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Has anyone purposefully taken a cruise and flown home from one port?


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So I have a crazy question. I am getting married on Grand Turk this November during Thanksgiving week. I have some guests that want to attend the cruise and our wedding but want to fly home for Thanksgiving. Has anyone ever taken a cruise and flown home from a port rather than finishing the cruise?

 

It is cheaper for them to join the cruise than to fly round trip and stay at the resort for 3 nights. He asked if this was possible, and I have no idea, so I am turning to all of you! ;p

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Cruise lines used to okay this routinely, but since it changes the entire cruise from a closed loop, there is more expensive paperwork for the cruise line, submitting new manifests and requiring heavier scrutiny of the ship when it returns to the home port. It is doubtful that it will be approved. There have been many questions about this. EM

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Cruise lines used to okay this routinely, but since it changes the entire cruise from a closed loop, there is more expensive paperwork for the cruise line, submitting new manifests and requiring heavier scrutiny of the ship when it returns to the home port. It is doubtful that it will be approved. There have been many questions about this. EM

How can they prevent someone from doing this? I can see them telling someone who asks that they shouldn't... but if someone should accidently on-purpose misses the ship, what can they do about it?

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How can they prevent someone from doing this? I can see them telling someone who asks that they shouldn't... but if someone should accidently on-purpose misses the ship' date=' what can they do about it?[/quote']

Maybe something to do with the customs laws in the country they're getting off on?

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What could happen is they will get flagged at the departing airport for having no entry stamp in their passports. I actually got caught up in this flying out of Germany several years ago because the German entry stamp was so faint (low ink on arrival) that no one (including me) could find it for nearly an hour and the Germans were not going to let me board the flight back to the U.S. Whether the departing country your friends will be flying from will be as strict is uncertain.

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Not sure, but that might violate the Jones Act. The cruise line might be fined and it's possible that fine could be passed on to the passengers who violated the act. Not sure, though. I remember reading a long thread about this exact thing a few years ago. Do a search here on the boards, it should come up.

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Not sure, but that might violate the Jones Act. The cruise line might be fined and it's possible that fine could be passed on to the passengers who violated the act. Not sure, though. I remember reading a long thread about this exact thing a few years ago. Do a search here on the boards, it should come up.

 

It's the PVSA. But no, as long as they disembark in a foreign port, it wouldn't be a PVSA violation.

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I have a friend that had received a free cruise from CCL two years ago. He and and a friend redeemed the cruise and boarded it. They scheduled the cruise around some business that his buddy had to do in Jamaica. They both debarked the ship in Jamaica with their baggage and were questioned by Carnival as to why they wouldn’t be finishing out the itenerary but CCL can’t stop you from getting off in any port. He did say that he and his buddy were questioned heavily by maybe the Jamaican Customs as to why they had gotten off the ship and planned to fly home. He said that the questioning was pretty extensive and that his buddy had to make a call to Jeb Bush and get him involved to get them out of the country. So I would say that you can do it, but it would be way more of a pain in the neck to deal with than just flying and staying at the resort. I can see where it would look very suspicious to the cruise line and to the foreign authorities if or when someone did this. Just my .02 cents worth.

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Okay the Passenger Vessel Services Act. I have since looked that up, but it seems that a fine may be implied (but maybe I'm reading it wrong).

 

PVSA and the associated fine applies when you debark in another US port. Debarking in a foreign port does not apply.

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This is from Royal Caribbean website. Maybe something similar applies to Carnival

 

What are partial cruises?

 

A Partial cruises allow you to enjoy part of your cruise vacation in the event that you are unable to meet the ship in the scheduled boarding port, or would like to end your cruise earlier than the scheduled departure date.

 

Requests for security clearance concerning late boarding or early departure must be submitted in writing to the Guest Flight Operations office for consideration at least one week prior to sail date. Guests must have a confirmed reservation in order to receive clearance. If the reservation was made by a travel agency, the agency must submit the request on travel agency letterhead. Guests with reservations made directly through Royal Caribbean International or royalcaribbean.com can submit their own request. Please include a return fax number or e-mail address.

 

If guests are pre-approved for boarding/departure in an alternate port of call, the ship's security staff is notified to expect the guests at the designated port. The approved guests are responsible for making all travel arrangements and will incur any additional expenses (for flights, hotels, transfers to the pier, etc.). Prepaid gratuities will be added to all approved reservations for the length of cruise.

 

Restrictions: Certain countries, such as the U.S., Italy and Norway, have cabotage laws affecting passenger movements. These laws restrict foreign flag passenger vessels (such as those operated by Royal Caribbean) from transporting guests from one port to another port in the same country. In the U.S., the cabotage law applicable to the cruise industry is commonly called the Jones Act but is legally titled the Passengers Services Act. A brief summary of this U.S. law follows:

 

If a passenger (as listed on a vessel passenger manifest) embarks in a U.S. port and the vessel calls in a nearby foreign port (such as Ensenada, Grand Cayman and Nassau) and then returns to the U.S., the person must disembark in the same U.S. port. A passenger who embarks and disembarks in two different U.S. ports (such as Los Angeles and San Diego) would result in the carrier (not the violator) being fined. The vessel must call in a distant foreign port before the U.S. embarkation and disembarkation ports can differ. The nearest distant foreign ports are in or off the coast of South America. If either the passenger's embarkation port or disembarkation port is in a foreign country, then the provisions of this cabotage law do not apply. Nor do they apply in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Similar passenger movement restrictions exist for cruise vessels calling in Italy and Norway.

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This is from Royal Caribbean website. Maybe something similar applies to Carnival

 

What are partial cruises?

 

A Partial cruises allow you to enjoy part of your cruise vacation in the event that you are unable to meet the ship in the scheduled boarding port, or would like to end your cruise earlier than the scheduled departure date.

 

Requests for security clearance concerning late boarding or early departure must be submitted in writing to the Guest Flight Operations office for consideration at least one week prior to sail date. Guests must have a confirmed reservation in order to receive clearance. If the reservation was made by a travel agency, the agency must submit the request on travel agency letterhead. Guests with reservations made directly through Royal Caribbean International or royalcaribbean.com can submit their own request. Please include a return fax number or e-mail address.

 

If guests are pre-approved for boarding/departure in an alternate port of call, the ship's security staff is notified to expect the guests at the designated port. The approved guests are responsible for making all travel arrangements and will incur any additional expenses (for flights, hotels, transfers to the pier, etc.). Prepaid gratuities will be added to all approved reservations for the length of cruise.

 

Restrictions: Certain countries, such as the U.S., Italy and Norway, have cabotage laws affecting passenger movements. These laws restrict foreign flag passenger vessels (such as those operated by Royal Caribbean) from transporting guests from one port to another port in the same country. In the U.S., the cabotage law applicable to the cruise industry is commonly called the Jones Act but is legally titled the Passengers Services Act. A brief summary of this U.S. law follows:

 

If a passenger (as listed on a vessel passenger manifest) embarks in a U.S. port and the vessel calls in a nearby foreign port (such as Ensenada, Grand Cayman and Nassau) and then returns to the U.S., the person must disembark in the same U.S. port. A passenger who embarks and disembarks in two different U.S. ports (such as Los Angeles and San Diego) would result in the carrier (not the violator) being fined. The vessel must call in a distant foreign port before the U.S. embarkation and disembarkation ports can differ. The nearest distant foreign ports are in or off the coast of South America. If either the passenger's embarkation port or disembarkation port is in a foreign country, then the provisions of this cabotage law do not apply. Nor do they apply in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Similar passenger movement restrictions exist for cruise vessels calling in Italy and Norway.

Thanks for posting this. Makes it very clear.

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and...... if you took your baggage and passport and went to the airport? Do you really think you broke any laws? You are not writing in advance if you just do not like the experience, someone at home fell ill, you got injured on the ship, you think you have to write in for a request?

 

 

 

Requests for security clearance concerning late boarding or early departure must be submitted in writing to the Guest Flight Operations office for consideration at least one week prior to sail date. Guests must have a confirmed reservation in order to receive clearance.

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I assume you are NOT on the cruise, but are staying in a resort on Grand Turk, since the chance of the ship missing port would be too much risk for a wedding.

 

However, the crew has no issue with guests leaving early. They just request to be informed so they do not have to look for them at departure.

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and...... if you took your baggage and passport and went to the airport? Do you really think you broke any laws? You are not writing in advance if you just do not like the experience, someone at home fell ill, you got injured on the ship, you think you have to write in for a request?

Exactly why the guests should not entertain the thought of pre-approval. Better to beg forgiveness later than ask permission before, if there is any chance the answer is no.

 

What are they going to do, stop you from leaving and hold you prisoner? Not unless you have broken any laws. Just tell them there is an urgent family matter and you must leave unexpectedly. No more information is needed and they can't read you mind as to your motivations.

 

One caution, in the USA it is illegal for a foreign flagged vessel (which all Carnival ships are) to transport a passenger from one port in the USA to another, embark to disembark. The pre-approval could be so they can deny people who would be breaking the law. Since the topic is disembarking outside the USA, the Jones Act will not apply.

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I went on the Allure of the Seas last year. Our 2nd to last port was San Juan and there were SEVERAL people that got off here with all of their luggage. So I'm assuming you can do it.

 

In many ports you will see people debarking and embarking with luggage. Most often they are entertainers, 'fly-ons' who board and do a few shows, debark and get on another ship in a day or so, or even the same day. EM

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