Voyager comes to the rescue of Carnival couple!

[PaulMedik]

Actually, I'm the OP, and I wasn't the one who posted on the Carnival board.

...................

 

I thought it was an interesting story and kind of the Captain Gerry. I'd hate to be on shore and watch my ship sail off into the sunset!

 

 

jlmolner,

 

Sorry for the OP misdirection. I was referring to the Carnival board OP, and not the OP of this thread. :) In all the comments going back and forth I missed who said what and when. :o

 

It definately is an interesting story with a happy ending for a change. I can't say as I would like missing my ship, but if another cruise ship picked me up for transport to the next port, it would be an excursion like no other that's for sure!

[PantherFan]

If I were the couple who watched their CCL ship sail away, I'd seriously be looking at RCI for my next cruise vacation!

 

I have seen RCL leave people behind in the past so Carnival is no different.

 

We all are told when to be back onboard.

I would say the couple should be grateful to RCL and next time purchase a watch! :rolleyes:

[Bargeo]

We were on the Empress OTS last week, two people missed the ship in Antigua---fortunately the Explorer OTS was still in port, and picked them up and met the Empress in Barbados!! Weren't they lucky?? I can't imagine the feeling of getting back to port and not seeing your ship there! Wonder if they were taught a lesson..

 

Helen

We were also on this cruise. Captain Olsen waited a half hour for these people. We were to be on board at 3:30 for sail time of 4:00. We finally left at 4:30. Meanwhile, their names were constantly announced. That evening Capt Olsen was asked about leaving them. He said, "I waited as long as I could. When I say 3:30, I mean 3:30." We didn't know what happened to them.....nice to know they did catch a ride.

[J and G]

I have seen RCL leave people behind in the past so Carnival is no different.

 

We all are told when to be back onboard.

 

I would say the couple should be grateful to RCL and next time purchase a watch! :rolleyes:

I totally agree....we have seen people left running down the dock in both Key West and in Cozumel as our RCI ship departed.

 

On time is on time....the entire group should not be inconvenienced by a few selfish people who think that everyone should wait for them. Several members of our tour group planned to toast sail away on their balconies and then hurry into the shower before dinner. Because we waited for a few late arrivals (not on a ship sponsored tour), those people had to choose between sail away and a shower. (If they were at my table for dinner, I hope they chose the shower :D )

 

The people who board late are probably the same people who were 25 minutes late returning to our tour bus at Chichen Itza....then boarded the bus waving like celebrities to the rest of us, without so much as an attempt at an apology :mad: ! Had I been in that situation, I would have crept onto the bus in total embarrassment, begging forgiveness from the waiting passengers and driver. We didn't have time to do any shopping at the pier, as was planned, because of our tardy tour-mates.

 

I only hope that the lesson to those who "hitchhike" to the next port on another ship is not that if you arrive just a teeny bit late, you will get a free night on another ship, possibly a much nicer one than the one you paid to cruise on.

[BecciBoo]

Haven't you noticed, common courtesy is not a priority these days, especially on cruises. Somehow, manners have gotten swept under the carpet instead of being taught in the first years of life:rolleyes: It's kind of a pet peeve with me. Even though I cannot throw the first stone. People who cut line is my waterloo. I just cannot stand that!

[michigan tim]

That was very nice of the Captain to do this. Saved those folks a lot of money and headaches. It would make me a customer of RCI.

 

What makes you think this service was provided gratis? They may have paid major $$$ for the RCI transfer.

[Marla07860]

after reading all this I feel me better looking into going on RCCL. I've only been on Disney Cruise Line and although that will be my number one cruise line, I would like to try RCCL. Now only if I can stop booking Disney Cruises while on the cruise lol

[sea_u_onboard]

Now another observation: Here on CC, this board is the RCCL board. Carnival people have their own board. We have cruising in common, but each board should be allowed their honest opinions without comment. That's the primary function for these boards. The problem arises when posters go to the other boards and stir up trouble. We should be able to say what we want to about another line and so should the other board, but coming over here or going over there and making derrogatory comments isn't kosher. In fact, one person I know I had a run in with earlier in '07 again has come over to our boards to make her critical comments, even though she was agued on by one of our posters. By the same token, our posters should not have gone over there to make theirs. Let's let each other have our boards and stay put. Good fences make good neighbors.

While I agree with some of your post I find no reason to "let each other have our boards and stay put". As you even pointed out it was someone from the RCL who posted a link to this thread on the Carnival board and if I recall there were already so "disparaging" remarks made about Carnival. I thought the story was pretty cool - but the poster who posted the link on Carnival should have known that trouble was a brewing with some of the Carnival comments that were made - just like there would have been if the shoe was on the other foot.

 

I prefer to read the story and ignore the comments directed at a cruise line. As a matter of fact I believe I was the first from the Carnival board to post to the thread after the link was posted on the Carnival board. I think it's a great story. I don't think people needed to make the "extra" commentary and I "choose" to ignore those comments. I could have made some of my own having cruised RCL before but I'm not that kind of person. Many who have never even sailed Carnival seem to jump on the bashing bandwagon. I chose to get my info first hand. Maybe someday I'll try RCL again but personally for me it wasn't worth the extra expense. To each their own.

 

Bashing really isn't necessary. Everyone has their own preferences and own experiences - there have been reviews where 2 people were on the same exact cruise and had 2 totally different experiences. Just because ones expectations were different then anothers does not mean there is anything wrong with the cruiseline - the person who had the bad experience just needs to find a line they enjoy. I enjoy Carnival. I went on Rhapsody - which I think even RCL cruisers can admit isn't the cream of the crop for RCL and I had a decent time - not enough to cruise the ship again. If the opporunity ever presented itself I would try one of RCL's newer ships as I hope to try many other lines before I leave this earth.

 

So while good fences make good neighbors are you telling me you've never gone over to your neighbors to visit?

[tkportersat]

Obviously I would not be "mad" as ya'll are interpreting it, my comment was obviously read into way too seriously - which should have been realized by my later post. Maybe I used the incorrect smiley face, my bad.

Makes me seriously not want to post at all anymore, maybe I should stick to my roll call board and not venture out:confused:

Have a nice day folks.

I would be glad to have had the couple on my ship, it wouldn't have made me the least bit "mad". In fact it wouldn't have been my business at all. I would have been too involved in my own vacation to even notice, but proud my captain did.

Wow. Well if that happens I hope you just march right up to the Captain and tell him how you feel.

Why would you be mad? They paid for a cruise. You paid for a cruise. I don't see how their presence on your ship would affect your cruise experience at all.

[*CruiseFan*]

Great PR move for RCCL.

 

Yes, yes it was :)

 

And a very nice thing to do :)

[Socref124]

A couple recently in Grand Caymen on a Carnival cruise ship recently missed returning to their ship at the end of the day. The ship was still in the harbor, and the couple was ready to get onto the tender, the harbor master radioed the ship, but it wouldn't wait for them. The harbor master then radioed the master of the Voyager, who gave them a lift to Cozumel to meet their ship the next day.

 

Wonder if their next cruise will be on RCI? :D

 

Kudos to RCCL and Captain Gerry.:D

[Cruising89143]

What makes you think this service was provided gratis? They may have paid major $$$ for the RCI transfer.

 

I don't know if the couple was charged but something tells me that this was done by the Captain as a way to help the couple out plus the chance of gaining a new customer.

[Cruising89143]

Final thoughts:

1. I love RC and Carnival - and any other line that eventually sails out of Texas

2. Capt Gerry sounds like a nice man

3. Don't be late back to your ship and you won't have to worry about someone picking you up.

4. Don't bash other cruise lines and we can all get along.

 

And not every negative comment should be considered bashing regardless of cruise line. Yes, I do agree that if one has never cruised on a certain line then their comments should be kept to themselves but if a person has cruised on Carnival or any other line for that matter and thinks that they are the Motel 6 of the cruise industry then that is their opinion and not bashing. Some folks just need to grow some thicker skin.

[islandbound]

I wondered about this kind of predicament myself. We were on the Jan 6th Voyager cruise and when we left Grand Cayman there was a line a mile long to get on a tender for the Freedom of the Seas. They were due out of port within minutes - I wondered how they would get so many people on quickly. We walked right onto a tender for the Voyager and was back on the ship in no time.

 

After arriving back, we went to the Windjammer and I watched the Freedom turning the ship completely around with the gangway open while several tenders raced around the ship to get passengers on board. I asked an officer on the Voyager about that and he said it happens all the time. He said that they keep in contact with the harbor and that they will always wait on someone who is waiting for a tender but they will turn the ship. (I have no idea what the real story was with the Carnival passengers). He also said the reason that the Freedom had such long lines was that they were only given 3 tenders on that particular day and that the Voyager was given 4, even though the Freedom had 1000 more passengers than the Voyagers. He said it is up to the harbor patrol at the ports to decide. I can't imagine what it would be like to watch your ship turning around while you are in a tender racing to get to it. I commend Capt. Gerry for taking these people onboard. He truly is a great captain in more than one way.

[PantherFan]

Well I don't consider myself a "Carnival cheerleader" as much as a "cruise cheerleader".....but Carnival was my first cruise which I think holds a special place in my heart. I know some of the comments are meant to be funny. I do think it was nice of Capt. Gerry to collect the passengers, but I wonder how the paying passengers of the Voyager felt about to late comers getting to stay on their ship a night for free?? I know I would be mad, this is the most expensive trip I will be taking on the Voyager in March. :o

 

tkportersat--I grabbed your post.

 

I seriously doubt RCL gave them a night for free:D

 

It was nice of the Captain to allow them onboard but he didn't have to at all. ( I think the folks that missed the Carnival ship should pay to board the Voyager or any other ship for that matter, they are not entitled to a free night because they couldn't be back on their ship in time:rolleyes: )

[CrissyBarrows]

I wondered about this kind of predicament myself. We were on the Jan 6th Voyager cruise and when we left Grand Cayman there was a line a mile long to get on a tender for the Freedom of the Seas. They were due out of port within minutes - I wondered how they would get so many people on quickly. We walked right onto a tender for the Voyager and was back on the ship in no time.

 

After arriving back, we went to the Windjammer and I watched the Freedom turning the ship completely around with the gangway open while several tenders raced around the ship to get passengers on board. I asked an officer on the Voyager about that and he said it happens all the time. He said that they keep in contact with the harbor and that they will always wait on someone who is waiting for a tender but they will turn the ship. (I have no idea what the real story was with the Carnival passengers). He also said the reason that the Freedom had such long lines was that they were only given 3 tenders on that particular day and that the Voyager was given 4, even though the Freedom had 1000 more passengers than the Voyagers. He said it is up to the harbor patrol at the ports to decide. I can't imagine what it would be like to watch your ship turning around while you are in a tender racing to get to it. I commend Capt. Gerry for taking these people onboard. He truly is a great captain in more than one way.

 

 

we were on that cruise as well and were so happy when there was no line for the voyager! I felt bad for all those people standing in line!

[crisp1]

What makes you think this service was provided gratis? They may have paid major $$$ for the RCI transfer.

 

I wonder if the couple was allowed to set up an account for the night and get a S&S card so they could buy essential toiletries, alchohol, cigarettes and gamble, or if the essentials were gratis ( not the booze or smokes :rolleyes:) Were they allowed into the dining room, or did they have to eat in the Lido ( Probably the Lido if they had shorts etc on) I hope they had cash to tip their stateroom attendant :D

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

After reading some of these comments it is easy to guess that the "C" in RCI doesnt stand for class. ;)

 

How many times has RCI left passengers behind because they were late?

 

Yes I read about this thread a few days ago on the Carnival board and it didnt go anywhere. Maybe it wasnt a big deal and the people over there didnt feel a need to bash RCI over and over again.

 

Good for Captain Jerry for picking up the Carnival passengers. Yes I would agree as some of you have pointed out, that this was a great PR move. I guess he was trying to make up for the time when half the passengers of another RCI ship had to spend the night on shore in a storm with little or no shelter. :D

[wolfganghowell]

Ah hostility, ain't it fun. Wow....

 

The rules are that the last tender leaves at a certain time. If you are in line before that time, you will be considered "on time". That's why the "last" tender says 3:30 and the ship leaves at 4.

 

I'm sure the couple in question know they goofed up. I'm sure if it was feasible for the Carnival ship to wait longer for them they would have. They certainly weren't obligated to. Captain Gerry did a very nice thing - a compassionate human gesture of goodwill - and people make it a war of words between Carnival and RCI. Utter silliness.

 

Carnival didn't do anything wrong. Captain Gerry did something kind. The couple involved hopefully learned a valuable lesson. End of story.....

[gbcruise]

Well I don't consider myself a "Carnival cheerleader" as much as a "cruise cheerleader".....but Carnival was my first cruise which I think holds a special place in my heart. I know some of the comments are meant to be funny. I do think it was nice of Capt. Gerry to collect the passengers, but I wonder how the paying passengers of the Voyager felt about to late comers getting to stay on their ship a night for free?? I know I would be mad, this is the most expensive trip I will be taking on the Voyager in March. :o

 

I have to say it never crossed my mind when Capt Gerry announced our two new passengers aboard that they were staying for free and it certainly didnt take away from our experience thinking someone else was getting a better deal. Actually we wondered if maybe they had to pay a small fee for the night?

[Miss Vickie]

I have seen RCL leave people behind in the past so Carnival is no different.

 

We all are told when to be back onboard.

 

I would say the couple should be grateful to RCL and next time purchase a watch! :rolleyes:

 

 

Like I said, I thought we were going to be left behind by RCL just once - and it would have been our fault. I know all lines do it - we've see it happen. And yes, they should be grateful. I suspect it is actually rather rare to have another cruise ship (from a different line) ferry a straggler to catch up with their ship. It's normally up to the traveler to figure out how to make their own way to the next island. Kudos to Captain Gerry, and the harbor master who intervened on their behalf!

[amybear912]

On time is on time....the entire group should not be inconvenienced by a few selfish people who think that everyone should wait for them. .

 

DH and I have a saying at work that could apply here:

 

If you are 15 minutes early, you are on time.

If you arrive right on time, you are late...

If you are later than that, you are looking for another job (or in this case, another ship):)

[TPKeller]

DH and I have a saying at work that could apply here:

 

If you are 15 minutes early, you are on time.

If you arrive right on time, you are late...

If you are later than that, you are looking for another job (or in this case, another ship):)

Wow, I wouldn't last long working there! :eek:

 

This reminds me of a large local employer (a call center for an insurance company) which has a terrible reputation for treating employees like 4th graders... from what I've heard, you apparently have to raise your hand to get a bathroom break!

 

Theron

[Rancher Dave]

Like I said, I thought we were going to be left behind by RCL just once - and it would have been our fault. I know all lines do it - we've see it happen. And yes, they should be grateful. I suspect it is actually rather rare to have another cruise ship (from a different line) ferry a straggler to catch up with their ship. It's normally up to the traveler to figure out how to make their own way to the next island. Kudos to Captain Gerry, and the harbor master who intervened on their behalf!

 

It wouldn't surprise me to see another ship from same line refuse to help move someone forward.

 

I am sure the Harbor Master's request played into favor of the CCL travelers. Surprising the CCL Captain told Harbor Master basically tough...hope that CCL captain doesn't need a favor from Harbor Master anytime soon.