Joining late and leaving early on an NCL cruise

[RandomKid]

Hi everyone! 

 

I want to book a trip for my parents and myself, on the Prima 11-day from Galveston to Miami, with ports of call being Cozumel, GSC, and the ABC islands. Problem is, my Dad needs regular dialysis treatments on land, so he can't do the full 11-day itinerary. He's really excited about visiting the ABC islands, and I'd still like to make it happen. 

 

My plan is to book all 3 of us in one cabin - the first two passengers (my Mom and I) will be onboard the entire time from Galveston to Miami. My Dad as the 3rd passenger, will skip the first 5 days of the cruise, fly into Aruba, join us on the cruise for 3 days, then abandon the rest of the trip and fly out of Curaçao. The flights will of course be at our own expense. As I understand it, since his shorter itinerary does not involve a US port on either end, it's not a violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act. Also, since he's flying into Aruba and flying out of Curaçao, it should satisfy the islands' entry requirements and visa waiver program for US citizen.

 

I've tried calling NCL about this, but have got conflicting information. First phone rep said this is possible but needed medical documentation, second rep said no deviation would be allowed whatsoever, third rep transferred me over to Accessibility and said it's up to their approval, only to have Accessibility say they don't handle that and transferred me back to Reservations. These calls have not been helpful, and the reps have been less than knowledgeable about the laws or policies involved. 

 

Has anyone had personal experiences with joining late or leaving early on an NCL cruise? What's the process for getting this approved ahead of time, or just show up at a port of call with necessary documentation and ID and be able to board? Any feedback is appreciated!

[Cruzin64647]

I don’t know if this would work for you but my boss had a good experience with it. Just google Dialysis at Sea. Since I can’t post a link

 

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Cruzin64647

[1025cruise]

I don't believe NCL will allow this.

You might want to post on the Disabled Cruisers board. There is occasionally talk about Dialysis. Besides Dialysis at Sea, I've seen where people will arrange treatment while in port. 

[Turtles06]

16 hours ago, RandomKid said:

What's the process for getting this approved ahead of time, or just show up at a port of call with necessary documentation and ID and be able to board?

 

Congrats on your first Cruise Critic post.

 

I'm not speaking from personal experience here, just stating that it's hard to see NCL allowing this without advance permission (which you'd want in writing).  Without it, your father would be an unexplained no-show in Galveston.  Unclear how the port staff (who I don't think work for NCL) would even handle that.  And for him to board in Aruba, he'd have to be processed for embarkation, which the ship would not be set up for if he just surprisingly "shows up."  And then there's the leaving the ship in Curacao issue.  That might well need to be arranged with immigration/local authorities.

 

I'm not surprised you aren't getting clear info from NCL phone reps; you're proposing something unusual.  I hope NCL will be able to accommodate you, but it wouldn't surprise me if they don't.

 

What about a nice land-based trip to the ABC islands for the three of you?  🙂   (It's not like the Prima itinerary is so special. Just mho on that.)

 

Good luck, and all the best to your father and with his health issues.

[spookylu]

I hope that you can do this successfully, but please be warned that doing this is highly unusual and not something that a cruise line normally lets people do. I would strongly recommend getting everything in writing from the cruise line before embarking. As others have suggested, I would also seek out the advice of other disabled cruisers who have done this. Even with cruise line approval, I'm not sure I would attempt it. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by spookylu
To remove link to outside site which I'm not sure is allowed

[luv2kroooz]

This situation is ripe for problems and one I would not recommend attempting.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, luv2kroooz said:

This situation is ripe for problems and one I would not recommend attempting.

One possible problem is missing one of those ports. I don't believe the OP stated when the cruise was scheduled for, but if it is any time within hurricane season, missing a port becomes a real possibility

[zqvol]

I would be very surprised if NCL agrees to this request. 

[RandomKid]

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Congrats on your first Cruise Critic post.

 

I'm not speaking from personal experience here, just stating that it's hard to see NCL allowing this without advance permission (which you'd want in writing).  Without it, your father would be an unexplained no-show in Galveston.  Unclear how the port staff (who I don't think work for NCL) would even handle that.  And for him to board in Aruba, he'd have to be processed for embarkation, which the ship would not be set up for if he just surprisingly "shows up."  And then there's the leaving the ship in Curacao issue.  That might well need to be arranged with immigration/local authorities.

 

I'm not surprised you aren't getting clear info from NCL phone reps; you're proposing something unusual.  I hope NCL will be able to accommodate you, but it wouldn't surprise me if they don't.

 

What about a nice land-based trip to the ABC islands for the three of you?  🙂   (It's not like the Prima itinerary is so special. Just mho on that.)

 

Good luck, and all the best to your father and with his health issues.

Thank you for the detailed response! Planning family travel with disability problems is difficult, but we've managed even a few international trips since COVID, some with foreign travel dialysis arranged, some 3-5 day short trips where treatments were postponed. I proposed this idea so that my Mom could enjoy a nice long cruise and my Dad could still join for some fun, but if this does not work out, a land based vacation would be the alternative.

[brookie848]

From what I'm reading, it seems your father is going to clinic for dialysis. Is there a reason why hemo was chosen as opposed to peritoneal? If he could switch over, that would be much better. My husband did dialysis on one trip and was scheduled to do it on a second when we got a call about his transplant.

 

Arranging for dialysis on board was a bit of a pain, but overall everything worked out smoothly.

 

Has he looked into doing hemo dialysis at home?

 

Definitely search the disabled cruising board. I remember reading a post about someone who had arranged for dialysis at different clinics on their trip in the Caribbean. As @ontheweb mentioned, be aware that there is always a chance that your itinerary might change. 

 

Good luck planning the trip!

[sanger727]

I agree that a land based trip would be best. Your mom can take a cruise as a different trip. You need NCL to make a new manifest and handle immigration issues. I believe they routinely deny these requests.

[PATRLR]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

One possible problem is missing one of those ports. I don't believe the OP stated when the cruise was scheduled for, but if it is any time within hurricane season, missing a port becomes a real possibility

OP was talking about embarking from Aruba and disembarking at Curacao.  I'm pretty sure hurricanes are rare in the ABCs.  Regardless however, there could be any myriad of other reason to skip a port.  Ports are not guaranteed.   If OP can put this together, I hope they have a plan B in the event they miss Curacao (or wherever they decide to disembark).

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, brookie848 said:

 

Definitely search the disabled cruising board. I remember reading a post about someone who had arranged for dialysis at different clinics on their trip in the Caribbean. As @ontheweb mentioned, be aware that there is always a chance that your itinerary might change. 

 

Good luck planning the trip!

Our Prima cruise when we booked it had 8 ports and 2 sea days. We ended up with 6 ports and 4 sea days.

 

There is an entire thread about changed itineraries on NCL.

 

 

[SPacificbound]

OP- Bless you for enabling travel for your parents, you are a wonderful son.

 

Not knowing your parents ages, I may be way off on this, but your Dad flying into Aruba and out of Curacao, with just the 3 days with your Mom and you, sounds really stressful to me. 

 

Whatever you work out I hope you and your parents have a wonderful trip. 

[debenson0723]

Many years ago we were on an RCL cruise and shared a table with 2 nurses who were on the ship to provide dialysis for a passenger. They were actually hired by the cruise line and worked full time on various ships all over the world. They worked every 3 days or so when the passenger needed treatment and had the rest of the time for themselves...and they got paid! Not sure if something like this is still available but like mentioned above, I would check the disabilities board and also google Dialysis at Sea. If not NCL, maybe another cruise line provides this service.

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Many years ago we were on an RCL cruise and shared a table with 2 nurses who were on the ship to provide dialysis for a passenger. They were actually hired by the cruise line and worked full time on various ships all over the world. They worked every 3 days or so when the passenger needed treatment and had the rest of the time for themselves...and they got paid! Not sure if something like this is still available but like mentioned above, I would check the disabilities board and also google Dialysis at Sea. If not NCL, maybe another cruise line provides this service.

That is an interesting possibility. You wrote "many years ago", could you be more specific about how long ago that was?

[ColeThornton]

From NCL.com:

 

Dialysis

Guests requiring continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis are welcome to board all vessels. However, Norwegian Cruise Line does not have the ability to assist or administer hemo-dialysis treatments. Those guests using peritoneal dialysis should have all solutions and equipment needed to perform the dialysis delivered to the vessel on the day of sailing at least two hours prior to sailing. Please contact the Access desk prior to the cruise for more information on Norwegian Cruise Line's policies and procedures.

 

 

[sanger727]

There is a program called Dialysis at Sea. They seem to be affiliated with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Maybe it's worth trying to book a cruise using this service. 

 

 Dialysis at Sea

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

That is an interesting possibility. You wrote "many years ago", could you be more specific about how long ago that was?

Probably close to 20.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, debenson0723 said:

Probably close to 20.

A lot of things have changed in 20 or so years. You would hope for progress, and dialysis would be more available to passengers who need it, but given cutbacks, unfortunately the opposite could also be true.