Posted on 04/03/2024 9:13:16 AM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
A fiery debate has sparked after a cruise denied eight passengers to board the ship after they failed to make the 3 pm cut-off time.
The Norwegian Dawn ship left the tourists on an African island, some without their possessions after the private tour they were on ran late.
The group have now made their way by plane, ferry and car to Senegal, over 2,000 miles from São Tomé and Príncipe, where the Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) ship departed without them last Wednesday.
US couple Jill and Jay Campbell, who were among the abandoned eight cruisers have spent more than $7,000 in travel costs to get to the port in Senegal.
“We truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship follows, they follow those rules too rigidly,” Ms. Campbell told NBC’s the Today Show on Tuesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I remember cruising back in the 70s. Same. They tell you when the ship is leaving. If they say 4:00 they don’t mean 4:15. They would leave you then, they will leave you now. It’s not news.
They’re lucky the island was’t full of cannibals.
My husband’s new rule is from whatever movie “Apocalypse now” maybe..”Never get off the boat”. ;)
AWWWWW.... good old Hyacinth. ❤️
No, but I can criticize any decision made by a private company.
Yes, they are. This was a port like many, where the cruise ship anchors off the coast and passengers are ferried ashore in small boats. It's very common, especially for smaller ports.
This ship was still anchored when they refused to take the late passengers aboard. The reason cruise ships are extremely strict with this policy is to ensure passengers take it seriously. If everyone ashore thought they could get away with pushing the deadline, the ship would be late leaving every port. While it seems harsh, fear is a good motivator, and this story will probably help motivate some future passenger to be more punctual.
Perhaps the late tourists would want to pay the penalties & fees for failing to vacate the dock on time.
When you book a tour with a private tour company, not only do you risk missing the boat, but you never know the quality of the tour.
We booked a private snorkeling tour in the Bahamas. On the boat trip out they served rum punch in plastic cups. It was good, the snorkeling was fun. On the way back to the ship, we noticed the deck hand taking used cups out of the trash for more rum punch. He didn’t wash them. We declined. Yuk!
You may pay more for a ship-sponsored excursion, but the cruise line guarantees the ship will be there when you return to the dock & they vouch for the quality of the tour company. When you are thousands of miles from home it is best to stick with things you know & trust.
I don't think you can compare the two.
First, the another plane will be along in an hour or so. You don't have to travel for a day or two to catch up with another plane.
Two, if the ticket counter tickets you and takes your bag, the gate should be notified to let you on. (They probably don't, but they should if the front-end of the process accepts you).
Third, what about late connections? I remember (long ago) when they would hold the departure of a major connecting flight if several inbounds are delayed by bad weather or gate congestion. So this is an exception to "the plane is still on the tarmac" but let "latecomers" on.
Fourth, the passengers are in their home country (mostly) with their wallets and purses, not stranded in a foreign country with no documents or local currency.
-PJ
Private tours are never affiliated with the cruise lines. If they had booked their tour with the cruise ship and the tour was running late, the ship would have waited. The rules are made clear. Also, the ships need to leave the ports by a certain time, no exceptions.
Personally I like to see ones who think rules don’t apply to them find out...Yes. They do.
These are the people who the scripture is written for.
“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.
Kenny500c wrote: “Seems as though the ship was still on the dock, silly not to let them board.”
Except the ship was anchored, not ‘docked’.
Revel wrote: “Does the ship advertise or recommend this private tour? If they do then they are liable.”
The cruise line does not advertise or recommend ‘private tours’.
Here is a hypothetical; what should the ship do?
Both a ship's excursion and a private excursion are taking passengers to the same national monument (e.g., a Mayan ruin, Pompeii, etc.).
Both excursion transports are stuck in local traffic due to an unforeseen accident complicated by emergency vehicles and are delayed for 30 minutes while returning to the ship.
Both excursion transports arrive 30 minutes late to the ship at the same time.
Will the ship board only the ship-sponsored excursion passengers and deny the other passengers boarding, or will the ship board both sets of passengers?
-PJ
Middle of the night Holland America captain comes on PA we're turning to go to Cuba a kid fell down the stairs by the pool and seriously injured, Cuba is the closet hospital. No problem. 1 hour later a US Navy chopper took the id and to a aircraft carrier with a surgeon on board.
No one I know complained in either case. It's easy to say leave them on a bum f—k island in the middle of the ocean when it's not your tour that's late.
“Seems as though the ship was still on the dock,”
Seems you didn’t read the article.
PS from Cozumel you shuttle boat to Playa Del Carmen on the mainland.
Too bad...rules are rules. Ruin the trip for everyone else because they couldn’t be on time is not the way it’s done. I went on a tour one time and there was ONE guy that was always late getting back on the bus after a stop. So annoying.
“Even if the cruise ship just recommended the tour, they might be liable”
The only tours the cruise companies recommend are those that they sell tickets for.
No
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