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We are considering booking a New England/Canada cruise. The cruise is round trip from Cape Liberty. On the way back, we are planning on leaving the ship when it docks in Boston. This will shorten our cruise by one day. What steps should we take to make sure that our early disembarking will not be a problem?

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We are considering booking a New England/Canada cruise. The cruise is round trip from Cape Liberty. On the way back, we are planning on leaving the ship when it docks in Boston. This will shorten our cruise by one day. What steps should we take to make sure that our early disembarking will not be a problem?

 

I don't think you can get on at one port and leave at another port since the ship is foreign registered.

 

 

Google Jones Act

 

 

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2011/09/articles/flags-of-convenience-1/why-cant-you-cruise-from-one-us-port-to-another-us-port/

 

http://www.cruiseco.com/Resources/jones_act.htm

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/forum/travel-gripes/368426-circumvent-jones-act-when-people-miss-ships.html

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We are considering booking a New England/Canada cruise. The cruise is round trip from Cape Liberty. On the way back, we are planning on leaving the ship when it docks in Boston. This will shorten our cruise by one day. What steps should we take to make sure that our early disembarking will not be a problem?

 

Are you willing to pay the fine? You will face a $300 p/p fine from CBP if you disembark in another U.S. port.

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We are considering booking a New England/Canada cruise. The cruise is round trip from Cape Liberty. On the way back, we are planning on leaving the ship when it docks in Boston. This will shorten our cruise by one day. What steps should we take to make sure that our early disembarking will not be a problem?

This link from the RCI website should help Can I take a partial cruise

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Not permitted, even if you agree to pay the $300 fine (per person). RCCL won't allow you to do this. If you somehow "don't return" in Boston you will be fined the $300 plus have to go thru a lot of administrative and legal ****.

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As long as you visited a "distant foreign port" in between, it's possible. But check with RC and they'll tell you.

 

Is Nova Scotia considered a distant foreign port? The ship does goes into Canada before it comes back to Boston. I guess I'll call and see what they say.

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Is Nova Scotia considered a distant foreign port? The ship does goes into Canada before it comes back to Boston. I guess I'll call and see what they say.

Nova Scotia is not a distant foreign port.

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Is Nova Scotia considered a distant foreign port? The ship does goes into Canada before it comes back to Boston. I guess I'll call and see what they say.

 

I believe the general consensus here, has it correct. But please come back and report what you learn when you call.

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None of this "distant foreign port" stuff matters. According to the Jones Act, you cannot disembark in another U.S. port from a foreign flagged ship. The answer is no, not legally. It most certainly will result in a $300 fine. Exemptions are made when a ship is repositioning, but that is not the case here.

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According to the RCI Web Site you cannot do that.

Before You Purchase

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cor_print_icon.gifPrint This Page

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Q: Can I take a partial cruise?s.gifA: Yes! 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.

 

Please direct any requests and/or questions to the following e-mail address or fax number:

Fax Number: (305) 373-6695

E-mail: AirSeaGFO@RCCL.com

 

Request Form

 

Royal Caribbean International maintains the right to deviate from any scheduled port of call without prior notice. Royal Caribbean International is not legally liable for any loss to guests caused by reason of the deviation. In addition, while Royal Caribbean International will attempt to follow our published schedules as closely as possible, they are not responsible if the published times at any ports of call cannot be adhered to. However, Royal Caribbean International will attempt to keep our guests informed of any changes.

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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.

 

That is correct. It is the carrier who gets fined. But I don't know of any carrier that doesn't forward the fine on to the violator. In fact, just recently, 2 people had to disembark a Carnival ship in Key West for medical reasons. Yep...Carnival forwarded the fine on to them.

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None of this "distant foreign port" stuff matters. According to the Jones Act, you cannot disembark in another U.S. port from a foreign flagged ship. The answer is no, not legally. It most certainly will result in a $300 fine. Exemptions are made when a ship is repositioning, but that is not the case here.

 

It is my understanding that you can certainly get off at a different U.S. port if you have visited a "distant foreign port".

 

The itinerary that the OP is going on does not go a distant foreign port so they would not be able to get off in Boston.

 

Also the Jones act is for transporting cargo. It is the PVSA that you need to reference.:)

 

Bill

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None of this "distant foreign port" stuff matters. According to the Jones Act, you cannot disembark in another U.S. port from a foreign flagged ship. The answer is no, not legally. It most certainly will result in a $300 fine. Exemptions are made when a ship is repositioning, but that is not the case here.
It is Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA), not the Jones Act. And distant foreign port does matter. You may disembark in a US port other than the one you left from IF you have been to a distant Foreign Port. The "Exemption" you refer to for repositioning between two US ports is stopping at a distant foreign port. The Dutch ABCs are considered to be South America, so typical US repositionings will often stop in Aruba or in Cartegena.

 

Thom

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According to the instructions on Partial cruises, the nearest distant port is in South America.

 

Actually, the nearest "distant foreign ports" are just off the coast of South America, namely the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) which is why the annual Brilliance repositioning cruise from Boston to Tampa visits two of those islands (Aruba and Curaçao) as part of her itinerary.

Edited by negc
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Actually, the nearest "distant foreign ports" are just off the coast of South America, namely the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) which is why the annual Brilliance repositioning cruise from Boston to Tampa visits two of those islands (Aruba and Curaçao).
Isn't Bermuda also a "distant foreign port"?
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Exemptions are made when a ship is repositioning, but that is not the case here.

 

Exemptions are not made when a ship is repositioning. Repositioning cruises between US ports always visit a distant foreign port. When a ship moves its home port from the northeast to Florida, for instance, the repositioning cruise will usually stop in Aruba (and maybe Bonaire and/or Curaçao as well) to be in compliance with the law.

Edited by UCF_Knight
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Bermuda is lumped in with the Caribbean Islands or the purposes of the PVSA, so it is a nearby foreign port.
Just as long as we understand that most (all?) of the Caribbean Islands that are essentially just offshore from South America are distant (ABC, Margarita). Is Trinidad distant? - seems like it would be, but I don't know that. For what it is worth Panama is not distant, so US-US through-the-canal cruises usually stop in either Aruba or Cartegena.

 

Thom

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