On-Time Departure Question
 

We recently took a short cruise from and were told to be on board by 3:00 p.m. for the 4:00 p.m. departure, with this warning: "Please be advised that on Embarkation Day, all guests must be onboard the ship no less than one hour from the ship's scheduled departure time."

However, the cruise was delayed until 6:00 p.m. giving us only one hour of daylight to enjoy the sights of Puget Sound.

I wrote the cruise line complaining about the delay. I received a reply that the departure was delayed for "several buses of passengers who were delayed."

If ALL guests must be aboard an hour before sailing, should not the ship have debarked without those who were delayed for two hours for whatever reason?

It is possible that these were passengers who booked air thru the cruiseline - in which case the cruiseline had a different obligation to actually get them on the ship.

Thanks, gail. That is an interesting slant and I'm sure it was the case. I wonder why they didn't tell me that rather than give me the run-around. HTTY

The fact you received any response from cruise line surprises me more than they didn't explain it to you in all detail. If you read all fine print on your cruise agreement, you will see that cruise lines have rights to do about anything they want, including times and ports change.

This, in fact, is touted as an advantage to taking a cruise tour, rather than an independent one. The ship will wait for people arriving late from tours that were booked through the cruise line.

I have only been on two cruises, but in each case, there were individuals who were left behind because they went ashore by themselves, and did not get back to the ship on time. In one case, the gal caught up with the ship at the next port by bus and by train, but had to spend the night in a hotel at her own expense.

In the other case, it was a disaster, because the couple missed disembarking at the port before St. Petersburg, which is the highlight of the Baltics cruise. Since they were not required to get visas to enter Russia for the ship's escorted tours (2 days' worth) they were not able to enter Russia on their own to catch up with the ship. They missed the Russian stop altogether, had to meet the ship at the port after that, and had the added expense of transportation and hotels until then.

Whoa wait a minute!

I have read before that purchasing air thru the cruiseline does NOT guarantee that they will wait for you if delayed. Can anyone confirm that?

Also, we are not talking about ship sponsored excursions, we are talking about embarkation day. I do believe it is true that the ship will wait for any passengers who are late returning from a ship sponsored excursion. But I think it's a different case (no guarantee) with embarkation/flying to the cruise ship in the first place. In happytrails' case, it seems it was a courtesy, not a policy...

If the cruise line has a large number of passengers coming from one destination or at least on the same flight they will do everything possible to wait. Other large groups could be booked as well like the Automobile Association or travel agency specializing in cruises who may have a large group traveling together. It depends on the facility where the ship is docked as well - if they can delay their departure. I have seen many times a cruise ship sitting in Vancouver harbour because their berth was needed (or the cost prohibitive) and the delayed passengers were brought to the ship by tender. On a couple of occasions they couldn't wait because of they need high tides to get through Seymour Narrows so they flew the group to the first Alaska port. All situations are different.

Now that I've read these explanation, I do believe that the guests arriving on late buses had booked a package with NCL.

It would have been so easy for the the woman who claimed to be the supervisor of the main desk on the ship to explain this to me instead of asking me, "How would you feel if your bus was late?"

I wrote NCL stating in part, "I understand that sailings might be delayed for mechanical problems, security alerts, hurricanes, and so on. However, I would like to know if it is NCL's policy to delay a 4:00 p.m. departure until 6:00 p.m. for passengers who were supposed to be on bard at 3:00 p.m."

The reply to my letter did not answer this question. It apologized for "any discomfort or inconvenience" I may have experienced and offered to arrange "Welcome Aboard" amenities for me on my next voyage with NCL.

I'm an adult. I can accept the answer to my question, and I am grateful you gave it to me when NCL didn't.

Just one thing to add to this...if you are booked on cruise line air, the cruise line is obligated to et you on the ship. There may be some circumstances, such as tides etc. that may mean the ship needs to leave, but if that is the case and there are cruise line air folks that have not arrived, it is the cruise lines responsibility to get those folks to the first port.

One of our memorable cruise experiences was sitting on our balcony in Key West, watching the sun set, having drinks with little umbrellas in them, and watching passengers make a mad dash towards the ship as it prepared to leave. Rather mean of us, but really funny.

gail, that is funny. I remember the same thing. There's just somethin' about Key West I guess! :D

laneyb wrote: "Just one thing to add to this...if you are booked on cruise line air, the cruise line is obligated to et you on the ship."

I don't think this is true.
I believe they will TRY, especially if there is a large number, but I don't think they are obligated unless you've also purchased trip insurance through them.

"It depends on the facility where the ship is docked as well - if they can delay their departure. I have seen many times a cruise ship sitting in Vancouver harbour because their berth was needed (or the cost prohibitive) and the delayed passengers were brought to the ship by tender. On a couple of occasions they couldn't wait because of they need high tides to get through Seymour Narrows so they flew the group to the first Alaska port. All situations are different"


This is very true, however for clairfication, it isn't high tide that the ships go though the narrows in, it's slack tide.

We cruised out of Vancouver in August, and there were storms somewhere in the US, and a whole bunch of flights were delayed. Several of our friends had booked their travel through Celebrity and the ship waited several hours to try to get everyone on. I consider this a good thing - I guess I never cared when the ship actually left the dock - they tend to make up any time they need to make up.... I also don't think alot of the customer service reps have access to specifics on the ships, but they certainly shouldn't be flip about the answer. It could have been any kind of emergency - many of which they would not have told you the details on (medical, etc)... I hope the rest of your cruise was fabulous....