A passenger sailing in Alaska was seen making the mad dash along Sitka’s pier as the cruise ship he thought he was cruising on was seen departing without him on September 9, 2024.
Late for the onboard time, Princess Cruises’ 3,080-passenger Crown Princess had pulled away from the pier and was making her way to her next call in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, as she wraps up an 11-night roundtrip voyage from San Francisco.
Guests aboard another ship also calling in Sitka that day witnessed the man’s sprint, many recording the scene on their phones. One passenger shared the moment in a now-viral video that shows the runner waving frantically as Crown Princess slowly drifts away.
“Oh no, he’s missed his ship!” Jordan Flom can be heard saying as he recorded the desperate attempt.
But just as the crowd, and the man, assumed he was doomed to be left behind, a person walked out to meet him, pointing back to the ship still at port. It appears, the man was actually one of up to 4,004 passengers sailing on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Bliss.
His actual ship was also spending September 9 in Sitka on a roundtrip Alaskan cruise from Seattle with a later departure time. Crown Princess, for the record, is a 113,561-gross-ton ship, and Norwegian Bliss is much bigger at 168,028 gross tons.
Realizing his mistake, the man paused, caught his breath, and laughed along with the crowd that witnessed the show.
He was able to reembark and continue his 7-night cruise, which arrived in Juneau today and will continue to Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan, Alaska, as well as Victoria, British Columbia.
The video quickly made the rounds on social media, with viewers chiming in about the potential heart-stopping moment of missing a ship. Many weighed in on their own near misses, as well as the aftermath of what happens when one does miss the boat.
The Importance of Being on Time
While the Sitka story had a happy ending, not all cruise passengers are so lucky. When cruise lines give a specific “all aboard” time, they mean it. Failing to return to the ship by the designated time can result in being left behind, which isn’t just stressful but costly.
Cruise ships run on tight schedules, particularly when they have multiple ports of call. Each stop is carefully timed, often with port fees and docking schedules that depend on precise timing.
Passengers who fail to return on time risk missing the ship, and catching up requires booking flights or other forms of transportation to the next port, at their own expense.
Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises, for example, have strict policies regarding missing the “all aboard.” If a guest fails to return by this time, the ship is not obligated to wait, and they risk being left behind.
Read Also: What Happens If You Miss Your Cruise Ship?
Anyone who misses the ship is responsible for making their own arrangement to rejoin the ship, and the cruise line will not cover additional expenses, such as transportation, lodging, or meals.
If passengers miss multiple days of the cruise, they may forfeit those missed days without any refund or compensation.
It’s also important to remember that cruise ships have their own time zones that may differ from the local port. Passengers should double-check that their watches and phones are synchronized with the ship’s clock, ensuring they return before the gangway is pulled up.
Excursions booked through the cruise will always be timed to get passengers back with plenty of time to reboard. To be sure you don’t miss the boat, plan independent excursions carefully to give yourself enough time to avoid running your own sprint on the pier.
