Disembark early at LeHavre questions

What is the procedure for disembarking at the last port of call? We have authorization to disembark at LeHavre on our Anthem cruise in June, but weren't given specific instructions of how to do this. Can we leave any time we want or will they make everyone disembarking here go at the same time? Will we have to meet somewhere for customs or will that be taken care of at the door where we exit?

We'll be taking the train to Paris for a 3 night stay there. Has anyone had experience in LeHavre getting a taxi to the train station? How early should we be at the station before we board?

Will there be an ATM at the port? We weren't planning on getting euros until we got there to get a better rate of exchange, but we'll have to pay the taxi somehow.

Shirley

We can only speak to how this was handled on our Ruby Princess cruise last year. Although we had gotten permission from Princess prior to the cruise this turned out to have no meaning on the ship :). Early in our cruise we stopped at Guest Relations and told them we were getting off in Le Havre and they told us that Princess never bothered to relay any info to the ship. But, it really did not matter since Guest Relations just said to remind them a few days in advance (this was a 28 day cruise). A few days before we got to Le Havre we again stopped by Guest Relations and they had already compiled a list of about 50 passengers who were disembarking. The day before we got to Le Havre they actually sent us luggage tags and instructions to have our luggage outside our cabin by mid night. Once the ship was cleared in Le Havre we could simply get off whenever we pleased, pick-up our luggage in the small terminal, and then be on our way. There was no immigration or customs inspection. In our case we simply grabbed a taxi (this took about 15 min) from the terminal over to the nearby train station where we caught the train to Paris. Regarding the train, we had reserved an bought our tickets online from the SNCF web site (less money then using the Rail Europe site).

Beware that if you use the SNCF site and tell them you are in the USA it will redirect you to the more expensive Raileurope site. In order to use the SNCF site to buy a ticket simply indicate that you are located and will pick-up your tickets in France. Then use the option for electronic ticketing and you will be able to print out your ticket online.

Regarding an ATM, I do not recall seeing an ATM right at the port (we were not looking so could be wrong). Our cruise had been to other ports where they use Euros so we already had plenty in hand.

Hank

Thanks, Hank! Your information is very useful. Looks like we just let guest relations know and then basically walk off the ship. Now I have to decide if we get up and out to make the 10:00 train or have a leisurley breakfast and enjoy the ship for one last morning and take the Noon train. Two more hours in Paris or two hours to relax? hmmmm....

You also made me realize that we will be able to get eruos at one of our two Spain stops. Completely forgot we will use euros there. Duh, me.

I have read your other posts about getting train tickets and that was very helpful, also. I am going through Capitaine Train and tickets are only €15 a peice right now, so want to get them soon before the price rises.

Shirley

Thanks, Hank! Your information is very useful. Looks like we just let guest relations know and then basically walk off the ship. Now I have to decide if we get up and out to make the 10:00 train or have a leisurley breakfast and enjoy the ship for one last morning and take the Noon train. Two more hours in Paris or two hours to relax? hmmmm....

 

You also made me realize that we will be able to get eruos at one of our two Spain stops. Completely forgot we will use euros there. Duh, me.

 

I have read your other posts about getting train tickets and that was very helpful, also. I am going through Capitaine Train and tickets are only €15 a peice right now, so want to get them soon before the price rises.

 

Shirley

We went through some of the same thought processes when planning our trip last spring. In the end we decided to take the 11:58am and take our time getting off the ship. But that earlier 9:58 would have also worked fine. Since we were going to Paris and had an apartment rental it actually worked out better for us to get there a little later in the afternoon since we could arrange for immediate occupancy at that time. With a hotel we probably would have opted for the early train.

Just give yourself a little extra time since there is no guarantee that you will immediately find a taxi willing to go to the station.

Hank

We did this as well in Oct 2013 while on the Carnival Legend. Keep your letter of approval from the cruise line just in case to show to guest relations once on board. We had to give them our passports the day before for immigration to clear us. They were returned later in the day. They give you a receipt showing they took them from you which you had to present in order to get your passport back. That morning we had personnel help us down with our luggage and waited with everyone else who was either leaving the ship for good or going out on tours for the day. We then met up with our private transport and the other 6 who were sharing the ride with us. We chose to do this instead of the train. It worked out very well. Enjoy your trip :)

Thanks for sharing your experience, vacation fool. Looks like the different cruise lines have different protocols. I guess we'll be ready for anything!

Shirley