Boarding the cruise at the first Port

[SunTravels]

Hello,

Has anyone pre-planned to board the cruise at the first port? We are going to be on AOS Jan 16, 2010 and we are boarding in Aruba (since we are spending the first week of our honeymoon there). What is the process for boarding at a port of call instead of at the beginning of the cruise?! (we already put in our request to RCI about boarding in Aruba)

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Sue L]

Since you already contacted the cruiseline you should be fine. The only thing you should be aware of is they were very strict about letting people in the port area beyond the gates. You needed to show your seapass cards but since you won't have them yet you might want to contact them to see what to do. I would also go over to the port by about 11-12noon, to allow for time for any issues.

[BrainChemicals]

Yes I have. Here is the information from RCL you will need to accomplish this successfully:

 

Partial cruises allow you to enjoy part of your cruise vacation in the event that you are unable to meet the ship in the scheduled boarding port, or would like to end your cruise earlier than the scheduled departure date.

 

Requests for security clearance concerning late boarding or early departure must be submitted in writing to the Guest Flight Operations office for consideration at least one week prior to sail date. Guests must have a confirmed reservation in order to receive clearance. If the reservation was made by a travel agency, the agency must submit the request on travel agency letterhead. Guests with reservations made directly through Royal Caribbean International or royalcaribbean.com can submit their own request. Please include a return fax number or e-mail address.

 

If guests are pre-approved for boarding/departure in an alternate port of call, the ship's security staff is notified to expect the guests at the designated port. The approved guests are responsible for making all travel arrangements and will incur any additional expenses (for flights, hotels, transfers to the pier, etc.). Prepaid gratuities will be added to all approved reservations for the length of cruise.

 

Restrictions: Certain countries, such as the U.S., Italy and Norway, have cabotage laws affecting passenger movements. These laws restrict foreign flag passenger vessels (such as those operated by Royal Caribbean) from transporting guests from one port to another port in the same country. In the U.S., the cabotage law applicable to the cruise industry is commonly called the Jones Act but is legally titled the Passengers Services Act. A brief summary of this U.S. law follows:

 

If a passenger (as listed on a vessel passenger manifest) embarks in a U.S. port and the vessel calls in a nearby foreign port (such as Ensenada, Grand Cayman and Nassau) and then returns to the U.S., the person must disembark in the same U.S. port. A passenger who embarks and disembarks in two different U.S. ports (such as Los Angeles and San Diego) would result in the carrier (not the violator) being fined. The vessel must call in a distant foreign port before the U.S. embarkation and disembarkation ports can differ. The nearest distant foreign ports are in or off the coast of South America. If either the passenger's embarkation port or disembarkation port is in a foreign country, then the provisions of this cabotage law do not apply. Nor do they apply in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Similar passenger movement restrictions exist for cruise vessels calling in Italy and Norway.

 

Please direct any requests and/or questions to the following e-mail address or fax number:

Fax Number: (305) 373-6695

E-mail: AirSeaGFO@RCCL.com

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/pdf/Partial_Cruise_Request.pdf

[katiel53]

BrainChemicals,

This is totally Off Topic, but I thought you would be interested in a post I read today. I forgot what thread it was but it was about bringing food off the ship in Cozumel. The poster said there was a sign advising of a $25,000 fine for produce and meats. So, even though you felt it was funny to take your apple, it could come back to bite you, lol.

 

(I only posted it on here because I saw your post above this.)

[BrainChemicals]

Thanks Katie, I appreciate it. I will look for the post if search is working or will use Google to find it!

 

Thanks again, you are a sweetie.

 

:cool:

 

Found it on Google: http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=16728748

[SunTravels]

Thanks BrainChemicals. I put in a request through my TA back when I booked the cruise, but maybe I will follow-up with a request of my own.

 

Can anyone tell me a little about what the boarding process is like when you board at a port? Do they give you a specific boarding time? What is luggage check like?

 

Thanks!

[Lazirus65]

Make sure you have a back up plan there is no guarantee that the cruise will stick to its original port of calls