My husband had a stroke two years ago. We have traipsed all over Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean. A cruise is a wonderful way for my husband to still be able to travel with limited mobility.
I spent 7 years working on cruiseships....and we tell the passengers that if you do a private shore excursion and something happens to the vehicle and you're late, you'll have to make your own way to the next port of call!! The ship waits for NO ONE !!
I went on a non smoking cruise and a teenager with his extended family smoked in their room, setting off the alarm...they put the whole family off the ship at the next port, charged them for cleaning the room and they had to pay for their flight home.
On our cruise two wives got into a fight over the use of the limited number of passenger washing machines in the laundry. Their husbands got involved and there was a decent punch up. They all got kicked off at the next port.
ZERO sympathy for people that miss the ship! 3498 people made it back on and those two were told that the ship leaves at 5pm SHIP TIME not local time. Bring a watch and set it to ship time.
This happens frequently. The cruise itinerary is fixed, the schedule tight, and the cruise ship company can’t hold up the thousands of passengers already on board just to wait for the few who failed to plan properly. The only exception is: If you are part of a shore excursion that was booked through the cruise company they will wait. Unfortunately, booking through them costs twice as much. It is better to just be punctual.
They tell you a bazillion times when to be back on the ship. They announce it over speakers the night before, the day of, and there are signs posted when you are getting off the ship , they even put it on the newsletter sent to your room the night before. There is really no excuse.
I know right. XD Like get real people. I recently just came back form Carnival Splendor and Glory was right next to us. One of the family's were left even though we waited 20 minutes for them. They were left in St. Thomas.
There is no excuse for them to be late, correct. However, usually, or at least the cruises I've been on, if you're late, they don't abandon you depending on where the ship is. The ship doesn't return, but they usually grab a boat typically used because of reasons like this to take them to the ship where they can board. If the ship is too far, then they don't do it of course. That ship was definitely not to far, it was still backing up from the dock. Seems like those guys "helping" the couple were just annoyed.
In their defense, they will wait upwards of 2-3 hours for a person left behind. They will not leave the dock if you booked your excursions through them, as they have contact with the guide. I've seen security guards pillage an island trying to find guests that have not yet boarded the ship and I've always seen our ship turn around 2 hours out of port to meet up with the coast guard to transfer an injured passenger so that they could get better medical care. Oh, and I've also seen them stop and have a boat to ship transfer for a guest that was left. You are on a time schedule with these ships and you can't wait for somebody that doesn't listen to directions, especially as lenient as they are and how much more time they allow before pulling out of port. If you get left, that's your own fault.
+screamingdoor Exactly. My wife and I were on an excursion on one of the islands along with 55 other passengers when the bus broke down. The excursion was booked through Carnival. The Ship waited for all of the passengers with any problems. Carnival sent out a replacement bus, loaded the passengers, when we arrived the ships moaring lines were still tied to the docks and we boarded and off we went.
5/8/2012 Carnival Spirit. We just got back from an Alaska cruise. Two women didn't make it back onboard at Skagway. They had to spend the night in Skagway, catch a small float plane to the next port. Yes they had to pay for all this. yes it was their fault for missing the ship. DON"T MISS THE SHIP!!
Small point, at 2:05 it's not actually the engines in reverse at all. What you are seeing are the Bow Thrusters, separate engines which are located at the bow (front) of the ship. They are more like underwater jet engines than anything and swivel so that the ship can actually turn around on itself, like a spinning bottle. This is why you never see Cruise Ships being pulled by a tugboat.
I was just on the Carnival Breeze that went to Grand Turk. Passengers are warned multiple times to not be late returning to the ship as it will sail on time. The tough thing about Grand Turk is we were told there is only 1 international flight per week! So I don't know how this couple would make it to the next port of call for this ship.
I work as a Tour Escort for a cruise, people often ask me "why should I pay that much just to make the tour with you guys?" and thats the awnswer right there, the ship waits for us if anything happens (traffic jam, flat tire).
This is why it's best to buy a trip whilst on board. Yes it's more expensive. But they will never leave until their trips are back! Love cruising. Always had a good time. No issues. Great food, great shows and waking up each day in a different port or country!
This is frankly one of my favorite things to do on a cruise. Right before the ship casts off I watch for the "pier runners". I've brought out the binoculars and have seen people at a full sprint in flip flops and souvenir bags from the beginning of the pier as our ship was leaving. Cruise tip... BRING A WATCH and make sure it's set to SHIP TIME not local time.
I was just in Grand Turk last week. Same thing happened. 4 people missed the ship. The island is only 7 miles long, a taxi can take you around it in 45 minutes so there is no excuse.
They can't wait for you. You get about 10 minutes after they blow their horns, then goodbye. It's not the end of the world. Just expensive. We were having such a good time in Palermo we jumped ship and had them hold our luggage in Rome. When you get off ship on your own you have to keep a tight schedule - plan on about 4 hours of free time, with the rest for travel back to the ship. If you cannot deal with that then stick to the cruise lines package tours - they are guaranteed to get you back on the boat. You can see a lot of stuff on a cruise, you just cannot relax when you are there! So long as you have your passport and credit card you are OK.
I was in a situation just over a year ago where we nearly missed the ship. We where in Athens and after being pick-pocketed returned to the port. We called the ship to make them aware that we where at security in the terminal and one of the id cards had been lost. but for some un-known reason the message was not relayed. As the final bells started tooting as the go ahead was given. Thankfully someone bothered to question and after a quick check they discovered us still waiting. :0)
It's company policy but even if it wasn't the decision by the captain is pretty simple. Piss off 2 people by leaving or piss off thousands of passengers by delaying the ship.
We were on a ship one time where about an hour after we left this couple came up in a para-sailing boat waving their cards and screaming to be let on. The ship did not stop for them.
The captain of carnival breeze told me that when people get left behind people yell at him but he tells them that he left them to enjoy the island and stuff...
iiLizzie W Why would they yell at him?! Their lives are not in danger, they're just drunk idiots who fucked up and lost. In World War II if you fell off a ship in a convoy or task force that was sailing to battle guess who picked you up? Sharks.
iiLizzie W People dont realise how much it actually costs to have the ship waiting for them. The cruise ships main engines use about 1L fuel a second when running on the lowest RPM, that is only the main engines, count in the generators as well and youll get a higher number. Also its very expensive to be in port alone, can cost millions. Furthermore you keep the port personell unable to undock the ship, so all the other ships in port would have to wait for you too. So multiply those numbers by 10. Now counting all the people waiting for you to finnish your icecream in the park, on the cruise line alone youll have well over 5000 people waiting, so if all the other ships in port are cruise liners too, that would add up to 50.000. 50.000 people waiting for you to eat your icecream while money is being wasted faster than you could ever manage to waste on your own, think about that. When passengers get left behind, i feel more sorry about the port personel who will have to deal with them than the passengers
My husband and I will go on our 6th Carnival Cruise this Summer. We love them. Everyone has a schedule of when the ship departs. It is our personal responsibility to get back to the ship on time. I do not sympathize with people who get left. They chose to be late, so they caused getting left, not the cruise line.
I've been on several cruises and it's not uncommon to hear an announcement at the time the ship is supposed to leave for a specific guest to contact customer service desk. It's because according to the computer, they haven't returned. Depending on the schedule, the captain may wait for 30 minutes or so...never for a crew member though.
We were on the Conquest in 2009, and the ship was leaving Grand Cayman. The ship stopped and a few minutes later, a speedboat sped over and let a couple onto the ship. People were pissed, yelling, throwing things. People need to respect other travelers and know that it's not all about them.
a ship must depart on time if it is to make it to the next port on time and at the correct speed, If a ship is running behind and has to speed up even one knot of speed this can burn up thousands of gallons extra fuel.
You get what you pay for. Is it really worth it saving $50 and go on a independent excursion? Now this couple got all their belongings in their room. They now have to fork out big bucks to fly to the cruise next destination and mostly likely will be paying $400 per person to fly and hopefully they have their passport with them. Get that piece of mind and don't skimp on your expenses.
On one cruise, we watched from our balcony while waiting for a bunch of crew who were late getting back. The ship waited but we were told they were out if the ship at the next port. Another time it was a plane of passengers that was late to embark. The ship waited fir them but NOT their luggage. Their luggage caught up to them at the next port...2 days later!
I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was on a tour. We had a problem with traffic getting back to the ship. The tour was sold to us by the cruise company (I got it for free). We were late getting to the ship but the ship waited for us. We were the last to get on and as soon as we were on they left.
Same thing happened to a bus load of us in Fiji. The ship delayed departure for almost an hour before we arrived at the wharf. The Fijian Police brass band which traditionally lines up at the wharf to play for arriving and departing cruise ships played the whole extra time everyone was waiting. Great intro for us, lol.
It's not like they don't tell you a thousand times what time to be back on the ship and what time the ship is departing. Many times they remind you of the time change too. Some people are ALWAYS late and these are probably those people. Last cruise I was on my friend was making an expensive purchase and was so worried about being late (we had enough time) that she wanted to cancel the sale. They, of course did not want to lose the sale, so they actually had someone come over from the ship to assure her she had enough time. We were on board with time to spare because we knew what time the ship was leaving!!!
What usually happens is that the late passengers get a ride out to the ship via any available boat at the port. It may be the harbor pilot's boat, or a harbor patrol boat, or a tug, or sometimes somebody takes pity on them (and charges a fee) to run them out in a personally owned boat. Generally there is a fee for this extra ride. (An idiot tax.)
LOL and I was on this ship during this specific cruise!! Had AWESOME time and made sure i was on-board on time!! Didn't notice at all we were 2 people short,, ohwell :p
I just returned from a cruise around Norway. When the ship left Bergen, a couple, who were over half an hour late for boarding, showed up just as the ship was pulling away from the pier. Guess what? The Norwegian Coast Guard offered them a ride and brought them back aboard the cruise ship while it was already on the open sea! Don't know what they paid for that, though.
That is exactly right, the people have PLENTY of warning even before the ship heads out. Also the horn keeps going off to warn everyone to get back to the ship so there is no excuse for missing the boat.
Good, maybe next time they will pay more attention to the time and get aboard the ship before it leaves. I hope they had to fly to the next port of call at their own expense.
it doesnt matter what cruise line you travel....if you are late for reboarding, you are left behind...just like if you travel by bus and get off at one of the stops to get something to eat or drink...or travel by plane and you land to drop and reload new pax and you get off and return late...your not on, your left behind..you are supposed to be responsible for keeping up with reboarding times...there are schedules that need to be kept...
For the ship to come back and dock, tie up then depart again you are looking at about $9,000 costs. is that couple prepared to write out a cheque on the spot? I doubt it.
Hahahahaha, love your comment, shows that even in USA there is somebody with common sense. No darling, not the world, just USA. In remainder of the world you cannot sue somebody for not writing on the lid coffee hot. And you do not sue somebody for not watching the steps, in the rest of world it is called common sense. But luckily, new generations in US are getting smarter and more responsible.
Same thing happened to a couple of girls that were on my deck. I have no idea what they were doing that they couldn't get back to the damn ship on time.
most cruise ships will NOT wait for you to get back onboard, unless you book an excursion on the ship and for some reason it makes you late. if you don't book a excursion on the ship and you miss the ship, then you have 2 options. 1) find a way to get to the next port or 2) find a way to get to the disembarkation port. both options YOU have to pay for because it was your fault.
That's just sad. When I was on my cruise, I went back to the ship 1 hour early. So 4:30 was the time we had to be back, I was at the pool swimming or eating or something at 3:00
I've been on the Glory too! Just last year actually, in May. It IS a nice ship. I think we were actually like 30 min late at one port waiting on people...don't even want to know how long they waited for THESE people lol
Im glad they missed the ship. People like these make me angry, they think they have the right to make everyone wait till their ready. I get this at airports - usually because someone wants to stay in the bar drinking right upto the very last moment
passengers are told in advance that the ship cannot wait for late passengers. After several hours in port, how in the world can you be late unless you're in hospital or dead?
Bad traffic, tour bus breaks down, another traveller in your tour group gets injured/sick causing unexpected delay, people get completely lost in cities they are visiting, passengers rely on local public transport which may be inefficient. All of these things can cause people to miss the ship.
Carnival isn't the only line that has left late passengers behind. All of the passengers know what time they have to be back at the ship. There's no excuse whatever to be late getting back to the ship.
This is why I'm VERY hesitant about even going ashore in ports of call. they tell you SO many times when you have to be back aboard but the idiots don't listen.
They tell you the exact time the ship leaves. You are responsible to be aware of the time and be on board. I've taken many cruises and arrive one hour before the ship leaves. I don't take any tours that are not sponsored by the cruise company. If you are on a cruise line sponsored tour and a bus breaks down, the ship will wait. If not you are going independent from the company, and something happens you are screwed and must pay your way to the next port to reboard the ship.
Martinez Alexander, I knew there had to be a good reason to take ship sponsored tours that cost more than independent tours. Thanks for the information.
Usually you would contact the cruise company and tell them of the situation, most companies pay and arrange travel for you to arrive at the next port of call. I can imagine it being highly stressful but that's why you MUST arrive back to the vessel in good time.
But they were standing right there? That;s harsh, bless them. I always made sure I planned to be back on board at least an hour before cruise time, just encase I ran late
That's why on my latest cruise (on the NCL Spirit in the Mediterranean last Oct.) I have booked excursions through the ship. It's more pricy, but it's well worth not missing the trip. As for the passengers, I believe that they should've made that investment of booking excursions through the line.
@congamanshango what type of room did you get? usually, the better room you get and the more you pay the more "friendly service" you get...usually when I go on carnival the service was excellent, but I don't know about Glory because I've never been on it
You're thinking of the main thrusters. Some of the newer ships have rotatable main thruster pods (azimuth pods/azimuth thusters/azipods) instead of props and rudders. The bow thrusters aren't rotatable and don't need to be. They also aren't like jet engines. :) They're impellers. Just propellers (like on most boats) inside a tube.
Only just seen this, I have been fortunate enough to have gone on quite a lot of cruises and this is all too common a practice, so annoying when (as I did) miss out on seeing a little bit more when your in port and hurry back on board only to watch over the side some slow walking late comer who couldn't care less about anyone else, simple remedy, place a reasonable charge against there credit card.
so true... i'd never go on a carnival ship beacause of that. My one friend got left behind but he was on the freedom of the seas so he got a ride back to the ship
@ryn1010 That depends. If they booked their shore excursion with Carnival's excursion desk on the ship, then the couple cannot be held liable for getting back late to the ship. However, if they went on an excursion with one of those excursion operators not santioned by the ship and miss the ship's departure, then the couple are on their on own in getting back to the ship's next port.
This year we where at Cozumel on the carnival victory, docked on the other side of the same pier was the Carnival Paradise, the victory was not leaving port until 10 pm, however the paradise was leaving at 5. Several Staff from the paradise was out on the port going up and down the pier asking everyone including myself if they were from the paradise I said no and asked when the Paradise was leaving I was told now, they where blowing whistles even going out of the port to the shopping area trying to get remaining people back on the ship, a person who had too much to drink on shore got a lift down the pier to the ship,more than an hour later after 6 pm they pulled in the ramps and untied the ship, during this the last couple was slowly walking down the pier nearing the ship not even noticing the ropes being removed and once at the ship only then they notices the ship moving away form the pier and they started screaming for the ship to come back, the workers on the pier said they will not come back and they should have been on time. Top it all off a very young child of theirs was on board. The crew went well beyond trying to get people on that ship and was late leaving, they have a schedule to keep, sorry but passengers should know the all aboard time which is usually a half hour before they leave port, you are also told to keep your watches on ship time. It is a lesson hard learned.
one word of advice if you go on a cruise Make sure you book everything you do through the cruise line because if for some reason something happens and you miss your cruise the cruise line would be responsible to getting you to your next destination/port, etc Now if you don't book your day at land by the cruise line and u miss it you are on your own for good and getting to your next port Your responsible not the cruise line because u did not book that journey through the cruise line
I sawed the Movie,when lucy was late for the Ship bound to Hawaii and they managed to fly her to the ship on Helicopter and they also coulded used a speed boat to bring them back to the ship.People are responsible for being late and they said,try to make it on board two hours before disabarking.I was there on time and I really enjoyed it.
Good! They are probably the ones that are always late, the ones whose friends are always waiting for them, always think it's no big deal, "what's a couple of minutes". I hope it cost them as much to meet up with the ship as the entire cruise cost in the first place.
I have been on several cruises and one of my favorite things to do is get back on the ship early, order room service, sit on my balcony and watch the people running in when it gets near departure time. Sick I know but still fun.
I plan on going on a cruise in Dec 2014 with my step mom for a girls week out/ bonding time. I have never been on one in my life (im only 15 so ill probs go on more) but I have been on a plain and I know that the same rules apply. if your late your ass is staying behind. I feel bad for them cause all of their things are on the ship, but at the same time, to bad. you should have an alarm on your phone or watch set for at least a half hour before or not wonder or stray to far from the dock....well now we know that they will never do this again. :P
Been on 20 cruises ,did see an elderly lady catch the pilot boat and actually cought up with the ship and climbed the ladder to get aboard. She must have hade some clout because an officer I talked to said they don't do that for everyboby.
Even after the 4 Carnival Ships having problems in just the last couple of months? Seems to me Carnival's "affordable" prices are biting the company in the ass now with the lack of funding for maintenance and safety checks.
the best thing about this is that Grand Turk is the Smallest Island EVER... Its a Beach (which you can see when the ship pulls out)... a Few Shops in the Port and a Margaritaville... So the 2 passengers would have heard and most probably Seen the ship setting Sail.. Also you can hear the announcement off the ship from the beach when your on land.... Maybe they were finishing there Margaritas lol
What happened was they went on an independent excursion through a tour company not with the cruise ship. Booking independent tours/excursions is always cheaper than booking it with the cruise ship. The guided excursion tour bus this couple were on suffered a breakdown and were late coming back to port. Normally cruise ships would wait if you book an excursion tour with them. But since this couple didn't, the cruise ship could care less since they didn't get that extra income and incentive from this couple. Money talks my people, that's what it comes down to. I feel bad for this 2 people.
Exactly. We booked shore tours during our cruise with the cruise line and independent companies. Luckily for us, when things did go wrong it was the responsibility of the cruise line and the ship was obligated to wait for us. Nearly an hour delay.
We booked a tour in the Bahamas on the Carnival Sensation and the old bus broke down but we made it back with time to spare after another bus was called in (We booked the tour with Carnival)
Trust me, you are on your vacation. A vacation to relax. The last thing you want on your vacation is to deal with unexpected expenses and stress because you wanted to save a couple of bucks through an independent excursion. Get that peace of mind and book through the cruise line when you are onboard. It is so so much worth it. Remember YOU are on YOUR vacation. A vacation is a way to relax. So RELAX and don't put yourself in possible stress situations.
and that's why i always triple check my phone's clock to be sure it's in sync with the ship's time. i'd die if i spent half of my vacation trying to catch back up with the ship.
