Why does our teleport work differently?
Solution 1:
Assuming you're both on same depth level, you most likely didn't have a wall behind you (RMB with the tool to break it down).
You can't teleport to ship from within buildings, which mainly just means you can't teleport if you have a wall behind you.
Edit: An update in 2016 made it possible to beam to ship from any depth with walls behind you if your character is in casual mode.