Are we able to disembark med. cruise a day early?

We are doing a cruise next year from Barcelona to Barcelona. The port before our return to Barcelona is Marseilles. We would like to disembark there instead of returning to Barcelona and fly home from Marseilles. I know that I couldn't do this when the cruise starts and ends from a US port (Jones act?). When I asked the cruise rep.,she said your not supposed to do this but none would stop us from getting off with our luggage.

Has anyone done this on a Med . cruise? Did you inform the cruise line before getting off? I've seen this on MSC and Costa on Med cruises in the past .We will be on Carnival for this cruise. I am afraid to book our flight home from Marseilles and then not be allowed to disembark!

TIA for any information!

You have a year to figure it out. Why not ask the cruise line rather than on here?

You (or your travel agent) will need to make a request to Carnival to do this. It's a deviation from the normal itinerary, and arrangements will have to be made at the port to process you off the ship.

Know it's possible in Europe, however you must get permission from the cruise line - I have disembarked in Charlotte Amalie the last night at a San Juan Cruise.

Don't put too much faith in the word of a cruise line rep., "no" is always the easy answer but not always the right one. ;)

Certainly its done elsewhere in Europe.

And Marseilles is an international port so there'll be immigration & customs staff.

But as others have said, you will need permission from Carnival - and best to get that in writing ie by e-mail & print it off.

If they don't give you permission I guess the evening before Marseilles you could get drunk, walk up to the captain, grab him by his wedding vegetables, and say "who's a big boy, then". :p

You will then find that not only will they allow you off at Marseilles, they will insist. And they'll help by throwing your luggage out of your cabin and onto the quayside.

Do let us know how it works out if you do that. :D

JB :)

You have a year to figure it out. Why not ask the cruise line rather than on here?

It should not be a problem. Your ports are all Schengen ports, there would not need to be customs/immigration. Just permission from the cruise line. EM

We did this cruise on the Carnival Vista last year and although we don't know the reasons we saw a family get off in Sicily...they were smiling and laughing during debark so it wasn't anything bad I guess.

On this same cruise a few passengers purposely missed the ship in Rome and trained it to the next port down the coast and rejoined the ship. Apparently quite common you are covering most of western Italy.

You will love it as we did...Carnival aren't too bad at Med routes but hopefully they will sort the Spanish tax/beverage drinks and drink package issues out for next year.

please reread my post. I did. Do you have experience that you could share? That's why I love cruise critic!

I have reread your post.

I have experience to share - but it involves debarking in a US port, before the final one, after a trans-Atlantic; so I do not believe it relevant in your case.

I have other experience to share: a lot of Cruise Critic posters like to give assurances about matters of which they know very little - and they frequently dispense incorrect information.

I repeat my earlier suggestion: check with your cruise line.

The answer to the OP's question is "very likely yes, you will be able to disembark in Marseille." Each cruise line has their own procedure for early disembarkation. Some require that you make a formal written request (on a special form) that you can get from the cruise line. We even know of one line that charges a small fee for early disembarkations (which we think is ridiculous). Other lines don't seem to care as long as its allowed by the authorities. The last time we did an early disembarkation was on a Princess cruise when we got off 1 day early in Le Havre (the ship was going on to Southampton. We made a formal request from Princess and received a positive acknowledgment. While on the cruise (we were on the ship about 4 weeks) we stopped by Guest Relations to double check the arrangements...and they did not have a clue. They told us that the home office seldom forwards the info to the ships. So we had to fill out a small form (on the ship). They actually sent us luggage tags and collected our luggage from outside our cabin door the night before we arrived at Le Havre. When we finally left the ship around 10am our luggage was sitting with a small group of luggage in the terminal. Since you are cruising within the EU you should have no issue getting approval.

Hank

On my first Jade cruise in the Med, there were quite a few guests who debarked a port early because they had other plans in Europe. So, yes, I'm sure this is legal.

Don't put too much faith in the word of a cruise line rep., "no" is always the easy answer but not always the right one. ;)

 

Certainly its done elsewhere in Europe.

And Marseilles is an international port so there'll be immigration & customs staff.

 

But as others have said, you will need permission from Carnival - and best to get that in writing ie by e-mail & print it off.

 

If they don't give you permission I guess the evening before Marseilles you could get drunk, walk up to the captain, grab him by his wedding vegetables, and say "who's a big boy, then". :p

You will then find that not only will they allow you off at Marseilles, they will insist. And they'll help by throwing your luggage out of your cabin and onto the quayside.

Do let us know how it works out if you do that. :D

 

JB :)

THank you for all your responses!

Still trying to assimilate "wedding vegetables" (see JB's earlier post).

Hank:evilsmile:

Still trying to assimilate "wedding vegetables" (see JB's earlier post).

 

Hank:evilsmile:

A gentleman's dangley bits, Hank ;)

JB :)

We are doing a cruise next year from Barcelona to Barcelona. The port before our return to Barcelona is Marseilles. We would like to disembark there instead of returning to Barcelona and fly home from Marseilles. I know that I couldn't do this when the cruise starts and ends from a US port (Jones act?). When I asked the cruise rep.,she said your not supposed to do this but none would stop us from getting off with our luggage.

Has anyone done this on a Med . cruise? Did you inform the cruise line before getting off? I've seen this on MSC and Costa on Med cruises in the past .We will be on Carnival for this cruise. I am afraid to book our flight home from Marseilles and then not be allowed to disembark!

TIA for any information!

YES ! We did this exact thing and took train to Paris- 5 hours- for extended 3 days then flew home from there. Just notify the Cruise line before you Board, then you have to carry off all your luggage, give back your sea cards and show passports at pier, there is a taxi booth or you can book a car service ahead to pick you up. In Marseilles don't miss the View Port- great bay area for shopping, restaurants and a McDonalds- lol :D

A rep from Carnival is saying we can't do this! However, he said that he would look into this further to make sure then get back to us.

A rep from Carnival is saying we can't do this! However, he said that he would look into this further to make sure then get back to us.

ARGH! It is why you have to love cruise lines. In your place we would not accept a no...because it makes little sense. The only inpediment to getting off in Marseille would be Carnival's own internal policies. We know there is not a major problem doing this with Princess, Holland America and Celebrity. But it is also possible that the person you spoke with at Carnival does not have a clue. One reason to book through decent travel/cruise agencies is that they have experience (and contacts) and know how to deal with these issues. Dealing directly with any cruise line can often be a frustrating experience whenever you want to deviate from the norm and need advice that is not on the rep's "script." These kind of early disembarkations are quite common won European cruises.

Hank