Meredith Williams is an experienced cruiser, taking about seven or eight cruises each year. But even she has almost missed her ship on several occasions.
The 38-year-old man had booked through a third-party provider a visit to Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park in the Philippines during a December 2024 cruise, after being sold out through the cruise line. The site was approximately a two-hour drive away and was jam-packed with other visitors, resulting in delays.
“And then I started getting really worried, and I was talking to my guide, and I thought, ‘Hey, are we going to have time to do this?’ Because it’s a two-hour drive, and what if there’s traffic? What if our tire gets punctured?” she remembers. “All the worst-case scenarios are running through my mind.”
He got stuck in line behind other boats on the way out, and he and about seven other passengers were delayed about 30 minutes in returning to the Norwegian Cruise Line ship. Williams documented the frantic drive and sharp comeback in a video on his YouTube channel as other guests watched from balconies.
Many videos of wharf runners – guests racing to return to the cruise ship before it departs – have gone viral on social media, and gathering on the outer deck to watch the stragglers has become a pastime of sorts. But late returns could have a serious impact on both cruise lines and passengers. Here’s what to know.
‘It’s always been a thing’
Joanna Kuther, a travel agent and owner of Port Side Travel Consultants, said she has seen pier runners since she started taking cruises in the late 1980s.
“You’ll always see people coming on board at the last minute,” he said. “And the funny thing is you would wait for the announcements. That was the big thing, you know, they would start announcing people’s names to see if they were on the board or not. So that’s always been a thing.”
At the time, Kuther said, the spectacle was relatively limited to cruise guest circles. “It wasn’t as widespread as it is now because of TikTok and social media,” he said.
Both Kuther and Williams said some of the footage also appeared to be staged.
What if I miss my cruise?
Cruise ships have very busy schedules and passengers may be left behind if they do not return to the ship at the stated time.
“There are often such strict regulations, and it’s very expensive to dock,” Kuther said. Other ships may also arrive.
Before departure, cruise lines collect missing guests’ travel documents, such as passports, from their staterooms (if they have not brought them ashore) to deliver to the port authority. This way, passengers can reach the next port or home, depending on how much time they have left in the journey.
In such cases, passengers are generally responsible for their own travel arrangements. Travel insurance also usually won’t be of much help.
“Typically, trip delay coverage/missed connection coverage is due to a common carrier delay, such as an airline delay or cancellation for a covered reason, that causes you to miss your cruise/tour departure,” Meghan Walch, product director at InsureMyTrip, told USA TODAY. “An excursion supplier not getting you back to your cruise on time is generally not covered.”
How to Avoid Becoming a Pear Runner
There are some steps travelers can take to avoid running off the pier.
Cruise ships post all aboard time in daily planners provided in staterooms and on the cruise line’s app. Kuther recommends guests set a reminder on their phones and keep time zones in mind.
“There’s three times,” Kuther said. “There’s your local time, there’s the local time of the port you’re in, and then there’s ship time. You always, always have to be on ship time.”
Booking shore excursions through a cruise line may cost more, but it is often a safer option to avoid late refunds. Not only do ships have a record of where guests are, but operators also ensure that they return on time. That said, third-party vendors can also guarantee to get guests back onboard on time at no additional cost.
When booking independently, Williams recommends sticking to reputable operators and using other travelers’ reviews and social media posts when researching.
Williams always brings a portable phone charger, a photocopy of her passport, and – for water-based excursions – a waterproof pouch to hold her phone, cash, credit cards and other items. If she’s taking a medication she can’t go without for more than 24 hours, she recommends bringing at least two extra days’ worth of medication.
Kuther suggests arriving back half an hour to an hour before boarding time. “Anything can happen,” she said.