Princess said no. Bummer

[icat2000]

We are on the Majestic Princess from Auckland to Sydney from 27 December.

 

It stops in Melbourne 2 days before cruise end in Sydney on 8 January. We had requested that Princess allow us to disembark in Melbourne. I just got a notification back from them this morning saying they have denied our request. I can only assume because there is no customs available at the port.

 

I better now look for some flights from Sydney to Melbourne on 8 January.

 

Sarah

[possum52]

What a shame Sarah, it sure adds to the cost of cruising when you have to add in flying and hotel costs. We love to cruise from Melbourne even if it does restrict our choice of itinerary. Good luck on obtaining your flight.

 

Leigh

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

That's a shame, Sarah. Yes, it probably is a Customs issue. You'll probably have to the face-to-face passport check in Hobart, unless they do it onboard but the customs side of thing is usually only when disembarking.  Hope you manage to find some decent flights that aren't too expensive.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I am reasonably confident that Customs and Immigration would be available at such a major port as Melbourne ........could be trying to save themselves all the book work involved.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Majestic is the only ship in port that day so if Sarah was the only party wanting to disembark there then I can't see Customs providing someone at the terminal for them alone.

[mr walker]

This thread made me think about situations where people are coming & going at 'in-transit ports' & how this is handled regarding customs & immigration. Often entertainers are swapped out during cruises & also some crew, either planned or maybe not so planned. Surely the cruise-line would need to make arrangements with officials ahead of time, even for a small number of people.

 

That said, I can understand that Princess in this case may not want to set a precedent for the practice of passengers wishing to vary their cruise, which would involve leaving at ports that were not scheduled for passenger departures. Doesn't help the OP of course.

[Aus Traveller]

11 minutes ago, mr walker said:

This thread made me think about situations where people are coming & going at 'in-transit ports' & how this is handled regarding customs & immigration. Often entertainers are swapped out during cruises & also some crew, either planned or maybe not so planned. Surely the cruise-line would need to make arrangements with officials ahead of time, even for a small number of people.

 

That said, I can understand that Princess in this case may not want to set a precedent for the practice of passengers wishing to vary their cruise, which would involve leaving at ports that were not scheduled for passenger departures. Doesn't help the OP of course.

With Melbourne being so close to the end of the cruise in Sydney, it isn't likely Princess would be swapping entertainers in Melbourne or even disembarking crew.

[Kangakid]

Sarah, we disembarked in Melbourne last year.  Our travel agent arranged this for us.   Our family of 8 disembarking saved us the huge amount in airfares that we would hav3 had to cough up flying out of Sydney NYE.  If I recall there were only a couple of border security personnel.  There was in total about 20 or 30 others passengers disembarking, we all had to meet up in Crooners at a set time to be escorted off the ship.

 

cheers VICKI 

[Sparky74]

I wonder what would happen if you took all your luggage off with you and then didn’t return to the ship? 🤔

[Aus Traveller]

8 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I wonder what would happen if you took all your luggage off with you and then didn’t return to the ship? 🤔

I think the ship's security would see them taking luggage off. 🙂

[mr walker]

Maybe they would think they wanted to get laundry done 🙂

 

When they don't return, the ship may wait a little, and then leave without them. I trust that a solution can be found for OP.

 

[icat2000]

Maybe I could just leave the luggage and not come back haha. 

[Sparky74]

17 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I think the ship's security would see them taking luggage off. 🙂

Maybe Sarah (OP) could take her luggage off in Melbourne and pick up a cheap flight back from Sydney with only carry on luggage. 

[icat2000]

We live in Ballarat. So it be a bit of a hassle. However the flights don't look too bad. $159pp with Qantas.

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, icat2000 said:

We live in Ballarat. So it be a bit of a hassle. However the flights don't look too bad. $159pp with Qantas.

... and you get extra time on the ship. 🙂

[MicCanberra]

12 hours ago, icat2000 said:

We are on the Majestic Princess from Auckland to Sydney from 27 December.

 

It stops in Melbourne 2 days before cruise end in Sydney on 8 January. We had requested that Princess allow us to disembark in Melbourne. I just got a notification back from them this morning saying they have denied our request. I can only assume because there is no customs available at the port.

 

I better now look for some flights from Sydney to Melbourne on 8 January.

 

Sarah

That is a shame. I am sure you will make the most of the extra couple of days on board.

[icat2000]

ENJOY BREATHTAKING BALCONY VIEWS! *JUST FOR YOU!*


Upgrade your cabin to a BALCONY cabin on your MAJESTIC PRINCESS sailing!!


Treat yourself to a DELUXE BALCONY stateroom & enjoy the added space where you you can relax outside and experience the unforgettable views on your private balcony!


Available for just $599 AUD per person**

 

I going to turn it down. If they want to upgrade me then they can do it for free. 

Edited November 19, 2019 by icat2000

[MMDown Under]

38 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

ENJOY BREATHTAKING BALCONY VIEWS! *JUST FOR YOU!*


Upgrade your cabin to a BALCONY cabin on your MAJESTIC PRINCESS sailing!!


Treat yourself to a DELUXE BALCONY stateroom & enjoy the added space where you you can relax outside and experience the unforgettable views on your private balcony!


Available for just $599 AUD per person**

 

I going to turn it down. If they want to upgrade me then they can do it for free. 

I agree.   $1200 is a lot of extra money to outlay.

[MicCanberra]

I think the days of free upgrades are going fast.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

36 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I think the days of free upgrades are going fast.

 

We were upgraded a couple of times. .......no charge ......It all depends on the cruise and the configuration of passenger placements.  If they can make a whole "block of cabins" free that means they transfer that steward to other duties. 

They are doing it all the time. 

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

 

We were upgraded a couple of times. .......no charge ......It all depends on the cruise and the configuration of passenger placements.  If they can make a whole "block of cabins" free that means they transfer that steward to other duties. 

They are doing it all the time. 

How long ago, in the last year or so, they want to charge people for them., 

[icat2000]

Well if they want my cabin. They can move me for free haha. Otherwise I'm staying put. 

 

I have been upgraded a couple of times with Princess. Mainly when I was travelling solo. Could have been to do with no people on floors and fire numbers. Easy to move a little single traveller.

 

Best  I had so far is balcony to mini suite. 

 

Had inside to inside, inside to Oceanview. 

Edited November 20, 2019 by icat2000

[cheznandy]

I wouldnt pay that much either Sarah.

We just got a free upgrade on our 3 nighter on the Ruby Princess, from an inside on Plaza to an Inside on Baja😂

It is an upgrade to us as we had refared and saved $120 each but had to give up our large sideways and go Guarantee.

The inside on Plaza was a connecting cabin with those ugly bunks that come out the side wall, you know the bang your head when set up as a queen, so a regular inside on Baja is better for us!!

 

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I think the days of free upgrades are going fast.

Maybe they'll come back if no-one pays for upgrades and they want your cabin for some reason. 

[MicCanberra]

24 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Maybe they'll come back if no-one pays for upgrades and they want your cabin for some reason. 

Quite possibly, it is just what seems to be happening on a few cruise lines now, offering upgrades for a price or even as Royal does with it's Royal Up program where you bid for an upgrade (there is a set minimum bid in place). With cruise lines looking to increase profits without raising fares or cutting services, this is a easy way for them to do it.