Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Leaving a cruise early?

nancydow

By nancydow,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

nancydow

nancydow

Posted
Posted

Has anyone ever left a cruise early, either planned or as a last minute emergency?

 

We had had a death in the family and the memorial service is going to be at the end of my upcoming cruise. I can’t cancel the cruise as a friend is joining me and because I booked through CAS and I am the primary gambler, she can’t go without me unless she pays the full fare. So I am wondering if I can leave the cruise at Grand Cayman and fly home from there and leave my friend aboard the ship.

 

Anyone have any experience with a situation like this?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

~ Nancy :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pieshops

pieshops

Posted
Posted
Any idea who much the fine is? And will my friend be able to stay on board if I leave?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

not sure sorry, NCL way be able to answer but In my opinion asking permission to do this is going to open a can of worms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pieshops

pieshops

Posted
Posted

just found this doing a google search “The penalty for violating the PVSA is $300 per passenger carried and is assessed against the carrier/cruise line. For example, an Argentinean-flagged cruise ship picks up passengers in Miami then sails to various ports of call, including Bermuda, Charleston, South Carolina, and Annapolis, Maryland before returning to Miami. While passengers may leave the vessel to see the U.S. ports, they must return to the vessel before the cruise itinerary ends, i.e. before the vessel returns to Miami, in order for the carrier to avoid a PVSA violation. If passengers were to disembark, i.e. finally and permanently leave the vessel in Bermuda, the vessel would not incur a PVSA penalty because Bermuda is not a U.S. point.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AdGuyMG

AdGuyMG

Posted
Posted
Wait, so that means if my cruise leaves from Tampa and I disembark in Grand Cayman, I will NOT incur a penalty?

 

That is correct. A fine would only be charged if after boarding in Tampa you disembarked in a US port like Key West.

 

 

Leaving the cruise early and flying home from Grand Cayman will not trigger a PVSA fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chengkp75

chengkp75

Posted
Posted

Despite the fact that leaving in Grand Cayman does not violate the PVSA, or impose a fine, you may still not be allowed to disembark early. Because a voluntary early departure changes the passenger manifest, this changes how CBP treats the cruise upon return to the US. Since this causes additional cost to the cruise line, both with the US and the Cayman's governments, they have generally refused voluntary early disembarkation over the past couple of years.

 

While the ship cannot hold you prisoner, if you try to disembark in Cayman, you will need to clear immigration into the country (as other than a cruise ship visitor), and this will be required to clear immigration out of Cayman for your flight. If NCL does not approve your early disembarkation, they may not have immigration officials available in the port to clear you into the country.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
janftica

janftica

Posted
Posted

I had to leave Royal Caribbean ship a few years ago due to an infected tooth. We tried to see the Dr but he had left the ship and couldn't be contacted and the ship sailed in a couple of hours. We went to the Customer Service desk and told them we had to get off the ship....it was in Messina Italy to fly back to Canada. They were very good about it, didn't charge us any penalties and as we already had our bags packed we just were escorted off the ship by personel. She got us a taxi because we didn't speak Italian and he drove us to the airport 1 1/2 hours one way...when we got to Rome we had to sleep on the floor in Rome till the next am for the 9 hour flight home all the while I was doped up so I could not feel the pain...don't remember much about the flight, but it took my Oral Surgeon an 1 1/2 to pull that tooth! Got 100 back from Royal as a refund....yikes. Hope you can leave without too much hassle, they don't really like you leaving if its not a health emergency. Not sure if your friend would be allowed to stay in the cabin as its based on double occupancy, she might have to pay more for the cruise or move to a single cabin. Best to call Customer service and get it straight from them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karoo

karoo

Posted
Posted

I was on a cruise where a passenger left early as he only had one week off work. He just went down to guest services that morning, settled his account etc and told them. They asked if he was leaving because he was unhappy with the cruise. He told them no- he had to go back to work and off he got. This was on a Med cruise though/ Norwegian Jade that doesn’t have the Restrictions of US laws, but I think the law is you can’t go from one US port and disembark at another US port so I think because you are disembarking in Grand Cayman which is not a US port you should be right.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jdvmd

jdvmd

Posted
Posted

Best to call NCL now. A couple of years ago, we were in the Med on Celebrity and my daughter was not able to stay with us for the complete cruise. Celebrity Emergency Team had to approve the request after submitting a formal request, the reason why and providing proof of her return airfare.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
zqvol

zqvol

Posted
Posted
Wait, so that means if my cruise leaves from Tampa and I disembark in Grand Cayman, I will NOT incur a penalty?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

That is correct. The PVSA limits transport between two US ports, not between a US port and a foreign port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nancydow

nancydow

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I finally got approval from NCL, but it was a difficult and painful process.

 

The original response was NO (“Based on the policies and procedures no exception will be done. Moving forward we no longer cannot accommodate guests disembarking or embarking on different dates.”)

 

After appealing to a much higher authority and checking with the Grand Cayman port authorities, I finally received this message: “Request for Ms. Dow to disembark in George Town, Grand Cayman is approved. Please advise guest she must have her original and valid US Passports with her as well as print-outs of her confirmation for her same-day flight out of Grand Cayman with her.”

 

Phew! I’m glad I asked for permission instead of trying to pretend like it was a last minute emergency. I’m going to be onboard for almost nine days of the eleven day cruise and I’m leaving to attend a memorial service, not to hop on another cruise ship.

 

Not sure I would have gotten the permission if my casino junket hostess didn’t have such good connections!

 

I’ll let you all know how it goes on January 26th!

 

Thanks for all of your messages and information!

 

~ Nancy :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
nancydow

nancydow

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Everything went smoothly, though I was glad we won our upgrade bid to a suite so I had help from the concierge and an escort off the ship and through customs (easy and painless).

 

The funniest part was being escorted behind the scenes and everyone looking at us wondering if we were being kicked off the ship!

 

If you have to do this, know that they will initially say no, but if you push and have any connections that can pull some strings, it can be done.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Envelope21

Envelope21

Posted
Posted

We disembarked early on a RCCI cruise in the med once. We got off in Livorno because our plans had us touring for 10 days in northern Italy after the cruise. We figured if we got off one dAy earlier it would save us driving north from Civitivechia. As stated by others, there were no issues or fines because it did not in involve 2 US ports. We just notified Royal ahead of time and filled out a couple of forms. It was really easy to just walk off the ship with our luggage. No escort was involved.

 

By the way, we were also refunded one day's gratuity because we weren't on board that last day!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...