Pier pressure! Hilarious moments cruise ship latecomers miss the boat… as punctual passengers wave them goodbye

Daily Mail​

28-04-2025

Think you are having bad luck? It can't be as bad as these unfortunate passengers who embarrassingly missed their cruise ship departure time.
Over the years clips have been circulated online of so-called 'pier runners', who are jeered on by thousands of other passengers as they make the long, awkward journey down the jetty.
From this to being sarcastically waved goodbye by crew members as they leave them on dry land, some holidaymakers are left kicking themselves for their poor time keeping.
Last year, one unlucky holidaymaker was left to dramatically fall to his knees on the pier as a huge cruise ship sailed slowly away from him.
More recently, two travellers were mercilessly mocked by fellow cruise passengers after they returned to port more than 30 minutes late and missed their boat.
In 2023, social media users were left in stitches when footage circulated of a tourist couple on a quayside screaming and begging for a cruise ship captain to wait for them as fellow passengers watched on.
And in 2016, a distraught couple looked on in tears as a cruise ship sailed away with their young children on board after they missed the departure time.
For those late and left behind, there is nothing more humiliating than for these moments to be captured on camera by those luckier travellers.
Pier tantrum
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Last April, an unfortunate holidaymaker was left running down the pier with his arms flailing in the air as a Carnival cruise ship drifted off without him.
The massive boat sailed slowly away as the man fell to his knees and watched on in despair.
Another traveller appeared behind him and dropped down onto the ground before kicking his arms and legs like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
They then began jumping up-and-down in an attempt to catch the attention of the cruise crew, but to no avail.
The unlucky duo were left behind, having to do the walk of shame back down the pier.
Late duo pay the price
As the ship started to depart the port, a black golf caddy carrying a man and woman is seen speeding down the pier and towards the ship. The pair were met with merciless cheers and whistling as they watched the cruiseliner prepare to sail away
Two holidaymakers were mocked by cruise passengers after they returned to port more than 30 minutes late and missed the boat earlier this month.
Video of the duo's devastating return to the Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas at the dock in Saint Kitts and Nevis went viral online.
Staff allegedly waited for the pair, whose identities are unknown, for more than half an hour after the ship's scheduled departure time before they pulled the boarding ramp up and started to leave the docks.
As the ship started to depart the port, a black golf caddy carrying a man and woman is seen speeding down the pier and towards the ship.
The pair were met with merciless cheers and whistling as they watched the cruiseliner sail away.
Passengers on board the vessel can be heard shouting 'goodbye' as the visibly sad couple get back into the cart and head away from the docks as the ship sounds its horn and leaves the port.
Begging the captain
A tourist couple on a quayside were filmed screaming and begging for a cruise ship captain to wait for them as fellow passengers watched on in August 2023.
Footage from the time showed two travellers at the port of Bari in south-eastern Italy as the MSC Splendida was departing for its nine-day tour of the Mediterranean.
The couple missed the scheduled departure time, and when they arrived at quay 11 the gangway of the 1,100ft ship had already been removed.
The man was heard repeatedly shouting and pleading: 'Is the captain there, please?' He later added: 'Captain, wait for us, please. You can do it if you want to.'
One of the more than 4,000 passengers on board filmed the scene and could be heard chuckling in the background.
Too late to run, now!
Back in 2019 a hapless couple were caught on camera desperately chasing a Royal Caribbean cruise ship as it sailed without them while they were on their honeymoon.
Maria Gonzalez Roesch and Alessandro Di Palma ended up stranded when they arrived just minutes after their ship Symphony of the Seas left Nassau, Bahamas.
Mrs Gonzalez Roesch, a famous TV actress in their home country of Costa Rica, spoke of the 'nightmare' moment they realised the ship was leaving without them - with their money and passports on board.
They even claimed that the ship's crew were mocking as they ran alongside the huge vessel.
She told The Sun at the time that they had started to panic once they realised their passport, visas, and credit cards remained on board the ship.
However these were retrieved by a smaller boat which had been guiding the large ship out of the harbour.
Ship sails away with young children on board... as parents cry from pier
A distraught couple looked on in tears as a cruise ship sailed away with their young children on board after they missed the departure time in 2016.
The woman had reportedly been late to arrive at the port in Nassau, Bahamas, and her husband disembarked the ship - leaving the children in the care of relatives - to look for her.
The cruise ship broke with protocol and waited an additional half an hour for the guests and left after consultation with the family.
Dramatic footage recorded by passengers on board the Norwegian Breakaway shows the parents, from the US, racing to catch the ship as it set off on its three-day journey back to its home port in New York.
In one clip, the father jumps off a buggy and waves his arms, while his wife drops her bags, falls to her knees and clasps her hands in front of her chest as she begs the crew to stop, but by then it was too late.
Norwegian Cruise Line said that the mother had been late for the cruise ship's departure.
Every minute matters
By 5:15pm two unlucky holidaymakers were left stranded on the pier with no choice but to watch the cruise sail away
Last June, dramatic footage captured the moment two travellers missed their cruise after turning up 15 minutes late.
The ship departed at 5pm on the dot, but passengers were seen with rucksacks and luggage making a run for it until the very last minute.
As they made a mad dash, a few travellers made it just in the nick of time, some with even one minute to spare.
But by 5:15pm two unlucky holidaymakers were left stranded on the pier with no choice but to watch the cruise sail away.
Close....but no cigar
Hilariously unfortunate video footage captured the moment a man was left running down the entire length of a pier while his cruise ship left without him in September.
As he made his way past throngs of other travellers, he sprinted down the wooden path but he already knew it was too late as the massive vessel drifted off to sea.
The person filming the scene can be heard in the background yelling: 'No way, he's missing that, that's his ship!
'He's going to miss his ship, oh no it's already leaving I feel so bad if that's his ship, oh my goodness'.