Ok, if I saw this happening to someone that would be the first song to pop into my head.
As you all have probably gathered, John and I often book independent excursions. With that said, we always book with companies that I have only read good reviews about and we only book things that will get us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. Why do we make sure of these things? Because the boat WILL leave you if you are not back by the right time.
Check out these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-yrsXsJmbw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEXE9Dk4Y0M
And here is a recent post by someone on cruise critic that has left me with some good information/tips to give you.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2118638
For this guy, a group of them went to Atlantis in Nassau on their own. They were all supposed to meet at a set time. One part of the group did not meet at specified time and location and went back to the boat on their own. Well they had the son of the group they were supposed to meet with them and so the dad of that son panicked and looked all over Atlantis for them. He did send his older son and wife back to the ship so they would get back on. He did not realize though that his younger son and friend were also already on the ship. By the time he got back to the pier he said the ship was pulling away. He said he could have swam to it because it was so close but nonetheless there was nothing to be done at that point.
I tell you this not to scare anyone. We have done independent excursions for all but 1 of our cruises and have never had anything bad happen. We will continue to do things on our own. But we will also always continue to leave ourselves plenty of wiggle room with getting back to the ship!
So here are my tips:
1. Wear a watch. Do not depend on your cell phone to give you the time. You need to go by the ships time and not the local time. I heard of a couple possibly using their cell phone in St. Maarten and the cell phone did not account for daylight savings time like the ship did and they were late for the ship.
2. If doing an excursion with a group, establish a meet time and a backup plan. And BE COURTEOUS and sensible and follow the meet times.
3. I thought this was good information. If something as dire as being left behind were to happen, the port agent's name and phone information are on the bottom of your Daily Cruise Compass. Keep a copy with you and call that number as soon as an emergency occurs!
4. If you get separated, check the ship and see if any of your party has already boarded the boat. They should be able to tell you that right at the pier.
5. Have a good time... But not too good of a time if you know what I mean. Do not drink too much as the heat will make it catch up with you even faster!
6. Being back on the ship a little early is not a bad thing at all. You will have the pool deck mostly to yourself and/or a hot tub. On the Disney cruise I remember a group of us getting back to the ship early and about 8 or so of us having a big ol' time hanging out and chatting in the hot tub.
7. Always carry a little cash or credit card with you. And although they always say you only need your SeaPass card at port, we always carry our ID just in case.
8. I seriously do not advise going anywhere by yourself. But that is just me.
That is all I can think of right now.
Enjoy! And please do not let me scare you. Seriously, it just pays to plan ahead and that is why I am telling you all. (Oh and the videos are sometimes fun to watch!)
No comments:
Post a Comment