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For starters, she quickly rebooked the family on a flight to St. Thomas, where the ship would be two days later, so the family could join it there. She also booked the family into a resort in St. Thomas for the two days until the ship arrived. In the event that your passport was not left with the port agent (assuming you are in a foreign country), you’ll need to locate the nearest embassy of your home country. Again, the expense of doing this, and for your onward journey, is up to you. If you decide to return home instead of rejoining the sailing at the next port, you'll have to address the fact that your belongings are still aboard the ship. The cruise line can usually have everything shipped to you, but just know that it might not be cheap.
Pay attention to the time.
In addition, you should have the address and phone number of your country's embassy in the port you're visiting. Most cruise lines station a port agent within the port to assist their passengers. They can also help you make the appropriate travel arrangements by communicating with the ship on your behalf. Perhaps the biggest benefit of booking shore excursions through Royal Caribbean is the added protection you’ll receive in case your tour runs late. Your cruise ship will wait for your tour group as long as possible, and even cover the cost of transportation to the next port if the ship cannot wait.
What happens if I miss the cruise ship when NOT on a Royal Caribbean excursion?
This service often comes with a high charge, and if the ship arrives too far behind schedule, it can result in hefty fees. Ship captains will do all they can to avoid disrupting the planned schedule. But the consequences of missing a cruise departure can be so disastrous that it's a sensible move. It can be a painful lesson in the importance of building wiggle room into your travel plans. But, in many cases, it'll only cause a modest delay in your travels, with little or no add-on costs.
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Cruise lines have an official agent in every port that guests can visit if left behind. This agent will help them arrange travel plans for what they should do next. The official agent will work with the passenger to either book transportation to the next port or transportation home.
Find a port agent.
If your tour runs late, the ship is not responsible and is fully within its boundaries to leave you behind, and you will also be responsible financially for handling the next steps. Local authorities at the dock can help with travel disruptions, flight bookings, paperwork, and returning home or rejoining the ship. Always take out travel insurance before a holiday to make sure they are covered for any incidents. This is a rule that can severely limit your options if you want to join a ship part-way through a cruise.
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But if you do (literally) miss the boat, there are certain steps you can take to help ease the process and ideally meet back up with your cruise at the next port. Cruise ships take their “all aboard” time seriously, as they must adhere to strict docking times in each port, not to mention the fact that thousands of other passengers could potentially be inconvenienced. For cruise lines which still distribute daily paper itineraries, the port arrival and departure times will be recorded there, too. Although missing your cruise ship isn’t very common, these instances do unfortunately occur for several reasons both within, and outside of your control. This is every cruise-goer’s nightmare that they hope to never have to experience.
How long will a cruise ship wait for late passengers?
If that happens and you have yet to return to the pier, your cruise line will cover the cost of transferring all members of the group to the next port of call. That being said, if you are only five or so minutes late, there is a good chance that you will still be able to board the ship. The exact amount of time that a captain will try and hold the ship for depends on the port's policies and ship scheduling. If you are planning on flying to your cruise port, you will want to make sure that you are arriving at least one day prior to the ship's departure.
Book All Your Excursions Through Your Cruise Line
I sometimes book my own excursion privately with a local company, but I always make sure that excursion would get me back to port at least a couple of hours before the ship leaves. The cruise line can advise passengers on whether they can board at the ship's next stop. For those doing a Caribbean cruise, for instance, Doyle said, passengers would likely need to fly to meet the ship at their own expense. River cruises, meanwhile, are "a bit easier," as travelers can drive take or public transportation such as buses to those ports. If passports aren’t found, it’s assumed that the guests have them and/or their official ID with them. But if the documents are found, they’re taken to the official ship’s agent (“We have one in every port of call,” Heald said.).
Ship time is the time used onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise, and it may or may not change when you enter/exit new time zones throughout the sailing. Once you are able to contact the ship/Royal Caribbean, you can discuss your options with them and they can assist you with booking any necessary travel arrangements. These travel arrangements will not be covered by Royal Caribbean and can be costly, especially when traveling from island to island at the last minute.
If applicable, you may also wish to speak with your cruise line, travel agent or travel insurance provider who may be able to assist with other elements of your dilemma. It’s well-known that cruisers who miss a ship’s departure are destined for a tricky and expensive time ahead but don’t panic. Staying calm and in port while making the best of a bad situation is absolutely your best game plan.
On the other hand, if you have booked your trip independently “unpackaged” then unless you have that all-important travel insurance, you are on your own. You either sacrifice 100% of your cruise fare, or have to cough up whatever it takes to get you to your ship. When you miss a cruise ship, there are a variety of consequences to consider.
Therefore, you should always fly into the cruise port the day before embarkation. If anything goes wrong, you could be faced with a large financial burden to meet your ship in another port of call or be completely out of luck and miss the vacation you spent weeks and months looking forward to. It might be annoying to have to take another vacation day or pay for a hotel, but you will have peace of mind knowing that you will wake up minutes from the cruise ship.
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When you disembark your ship at a port of call, you may be barraged with offers from independent guides, taxi drivers, jitney drivers, rickshaw operators and others offering to show you the town and beyond. Before agreeing to a tour, make sure you understand how far you are going from the pier, and make sure your guide understands "ship time" and what time you want to get back. The time that you will be expected to be back on board will be posted in the daily schedule, along with a phone number to call in case of emergency. The cruise director also will make announcements — and a sign will be posted as you disembark the ship — noting the "all aboard" time.
For added flexibility, be sure to ask if embarkation is permitted at the next port or at a port or two after that. Even with the added expense of hotel nights and last-minute plane tickets, it may often net out better than forfeiting the entire cruise fare (which passengers do if they miss a sailing and don’t embark at a later port call). The first lesson for first-time cruisers in terms of visits to ports of call is to read your daily newsletter (delivered to your cabin or detailed on a ship app) and understand any nuances regarding ship time vs. what time it is on shore.
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