Do cruise ships leave you behind?

Cruise ships leave passengers behind frequently. If you stick to shore excursions that are sold by your cruise and the tour is delayed in returning to the ship, the ship will be held in port. If you explore a port on your own, you will also be on your own if you miss your ship's departure time.



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If you miss the ship, you'll have to either meet it in a subsequent port of call or call it a wash and head home. Your cruise line, travel agent or travel insurance provider might be able to help you make the plans; otherwise, you'll have to make arrangements on your own.

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Code Red: Outbreak of norovirus or other illness. It means the ship must undergo deep cleaning and sick passengers should stay in their rooms. Code Green and Code Yellow indicate less severe problems.

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Code Blue usually means a medical emergency.

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Cruise lines typically follow strict departure times at all ports of call. While exceptions may be made for passengers participating in excursions organized by the cruise line, the cruise ship generally does not wait for late passengers.

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You can stay on the cruise ship when in port. In fact, it's a pro cruiser “secret” to let others get off the cruise ship, while they enjoy a quiet and less crowded day onboard! When staying on board the cruise, you can relax and enjoy the cruise ship amenities and activities.

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If your ship is docked, you'll be able to simply walk off the vessel directly onto dry land via a movable ramp called a gangway. If it's anchored, you'll have to take a tender -- a small boat that ferries passengers ashore in groups.

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Generally speaking, if your cruise ship leaves you behind you'll have to arrange for travel either to another port of call or to get home. Depending on where you're stranded, this can be easy or fairly difficult, but it's an important part of planning if you want to continue the cruise or at the very least get home.

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Since the excursion is supposed to only take place within the allotted port time, the ship will wait for passengers coming from a cruise line excursion that's running late. However, if you've spent the day independently on your own, there are certain steps you must take to make sure you're not left stranded.

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The first steps are to get medical treatment, report the crime, collect evidence, and contact authorities. Next, contact a maritime personal injury attorney to learn more about your rights. Don't remain a silent victim. Make the person who is responsible for your injuries pay for their crime.

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Most cruise ship rescues these days only involve a handful of people in distress. Other than a few hours spent sitting idle in the middle of the ocean, picking up sailors in distress doesn't typically have significant impacts on the itinerary of the cruise in progress.

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Cruise Ship Cabins to Avoid
  • Cabins with obstructed views. ...
  • Cabins with a connecting door. ...
  • Those that are close to the lifts or stairs. ...
  • Staterooms that are too far from the lifts or stairs. ...
  • Cabins near the laundry room. ...
  • Beware of cabins with little privacy. ...
  • Staterooms directly below public and entertainment areas.


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The average time for a cruise ship to spend in port is around 8-9 hours. It is most common for ships to dock early in the morning and sail away late afternoon. Some stays will be as little as 4 hours or as long as 3 days.

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On voyage-conclusion days, also called turnaround days, passengers are asked to vacate their cabins between 8 and 8:30 a.m. so stewards can begin cleaning them for the next round of cruisers. Everyone from the cruise that's ending must be off the ship between 9 and 10 a.m. in most cases.

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Anyone travelling some distance to join their cruise ship, or taking a shore excursion in distant lands will have had the thought cross their mind - “What if I don't make it to the ship in time?” It is estimated that around 5% of passengers will miss their ship once in their cruising lifetime.

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Cruise lines may permit passengers carrying all their luggage to leave first. Since the luggage tag system may mean waiting hours before leaving, many guests opt to carry their bags to leave as early as possible. On the other hand, people carrying their own luggage leads to longer and slower self disembarkation lines.

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As for your person, you will go through a metal detector. We have yet to go through a port that has the body scanners that have caused so much controversy at airports.

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An “Alpha” is a medical emergency, a “Bravo” is a fire, and “Kilo” is a request for all personnel to report to their emergency posts, which happens in the event of, say, a necessary evacuation. Be wary of “Echo,” which is called if the ship is starting to drift, or “Oscar,” which means someone's gone overboard.

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