Ever missed a cruise ship from a port ?

Question

Always wondered what people did who miss the ship on a day in port. Many people wouldn't have their passports with them or a credit card, or know that they needed to find the port agent.

If you know any details, how did they get to the next port and what did it cost them ??

Not looking for what you COULD/SHOULD do, I'd like answers from people who had to actually find the port agent after the ship had left.

Answer 1

I did not miss the ship in Cozumel but I sure could have missed it.

I was snorkeling and got tossed by a wave onto some rocks and had my shoulder dislocated.  I was taken by ambulance to the ER where I was sedated (Mexican drugs!) and the shoulder reduced.  My wife did not have a credit card and only had about $45 in cash.  The hospital negotiated the cost to "How much do you have on you?".  

The hospital called the port agent and he met us at the hospital and drove us to the ship at no charge.  Celebrity treated me excellently for the remainder of the trip with extra service.

This could have been a problem - but I also had the travel insurance that would have taken care of any problem.  Even though we did not have a credit card that day, we took our passports and the ship identification card with us before getting off the ship.

Answer 2

i did miss the day of departure. We were in nassau Bahamas and i got there just as the boat left. The next stop was a privat island owned by the cruiseing company so i couldnt get a plane in. i had to take a plane into a smaller island that had a boat that belonged to the cruising company that would take me to the island. The cost of all this....

one night in hotel room: $257.00

plane ride to island: $2762.00

Boat ride:$50.00

Answer 3

LOL ive been on a cruise ship b 4 they make sure everyone is on board if if someone is missing they wait 1 hour for them and if they dont come the police find them and bring them to the ship

Answer 4

I was always on time, but twice others were left.  Last time these two young men were left in Acapulco.  They said when they rejoined the ship at the next port it cost them $100 each to get a cab to drive them there.  There was no airport or railway station at the next port and the only way was to drive.  In Hawaii a family had to fly from the island they were left at to the next.  That was pretty easy, but expensive.  There was five of them !

Answer 5

a party from my group missed the boat on the first day due to plane problems.  They were put up in Hotels as well as flown on planes to meet us by the 2nd day of our cruise.  We were on a Alaskan cruise and were shuttled from Anchorage to Juneau and then to the ranger station near Glacier Bay.  They were then brought aboard the ship via Tenure.  They were reimbursed for all expenses and plus were given several free gifts.  Most cruise lines will work with you.  However if you miss the boat on a self tour, it is your responsibility to meet the boat and the next port.

Answer 6

I worked for Holland America, on the MS Noordam.   There are 2 world ports that we can always count on to lose people or staff.

Jamaica!!!  People  are always getting nabbed by the police for drugs and we have to leave them behind.  They show up at the next port looking like trash, and are not happy at the cost.

Cozumel  Mexico:   Carlos and Charlies has caused more staff to miss ships than any other cause.  Staff get to partying hard and drinking and miss their ships.  The port agents who have to wait and find the staff  have a name for these people.

                     "The Wang Wang'ers"

Answer 7

In December of '05, my mother and I flew out of South Bend to catch our cruise ship from its launching point in Tampa. Unfortunately, when we got to Chicago (our connection city), we had to wait in the plane until a gate opened up. (There were plenty of open gates, it happened to be a day when a lot of employees called off). We waited for a half an hour before we could get off the plane, then ran to our next gate. Right as we were running up to the gate, they closed the door. Once they close the door, they are not allowed to re-open it, even if people who have bought tickets show up and the plane is still there. There was another family there who also needed to make it to the cruise. We caught the next flight to Grand Cayman, where the next port for the ship was. We stayed a couple of nights in a hotel, and caught our ship there. The flight and hotel stay were all covered by either the airline or the cruise company, I don't remember which, but our only expense was food and clothing (because, inevitably, our luggage caught the flight when we could not).