Disembarking a European Cruise one day early.

[JandC_Cruising]

We are planning to be on Getaway this July/August on a 9-day from Lisbon to Southampton.  The ship stops in Le Havre the day before the cruise ends.  We are planning to extend our vacation with a number of days in Paris. 

Does NCL allow passengers to disembark in European ports prior to the end of the full itinerary? 

Our plan would be to disembark in Le Havre and go to Paris from there, rather than spending the last night on the ship, only to have to take a much longer journey back to Paris from Southampton the next morning.

We would certainly need to inform Guest services and settle our account the day before, but in general is this permitted?  

Are there any charges/fees/penalties for doing this?

If this is allowed, then our biggest concern would be "missing the port" for some unforeseen circumstances.

Thanks for any insights or experiences others have had with this approach.

Edited December 27, 2022 by JandC_Cruising

[European_CruiseGirl]

I am sure that someone more knowledgeable will answer this. However one problem that I can see here is that the cruise is ending in the UK which is a non EU country. And now you’d want to disembark at an EU country. That could cause all kinds of additional problems.

Edited December 27, 2022 by European_CruiseGirl

[JandC_Cruising]

1 hour ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

I am sure that someone more knowledgeable will answer this. However one problem that I can see here is that the cruise is ending in the UK which is a non EU country. And now you’d want to disembark at an EU country. That could cause all kinds of additional problems.

 Yes. Certainly a consideration. Although the cruise originates in Portugal, so perhaps that will help.  We will always be in EU countries if we can do what we hope to do.   

 

[jennjess]

12 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

 Yes. Certainly a consideration. Although the cruise originates in Portugal, so perhaps that will help.  We will always be in EU countries if we can do what we hope to do.   

 

I don't think it will be a problem since you will have already entered the EU by arriving in Portugal. You will already be in the Shengen zone and noted as such.  I have jumped ship a few times in the past but as a EU citizen I didn't have to consider any possible entry complications.  I have done just as you plan to do and left the ship in Le Havre rather than travel back to the UK.

[JandC_Cruising]

17 minutes ago, jennjess said:

I don't think it will be a problem since you will have already entered the EU by arriving in Portugal. You will already be in the Shengen zone and noted as such.  I have jumped ship a few times in the past but as a EU citizen I didn't have to consider any possible entry complications.  I have done just as you plan to do and left the ship in Le Havre rather than travel back to the UK.

Thank you very much for that insight! 

[jennjess]

11 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Thank you very much for that insight! 

The only consideration will be that you will have to take your own luggage off the ship, there will be no facilities set up to do that for you.

[JandC_Cruising]

26 minutes ago, jennjess said:

The only consideration will be that you will have to take your own luggage off the ship, there will be no facilities set up to do that for you.

Yes.  We figured that would be the case.   We would also settle our bill at Guest Services and inform our Steward of our plans.  We don't want them calling our names over the speakers as the ship is waiting to depart Le Harvre.  

[cruiseny4life]

I have no clue what the procedure is for an early disembarkation, however I would encourage you to let NCL know ahead of the cruise. It might take a couple times, but you should be able to get in touch with an agent that will be able to walk you through the process.

 

Again, I'm clueless as to the procedure, and perhaps there's no need to do what I stated above, but that is what I'd do in your position. Bon voyage!

[MichiganBound]

1 hour ago, jennjess said:

The only consideration will be that you will have to take your own luggage off the ship, there will be no facilities set up to do that for you.

This is true.  I have exited a cruise early and had to get my luggage off the ship myself.

[MichiganBound]

I exited a cruise early 4-5 years ago.  It was a Med cruise that was to terminate in Barcelona.  I opted to get off in Malaga and spend some extra time in Southern Spain.  It was kind of a last minute decision as I only advised them on the ship the day before arriving in Malaga.  They were a little miffed as I had left it till the last minute to advise them.  In any case, it all worked out.  They did need to advise the port authorities in Malaga that I was departing the cruise there.  I got no refund for the rest of the cruise that I missed...but I didn't expect one.

 

Conclusion:  It was possible to do back then.  Whether things have changed since COVID?  Who knows.

[Turtles06]

18 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Does NCL allow passengers to disembark in European ports prior to the end of the full itinerary? 

 

You are asking to do what is called "dowlining," leaving a cruise before the disembarkation port.  You will likely find more info here on CC by doing a search for that term, which is how I found the thread below here in the NCL forum.  I believe you may need NCL's permission to do this; coordination is involved, it's not as simple as saying goodbye to Guest Services and walking off with your luggage. 

 

 

[nessz79]

I've seen a few people say that NCL won't allow this- but I would call to confirm.  Some lines do, but the bigger ones tend to not allow it.

[The Traveling Man]

On 12/27/2022 at 3:02 PM, JandC_Cruising said:

We are planning to be on Getaway this July/August on a 9-day from Lisbon to Southampton.  The ship stops in Le Havre the day before the cruise ends.  We are planning to extend our vacation with a number of days in Paris. 

Does NCL allow passengers to disembark in European ports prior to the end of the full itinerary? 

Our plan would be to disembark in Le Havre and go to Paris from there, rather than spending the last night on the ship, only to have to take a much longer journey back to Paris from Southampton the next morning.

We would certainly need to inform Guest services and settle our account the day before, but in general is this permitted?  

Are there any charges/fees/penalties for doing this?

If this is allowed, then our biggest concern would be "missing the port" for some unforeseen circumstances.

Thanks for any insights or experiences others have had with this approach.

Yes, you should be able to do this, but it would be advisable to contact NCL well in advance to get all your ducks in a row.  We did something similar while sailing on the Getaway this past May.  The cruise was scheduled for 10 days from Southampton to Copenhagen.  We got off on day four in Amsterdam.  We had to carry our own luggage, but otherwise things went smoothly.  We had exchanged emails with NCL's Senior Vice President for Guest Services Katty Byrd (kbyrd@ncl.com).  She made arrangements for us to receive a reduced rate since we would only be on board for four days of a ten day voyage.  We also were only charged for four days of Daily Service Charge.  Since Amsterdam is a major hub for cruise ships, there was no problem arranging for Customs officers to be available to check us through the terminal.  Le Havre is a busy port, but it may not see very many cruises originating or terminating there, so be sure to verify with NCL that Customs officials will be on hand.