Missed ship... Can I board at first Port of Call?

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Has Carnival been helpful or not so much?

Thats what Ive heard you can catch up to the ship at the next port of call. Also from what Ive read on here the expense of getting to the next port of call is on you.

Which ship did you miss?

First step if you missed the ship would be to CALL CARNIVAL and find out if you can join the ship.. not post on Cruise Critic where you'll get a bunch of advise that may or may not be accurate for your situation

Call was made to Carnival.... Not very helpful hence my question here to those who have had this happen.

Call was made to Carnival.... Not very helpful hence my question here to those who have had this happen.

The answer is , "it depends". I believe if they allow this, it changes the entire cruise because the passenger roster has changed and the cruise line is subject to fines. Also, it subjects the entire ship to a more lengthy debark process since the departing roster does not match the returning roster. And yes, similar things happen when passengers are left in ports..maybe not the fines but the extra scrutiny.

Your best bet is to call Carnival again or call the person with whom you are booked. You may be able to do so, but if the first port is out of the country, you need a passport to fly there. You have to pay your own way to get there too.

You haven't given enough info so really no one can answer your question as your trip may be different from one someone else that missed the ship had.

Carnival says $300 fine. Thanks everyone. We will figure it out.

Is this just a random question?

Going to miss boarding in NYC. Hoping to board in Boston which is first port of call.

First person at Carnival said NO. Couldn't believe that as people miss ships often, so was looking for some help with all the experienced cruisers here on CC. Eventually got to someone at Carnival that told us about $300 fine.

I know it sucks. I am glad you were able to get someone from Carnival to get you an answer ASAP.

I am also glad that you all are able to get on at the next port of call.

Good Luck!

Going to miss boarding in NYC. Hoping to board in Boston which is first port of call.

This could be in violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act, depending on the itinerary. A foreign flagged ship cannot board passengers in one US port and debark them in a different US port without a stop in a DISTANT foreign port, according to the PVSA.

A distant foreign port is any port NOT in North America, Central America, the Bermuda Islands, or the West Indies (including the Bahama Islands, but not including the Leeward Islands of the Netherlands Antilles, i.e., Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao)

If allowed the cruise line would be subject to a $300 fine per passenger (generally passed onto the passenger via the onboard account) and possible restrictions or banning from calling at those (or other) US ports.

I don't know about doing this in 2015, but my wife and I did it several years ago. We joined up with the ship in Grand Cayman. There was no fine. In fact, Carnival was very nice and even had a huge fruit basket waiting for us in our room. We did have travel insurance, so although I'm not sure, it may have had something to do with it. Also, I'm not sure WHY you will be missing embarkation. That may have something to do with the fine. If you are missing it for some reason that might be avoidable, then maybe that is the reason for the fine... or maybe it's because you want to join them at a port inside the U.S. U.S. Customs frown on certain things. Perhaps they will fine Carnival, thus your fine. I'm just guessing about that though. Good luck salvaging your cruise. I hope you succeed.

Edit: I see Shmoo Here has verified what I was guessing at.

Carnival says $300 fine. Thanks everyone. We will figure it out.

Thats $300 fine PER PERSON. I know for a fact. Happened to a friend last week.

I don't know about doing this in 2015, but my wife and I did it several years ago. We joined up with the ship in Grand Cayman. There was no fine. In fact, Carnival was very nice and even had a huge fruit basket waiting for us in our room. We did have travel insurance, so although I'm not sure, it may have had something to do with it. Also, I'm not sure WHY you will be missing embarkation. That may have something to do with the fine. If you are missing it for some reason that might be avoidable, then maybe that is the reason for the fine... or maybe it's because you want to join them at a port inside the U.S. U.S. Customs frown on certain things. Perhaps they will fine Carnival, thus your fine. I'm just guessing about that though. Good luck salvaging your cruise. I hope you succeed.

 

Edit: I see Shmoo Here has verified what I was guessing at.

There was a time (not that long ago) where, if the first port of call was not a US port, then most cruise line would allow you to catch up with the ship.

That doesn't happen so much now.

The processing of the passengers on a closed loop cruise upon return to the US is less involved than the processing of the passengers on a "foreign itinerary" cruise. If even only one person were to board a ship (on a closed loop cruise) at the first foreign port, this more involved processing is required for the whole ship. Many cruise lines are opting not to allow people to catch up to the ship at a different port now due to this.

There was a time (not that long ago) where, if the first port of call was not a US port, then most cruise line would allow you to catch up with the ship.

 

That doesn't happen so much now.

 

The processing of the passengers on a closed loop cruise upon return to the US is less involved than the processing of the passengers on a "foreign itinerary" cruise. If even only one person were to board a ship (on a closed loop cruise) at the first foreign port, this more involved processing is required for the whole ship. Many cruise lines are opting not to allow people to catch up to the ship at a different port now due to this.

The fine is due to getting on in Boston and off in NYC. At least, in most cases- it's a pretty easy transfer to get between the two.

Isn't that why all the Cruise to Nowhere cruises were stopped?

Isn't that why all the Cruise to Nowhere cruises were stopped?

Basically. The "powers that be" decided that the PVSA also applied to those cruises, and any foreign flagged ship crusing from the US must call at a foreign port (near or distant) according to the PVSA.

In the past they allowed cruises that had no stops other than embarkation and debarkation to not have to stop at a foreign port.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Has Carnival been helpful or not so much?

So sorry this happened to you. I missed a cruise on embarkation day a couple months ago, so I know how you feel. My experience was that Carnival was not very helpful at all on embarkation day, but did work with me later on to get another cruise booked with a credit extended to me out of the goodness of their hearts after I provided documentation showing it was out of my control. In my case there were 2 sea days right after embarkation day, then the first port call was in Half Moon Cay which of course doesn't have an airport, so basically it wasn't worthwhile for me to try to reach the ship at a later day.

Best wishes for an acceptable resolution.

My understanding is that you are only allowed to catch up to the ship if there was a failure in public transportation. Not due to car breakdowns or you missed your flight or anything like that.

My understanding is that you are only allowed to catch up to the ship if there was a failure in public transportation. Not due to car breakdowns or you missed your flight or anything like that.

My aunt/uncle missed their ship because of car troubles and were able to meet up with the ship (at their own expense, of course).

There was no fine, but the difference was they flew to a foreign port. The trouble here, I believe, is that Boston is not a foreign port.

It all depends, but first call Carnival's travel hotline if you are in that situation. If you are flying using Carnival's Fly Aweigh Program (the one where they do flights for you) you get a lot of help with getting to the first Port of Call (unless it is Half Moon Cay), accommodations, and food allowances. The Jones Act (also known as PVSA) fine ($300 per person) will be paid by Carnival if you use this program. If are your using this program, save your receipts from food and transportation and they most likely credit you on the ship when you inform them at the port of call cruise terminal.

This situation happened to me a few years back, CCL rep spoke to an Airline Rep for flights, CCL booked a reasonably nice hotel and gave a food allowance. The first port of call was Grand Cayman.

If your are doing your own flights, everything is on your own but still call Carnival about the situation and that you will need to board due to unforeseen circumstances in the first port of call. You will need to pay the fine. Carnival's source about the Jones Act here

Going to miss boarding in NYC. Hoping to board in Boston which is first port of call.

I think the key phrase here is "Going to miss". Since there are no Carnival ships scheduled in port in New York today then it's not a case of an immediate issue preventing arrival at the ship, but a situation of planning to miss the embarkation day in the future. Intentionally boarding in Boston instead of the originating port.

That is going to be a harder sell to Carnival than a mishap on embarkation day.

That sucks. I hope you are able to catch up with the ship and enjoy your vacation.

It amazes me that with all the money the cruise industry has today they still haven't been able to lobby the right people in congress to pass an exclusion to a 100+ year old law (PVSA 1886, Jones Act 1920). They (all ocean liner companies) must have done something to piss someone off in the U.S. capital. You would think that the economic benefit would outweigh other objections to not having U.S. flagged vessels.