Independent Tour Away From The Ship

We are planning a B2B from Freemantle to Tokyo.

Our plan is to book a 2 night independent tour starting at the port stop of Bangkok and rejoining the ship after 2 nights on land at the port stop for Ho Chi Minh City. We will be doing a private tour of Angkor Wat.

I know I will need to procure our own visas.

My question is do we need to clear this with Princess prior to sailing or just take care of the details when we board.

Anyone have experience doing this sort of thing?

Pros/Cons

Yes, you need to clear it in advance. Otherwise, they may think you have abandoned the cruise and will give you problems getting back on. Also, they usually hold passports for cruises in that part of the world. It facilitates dealing with the local officials. You will need your passports for the overnight. Also, in addition to Cambodia, check on Vietnam as you will fly there.

Don't wait until you board or your request could be denied.

Yes, you need to clear it in advance. Otherwise, they may think you have abandoned the cruise and will give you problems getting back on.

Not to mention delaying the departure of the ship if they think you are still coming back at the port of Bangkok.

You should have no problem doing this--friends of ours once skipped several days on a long cruise--just as stated let Princess know in advance.

Thank you for your replies.

So I should call Princess prior to booking and paying for our independent tour for their approval?

Is there a specific department that I should ask for?

I hesitate to just tell anyone who answers the phone about out plans.

Thank you for your replies.

So I should call Princess prior to booking and paying for our independent tour for their approval?

Is there a specific department that I should ask for?

I hesitate to just tell anyone who answers the phone about out plans.

I don't think they will do anything until you are booked. You could try and ask before but you might not get the right answer.

One could easily plan on skipping what might be a mandatory PVSA "foreign port" and then learn what that was going to cost them once onboard! I assume you would at least need to be with the ship in that scenario. Not likely the case here but a good reason to confirm before sailing.

Terry

One could easily plan on skipping what might be a mandatory PVSA "foreign port" and then learn what that was going to cost them once onboard! I assume you would at least need to be with the ship in that scenario. Not likely the case here but a good reason to confirm before sailing.

 

Terry

PVSA only applies to cruises beginning and ending in the US.

Thank you for your replies.

So I should call Princess prior to booking and paying for our independent tour for their approval?

Is there a specific department that I should ask for?

I hesitate to just tell anyone who answers the phone about out plans.

You need to ask for a route deviation. Just call the general number and tell them what you are trying to do - they should be able to point you in the right direction. And yes, I would not pay for the independent tour until you have approval from Princess

Friends did the exact same thing, departing ship in Bangkok and re joining in Vietnam. I know they had permission in advance. Saved a lot of money over the ship's tour doing the same thing, and were on the same flight as the ship's tours.

Thanks for all your replies and advice.

We are already booked on the cruise. We are saving quite a bit of money using the private tour over the ship tour. We have used this operator before and are very comfortable and have much confidence in them.