The dock office called the ship for them and asked if it would come back or if they could ride the pilot boat to the ship. The captain would not agree to either and she told him that they did not have their passports. The captain arranged to have their passports taken from the safe in their cabin and had the pilot boat pick up the passports and deliver them to them on the dock. She said they had the passports by 5:15 and they could have easily been on the ship by then since the pilot boat picked up the passports to bring to them. The official on the dock said that this captain never uses the pilot boat to board late guests, but others do.

She said they had to spend over $500.00 for a hotel and to fly to the next port to meet the ship. She feels this is a matter of customer service and RCI failed to provide good customer service. They boarded the ship at the next port and finished their cruise.

I think it is unfortunate that they had such bad luck, but we are personally responsible to get ourselves back on board well in advance of the departure time, especially if we are not on a ship's excursion. Every ship emphasizes the time we have to be on board.

quote:

---

Originally posted by KansasK:
Is it common for a ship to let late passengers ride the pilot boat to catch the ship?

---

Many factors come into play as to whether a pilot boat or tender can be used, best to assume not and ensure you are back in plenty of time. Things do go wrong, in which case you take the brunt and don't whinge about the ship not waiting and it cost so much to catch up with it. To pay the bill for the pilot launch or the ship coming back to port might be quite a bit higher.

The tug pulled up and they were helped aboard:

Larger Version

We met them several days later over cocktails in the Princess Grill Lounge and they seemed to have enjoyed the experience. For the reasons cited above I don't think this would happen today.

quote:

---

Originally posted by eroller:
These days everything is about liability. I'm sure there are many reasons why the cruise companies and the pilot boat operators don't want to transport passengers after the ship has officially departed. Different times we live in.

Ernie

---

1. I agree, it's down to the pax to make sure they get back early enough.

Five to ten minutes later departure would not have made any effect on next arrival.

Clearly the Captain erred!!

Pay the Piper RCCI!

[ 06-02-2008: Message edited by: annnthony ]

Here is a case where having trip insurance MAY have helped them recoup expenses, but I'm not sure if it covers missing the ship other than at the original embarkation port.

Another lesson to be learned--always carry the ship's program or port map with you in ports of call--there is usually contact information for the ship's agents, along with phone numbers, etc. specifically in case of emergencies.

quote:

---

Originally posted by annnthony:
Sorry, but, bottom line, the ship should not have left three minutes early.....just common courtesy for however delayed passengers!!

Five to ten minutes later departure would not have made any effect on next arrival.

Clearly the Captain erred!!

Pay the Piper RCCI!

---

You are very quick to take the side of the passengers and place blame on the Captain. So far you have only heard one side of the story. Three minutes is a very short period of time. Who is to say the passengers watch was three minutes early, or at the very least not synchronized exactly with ship's time? On every cruise I have sailed, passengers are advised to be onboard 30 minutes prior to sailing. Even if the passengers watch did say three minutes until sailing time, that is cutting it way too close.

Most airlines will deny boarding five minutes or more before departure time. This is to run final paperwork and close out the flight. Why should a cruise ship be any different?

When you start making delays for every late passenger, then you start a precedent. You have to draw the line and at some points passengers have to take responsibility for their own actions. That is the problem today, everyone wants to blame someone else for their own screwups!

We were told before we docked at St. Marten that we could easily take a taxi to the French side, but the ride back in traffic takes several hours. They suggested people use the water taxi, instead. Unexpected traffic returning to the ship is a real issue on many islands.

I think Ernie is right in that we do not know if the ship's clock was the same as the late cruiser's. I know that my watch and my car clock are not the same time as the Kronos clock I time in on at work. We are not all synchonized, so the late ones might not have been.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Grant:
[...]Had the passengers arrived at the pier 3 minutes late from the posted all aboard time, perhaps they have a case; however 3 minutes late from the actual departue time is really 33 minutes late by my book! The only error in judgement I see, is with the tardy passengers.

---

It is an unfortunate situation, but it is not the cruise line's fault that the cab got a flat tire!

quote:

---

Originally posted by KansasK:
I think Pam's idea of having the number of the ship or the dock is a good one and I have never thought of this. I wonder how one gets these numbers.

---