NCL Leaves Tardy Passengers -- again, This Time in Spain

[jdb in AZ]

Sorry, but "seasoned" passengers should know better. This time the passengers were stranded in Spain.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/ne...r&cvid=47c0ccb0983d4ed09a20f67a53cfaaa7&ei=20

 

[Allison]

“Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system.”

And so? You were an hour late. Thousands of other people are supposed to be delayed because of 2 people? Do people really not believe they won't be left behind despite the warnings?

 

[Mommb]

All-aboard was at 5:30. The passengers said they were delayed by a storm for an hour and arrived at 6:10. This means they intended to arrive at 5:10 — that is, 20 minutes before all-aboard. That is much closer than most experienced cruisers would be comfortable with.

I wonder if the difficulty Norwegian Cruise Line says they had in reaching the passengers stemmed from the passengers leaving their phone chargers onboard. It probably didn’t help that the passengers didn’t contact NCL until 5:45, which was already after all-aboard, and that they contacted a relative rather than the port agent.

To be fair, I couldn’t easily find a phone number for the port agent on our last DCL cruise, but I also didn’t go more than walking distance from the ship except on ship excursions.

 

[jimmymc]

In this case, they were on a third-party excursion that couldn't get back to port in time because of weather. I'm sure plenty of us book third party excursions, so I wouldn't go pointing fingers at the couple. Spain is also a pretty easy country to find a hotel and get to the next port.

 

[Just_another_figment]

Why does anyone, especially anyone that’s cruised before, believe the ship will wait for them to board after the all aboard time?? That ship will sail without you. Every. Single. Time.

 

[brentm77]

That ship will sail without you. Every. Single. Time.

Not really. Even for non-cruise line tours, it isn't that uncommon for the ship to wait. Sometimes even for an hour or more. I have personally watched it on Disney. I have also watched videos where a captain announces he will confine a couple to their room for the remainder of the cruise after they were late a second time on the same cruise, but he still waited. That probably leaves the impression for some cruisers that there is a cushion, despite every line saying over and over again that there is not.

That said, it is stupid to not assume the ship will leave without you and not build in padding, which needs to be bigger the farther you go from the ship, as well as being prepared to travel on your own if you don't make it back in time. Being prepared includes for cruise-sponsored excursions, because you never know what may happen when traveling.

These people claim to be very experienced and are crying to the media about being left in Spain? It really shouldn't be the end of the world if you are an adult and have done the smallest amount of research on how to travel in a foreign country. "Richard’s eyeglasses and both their spare hearing aid batteries and phone chargers on board." Sounds like a rookie mistake, not an experienced traveler. I wouldn't be so judgmental if they didn't have the main-character syndrome that permeates too much of society these days.

 

[Mommb]

In this case, they were on a third-party excursion that couldn't get back to port in time because of weather. I'm sure plenty of us book third party excursions, so I wouldn't go pointing fingers at the couple. Spain is also a pretty easy country to find a hotel and get to the next port.

I have booked and will continue to book third-party excursions from experienced companies. However, I make sure I am scheduled to return at least an hour before I need to be back onboard. This hasn’t been a problem for excursions my family has done in Italy and France, where our driver clearly stayed in touch with someone monitoring road conditions and adjusted our itinerary without our even having to ask to make sure we were back in time. It seems that rather than blaming their ships for leaving on time, these passengers and the ones a few weeks ago should be blaming the excursion companies who got them back late.

 

[Just_another_figment]

Not really. Even for non-cruise line tours, it isn't that uncommon for the ship to wait. Sometimes even for an hour or more. I have personally watched it on Disney. I have also watched videos where a captain announces he will confine a couple to their room for the remainder of the cruise after they were late a second time on the same cruise, but he still waited. That probably leaves the impression for some cruisers that there is a cushion, despite every line saying over and over again that there is not.

That said, it is stupid to not assume the ship will leave without you and not build in padding, which needs to be bigger the farther you go from the ship, as well as being prepared to travel on your own if you don't make it back in time. Being prepared includes for cruise-sponsored excursions, because you never know what may happen when traveling.

These people claim to be very experienced and are crying about being left in Spain? It really shouldn't be the end of the world if you are an adult and have done the smallest amount of research on how to travel in a foreign country. "Richard’s eyeglasses and both their spare hearing aid batteries and phone chargers on board." Sounds like a rookie mistake, not an experienced traveler. I wouldn't be so judgmental if they didn't have the main-character syndrome that permeates too much of society these days.

They’ll wait if you’re on a cruise-sponsored excursion that is running late, not just if you’re off on your own and late.

 

[brentm77]

They’ll wait if you’re on a cruise-sponsored excursion that is running late, not just if you’re off on your own and late.

This is a common misconception. They will wait for line-sponsored excursions if they can, but don't guarantee it. They only guarantee they will pay to get you to the next port if necessary. Sometimes waiting isn't reasonable or possible for financial (e.g., fines) or physical reasons (e.g., currents, tides)

 

[jimmymc]

I have booked and will continue to book third-party excursions from experienced companies. However, I make sure I am scheduled to return at least an hour before I need to be back onboard. This hasn’t been a problem for excursions my family has done in Italy and France, where our driver clearly stayed in touch with someone monitoring road conditions and adjusted our itinerary without our even having to ask to make sure we were back in time. It seems that rather than blaming their ships for leaving on time, these passengers and the ones a few weeks ago should be blaming the excursion companies who got them back late.

When did the passengers ever blame the ship for leaving on time? They paid their way to the next port and met the ship. They weren't asking for compensation or for the entire ship to wait.

 

[brentm77]

When did the passengers ever blame the ship for leaving on time? They paid their way to the next port and met the ship. They weren't asking for compensation or for the entire ship to wait.

Not who you were responding to, but somebody went to CNN to make a big deal out of it, right? I think it is safe to assume it was the passengers. And if you read the story, they are clearly implying that the ship should and could have waited, since they mentioned the ship left other ports late. According to the cruise line, they also lied about when they made it back, purposely making it look like they were less at fault. This quote also implies like the cruise line was at fault for not holding their hand more (even though they are the ones that forgot their charges, meaning the cruiseline couldn't reach them when they tried):

“We simply told them that we were abandoned at the dock with no one to meet us or tell us where to go, and they said they have already complained about the harbor master who was supposed to take care of things for them. But of course the ship had not contacted us directly for two days so that doesn’t speak so well for them.”

I just don't see any ownership by them in the story as told. That's the part that bothered me.

 

[jimmymc]

Not who you were responding to, but somebody went to CNN to make a big deal out of it, right? I think it is safe to assume it was the passengers. And if you read the story, they are clearly implying that the ship should and could have waited, since they mentioned the ship left another port late. According to the cruise line, they also lied about when they made it back, purposely making it look like they were less at fault. This quote also implies like the cruise line was at fault for not holding their hand more (even though they are the ones that forgot their charges, meaning the cruiseline couldn't reach them when they tried):

“We simply told them that we were abandoned at the dock with no one to meet us or tell us where to go, and they said they have already complained about the harbor master who was supposed to take care of things for them. But of course the ship had not contacted us directly for two days so that doesn’t speak so well for them.”

I just don't see any ownership by them in the story as told. That's the part that bothered me.

I don't think that's a safe assumption, news sites will write a clickbait article about anything. And I also don't think a phone call from the cruise line telling them when and where to meet the ship is too much to ask. They planned to be back before departure time, and being surprised the ship left right on time is not the same as asking or assuming they would wait.

What type of ownership are you expecting? They paid, they didn't complain about or ask for the money back. All they wanted was the information on where they should go to meet the ship again.

 

[lanejudy]

When did the passengers ever blame the ship for leaving on time?

Maybe not in so many words, but this implies they expected the ship to deviate from the posted schedule:

Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4:00 p.m.,” Gordon told CNN. “Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled.”​

 

[brentm77]

I don't think that's a safe assumption, news sites will write a clickbait article about anything.

How would CNN even know this happened? It's not like the ship would report it. Did they have reporters on the docks waiting for this to happen? It's is a safe assumption.

And I also don't think a phone call from the cruise line telling them when and where to meet the ship is too much to ask. They planned to be back before departure time, and being surprised the ship left right on time is not the same as asking or assuming they would wait.

If you read the story, the cruise line called them many times, over multiple days at the number they provided. The couple said they didn't have their chargers, so it is likely they didn't have their phones on after a point. Either way, the cruiseline tried and even went above and beyond by arranging private transportation for them. Yet, they complained they weren't called.

What type of ownership are you expecting? They paid, they didn't complain about or ask for the money back. All they wanted was the information on where they should go to meet the ship again.

"We screwed up. We were warned of the consequences, and were responsible for them. There is no story here, unless you want to warn others to be more careful." It's pretty simple. Instead, it's giving the media a story, mentioning that the cruiseline left other ports late, implying the line did something wrong, lying about when they arrived at the dock, and complaining they weren't called when that was likely their own fault.

 

[Genie+]

All they wanted was the information on where they should go to meet the ship again.

Couldn’t they follow the itinerary? I get what you’re saying about communication. That can be frustrating.

 

[jimmymc]

Maybe not in so many words, but this implies they expected the ship to deviate from the posted schedule:

Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4:00 p.m.,” Gordon told CNN. “Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled.”​

Implying they expected the cruise to wait from that quote is a stretch for me.

 

[jimmymc]

"We screwed up. We were warned of the consequences, and were responsible for them. There is no story here, unless you want to warn others to be more careful." It's pretty simple. Instead, it's giving the media a story, mentioning that the cruiseline left other ports early, implying the line did something wrong, lying about when they arrived at the dock, and complaining they weren't called when that was likely their own fault.

I guess we'll just agree to disagree. You're putting a lot of words in the mouth of someone you've never met.

 

[lanejudy]

Implying they expected the cruise to wait from that quote is a stretch for me.

I guess that begs the question as to why it was even mentioned to the reporter, then.

I get it... they haven't officially asked for any reimbursement. But they are griping to a national media outlet about the situation, days after it occurred. Clearly their attitude isn't all "oops! I messed up. Don't do the same thing I did."

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They’ll wait if you’re on a cruise-sponsored excursion that is running late, not just if you’re off on your own and late.

This is a common misconception. They will wait for line-sponsored excursions if they can, but don't guarantee it. They only guarantee they will pay to get you to the next port if necessary. Sometimes waiting isn't reasonable or possible for financial (e.g., fines) or physical reasons (e.g., currents, tides)

This, exactly. Our EBTA excursions were running late, even the DCL ones. The ship HAD to depart due to the extreme tides in Dublin. The window for departing was very narrow. The people on DCL excursions were transported to the next port on DCL's dime to catch up with the ship. The people not on DCL excursions were, while mostly on the same transportation to catch up with the ship, they had to pay for it out of pocket.

 

[nancipants]

Maybe not in so many words, but this implies they expected the ship to deviate from the posted schedule:

Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4:00 p.m.,” Gordon told CNN. “Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled.”​

Ironically, the ship might not have left at the exact moment scheduled because people were late.