Sky Transatlantic ~ Route Deviation Request ~ Denied

[Peira]

No biggie but I was surprised Princess denied our route deviation request to disembark in Lisbon, three days before the cruise ends. Yes, we understand it is within the cruise line's right to reject deviation request, and sometimes they do, and in our case they did.  Yes Princess asks that deviation request be submitted 30 days or so in advance but Princess will act on requests closer to the embarkation date (and even when pax are onboard). No, it is not a problem for us as Princess approved our disembarkation one port/one day earlier, in Cadiz. No, the Jones Act does not come into play. We often request route deviations and disembark (days) early if it suits our travel needs. Yes, sometimes the ship misses the deviation port due to weather or other issues, and it's on us to adjust our plans. Yes we pay full fare and staff gets tips for all days (we book Premier package). No, Princess does not prorate a fare if pax departs early. 

I guess my question is: Isn't it odd that Lisbon would be denied and Cadiz would be approved? If you had to guess, wouldn't you think (Immigration) officials would be staffed in Lisbon, and the request for disembarkation in Cadiz would be a problem (b/c officials aren't available)? Yes, I am assuming it was an Customs/Immigration issue and I could be way off with my guess of why we received a "Sorry, nope" to Lisbon.  Here's what Princess said in their email (Princess's wording is why I assume it's related to having no officials on hand to OK our disembarkation).  Finally, when we received the "Sorry" email I immediately contacted Princess to request the deviation to occur one port earlier, and it was approved in less than 18 hrs. And no, I didn't see anything in our booking that indicated exactly why the request was denied.

 

Please be advised that your request for deviation from the scheduled cruise itinerary has been denied. The reason for denial is noted in the passenger's booking.

In most circumstances a request is denied for one of the following reasons:

Governmental restrictions

Operational reasons

Requested port does not support embarkation/disembarkation

Request will violate the Passenger Service Act

Edited March 1 by Peira

[PacnGoNow]

15 minutes ago, Peira said:

No biggie but I was surprised Princess denied our route deviation request to disembark in Lisbon, three days before the cruise ends. Yes, we understand it is within the cruise line's right to reject deviation request, and sometimes they do, and in our case they did.  Yes Princess asks that deviation request be submitted 30 days or so in advance but Princess will act on requests closer to the embarkation date (and even when pax are onboard). No, it is not a problem for us as Princess approved our disembarkation one port/one day earlier, in Cadiz. No, the Jones Act does not come into play. We often request route deviations and disembark (days) early if it suits our travel needs. Yes, sometimes the ship misses the deviation port due to weather or other issues, and it's on us to adjust our plans. Yes we pay full fare and staff gets tips for all days (we book Premier package). No, Princess does not prorate a fare if pax departs early. 

I guess my question is: Isn't it odd that Lisbon would be denied and Cadiz would be approved? If you had to guess, wouldn't you think (Immigration) officials would be staffed in Lisbon, and the request for disembarkation in Cadiz would be a problem (b/c officials aren't available)? Yes, I am assuming it was an Customs/Immigration issue and I could be way off with my guess of why we received a "Sorry, nope" to Lisbon.  Here's what Princess said in their email (Princess's wording is why I assume it's related to having no officials on hand to OK our disembarkation).  Finally, when we received the "Sorry" email I immediately contacted Princess to request the deviation to occur one port earlier, and it was approved in less than 18 hrs. And no, I didn't see anything in our booking that indicated exactly why the request was denied.

 

Please be advised that your request for deviation from the scheduled cruise itinerary has been denied. The reason for denial is noted in the passenger's booking.

In most circumstances a request is denied for one of the following reasons:

Governmental restrictions

Operational reasons

Requested port does not support embarkation/disembarkation

Request will violate the Passenger Service Act

Portugal may have more restrictions than Spain for disembarking and customs.

Interesting.

[memoak]

This usually comes down to immigration policies and availability of officials

[cherylandtk]

I agree with the suppositions above; likely Portugal has rules more difficult than Spain.

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, Peira said:

No, the Jones Act does not come into play.

It never does for cruise ships.

[Lady Arwen]

22 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

It never does for cruise ships.

PVSA.  You beat me to the punch. lol

[PescadoAmarillo]

8 hours ago, Peira said:

No biggie but I was surprised Princess denied our route deviation request to disembark in Lisbon, three days before the cruise ends. Yes, we understand it is within the cruise line's right to reject deviation request, and sometimes they do, and in our case they did.  Yes Princess asks that deviation request be submitted 30 days or so in advance but Princess will act on requests closer to the embarkation date (and even when pax are onboard). No, it is not a problem for us as Princess approved our disembarkation one port/one day earlier, in Cadiz. No, the Jones Act does not come into play. We often request route deviations and disembark (days) early if it suits our travel needs. Yes, sometimes the ship misses the deviation port due to weather or other issues, and it's on us to adjust our plans. Yes we pay full fare and staff gets tips for all days (we book Premier package). No, Princess does not prorate a fare if pax departs early. 

I don’t have an answer to your question -sorry- but just had to tell you that, for someone with only 35 posts on Cruise Critic, I am in awe of your proactive defenses. Well done!

[Peira]

I wrote it in such a way to attempt to avoid posters who state the obvious (such as the Jones Act - of course it  would never come into play). No I did not succeed. Ha!

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, Peira said:

I wrote it in such a way to attempt to avoid posters who state the obvious (such as the Jones Act - of course it  would never come into play). No I did not succeed. Ha!

I think you missed the point in earlier post.  Jones Act has nothing to do with cruise ships... aka passenger vessels.

[upwarduk]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I think you missed the point in earlier post.  Jones Act has nothing to do with cruise ships... aka passenger vessels.

Nothing to do with Europe either.