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MiscellaneousWhat Happens When You Miss Your Cruise Ship?

What Happens When You Miss Your Cruise Ship?

If there is one mistake that you should never make on a cruise, it should be the mistake of arriving late back to the ship while in port.

If you have taken several cruises, you undoubtedly have watched pier runners running back to the ship just before you are scheduled to sail.  It happens almost every cruise and while just about everyone makes it back on board in time, once and awhile some are left standing at the pier watching their ship sail away without them.

First of all, the ship will NOT wait for you if you are late.  However, if you are on a sponsored excursion booked through the cruise line and are late coming back, the ship will wait. Excursions booked through a 3rd party normally always allow for extra time so you won’t miss the ship. The locals know what time the cruise ships leave and the last thing they want is for you to get left behind.  The majority of cruisers who miss the ship miss it because they lost track of time and are late getting back on their own.  What happens to those who miss the ship?  Here is the procedure that cruise lines go through when a passenger is not back on board when the ship is scheduled to leave port.

If a passenger is not on board at the scheduled departure time, their name is called over the PA system to make sure that they didn’t board without their cruise card checking them back in when they boarded.  If there is no response after five minutes, another announcement is made over the general emergency system.

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If there is still no response, a member of guest services will be accompanied by a security officer to check the passenger’s cabin to see if they are there.  If they are not there, they will look for the passenger’s passport and use a master key to check for it in the safe.  (Most passengers place their passports in the safe)

Read more: 3 things to do if you miss your cruise ship

If they are unable to find the passports, the ship assumes that the passenger has them with them.  If they find the passport, it is given to the ship agent (there is an agent stationed in every port) so the passenger will have them when they arrive back at the pier. A passport is needed for all international flights so they can catch back up with the ship.

The passenger is then responsible for all fees and for the cost of lodging and flights to meet back up with the ship.  Last minute international fares can be extremely expensive. The ship agent will assist the passenger in booking flights and a hotel.

Travel insurance may or may not cover flights if you miss the ship due to your own negligence.  Cruise ships wait as long as they can before leaving but are often on strict time schedules.

Our advice, always plan on arriving back at the pier a minimum of one hour before you are scheduled to leave.  This will allow for unexpected delays (traffic, flat tire etc) and ensure that you won’t be left standing on the pier watching your ship sail away without you.

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Ben Souza
Ben Souza
Ben is a world traveler who has visited 40+ countries, taken over 70 cruises, and flown nearly one million miles. He is one of USA TODAY's experts for their 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. His writings have appeared and been cited in various media outlets such as Yahoo News, MSN, NPR, Drudge Report, CNN, Fox, and ABC News. Ben currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. Follow Ben on Instagram. Visit Ben Souza on Linkedin. You may email Ben at [email protected].
MiscellaneousWhat Happens When You Miss Your Cruise Ship?

2 COMMENTS

  1. Good to know about the passport info and how it goes from the safe to the agent. I always wondered about that.

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