Cruise lines are constantly warning passengers about staying on “ship time”, which is often different than the local time in a port of call. But inevitably, there are almost always a few cruisers left at the pier as the ship sails to the next port.
John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s candid Brand Ambassador, recently posted a video on Facebook, highlighting a message he received from a guest who had missed her ship in Costa Maya.
Heald often shares messages from passengers. He said this letter was “quite a serious one.” The passenger who wrote it was very upset after having to spend hundreds of dollars to reunite with the ship at the next port in Cozumel.
The Costly Time Zone Mistake
She admitted that missing the ship was their fault. “We missed the ship. It was our fault,” she wrote. The cruise couple were in Costa Maya and decided to rent a Jeep. But they made a simple, costly mistake: they relied on the clock in the Jeep, and the clock showed local time.
“Something we didn’t realize until way too late,” the woman explained. Because of this, they got back to the pier too late. The ship’s ramp, or “gangway,” was already gone. They arrived “15 minutes after the gangway had been hauled up.”
Then came the worst part. They had to stand there and watch. They “watched for another 17 minutes precisely before they hauled the lines and departed.” The ship left them behind.
Left Behind and Facing Costs
The passenger felt terrible, not just about missing the ship. She was upset about the people watching.
“When you say that it is OK to have people sneer and jeer at you, John, think of people like us,” she wrote. She said she felt “ridiculed by hundreds of people,” as passengers on the ship took part in the almost-ritualistic practice of cheering on pier runners.
But the “biggest slap in the face”, according to the message, was the extra cost that came with being left behind. They had to pay for a hotel that night. Then they paid for a taxi and a ferry “to get to join the ship next day in Cozumel.”
They wondered why Carnival didn’t help them financially. “There was no help financially from Carnival. Why?” she asked.
John Heald Explains Carnival’s Stance
John Heald replied in his video that he did feel for them. “Well, I do have sympathy,” he told his viewers. He also addressed the part about people watching. He said, “in my own defense, I don’t think I’ve ever said that it’s okay for people to applaud and cheer when we have the famous and so-named ‘pier runners’.” He added that missing the ship “is never nice.”
He explained why the ship couldn’t just put the ramp back out for them. He said if they had been right there before the ship’s ropes (“lines”) were untied, maybe. But once the ropes were released, “which is why we couldn’t get you back on the ship again,” it’s too late. The ship has a schedule it needs to keep.
John also had to be clear about who pays for what. “Yes, it is your responsibility, I’m afraid, to pay for the charges of your hotel and all the transportation charges,” he stated. If you miss the ship because you were late, you have to pay your own way to catch up. But he was happy they “were able to join the ship the next day.”
Bottom Line
Finally, John gave two very important pieces of advice, so others don’t make the same mistake:
- If you rent a car or other vehicle in port, “please be very careful.” Plan your time well.
- Pay attention to the time. “If there’s a clock in that car in any of the islands, ignore it. Stay on ship’s time unless you’ve been told otherwise by the ship.” This is the most crucial point. Always follow the ship’s time.
The practice of both cheering and perhaps even jeering at pier runners is probably not going away any time soon. And as much as people enjoy being on the ship side of this practice, it’s equally as disappointing when passengers miss their ship.
Read more: How to never miss your ship and get left behind