On one way to Hawaii, can I get off a day early?

[robertandann]

Want to go to Maui and several cruises have Maui as the next to last stop.  Will the let me get off early?

[d9704011]

One way to Hawaii from where?

[robertandann]

Vancouver CA

[d9704011]

I believe you'll be permitted ( a 'partial cruise').  You will have to arrange this with the cruise line beforehand and xon't expect to get any rebate on ghe fare.

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 minutes ago, robertandann said:

Want to go to Maui and several cruises have Maui as the next to last stop.  Will the let me get off early?

With advanced communication, you can always request disembarkation prior to the scheduled port. However, approval depends on many factors involving those related to CBP type government restrictions on entry.

As for Hawaii (at least right now) you’d also be looking at Hawaii Safe Travels requirements for entry into the State. Doing this with airports is already a challenging process. Seaport entry for non-mariners would add another layer of possibly fruitless work on your part.

FWIW: A Hawaii vacation really is better as a “land” trip. Save the cruise for French Polynesia.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just now, d9704011 said:

I believe you'll be permitted ( a 'partial cruise').  You will have to arrange this with the cruise line beforehand and xon't expect to get any rebate on ghe fare.

See my post above. “In transit” and “stay” are vastly different things.

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, robertandann said:

Vancouver CA

Vancouver CANADA?

 

It may be possible to disembark early in Maui.  You need to contact the cruise line and make arrangements.  Before the cruise.

[Silver Sweethearts]

4 hours ago, robertandann said:

Want to go to Maui and several cruises have Maui as the next to last stop.  Will the let me get off early?

Why not enjoy the full cruise to Honolulu and then fly from there to Maui (very short flight).  No special arrangements needed.

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

Vancouver CANADA?

 

It may be possible to disembark early in Maui.  You need to contact the cruise line and make arrangements.  Before the cruise.

I also believe there is a fee the cruiseline might charge to do this....or so I've read.

[sanger727]

Pre-covid, this should have been possible. Post covid, I’ve read several reports of people asking to leave cruise early and being told no. Worst case scenario would be to complete your cruise and take an island hopper flight back to Maui if you wish. Agree with @Silver Sweethearts, island hopper flights are cheap and easy. We flew kauai to Oahu and they left about once an hour.

[Silver Sweethearts]

If your cruise ends in Honolulu and you complete it there, the cruise is over and you are free to go anywhere you want to go.

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

If your cruise ends in Honolulu and you complete it there, the cruise is over and you are free to go anywhere you want to go.

Doesn't really answer the question.  OP is asking if debarkation would be allowed one port early, in Maui, instead of ending the cruise in Honolulu and scheduled.

[BruceMuzz]

Vancouver, Canada to Honolulu is an international voyage.

If you go through US pre-arrival Immigration and Customs in Vancouver (before boarding the ship, like they do for Alaska cruises) there may be a chance for you to debark early in Maui.

If you don’t go through the US process in Vancouver, the chances of leaving the ship in Maui get very slim.

Generally speaking, Maui only has CBP Officers at the airport. If you need to go through Immigration and Customs either at the cruise terminal - or at anchor - in Maui, the cruise line would need to convince and pay the CBP extra to come over to process you. CBP is normally reluctant to do this. If they do, the costs of their visit would probably be passed on to you. This could get very expensive.

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, BruceMuzz said:

Generally speaking, Maui only has CBP Officers at the airport. If you need to go through Immigration and Customs either at the cruise terminal - or at anchor - in Maui, the cruise line would need to convince and pay the CBP extra to come over to process you. CBP is normally reluctant to do this. If they do, the costs of their visit would probably be passed on to you. This could get very expensive.

Don't you think CBP is going to be clearing the ship for entry into the US when it shows up for its first Hawaiian port of call?

[Flatbush Flyer]

6 minutes ago, BruceMuzz said:

Vancouver, Canada to Honolulu is an international voyage.

If you go through US pre-arrival Immigration and Customs in Vancouver (before boarding the ship, like they do for Alaska cruises) there may be a chance for you to debark early in Maui.

If you don’t go through the US process in Vancouver, the chances of leaving the ship in Maui get very slim.

Generally speaking, Maui only has CBP Officers at the airport. If you need to go through Immigration and Customs either at the cruise terminal - or at anchor - in Maui, the cruise line would need to convince and pay the CBP extra to come over to process you. CBP is normally reluctant to do this. If they do, the costs of their visit would probably be passed on to you. This could get very expensive.

Unless the cruiseline is somehow handling the any Hawaii SafeTravels requirements for an extended stay as well as for whatever the State of Hawaii requires for cruisers, CBP is the least of OP’s worries.

[chengkp75]

21 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Don't you think CBP is going to be clearing the ship for entry into the US when it shows up for its first Hawaiian port of call?

CBP is not required to actually board each and every vessel entering the US.  The ship's agent may present the inbound manifest to a CBP office and receive clearance from them.  This is then phoned to the ship and passengers are allowed to disembark.  It all depends on the staffing at the CBP port (and the only CBP office is at the Kahului Airport on Maui), the documentation presented, and the nationality of the passengers and crew.

[d9704011]

15 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

CBP is not required to actually board each and every vessel entering the US.  The ship's agent may present the inbound manifest to a CBP office and receive clearance from them.  This is then phoned to the ship and passengers are allowed to disembark.  It all depends on the staffing at the CBP port (and the only CBP office is at the Kahului Airport on Maui), the documentation presented, and the nationality of the passengers and crew.

Fair enough.  If clearance is given to the ship (and passengers and crew) to enter the port and people are permitted to go ashore do you think a US citizen would be able to disembark?

 

Forget about all the Covid-19 stuff that may or may not exist.... the ship won't be leaving Canada until some time next year at the earliest and who knows what constraints may be in place!

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Fair enough.  If clearance is given to the ship (and passengers and crew) to enter the port and people are permitted to go ashore do you think a US citizen would be able to disembark?

 

Forget about all the Covid-19 stuff that may or may not exist.... the ship won't be leaving Canada until some time next year at the earliest and who knows what constraints may be in place!

Just got back from Kauai. Hawaii’s Travel Safe restrictions won’t be going away anytime soon (or later). And whatever the restrictions will be, it’s the Travel Safe process that is the challenge.

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Just got back from Kauai. Hawaii’s Travel Safe restrictions won’t be going away anytime soon (or later). And whatever the restrictions will be, it’s the Travel Safe process that is the challenge.

OK....

[chengkp75]

9 hours ago, d9704011 said:

Fair enough.  If clearance is given to the ship (and passengers and crew) to enter the port and people are permitted to go ashore do you think a US citizen would be able to disembark?

Not necessarily.  You do not clear "customs" at the first US port, only "immigration", and while both are under the CBP umbrella, they require different methods of clearance.  Typically, even in a "wave through" "green line" type of customs clearance, there are agents there putting the mark one eyeball on passengers, which would not happen in Maui.  There are different vetting processes CBP uses for "foreign voyages" (those that begin in a foreign country), that are different from those they use on a "closed loop" cruise.

[Joebucks]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:18 PM, Flatbush Flyer said:

FWIW: A Hawaii vacation really is better as a “land” trip. Save the cruise for French Polynesia.

 

There are pros and cons as with any choice in life. I did 8 days in Hawaii a while back. I agree, it is a fantastic place to spend some time at. Exploring it was quite the experience that I highly recommend.

 

On the other foot, there are Hawaii cruises that go to the Big island (Kona and Hilo), Kauai, Maui, and Oahu. Such an experience is out of the question for the vast majority of travelers on a land-trip. The flight to Hawaii is a pretty penny as-is. Factoring in travel between the islands requires significant time and money.

 

The average traveler can do a lot of the "big" excursions in the 8-9 hours they are at port, while their hotel brings them to the next port overnight. All for a cost far cheaper than a land-trip could allow. I definitely have an interest in doing a Hawaii cruise eventually.

[S1drfl]

FWIW.  A quick search turns up only 3 cruises in 2020 that meet the requirements of originating in Vancouver and ending in Honolulu with Maui as the next to last stop.  The kicker is that all port at Lahaina on Maui, which is a tender port 40 min. from the airport where CBP is based.  So in addition to getting CBP cooperation, the OP has to be willing and able to tender all belongings ashore.

[zdcatc12]

Did a TA in 2016 to Houston with Miami as the stop before. A third of the passengers got off in Miami instead of staying on to go to Houston.

[CruiserBruce]

The standard is that ships sailing out of Vancouver for US ports clear US Immigration and Customs in Vancouver. But the OP still needs to clear the early disembarking with the cruise line.

 

Hawaii hasn't yet allowed the resumption of cruising. When they do, modifications to the Hawaii Safe Travels program will have to be made to allow ships to sail from the mainland to Hawaii. There could be a number of solutions to this question. We will see what Hawaii does.