People Who Were Left Behind By Their Cruise Ship Explain What Happened

I love cruises.

A floating city on the water.

One of the best parts of the journey is the stops.

Exploring all of the beautiful destinations is an important part of the trip.

But one must be careful when wandering on land.

DON'T MISS THE SHIP LEAVING!

Bermuda is fun, but if you don't live there, you don't want to be stranded.

Getting to the ship on time seems to be an issue for many.

Redditor strawberrysunshine29 wanted to hear about the times people got stalled on land during a cruise, so they asked;

"To anyone who has missed their cruise ship and was left behind, what happened?"

Canceled

"We missed the departure because our flight to Florida was canceled. The airline put us on a plane to the Bahamas, and we caught the ship there. Missed just the first night and day."

- mustbethedragon

  Buenos Aires Party GIF by /////MONOARTCHIVES//////  Giphy  

Lost Track

"I got left behind in Nassau once I thought I had time to grab food and shop a little and ended up losing track."

"Heard the ship horn while waiting for my conch fritters and sprinted back but they had already pulled the ramp."

"Had to go to the port office they gave me a paper with the next port info and told me I’d have to fly there myself."

"$450 flight later I caught up in Jamaica a day and a half of stress just for some hot sauce and a knockoff watch."

"Never again bro now I’m back on that boat an hour early every time."

- NiXaler93

GUARANTEE

"I own a tour company, I give tours to cruise ship passengers. I guarantee they will get back to their ship on time (I get them back an hour before they need to be back) when asked what I'd do if I failed at my guarantee I tell them I'll buy you a plane ticket to the next town. it helps solve their unease, but all you can do if you miss a ship is try to catch back up to it."

- willthesane

Kneecapped

"My dad had a bad accident in one of the British Virgin Isles and completely destroyed both knees. My mom had to go back to the cruise ship where the staff escorted her back to their cabin and just shoved everything they owned into large garbage bags then put her back on the pier."

"The cruise ship left and my poor parents were stuck there in a tiny hospital with next to no medical services or staff over Christmas for a week before getting medevaced to FL, where they were stuck another week (dad had emergency surgery while there), before finally getting med evacuated home."

"Luckily they had travel insurance which covered everything, or they would have wound up taking a mortgage on their home at best, declaring medical bankruptcy at worst."

- HellfireMe

Get Ferried

"We mixed up the dates and showed up a day late. We could have easily caught up with the ship on a ferry to Catalina from Long Beach, but they wouldn’t let us and we missed the whole cruise."

- johnnykatz14

  Galata Tower Sea GIF by Go Turkey  Giphy  

Staying Put

"I’ve never missed a cruise ship, but I had friends where the cruise ship left them behind. The cruise ship put them up in a hotel and then flew them to their next destination. They also bought them clothes and food until the cruise ship made the next port. It was literally a whole thing. They left the whole golf excursion behind."

- Bright_Pomelo_8561

Juneau

"Friend missed the ship in Juneau, it was a very expensive international flight to Vancouver to get their luggage."

"The port paperwork has the name of the Port Agent. Call them if you’re running late as sometimes the ship will wait for you."

"The Hotel Director and Security will go into your cabin, open your safe, and get your passport. They’ll hand this and other paperwork to the Port Authority who’ll, hopefully, help you onto the next port. Money is on you, travel insurance won’t help if it’s your fault. FWIW we keep our passports and extra meds in a go bag in the safe."

- EntrepreneurOk7513

Don't Go Far

"I was in Grand Bahamas once on a cruise with my family. We hired a local driver to take us around to see the sites. He swore up and down and three times over that he would guarantee us back in time to catch our ship. It was me, my wife, two small children, and my mom."

"Well needless to say we got stuck in awful traffic on the way back through town and it was getting dicey. You could see the driver getting nervous and my mom, riding shotgun, made a half-serious/half-joking comment that if we miss our ship, I hope he has enough room for all of us tonight, and what’s for dinner?"

"Dude’s face went super serious and man that guy took us on a slalom ride through traffic. You could see him plotting out moves three, or four cars ahead. Totally locked in. Living out his NASCAR dreams with me and my kids in the back seat."

"Fast forward and to his word, he got us there. We were probably one of the last to board. Took a few years off my life. Since then I don’t go far from port unless it’s an official excursion where the ship will wait if you’re late."

- BPal75

To the Brig

"Not a cruise ship, but a landing-purpose destroyer. 22nd MEU ported in Civitavecchia(sp?) Italy, South of Rome. One of the SSG red tag Marines stayed the night at a local woman's apartment and missed the ship. We saw him running down the sea break as the ship pulled away. A submarine from the task force turned around to pick him up, and then he was flown over to our destroyer. Lost rank from corporal to private, bread and water diet, confined to the brig, and extra police duties until we returned to the states."

- WareBear0311

We Had Nothing...

"We passed out on the beach in Cozumel and got back to the dock to see our ship pulling away. We had nothing. Just bathing suits and a little cash. We ended up in the immigration office being interrogated by some officers. My girlfriend at the time was mouthing off to them and generally being shi**y."

"We broke up shortly after we returned. I don’t know what went on behind the scenes, but they got us on another cruise ship that was heading to the same port as our original ship. The room was 1000 times nicer. We bought some clothes from the gift shop and made the best of it. I’ve seriously cut down on the drinking since then."

- Vicodinner

HYSTERICAL

"We saw someone miss the ship in Alaska, our next stop was Canada. The lady stomped her feet and screamed, but the man just dropped all the bags she had bought and stared at her in disbelief. It was hysterical and sad all at the same time."

- Bright-Juggernaut-43

  Sad Baby GIF  Giphy  

Kid's Club

"I saw someone miss the ship, with no noticeable consequences."

"It was at a tenders port, that is the ship was too large to dock so tenders (basically lifeboats) were used to ferry passengers from the ship to the dock and back. The ship had just started moving out, and one of the tenders was still available, so they sent it back out to pick up the lone passenger who was almost left behind."

"Rumor had it that she was traveling with a child and no other adults, and had left the kid at the 'kid’s club' while she went ashore. So the captain decided they’d rather make an exception than be stuck with an unaccompanied child."

"I have no idea if that was true. If it was, I bet that the cruise line is a lot stricter about allowing unaccompanied minors to stay onboard."

- ServoCrab

We All Know Now...

"In the late 90’s, I was on a cruise in the Caribbean with my extended family. We were at a beach in Antigua and while it was bright and sunny, the waves were picking up and growing fast. My aunts and uncles were body surfing in these strong waves (one of which nearly drowned 9-year-old me) and all of them were injured by underwater rocks."

"Off they went to the hospital on the island. From what I heard, it was pretty crazy in there. They were frantic trying to make it back to the ship on time, even calling to see if they would wait just a little while longer. The ship said no. "

"So I believe they had to catch a flight to the next stop and wait for the ship to arrive. We are all from coastal towns on a large body of water, but still did not notice that storm rolling in without the clouds. I had never experienced being tossed around in a washing machine like that before. Ah well. We all know now."

- bi**hyhouseplant

Passports Please...

"My sister and her husband booked a cruise and flew from the west coast to Florida for some international cruise. When they went to board the ship, they were asked for their passports, and both of them had assumed that the other had packed them. It turned out neither of them packed the passports, so they were turned away. They watched the ship sail off, had to book flights back home, and didn't talk to each other for a couple of days after."

- Ok_Secretary6033

Excursions

"If you stick with the cruise line and arrange shore excursions, they'll hold the ship for you. If you opt to venture out on your own and get delayed, you'll have to find your own way to the next port to meet up with the ship again."

- jirgalang

  Dance Dancing GIF by Carnival Cruise Line  Giphy  

Turn Around

"I was leaving either Greece or Turkey- can’t remember when the Captain came on and said we are turning around to meet a boat bringing some passengers that missed the departure. Looked out my balcony and sure enough a small boat was speeding towards the ship."

- LightBulb704

Pay attention, people!!!

I get that the drinks hit differently in exotic locations, but the ship has a schedule to keep.

And paradise is expensive to be abandoned.

Plan accordingly and responsibly.

This is an expensive mistake to rectify.

Sail on...