The nightmare that happens when you miss your cruise

Sydney Morning Herald

4 days ago

This article is part of Traveller's Holiday Guide to ocean cruising. See all stories.
Do cruise ships really leave late passengers behind? Oh yes. Google 'cruise passengers miss ship' and enjoy the YouTube videos of distraught pier runners as they're known, as their ship pulls away from the dock.
Occasionally pier runners make international news. In 2016 a couple hit the headlines when their ship left them at Nassau in the Bahamas with their kids still on board. In 2023, a very unexciting TikTok video garnered 2.4 million views after several guests were left behind at Long Beach in California.
The most recent prominent example: eight passengers in 2024, late to reboard in tiny island nation Sao Tome off the west coast of Africa, who weren't reunited with their ship until six days later in Dakar in Senegal.
Some pier-runner stories can be entertaining, at least to those uninvolved. One tale – probably an urban myth – says one passenger was delivered back to her ship off Gibraltar by pilot boat.
In Funchal in Portugal in 2016, a British passenger who attempted to swim back to her departing ship was lucky to survive. She was plucked from the Atlantic Ocean by fishermen hours later, still clutching her handbag.
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The ship's captain has every reason to set sail. Thousands of other passengers might be inconvenienced by a delay, and ship's itineraries, harbour-pilot bookings and berth bookings are tightly planned.
You won't be left behind if a shore excursion with the cruise line runs late: an incentive used to encourage bookings. Only a major delay might see the ship sail, but the cruise company will arrange your onward travel.
A ship might wait for individuals for a short time depending on company and port regulations, the captain's mood, and the tightness of the schedule. If it sails, the onus is on you to sort it out. Travel insurance may not cover your costs, since missing the ship might be construed as negligent.