Norwegian Breakaway leaves parents in Bahamas

[DanceswithDisney]

The article says the cruise line offered assistance with a hotel and a flight home. Believe me NCL did not PAY for that hotel or the flight home. That was a very expensive lesson for the woman. Good thing she had a passport or it would have cost even more!

The cost to the line is HUGE to wait. They pay overtime for longshoreman when they do not leave on time. They pay more in increased fuel costs to speed up to make the next port to the tune of about $40,000 for each hour.

There is also no promise the ship will wait indefinitely even if you are on a ship sponsored excursion. If the excursion is late and the weather or tides do not allow, the ship has to go!

 

[smiths02]

There were other relatives onboard besides the parents. At least an uncle, and perhaps others. That may be why the husband decided to get off and look for mom. The headline makes it sound like the children were left onboard alone. When neither of them returned, the ship left. They waited a half hour. Usually ships won't wait at all.

Is it not made sufficiently known that passengers at port calls need to be back on the ship BEFORE the all aboard time?

I've only been on one cruise and it was Norwegian in 2004. We knew to book shore excursions with the company and to be on time.

I'm trying to think of any mode of transportation that will wait for you. Buses, trains, planes...they don't wait for late passengers.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

But does booking a DCL excursion guarantee the ship will wait or does it just guarantee that DCL will make sure you can get to the ship at the next port?

I believe on any cruise line booking any activity THROUGH the cruise line--included flights to and from the start of the cruise, the cruise line assumes responsibility to make sure you get where you need to be. So, if I booked my flights through the cruise line and my plane has a mechanical failure making us late, my cruise line--theoretically--would assist me in joining my cruise as soon as possible.

If I am on THEIR excursions...same deal. Anything I Do on my own, I am solely responsible to make sure I am on the boat when I need to be. At least that is my understanding for the 4 cruises lines I have sailed on.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I've only been on one cruise and it was Norwegian in 2004. We knew to book shore excursions with the company and to be on time.

I'm trying to think of any mode of transportation that will wait for you. Buses, trains, planes...they don't wait for late passengers.

Depending on circumstances, some will hold--but there are limitations. I have had a plane held for an incoming flight that had passengers switching to our flight. Trains are less able to do that. I don't know much about busses.
I do hear of cruise lines holding for their own excursions that were delayed.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Depending on circumstances, some will hold--but there are limitations. I have had a plane held for an incoming flight that had passengers switching to our flight. Trains are less able to do that. I don't know much about busses.
I do hear of cruise lines holding for their own excursions that were delayed.

DCl and I believe most if not all lines will wait for late passengers, even private excursions. They stay as possible, maybe not all the time, maybe longer for there own excursions, but they are known to wait.

AKK

 

[hanscarlet]

So what is the official impact? I know it impacts--but who does if effect the cruise? (Curious what the show shared.)

The way the show portrayed it, they film it like a reality show so they have actual camera's on the crew and show the captain constantly radio -ing the CD who is sitting at the bottom of the ship waiting for the news that the person is walking down the pier... also often shows the captain and the crew standing on the bridge to see if anyone is running down the pier and they film it all dramatically and build it up....

but they point out the impacts mainly being schedule - so if the next port takes 12 hours to get to and the late person is cutting into the 12 hours - the impact is either the boat will have to speed which burns more fuel than originally estimated or they don't get to the next port at the scheduled 9:00am and instead get to the port at 10:00am and all the cruisers who have excursions departing at 9:00am - they are out of luck unless port adventures can negotiate with the outside vendors who schedule the excursions that the boat is running late...

the other major impact is cost - not that cruisers will feel this one as much but the company and certainly the captain is measured on this - for example, in our last eastern cruise between Tortola and St. Thomas, it's about a 30 min boat ride between islands (on a small boat), yet post 6:00pm until about 6:00am the next day, we were sitting in the sea circling and this is because it's cheaper to burn fuel than sit at the extremely expensive St. Thomas Havensight Port (at least this was how it was explained to us by our private charter captain during our excursion on St. Thomas).... so if you happen to be at a really expensive port (and all of them are probably pretty pricey), then each hour costs the cruise line money, so it comes down to a judgment call on how much the captain wants to wait for the person versus not... so in the Tortola example, they probably would have a lot of leeway in waiting for the person because the next port is a hop across and it wouldn't impact their time the next morning but sitting in St. Thomas, when you have to get all the way back to Castaway Cay in 1.5 days, plus sitting in an expensive port, my guess would be that the captain wouldn't give the person beyond 1.5 hours or so to get their butt back on the boat...

there are probably other impacts I'm forgetting but welcome others to point out that I may have missed

 

[jlemieu1]

Here a possible example of Disney allowing a late person board on pilot ship???

 

[bumbershoot]

But does booking a DCL excursion guarantee the ship will wait or does it just guarantee that DCL will make sure you can get to the ship at the next port?

One or the other.

The big question if they are going to fly you to the next port is...what happens if you don't have a passport and legally can't do that flight?

I think it's unfair to judge the husbands actions when we really don't know the situation. Leaving the kids on a ship with family is not abandonment. A lot of people leave their kids with family and go away for days. Not to mention these kids were not babies they were 9 and 12. In hind sight we can see that the women was an idiot, but if she missed the boat because something bad happened to her people probably wouldn't be so quick to judge the husbands actions. This was the mother of his children, a very important person in his kids lives so I'm sure he had a lot of thoughts running through his head. I've been in a situation where I didn't know where a loved one was, and it was not a good feeling.

I spoke of my relationship. Hopefully DH knows my feelings, and I'll make sure to have the conversation with him.

Obviously I'm not alone in that sentiment given other responses.

In our families an uncle would be ok in a pinch; they would keep the kid alive, but none of the brothers in our families (and there are no husbands of sisters so we have no uncles in that way) are fathers nor are they nurturers. Actually, same with the sisters in our families.

So in my family, hubby better stay on the ship.

(But we don't leave the ship with DS onboard anyway)

 

[hanscarlet]

yea add me to the list of "I'd kill my husband if he went to get me over staying with the kids."... if they had family on board then maybe it makes more sense, like if my parents were on board to take care of the kids then I wouldn't mind as much, but otherwise, hells no, he better stay on the ship

 

[RedSox68]

I can't remember which cruise it was, but we did have a tugboat come flying up next to us after we had left port and I do believe someone boarded -- but we had heard rumors that it a crew member who had missed their flight. I just know someone boarded, but not sure whether it was passenger, crew or entertainment.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I told DH about this and before I even got through the story, he'd guessed the husband left the ship to find the wife. We talked about it and he said if it was me out there, no way would he stay on the ship. He'd go to find me, not because I can't handle myself, but because he wouldn't know if I was safe or in need of help (ie: hurt, in a hospital, raped, kidnapped, etc). He wouldn't be able to finish the cruise without me. BUT, even with family (and we have some great, reliable family members), he'd take the boys off with him. No leaving them on the ship. He also said that if it was reversed, he'd rather I stayed on the ship with the kids and let him fend for himself. He'd want to know the kids and I were safe on the ship. I don't know how I'd manage with worrying about him, though.

 

[sunshinemelody]

Here a possible example of Disney allowing a late person board on pilot ship???

Love the commentary at the end! "He's confined to his quarters. Bread and water only."

 

[tinkerone]

What would I do, what would I do???
First, if it was DH left behind I would for sure get off and look for him. While I'm sure he could manage to get himself home, I do all the vacation planning and bookings and it would take him a while to figure out what step to do when. If it was me on shore, I would be perfectly fine alone and would not bat an eye if he stayed on board. If he got off, that would mean I would have to then take care of emergency bookings for two, a bit more work.

As to the kids, if the situation were as explained in this instance where there were relatives on board and they had been asked if they were okay with it all, I would for sure leave them on the ship. There can be danger in other countries and if you haven't a plan and need to make it up as you go then why put them in that situation? Leave them where they have a clean bed, plenty of food and people who love them and will care for them. I don't see any benefit in bringing them along for an unknown adventure.

Now, that's just me and how I would do things. We each have our own ways, none of which are right for everyone, none of which are wrong for everyone.
I just hope this never happens to any of us. It would be a hard thing to figure out spur of the moment wouldn't it??

 

[kmix78]

Nothing to do with this story...but. Many years ago I was on a cruise with my husband, daughter who had just graduated from high school and her friend. We were in Sorrento and got off to take the hydrofoil to Capri with a guy we had met. The kids stayed on th ship and we didn't take our passports. We came back in plenty of time to catch the ship but as we came around the corner to the pier, the ship wasn't there! There were six people like us waiting on the Pier including the ship doctor and his girlfriend.. Seems the waves got too high and the ship had to move to Naples. They were waiting for us and had a van waiting to take us to Naples where the ship was. It was a scary moment. The girls who stayed on the ship were sick from the high waves. It's always a good story to tell now.

I would have had a heart attack to find the ship gone. Wow!!!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Love the commentary at the end! "He's confined to his quarters. Bread and water only."

I do not know if DCL will allow it or not. However there are videos of guests from other lines using small boats and tugboats to get to their vessels. It is expensive.


AKK

 

[richkaryn]

Maybe it's just me, but I can't see me separating from my husband or son in a port in a foreign country. I'd be too afraid of someone snatching me/mugging me because I looked like a lone vulnerable tourist woman. Plus, we usually take family vacations for that reason--family---- and any "no kid" time would likely be spent onboard while DS was in the clubs.

 

[DJinPA]

We had a balcony view of the passengers coming back to the Magic from Naples. I know it was definitely in Italy and not Rome. Anyway, in Italy, they made everyone go through Italian customs/security. They had one excursion (with my parents on it!) that came back way late from an excursion and I swear, the entrance was barely sealed before we were moving. I actually remember Donald Duck (dressed in Italian garb) was "mock running" and waving his arms to keep people boarding quickly (no picture, no towels to wipe off and no chilled water upon your return that day!). My parents said they kept assuring the guests on the excursion that Disney was in constant contact with them and new they were coming. It was an adults only trip (maybe even Capri?) and my parents said that some people had left their kids on the ship.

We left my 10 year old on the ship with my parents in Greece, after we both returned from the morning tours. I don't think I would ever leave them without a close relative, so luckily we had them! I actually made a point of leaving his passport in the room safe and giving my mom a key to our room and the combination, God forbid, something would happen to us and my mom would need it for my son, I but I sometimes feel like planning for these scenarios hopefully make them less likely to happen!

 

[mmouse37]

I didn't see the show, but I know from past experience (delayed because of hurricanes or late passengers), that it affects future arrival times, departing with tides, port requirements for leaving (time restrictions maybe), etc. When we sailed on the Magic from LA to the Panama Canal, we sailed through Hurricane Hillary. The Captain apologized over the loudspeakers in every room the next morning, explaining that if they had skirted the hurricane, they would have missed their allotted time at the locks in PC.

Was that the EBPC back in 2005? If so I was onboard that sailing and remember Hillary very well!!!





Soon after we went back in from being on deck they closed all the outdoor decks as it was getting to dangerous. The pool water was sloshing up and out of the pool.

The pictures were blurry due to mist and camera lens fogging up because it was so humid. There were some pretty big waves.

MJ

 

[sunshinemelody]

Was that the EBPC back in 2005? If so I was onboard that sailing and remember Hillary very well!!!

View attachment 165059

View attachment 165059 View attachment 165060 View attachment 165061

Soon after we went back in from being on deck they closed all the outdoor decks as it was getting to dangerous. The pool water was sloshing up and out of the pool.

The pictures were blurry due to mist and camera lens fogging up because it was so humid. There were some pretty big waves.

MJ

Sweeeet!

I do not know if DCL will allow it or not. However there are videos of guests from other lines using small boats and tugboats to get to their vessels. It is expensive.


AKK

Huh?

I mean, yes, it's expensive, but IDK what you're talking about.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Sweeeet!


Huh?

I mean, yes, it's expensive, but IDK what you're talking about.

Oops I think I attached it to the wrong post............sorry!