The boat will leave without you!

[Tozzie]

Was this the June 15 cruise? We were on the same one and watched them from our balcony (along with many others!) What cracked me up was for both couples, the guy took off running to the ship and totally left the girl behind without ever looking back! Maybe they could claim they were racing ahead to hold the ship, but it's not like the whole boat couldn't see them at that point. I told DH if he ever ditched me like that he was in for it!

Yes, I was also on that cruise and I was sitting on my veranda, it was 2 seprate couples, and you could hear everyone on the open decks cheering as they ran for the ship. There was an officer outside waiting for them, I don't hink she was happy.

 

[Lady Duchess]

Disney bought the island in 1996, aka Gorda Cay was the name of the island.

http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/articles/history-disneys-castaway-cay

 

[Wadekind]

Last week (Sept 1 sailing), we were on the 4 night cruise aboard the Dream. We went into Nassau for about 90 minutes and then went back to our stateroom.

The Royal Caribbean was docked across from us. While sitting on the verandah we saw the RC gangway get pulled up and about 2 mins later a couple running to the ship. They got to the ship and pleaded to get on to the crew at the gangway doors, but the gangway was up and rope was off. They pleaded and pleaded but the crew shut one door and then shut the other. The guy yelled no really loud as they shut that second door.

They stood there in disbelief as their ship slowly left without them. We felt really bad for them, but all aboard time IS all aboard time.

They stood talking to another gentleman for about 20 mins before leaving on his golf cart towards the city.

Our 6-year-old saw the whole thing and was really nervous about getting off the boat in Castaway Cay the next day. We kept reassuring him that we would be back on the boat in time so we wouldn't be left behind.

We try to get them to leave us behind on CC every time. Trust me they won't. Rumor has it, if it is late enough they will even walk with you back to the ship so you wont get lost.

 

[Seamama]

It was Cabo at Christmas...i think 2 days before Christmas! And the Dad left his passport onboard- so he flew back to the States but couldn't get on the ship to claim his daughter... daughter couldn't get off without an adult. It took a long time for them to sort it all out with the authorities!

The poor girl had quite a Christmas day though... lots of gifts and time with Mickey and Minnie. Apparently the crew spoiled her rotten. One of my crew friends said the girl missed her dad, but joked that he should do it again next year, exactly the same

I have often wondered how that turned out and I'm glad to know the girl wasn't traumatized!

 

[Wadekind]

All aboard at 5:30 (whatever time) means ALL ABOARD at 5:30, they are shutting the doors. Not start heading back to ship at 5:30. Don't be the annoying people that wonder back to ship at the last minute, having the port authority people hurry you along because you are late. There are 2000+ people waiting for you. Our rule is 1 hour BEFORE all aboard, no later. I always book the early excursions so we get back in time for a little shopping. Cant stand the people that wonder up at 5:27, look at their watch and argue with the port and ship people about being late.

This is simply not true. If you are at the gangplank at 5:30 they will let you on not shut the doors in your face. If DCL wanted you on board an hour before that time then that would be the all aboard time. What is it you can't stand about people that are back at the ship when DCL says to be?

What are these 2000+ people you refer to waiting for? Even if there are some people late and not just right on time, DCL still serves dinner on time, the show times don't change, activities still happen etc.. so i don't really understand how someone showing up at the time the cruise line told them to show up really affects anyone. Plus, I don't know about Alaska but most of the time in the Caribbean the ship is barely moving anyway so DCL is not really in a rush.

I honestly don't get why this would annoy anyone as it has zero impact on their vacation.

 

[TheLanes]

This is simply not true. If you are at the gangplank at 5:30 they will let you on not shut the doors in your face. If DCL wanted you on board an hour before that time then that would be the all aboard time. What is it you can't stand about people that are back at the ship when DCL says to be?

What are these 2000+ people you refer to waiting for? Even if there are some people late and not just right on time, DCL still serves dinner on time, the show times don't change, activities still happen etc.. so i don't really understand how someone showing up at the time the cruise line told them to show up really affects anyone. Plus, I don't know about Alaska but most of the time in the Caribbean the ship is barely moving anyway so DCL is not really in a rush.

I honestly don't get why this would annoy anyone as it has zero impact on their vacation.

You've been a tad testy tonight haven't you?

 

[Wadekind]

You've been a tad testy tonight haven't you?

There is a ton of good info on these boards and I found some great tips on here before our first cruise and still find some today. Not trying to be testy, just asking for clarification. I don't think its right to misinform people because you choose to do things different than what is actually required. I also don't understand why people get annoyed at other peoples actions when it has no impact on themselves.

 

[ilovetexas]

Wikipedia can be edited by anyone who wants to; it's a community page, and always has to be taken with a grain of salt. It's *usually* accurate, but not always, and can't be taken as authority. (I could go to Wikipedia right now and change that page to say that Disney bought the island for $1. Someone would probably eventually fix it, but that's how reliable the data is).

Sayhello

We had a little bit of fun with a Wikipedia page in my college White Collar Crime class.

 

[Plaid Princess]

We try to get them to leave us behind on CC every time. Trust me they won't. Rumor has it, if it is late enough they will even walk with you back to the ship so you wont get lost.

Ha ha, this happened to us on our last cruise. I fell asleep in the lounger, I woke up to the lifeguard yelling to my husband (who was floating around on a raft) that he had to get out of the water. We were the LAST ones on the beach, and the lifeguard walked us back to the tram.

 

[sayhello]

We had a little bit of fun with a Wikipedia page in my college White Collar Crime class.

Sayhello

 

[JCinMN]

I was on a Med cruise on Princess and 6 of us were on a private excursion to Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano. We had a great day of touring but it was an Italian holiday and traffic kept building during the day, so we turned back early, giving ourselves 2-3 hours for the 30 mile drive back to the ship. Unfortunately, a horrible traffic accident (with deaths) caused a back up of all traffic in the entire region. We tried everything, but were stuck. It took us nearly 5 hours to get back to the ship. The owner of our tour company had called Princess to let them know we were on our way and several Princess buses were ahead of us just a few miles. The ship was supposed to depart around 6 pm but waited until 8 pm for all the Princess tours. We arrived at 8:15 pm.

It's a sinking feeling to see a big black hole (in the dark) at the dock where there should be a brightly lit ship. The port agent was there (every cruise line has one in every port) and she helped us check in with the police (we were technically in the country illegally at that point) and to find a hotel. The next day we bought one way tickets to Athens to catch up with the ship, which was at sea for the day. The owner of the tour company drove us from Naples to Rome for free and arranged a driver in Athens to pick us up that evening, deliver us to an Athens hotel, then take us to the ship the following morning (all complimentary). We got a letter from the police (in Italian and English) saying there was a horrible accident that wasn't our fault that caused our delay and Olympic airlines let us fly (after 9/11) without passports (which we purposely left on the ship to avoid losing them to pickpockets). It all worked out fine in the end and it cost each person about $495 for the airfare and 2 nights hotel. Luckily, we had travel insurance which covered expenses up to $500 pp and the company paid up immediately, once I submitted my receipts and documentation.

Princess had announced our 6 names over and over on the loudspeaker when we didn't show up at the ship the first night and they emailed a ton of company executives about the situation, so they were on top of it. Everyone we had met on the ship knew we were missing and cheered us when they saw we had finally returned. Our adventure really was just one of those things you couldn't have avoided (without just sticking to the ship's excursions) and these things happen.

Definitely always plan to return to the ship well prior to the back on board, sail away time. It's helpful to also have the name/number of the port agent, which should be noted on the Navigator (but I'm not certain as my first Disney cruise is still months away) AND travel insurance.

So, we are ones who experienced a cruiser's nightmare and survived to tell the story. We can laugh about it now, but it was stressful while living through it for two days.

 

[OMD13]

That must have been scary! Thank goodness you made it back to the ship safely.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I was on a Med cruise on Princess and 6 of us were on a private excursion to Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano. We had a great day of touring but it was an Italian holiday and traffic kept building during the day, so we turned back early, giving ourselves 2-3 hours for the 30 mile drive back to the ship. Unfortunately, a horrible traffic accident (with deaths) caused a back up of all traffic in the entire region. We tried everything, but were stuck. It took us nearly 5 hours to get back to the ship. The owner of our tour company had called Princess to let them know we were on our way and several Princess buses were ahead of us just a few miles. The ship was supposed to depart around 6 pm but waited until 8 pm for all the Princess tours. We arrived at 8:15 pm.

It's a sinking feeling to see a big black hole (in the dark) at the dock where there should be a brightly lit ship. The port agent was there (every cruise line has one in every port) and she helped us check in with the police (we were technically in the country illegally at that point) and to find a hotel. The next day we bought one way tickets to Athens to catch up with the ship, which was at sea for the day. The owner of the tour company drove us from Naples to Rome for free and arranged a driver in Athens to pick us up that evening, deliver us to an Athens hotel, then take us to the ship the following morning (all complimentary). We got a letter from the police (in Italian and English) saying there was a horrible accident that wasn't our fault that caused our delay and Olympic airlines let us fly (after 9/11) without passports (which we purposely left on the ship to avoid losing them to pickpockets). It all worked out fine in the end and it cost each person about $495 for the airfare and 2 nights hotel. Luckily, we had travel insurance which covered expenses up to $500 pp and the company paid up immediately, once I submitted my receipts and documentation.

Princess had announced our 6 names over and over on the loudspeaker when we didn't show up at the ship the first night and they emailed a ton of company executives about the situation, so they were on top of it. Everyone we had met on the ship knew we were missing and cheered us when they saw we had finally returned. Our adventure really was just one of those things you couldn't have avoided (without just sticking to the ship's excursions) and these things happen.

Definitely always plan to return to the ship well prior to the back on board, sail away time. It's helpful to also have the name/number of the port agent, which should be noted on the Navigator (but I'm not certain as my first Disney cruise is still months away) AND travel insurance.

So, we are ones who experienced a cruiser's nightmare and survived to tell the story. We can laugh about it now, but it was stressful while living through it for two days.

Wow, what a story. Good thing you had insurance. We did similar private tours in Italy and at our first Italian port, La Spezia, our guide assured us all would be fine as long as we arrive ahead of the Disney tour buses. She knew them all personally, knew the bus #s, etc and said she could always call them to check their locations. I felt better after that but we didn't have any traffic disasters. Our driver in Naples did say that traffic there is very unpredictable so we allowed extra time to return. Of course a disaster like that would have caused us to miss the ship also. We always feel we should carry our passports outside the US though I don't bother for CC or Nassau but you never know if you might need it. Without it, we have no official international ID.
You must have been tearing your hair out at the time but thank God you were not involved in the accident.

 

[JCinMN]

The members of my group all reacted a little differently. One guy was a type-A businessman who got pretty upset and just wanted to fly home (we were 1/2 way through a 12 day cruise).

I was traveling with a novice traveler on a first cruise and he was pretty freaked out. The other couple was a husband doctor and pharmacist wife. The wife could have helped us getting medicine if anyone would have had prescription drugs that were needed, but luckily we didn't need anything (we were in our 20's, 30's and 40's). I figured I had a credit card and a driver's license, so we'd be fine one way or another. Princess actually opened our safes and faxed our passport pages to our first hotel for us. I carry a color copy with me too, just in case. My novice traveler friend had nothing but his cruise card with him. The airline didn't have to let us fly, but they did. The letter from the police helped. It's odd flying internationally with just the clothes on your back (which were tanks, polos and shorts as it was very hot in Naples) and an empty daypack.

When we checked in at the Rome airport the agent asked if we were that group who'd missed the ship, then asked if we had any luggage to check. Uhhhhhhhh, no! I can't say enough about our tour guide owner (a well known one on the cruise circuit) who was with us every step of the way and helped us find our way. In Athens, we even were given a secret word that the driver had to tell us before we were to go with him. It was all a little surreal. The first night when the port agent (a tall, attractive blonde lady) took us to the police station at the port, we were lined up like a group of unruly school kids in the principal's office in a large warehouse type room. The husband of the port agent (well dressed in a spiffy suit) sat in a chair, smoking a cigarette, watching the whole proceedings. The port agent talked to the police officers in fast Italian and we had no clue what was going on. It might be a good movie scene, now that I think about it!

 

[PizzieDuster]

The members of my group all reacted a little differently. One guy was a type-A businessman who got pretty upset and just wanted to fly home (we were 1/2 way through a 12 day cruise).

I was traveling with a novice traveler on a first cruise and he was pretty freaked out. The other couple was a husband doctor and pharmacist wife. The wife could have helped us getting medicine if anyone would have had prescription drugs that were needed, but luckily we didn't need anything (we were in our 20's, 30's and 40's). I figured I had a credit card and a driver's license, so we'd be fine one way or another. Princess actually opened our safes and faxed our passport pages to our first hotel for us. I carry a color copy with me too, just in case. My novice traveler friend had nothing but his cruise card with him. The airline didn't have to let us fly, but they did. The letter from the police helped. It's odd flying internationally with just the clothes on your back (which were tanks, polos and shorts as it was very hot in Naples) and an empty daypack.

When we checked in at the Rome airport the agent asked if we were that group who'd missed the ship, then asked if we had any luggage to check. Uhhhhhhhh, no! I can't say enough about our tour guide owner (a well known one on the cruise circuit) who was with us every step of the way and helped us find our way. In Athens, we even were given a secret word that the driver had to tell us before we were to go with him. It was all a little surreal. The first night when the port agent (a tall, attractive blonde lady) took us to the police station at the port, we were lined up like a group of unruly school kids in the principal's office in a large warehouse type room. The husband of the port agent (well dressed in a spiffy suit) sat in a chair, smoking a cigarette, watching the whole proceedings. The port agent talked to the police officers in fast Italian and we had no clue what was going on. It might be a good movie scene, now that I think about it!

Wow! It would make a good movie! The whole thing! It's like one of the many nightmares I have before a cruise. And this truly happened to you! I would have asked that pharmacist for a prescription for valium. Oh, and I heart that tour owner

 

[JCinMN]

We also had a less dramatic close call in Jamaica, where we were literally the last 5 people on board before they pulled up the boarding ramp. We were on an afternoon Princess horseback riding excursion that started and ended late. Several of us had purchased videos of our ocean horseback rides but we didn't have time to wait for them to be finished before the bus had to head back. When we arrived at the dock, a Princess employee told us to hustle to the ship as they were waiting for us. We mentioned we had videos coming in a separate vehicle behind us and the employee said to board and she was sure they would get them to us. We boarded, they closed the door and we departed shortly thereafter, thinking that the money for our videos had been wasted. A few hours later, a package was delivered to our stateroom and it was our video. I don't know if they chucked the parcel with the videos across the water at the last minute or what, but the horseback riding company came through. It was almost unbelievable. I must say that we've had good luck with our excursions, private and cruise line sponsored.

It made me uncomfortable to be the last few on board, so when I'm on my own, we make sure we have plenty of time to spare.