤔

I am in my early 30's. I have not had credit cards since I was 18 and had my identity stolen. Not to say I did not have available funds. I just believe that if I do not have money available I should not be making a purchase. My cash app card is linked to my bank account and I can transfer up to 10k in one click, same with a secondary card. So although not 'credit' i had funds available to utilize and did so in this situation. 

I have never had a passport. My out of country travel was through the military or on my previous cruises. I was briefly married a few years back and I was going to wait to apply for my passport until I changed my name. Since my husband left me, I never changed my name but then COVID hit and I wasnt able or willing to travel during that time and therefore did not persue getting a passport. We booked this trip very last minute on a whim. Being on 15 cruises and never 'needing' the passport before it seemed like a good alternative for me. 

Now I am the proud owner of a 10 year passport though!

[Bebop1088]

On 3/24/2022 at 9:31 AM, CDR Benson said:

 

This thread is a classic example of the aphorism "You can't judge a book by its cover."  Or in this case, its title.

 

I'll bet a lot of folks, upon first seeing the banner of Bebop 1088's original post, had the same initial thought that I did:  "Oh, great!  This is going to be a tirade from someone who missed ship's movement, blaming everybody else for it, and expecting someone else to pay for the resultant inconvenience."

 

Then, I clicked on it.  Hooboy, was I wrong!

 

Instead, this was a post by a responsible individual whom, through, yes, an avoidable, but natural lapse of thought, missed her ship, as did her boyfriend/travelling companion.  No excuses, no equivocations, no evasions; she took responsibility for the mistake.  Moreover, she put herself right out there and described the resulting travails in detail.  And she did this undoubtedly with the expectation that some folks would respond in derision for having missed the ship.

 

Despite that, she provided a valuable service.  Hers was more than a cautionary tale.  We've all heard of pier runners, seen the YouTube videos, read the articles; they all generally allude to the expense and difficulties undertaken by those who miss their ships.  But none of them actually describe what those expenses and difficulties are.

 

Bebop 1088 filled that gap---by describing the step-by-step problems and costs and set-backs she and her boyfriend experienced.  No doubt, some of it was embarrassing, but she put it down here anyway, so other cruisers could learn from it and prepare, if the worst should happen to them.  She provided a primer on what occurs when one misses ship's movement and what one has to do to deal with it.  I never come across this kind of detail in any other cruising fora.

 

How many of us ever knew of the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program?  I hadn't, and I worked in government for twenty-seven years.  Yet, thanks to the responses encouraged by Bebop, we learnt of that valuable resource, and many of us have registered with STEP.

 

The information Bebop 1088 has provided is so crucial, I recommend that the powers-that-be on this site move her post to its own category, perhaps under the New Cruisers heading, so that everyone, not just the NCL followers, can find it and learn from it.

 

Like I said, a gutsy, resourceful lady.

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much for your kind words and understanding. Being the analytical person that I am as soon as I could I searched and searched the internet for a story like mine to help guide me and also to give me some hope that it would be okay. Once I realized there was no information available I knew I would be writing my story. 

So often, by nature we judge based on those tidbits or titles. I am happy that so many people took the time to read my post. I am even thankful for the negative comments that accompanied it as in this forum it allowed me an opportunity to hopefully show an alternative to the bad. 

If even one person can benefit it was worth the shame and embarrassment of being "that' person for me!

[ontheweb]

15 hours ago, mvin902 said:

I just recently spur of the moment decided to book a cruise during our spring break and have been worrying about not having a passport. I've cruised once before just on a birth certificate but that was in the before times, so the idea of quarantining on a birth certificate got me a little anxious. 

 

However, this thread helped me understand it's not the end of the world and I won't be stuck in Caribbean for the rest of my life and what actual steps to take. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Laughing at being stuck in the Caribbean for the rest of my life, not the worst thing that can happen to you. 🤣

 

Reminds me of something from last century. We went to an All Inclusive in Jamaica for our 20th anniversary. There was a small departure tax you had to pay before leaving the country. The lady in front of us in the line said she had spent all her money, please make her stay. They let her leave!

[fox02554]

I'm glad to see you still talk of " we " ❤️🦩

 

Edited March 27, 2022 by fox02554

[AntiMatter]

After so many years of cruising and watching pier runners I thought nothing like that would ever happen to me but it nearly did - in Norway. I got back from a RCL tour and got mired in a souvenir shop by the pier in Geiranger, losing track of time. Once I realized nearly everyone had cleared out and checked the time it was defcon 1 to rush to the ship (about 5 mins away). The first checkpoint had already closed and I could see in the distance that onboard ramp to enter the ship was being removed. The officer had to contact the captain by radio and ask for permission to allow me and my companion aboard and I can say that the pause in waiting for a reply was panic-attack inducing.

 

Thankfully he did because I cannot imagine what I would have done had I been stuck in a sparsely populated fjord in Norway with hardly anything other than what I was wearing plus some gift shop apparel and refrigerator magnets. 

 

After that harrowing experience I make it point to take steps and never allow myself to be in a similar situation again. As others have mentioned, among the tips I incorporated are to set an alarm on my phone for at least 1 hour before departure (and subsequent alarms); I double check the departure time on the Compass the night before whenever stopping at a port and on the sign on the way out as they scan your card to be sure it's prominent on my mind (before I hardly paid attention to them); and finally I scan and save as pdf files my passport, id and travel insurance papers and upload it as an attachment in an email to myself, and to a secure cloud vault for redundancy so that I can access it anywhere in the world with wifi availability. At some point I also became familiar with the STEP program and use it as well. It's also good to take a pic of the port agent info from the Cruise Compass, just in case.

 

Hopefully by Bebop1088 sharing her experience in this excellent thread it will help someone avoid a similar, potentially horrendous situation or ameliorate it should it occur.  

Edited April 2, 2022 by AntiMatter

[Bebop1088]

On 4/1/2022 at 10:49 PM, AntiMatter said:

After so many years of cruising and watching pier runners I thought nothing like that would ever happen to me but it nearly did - in Norway. I got back from a RCL tour and got mired in a souvenir shop by the pier in Geiranger, losing track of time. Once I realized nearly everyone had cleared out and checked the time it was defcon 1 to rush to the ship (about 5 mins away). The first checkpoint had already closed and I could see in the distance that onboard ramp to enter the ship was being removed. The officer had to contact the captain by radio and ask for permission to allow me and my companion aboard and I can say that the pause in waiting for a reply was panic-attack inducing.

 

Thankfully he did because I cannot imagine what I would have done had I been stuck in a sparsely populated fjord in Norway with hardly anything other than what I was wearing plus some gift shop apparel and refrigerator magnets. 

 

After that harrowing experience I make it point to take steps and never allow myself to be in a similar situation again. As others have mentioned, among the tips I incorporated are to set an alarm on my phone for at least 1 hour before departure (and subsequent alarms); I double check the departure time on the Compass the night before whenever stopping at a port and on the sign on the way out as they scan your card to be sure it's prominent on my mind (before I hardly paid attention to them); and finally I scan and save as pdf files my passport, id and travel insurance papers and upload it as an attachment in an email to myself, and to a secure cloud vault for redundancy so that I can access it anywhere in the world with wifi availability. At some point I also became familiar with the STEP program and use it as well. It's also good to take a pic of the port agent info from the Cruise Compass, just in case.

 

Hopefully by Bebop1088 sharing her experience in this excellent thread it will help someone avoid a similar, potentially horrendous situation or ameliorate it should it occur.  

 Thank You for sharing your experience, It is comforting to know that I am not the only one who has made the mistake of losing track of time on vacation mode but I am also glad you were able to catch the ship. I would love to complain about my accommodations after missing the ship but I was really very fortunate that the stars aligned for us. 

This will certainly be a story I tell for years to come! 

[Bebop1088]

On 3/27/2022 at 7:33 AM, fox02554 said:

I'm glad to see you still talk of " we " ❤️🦩

 

Yes! We do, and we are doing well. It has become an anchor point for us. We we struggle or disagree one of us will just reference missing our cruise ship and we laugh and reset. We really feel that after getting through that experience without any arguments or issues we can do anything. 

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, Bebop1088 said:

Yes! We do, and we are doing well. It has become an anchor point for us. We we struggle or disagree one of us will just reference missing our cruise ship and we laugh and reset. We really feel that after getting through that experience without any arguments or issues we can do anything. 

Yes, also glad to still hear the term "we". If you two decided to get married on a cruise ship, DON'T MISS THE SHIP AGAIN!

 

I previously posted how we could have missed our ship on our first cruise when I got us on the train going the wrong way in Livorno, Italy towards Rome and not Florence.

 

Let me share how we ended up on that cruise as a way that a couple can work out disagreements. It was the winter of 2001, and I said to DW next summer will be our 25th anniversary, Why don't we try a cruise. She thought that was a good idea. She suggested we cruise to Alaska. I suggested we cruise to Bermuda as we would not have to fly, and who at that point of time thought flying was a good idea. (Actually, since that first cruise we have among our cruises done Bermuda and Alaska.)

 

So we agreed on a cruise, but each said no to the other's suggested destination. I then sent away for a brochure from a company that had an ad in the local paper. A cruise that caught my eye was from Barcelona to Barcelona with stops in Rome, Florence, other stops in Italy, and Malta. DW was (and still is) an art teacher, so I know she would love that. I overcame my fear of flying and suggested that cruise to her, and she enthusiastically agreed.

 

[Gamecock_Cruiser]

I know this is almost two years old, but it is an interesting read! We has passports, but never carry them off the ship... I always make sure I take a credit card off the ship for emergencies and when I travel. You never know when an issue will arise, such as this. Also, asking the host for a comped Atlantis room is a great idea. If I am ever stranded in Nassau, that will be my hotel choice. I don't know how comping works since I have never gambled there, but I am sure my Vegas host could back me for a room...

[decrepit old man]

What the hell did I just read

[cyntil8ing]

I know this is an old thread, but I want to throw in a suggestion that if you don't want to carry the planner, at least take a photo before leaving the ship. Not only will you have the all aboard time, but also the local agent's contact info if something goes wrong.

 

We had a ship leave us behind in Nassau, but due to a medical emergency, where my dad was taken from the ship's medical center to the local hospital. I sent my husband in the ambulance with Dad, while I packed up all our stuff and tried to find us lodging, during Christmas week, without luck. The port agent drove us around in a golf cart until we found somewhere with rooms available. He was so kind to us. I wish I remembered his name, but it was all a fog. I got the kids settled then he took me to the hospital. Riding the streets of Nassau in a golf cart is an adventure! We had all our belongings and passports, so that was a huge weight lifted, but I know what a deal it is to have to scramble like that at a moment's notice. Dad was released from the hospital the next day and we flew home the day after that, beating the ship home.

 

 

 

[ellewoods]

11 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

I know this is an old thread, but I want to throw in a suggestion that if you don't want to carry the planner, at least take a photo before leaving the ship. Not only will you have the all aboard time, but also the local agent's contact info if something goes wrong.

 

We had a ship leave us behind in Nassau, but due to a medical emergency, where my dad was taken from the ship's medical center to the local hospital. I sent my husband in the ambulance with Dad, while I packed up all our stuff and tried to find us lodging, during Christmas week, without luck. The port agent drove us around in a golf cart until we found somewhere with rooms available. He was so kind to us. I wish I remembered his name, but it was all a fog. I got the kids settled then he took me to the hospital. Riding the streets of Nassau in a golf cart is an adventure! We had all our belongings and passports, so that was a huge weight lifted, but I know what a deal it is to have to scramble like that at a moment's notice. Dad was released from the hospital the next day and we flew home the day after that, beating the ship home.

 

 

 

This is a good tip that I read years ago on this board and still do on every cruise. I snap a picture of the port agent info each morning before we depart 

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, cyntil8ing said:

I know this is an old thread, but I want to throw in a suggestion that if you don't want to carry the planner, at least take a photo before leaving the ship. Not only will you have the all aboard time, but also the local agent's contact info if something goes wrong.

 

We had a ship leave us behind in Nassau, but due to a medical emergency, where my dad was taken from the ship's medical center to the local hospital. I sent my husband in the ambulance with Dad, while I packed up all our stuff and tried to find us lodging, during Christmas week, without luck. The port agent drove us around in a golf cart until we found somewhere with rooms available. He was so kind to us. I wish I remembered his name, but it was all a fog. I got the kids settled then he took me to the hospital. Riding the streets of Nassau in a golf cart is an adventure! We had all our belongings and passports, so that was a huge weight lifted, but I know what a deal it is to have to scramble like that at a moment's notice. Dad was released from the hospital the next day and we flew home the day after that, beating the ship home.

 

 

 

Glad it all worked out, and nice to hear how helpful the port agent was.

 

And another good reason to have passports even when the cruise does not require one. Yes, you would have all got home, but all of you having passports made that much simpler.