The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

A COUPLE was left stranded in Nassau after they were 45 minutes late for boarding their Royal Caribbean cruise ship — resulting in the vessel leaving them behind.

The incident was recorded and later uploaded to YouTube by a person claiming to have been aboard a neighbouring Norwegian Cruise Line ship.

“Couple misses their cruise ship Symphony of the Seas while docked in Nassau, Bahamas on February 15, 2019,” the video’s description reads. “All aboard time was 3.30pm. At 4.15pm the gangway was removed, doors were closed and the lines were let loose. The couple showed up approximately five minutes later only to see the ship preparing to push off.”

In the footage, the couple can be seen frantically waving at the ship, to no avail.

Commentators were not very sympathetic to the couple’s plight.

“Not that I’m rejoicing in their misfortune, but cruises are very scheduled,” one person wrote. “You have so many hours at port, for meals and for entertainment. If ships had a reputation for waiting for every person who was late, they would never leave port. Punctuality is the ultimate respect for someone else’s time.

“I just came off a cruise a few days ago. Daily I saw people come back after the ‘cut off’ time of 4.30pm. I saw people coming in between 4.45pm-5pm. If you can’t respect the rules you deserve to get left.”

Last month, there was another incident with Royal Caribbean passengers in Nassau.

The cruise line banned one man for life after he jumped off the 11th floor of a Symphony of the Seas ship that was docked in Nassau.

Friends of Nick Naydev, of Vancouver, Washington, filmed the 27-year-old jumping off a balcony and into an estimated 100-feet of water.

Mr Naydev later posted the video to his social media account.

The jumper was not allowed back aboard the ship and local police were called. However, officers reportedly found the situation “amusing” and did not file any legal action, according to Mr Naydev.

Royal Caribbean has since rebuked the move as “stupid and reckless behaviour” in a statement to People. The magazine also reported the cruise will be “exploring legal action” against Mr Naydev and his friends.