If you’re exploring a port on your own and something goes wrong, this emergency contact could be the difference between reboarding—or watching your ship sail away.
Cruise lines assign a local Port Agent in every port specifically to handle emergencies, delays, and last-minute coordination with the ship.
At long last, you’re finally on your cruise that you booked well over a year and a half ago….ahhh! Rest, relaxation, good food and drink – wonderfulness!
It’s the morning of your first port, and your daily planner and app remind you that you’ll be here from 8:00am until 5pm. Everyone needs to be back on the ship by 4:30pm. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, right?
Lots of people have paid to be on the various excursions that the cruise line offers. They cost more, but you have the guarantee that if you’re delayed for some reason, the ship will wait for you until you return.
But those excursions can cost at least twice as much as making plans on your own, and you don’t want to spend that kind of money. So instead of going on an excursion that the cruise line offers, you’ve decided to use a private guide that your cousin recommended.
Anyway, you have a great day – your guide was great, you learned a lot, a delicious lunch was included and now you’re on your way back to the port, because it’s 4pm. Your guide, who is also your ride, says the drive back to the ship should only take about 15 minutes or so, so you’ve got 15 minutes of padding.
Except you’re on the one road back to the port and apparently there’s been a major accident. A bus hit a truck, there are multiple injuries, the entire road is closed and traffic is at a standstill in both directions. Oh, and you’re still 2 miles from the port.
You start to sweat as your watch hits the 4:30pm mark and then, GASP!, the 5pm mark. As it turns out, traffic starts up again at 5:03, but by then it’s too late – at 5:10pm, you see your ship leave without you.
If only there was a way you could let them know you were almost there!
Actually, there is.
Every port in the world has an emergency contact phone number (and sometimes email too) that you can call in the event of an emergency. The person you’re calling is the Port Agent.
If, in the situation above, you had the number, you could have called to say, “I know I’m late – there was traffic but we’re moving now. I’m almost there. Can the ship please wait 10 more minutes?” They, in turn, could have called your ship to relay the message. And if you weren’t going to be much longer, many ship Captains will give you a grace period of 10 or 15 minutes so they don’t have to just leave you there.
What is this emergency contact information?
Obviously, the contact information for the Port Agent changes from port to port, since it’s a different person at each port. But your cruise line will always make it available for you, somewhere.
On Virgin Voyages, for example, they post it in each of the elevators on the day you’re in port.
Other cruise lines will include it in the daily activity sheet, on their app, etc.
Here’s an example from Norwegian Cruise Line, from when they were making port in Civitavecchia a few years ago:
And Royal Caribbean’s from when they stopped at Playa del Carmen:
Princess also offers their port agent info on their TVs:
Make sure you have this contact information saved or written down before you go ashore at every port.
If I’m not on the ship by All Board time, won’t they try to contact me?
Maybe, if they have your cell number on file and you have cell service in whatever country you’re in. Otherwise they may call your emergency contact to see if they’re aware of your whereabouts (read: were you in an accident and hospitalized so you called your loved ones?). And if they can’t figure out where you are, and you haven’t told them, your cruise ship will leave without you.
Don’t forget!
For every port, every time. Make sure you have a copy of the contact information for the Port Agent, so IF you somehow aren’t going to make it back in time, you can let them know.
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1 comment
Wow-I’ve been a Travel Advisor for 45 years and I didn’t know this.