Missing ship after original departure port

I am considering some DIY (do it yourself) shore excursions on the November 9th Riviera cruise - Venice to Barcelona.

I am interested in how difficult it is to re-board the ship after missing the departure at the prior port stop. This cruise has several stops where if you miss the departure, it appears reasonably easy and relatively inexpensive to catch up with the ship at the next stop the next day.

One trip I am considering has the train back to the Port town arriving 20 minutes before we are due back on board and 50 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

Any advice from Oceania cruisers who have missed the ship during the cruise

(not missed the start of the cruise departure) and caught up.

Would anyone advise telling registration, shore excursions or others on the ship of tight return to ship plans? Will the port agent advise the ship, if you feel, or know, you will miss the departure?

Thanks in advance for any information and/or related stories.

I wonder if you miss the ship on embarkation day if they would treat you as a no show & cancel your cabin?

If you plan on being late to the port you can request a later embarkation from Oceania & it will not be a problem if approved ..you will still pay full fare

If you plan on doing a land tour to the next port I would notify Oceania in advance & also remind the ship personal when you leave so they are not holding the ship & searching for you

i have heard you can take a night off the ship by making prior arrangements. Have your travel agent take care of it.

I think what you are asking is what will happen if your planned return to the ship just in time for departure doesn't happen?

In that case make sure you have a phone that works in whichever country you are in, and that you have the daily paper with the port agent's number in it, and as a precaution see if you can get from the front desk a number for the ship.

It may also be judicious to take passports ashore with you, and sufficient funds for overnight accommodation and travel.

As long as you advise the ship you should be fine.

An alternative is of course to catch an earlier train!

I am considering some DIY (do it yourself) shore excursions on the November 9th Riviera cruise - Venice to Barcelona.

 

I am interested in how difficult it is to re-board the ship after missing the departure at the prior port stop. This cruise has several stops where if you miss the departure, it appears reasonably easy and relatively inexpensive to catch up with the ship at the next stop the next day.

Your post suggests that you're a relaxed and confident traveler and that's a great start for someone who might miss the ship.

You might want to re-frame your question to focus more on you DIY itinerary. Where are you planning to go? What are you planning to see/do? With this information, perhaps others can add some value about your destinations. A place that seems interesting in the research stage might not turn out to be as appealing in reality so there's no need to put yourself in a position that you might miss the ship.

Don't bother mentioning your DIY plans to the Shore Excursion desk. Those folks have nothing to do with independent shore excursions.

The OP is not the first to divert and will not be the last. We have done this several times on other cruise lines.

One must contact the cruiseline and deal with the proper office. The office has to address immigration declarations. The cruiseline prepares for entry and exit of the ship and pax, in and out of countries effected. The pax head counts are crucial to the cruiseline. This is not a trivial matter

Also one should be aware that the cruise port immigration may not be in sync with airport immigration. This is especially true in countries with less automated computer systems. In short be prepared for delays.

We did this in South Africa got off the ship in Cape Town and were to meet the ship in East London. First you need to get Oceania to approve this in advance prior to embarkation They will notify the ship and get approval from the ships end. No issues getting off we did a 3 day safari.

When returned to East London to meet the ship -- there was no ship (Nautica). They had some tide and rough seas and cancelled the port. We finally caught up with the ship in Durban. it did mean additional expenses for flights and hotels. We had some trouble getting into the port through security because we were not incoming passenger lists. So caveat is -- you are on your own when you do this.

I am considering some DIY (do it yourself) shore excursions on the November 9th Riviera cruise - Venice to Barcelona.

 

I am interested in how difficult it is to re-board the ship after missing the departure at the prior port stop. This cruise has several stops where if you miss the departure, it appears reasonably easy and relatively inexpensive to catch up with the ship at the next stop the next day.

 

One trip I am considering has the train back to the Port town arriving 20 minutes before we are due back on board and 50 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

 

Any advice from Oceania cruisers who have missed the ship during the cruise

(not missed the start of the cruise departure) and caught up.

 

Would anyone advise telling registration, shore excursions or others on the ship of tight return to ship plans? Will the port agent advise the ship, if you feel, or know, you will miss the departure?

 

Thanks in advance for any information and/or related stories.

It sounds like you are trying to figure out plan B's if something happens with the trains/transport back to the ship...correct? Can you provide a bit more information which ports have your tight train schedules? For example Civitavecchia train station has a bit more logistics involved now that they moved the port entrance. Also, it might help to know what the following port is for these tight schedule ports.

On our last cruise, I idly picked up an itinerary listing from a stack of papers at Reception, and turned it over. On the other side I found a listing of the port agents for all the ports. It was handy to tuck just one piece of paper in my pocket for the entire cruise. I actually took 2 copies, one pinned to the wall with a magnet, and verified that there was no change in the port agent info for each port listing in Currents. And to think it took only 10 cruises to discover this! BTW, one couple missed the tour pickup point in Russia, and needed the info to ultimately have the tour bus return to pick them up. Same couple missed the sailing time in Norway and had to take a ferry to the next port. The only thing they did right was taking the port info along.

I echo the sentiments of the last post, but to be clear, if you miss the ship (deliberately or otherwise), your biggest headache may not involve finding the Port Agent or getting back onto the ship at the next port.

Security and/or labor issues in numerous ports have resulted in the Ticket Contract being radically altered to insert penalties, should the ship incur costs whilst waiting for no shows.

I draw your attention to the second paragraph of Section 23 (italics and highlight by me):

Should the actions or inactions of any Guest(s) result in the Ship not sailing at its scheduled departure time, Carrier shall

assess Late Departure Fees, beginning at US$1,000.00 per Guest, to said Guest(s) directly responsible for any departure that

is delayed more then 15 minutes beyond the scheduled and published departure time, to cover the costs levied against Carrier

by port authorities, governmental and quasi-governmental agencies as agreed and liquidated damages.

As mother used to say, "a word to the wise is sufficient".

 

Security and/or labor issues in numerous ports have resulted in the Ticket Contract being radically altered to insert penalties, should the ship incur costs whilst waiting for no shows.

 

I draw your attention to the second paragraph of Section 23 (italics and highlight by me):

 

 

As mother used to say, "a word to the wise is sufficient".

Surely if the OP has the ship and agents info and contacts them to say he's sitting on a delayed train and won't be back in time there's no reason for the ship to be delayed?

Surely if the OP has the ship and agents info and contacts them to say he's sitting on a delayed train and won't be back in time there's no reason for the ship to be delayed?

In that scenario, most people contact the ship to say "wait for me", the new terms put us on notice that the waiting may no longer be "free".

-If the passenger does say "go on without me, I'll catch up", the ship still has to re-do and re-file the customs paperwork and they can't move until the authorities say "go".

A pre approved overnight off the ship is a very different thing than calling in "on the day".

In that scenario, most people contact the ship to say "wait for me", the new terms put us on notice that the waiting may no longer be "free".

 

-If the passenger does say "go on without me, I'll catch up", the ship still has to re-do and re-file the customs paperwork and they can't move until the authorities say "go".

 

A pre approved overnight off the ship is a very different thing than calling in "on the day".

 

Have no idea why you are using these scare tactics but, in most cases, there are no customs paperwork to be completed as in most ports which one is there for a day or two at most, nobody goes thru "customs". Perhaps you are talking about immigration which is completely different than customs however, when in transit thru a port, highly doubt an immigraton list is required to leave the port. Yes, from many embarkation ports, there are rules requiring a complete immigration list but, even in those cases, since the lists are generated from the computer data base, doesn't take but, a few seconds to delete a name and then either send the list electronically which is most often or print it again and hand it over. Really doubt if a client phones in being delayed, there would be charges put on their account.

Really doubt if a client phones in being delayed, there would be charges put on their account.

Well then, you should take that chance-

Your credit card, you decide :p

By the way, you're completely wrong about the "through port" procedure, the entire thing HINGES on "we're bringing 850 in this morning, so we're taking 850 out when we depart".

Exceptions are treated seriously, because neither side wants to forego that honor system.

Well then, you should take that chance-

Your credit card, you decide :p

 

By the way, you're completely wrong about the "through port" procedure, the entire thing HINGES on "we're bringing 850 in this morning, so we're taking 850 out when we depart". Exceptions are treated seriously, because neither side wants to forego that honor system.

And I covered the 850 in and out comment by saying it is a simple change to the computer and sending that 848 out. Doesn't take much if any time. And, as I said before, customs doesn't care about number of people going in and out, they only care about people bringing illegal items in or out as well as people paying any applicable duty. It is immigration that is responsible for people in and out. Using the incorrect terminology confuses people and has them not working with the correct group of people. Actually sounds like a money grab if ever anyone is charged for things possibly beyond their control!!!!

And I covered the 850 in and out comment by saying it is a simple change to the computer and sending that 848 out. Doesn't take much if any time. And, as I said before, customs doesn't care about number of people going in and out, they only care about people bringing illegal items in or out as well as people paying any applicable duty. It is immigration that is responsible for people in and out. Using the incorrect terminology confuses people and has them not working with the correct group of people. Actually sounds like a money grab if ever anyone is charged for things possibly beyond their control!!!!

Fine, it's Immigration, happy?

That said, the Immigration which we speak of is an Agency of dozens, ney hundreds of Countries where the ships might call, and many of them haven't progressed beyond fax technology (as indeed many arms of the United States Government haven't). How long does it take to send a ten page fax?

How much pressure would be involved if the ship can't sail until they get a reply to that fax? :eek:

It's fine to sit in your ivory tower and decide what "should be" easy or simple, but everything is not as instantaneous as you imagine, and the unionized workers at the ports don't care to hear sob stories about "beyond my control" delays, they want to be recompensed for their time and trouble.

That money has to come from somewhere, as does the money for the extra fuel if the ship has to make up time between ports in order to avoid more costs at the NEXT stop. We have all been unknowingly chipping in for those expenses until now.

I say it is time for the thoughtless few to be put on the spot. If they want to live on the edge, let them pay for the privilege.

Leaving a ship, between ports, is often OK, especially if both ports are part the Schengen Agreement. But the proper procedure is to notify Guest Relations of your intent...so that they do not waste their time paging you...and possibly holding up the ship for a missing passenger. We have done this on other cruise lines. Its actually pretty common (on some cruises) when a ship calls at Livorno and Civtavecchia.....with some passengers deciding to spend a night in Florence or Rome. Boarding the ship at the next port is not an issue as your cruise card gets you into the port just like usual. But when you come back aboard...if they were not aware that you had planned to be away for the night...you might find yourself in an unpleasant meeting with senior staff.

Hank

Leaving a ship, between ports, is often OK, especially if both ports are part the Schengen Agreement. But the proper procedure is to notify Guest Relations of your intent...so that they do not waste their time paging you...and possibly holding up the ship for a missing passenger. We have done this on other cruise lines. Its actually pretty common (on some cruises) when a ship calls at Livorno and Civtavecchia.....with some passengers deciding to spend a night in Florence or Rome. Boarding the ship at the next port is not an issue as your cruise card gets you into the port just like usual. But when you come back aboard...if they were not aware that you had planned to be away for the night...you might find yourself in an unpleasant meeting with senior staff.

 

Hank

Exactly. Many passengers, including ourselves, have done this in Israel with overnights in Jerusalem. Cruise line is made aware of our intent well in advance.

However, that is not the case that OP is asking about. OP is asking about possibly missing the ship unintentionally - and that makes it VERY different.

Exactly. Many passengers, including ourselves, have done this in Israel with overnights in Jerusalem. Cruise line is made aware of our intent well in advance.

However, that is not the case that OP is asking about. OP is asking about possibly missing the ship unintentionally - and that makes it VERY different.

Yes, it might help if OP would come back and give more information about his/her specific concerns....train times and ports.

And I covered the 850 in and out comment by saying it is a simple change to the computer and sending that 848 out. Doesn't take much if any time. And, as I said before, customs doesn't care about number of people going in and out, they only care about people bringing illegal items in or out as well as people paying any applicable duty. It is immigration that is responsible for people in and out. Using the incorrect terminology confuses people and has them not working with the correct group of people. Actually sounds like a money grab if ever anyone is charged for things possibly beyond their control!!!!

What are you doing that fouls up the quote feature so badly?

Doing nothing. For some reason cc is adding characters when I quote and even though I type in paragraphs it comes out in long single paragraphs. Reported this to the cc help desk and no response. Only happens in Firefox which is my default browser using Windows 10. When I remember I use another browser. Sorry but sure it's a forums or Firefox issue and nobody seems to want to fix it

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I would like to thank everyone for their comments. While I had hoped to not make this port specific, some clarification now seems necessary. Civitavecchia is the arrival/departure port I was considering. Since Palermo and Livorno were the stops before and after, I was assuming that immigration

would not be an issue. My DIY trip would not go outside Italy. I would not be taking the somewhat time risky trip until verifying the tickets and schedules at the Civitavecchia train station and taking weather into account.

After reading these posts, I will check with reception and request talking to appropriate "senior staff" regarding this issue. I will also ask the officer who logs the cruise card into the computer at the gangway.

Finally, my family senior staff (my wife) has been reading these posts and may not allow me to attempt this DIY shore excursion. (IE we may just take the train to Rome and back)

Again, thanks to everyone for their comments. So far, I have read and consider the information therein on every comment.

On a somewhat related note, there appear to be three (3) "on foot" (not vehicle) entrances to the cruise port. The southern most one (by the old fort) appear to be the closest to the ships and also to the train station. I could not find whether cruise passengers HAVE to use a specific entrance ( probably the cruise terminal entrance - the middle one) either to enter or exit the port, or both. Does anyone know? The walk to/from the train station is shortest if the south entrance can be used

I would like to thank everyone for their comments. While I had hoped to not make this port specific, some clarification now seems necessary. Civitavecchia is the arrival/departure port I was considering. Since Palermo and Livorno were the stops before and after, I was assuming that immigration

would not be an issue. My DIY trip would not go outside Italy. I would not be taking the somewhat time risky trip until verifying the tickets and schedules at the Civitavecchia train station and taking weather into account.

 

After reading these posts, I will check with reception and request talking to appropriate "senior staff" regarding this issue. I will also ask the officer who logs the cruise card into the computer at the gangway.

 

Finally, my family senior staff (my wife) has been reading these posts and may not allow me to attempt this DIY shore excursion. (IE we may just take the train to Rome and back)

 

Again, thanks to everyone for their comments. So far, I have read and consider the information therein on every comment.

 

On a somewhat related note, there appear to be three (3) "on foot" (not vehicle) entrances to the cruise port. The southern most one (by the old fort) appear to be the closest to the ships and also to the train station. I could not find whether cruise passengers HAVE to use a specific entrance ( probably the cruise terminal entrance - the middle one) either to enter or exit the port, or both. Does anyone know? The walk to/from the train station is shortest if the south entrance can be used

The entrance by the old fort has closed.

It's now a very long walk or a bus to/from the port.

Here's a youtube videos recently posted on the Italy port board:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ibAJ38fKQ

And a thread on the subject:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2395445

If you have any specific logistical questions regarding timing trains to ship departure, the group on the Italy board can probably help.

The entrance by the old fort has closed.

 

It's now a very long walk or a bus to/from the port.

 

Here's a youtube videos recently posted on the Italy port board:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ibAJ38fKQ

 

And a thread on the subject:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2395445

 

If you have any specific logistical questions regarding timing trains to ship departure, the group on the Italy board can probably help.

Actually, I should have stated that the port bus does not stop at the fort. You can walk through the port...if you are up to it. But, it can be a hike.

I would like to thank everyone for their comments. While I had hoped to not make this port specific, some clarification now seems necessary. Civitavecchia is the arrival/departure port I was considering. Since Palermo and Livorno were the stops before and after, I was assuming that immigration

would not be an issue. My DIY trip would not go outside Italy. I would not be taking the somewhat time risky trip until verifying the tickets and schedules at the Civitavecchia train station and taking weather into account.

 

After reading these posts, I will check with reception and request talking to appropriate "senior staff" regarding this issue. I will also ask the officer who logs the cruise card into the computer at the gangway.

 

Finally, my family senior staff (my wife) has been reading these posts and may not allow me to attempt this DIY shore excursion. (IE we may just take the train to Rome and back)

 

Again, thanks to everyone for their comments. So far, I have read and consider the information therein on every comment.

 

On a somewhat related note, there appear to be three (3) "on foot" (not vehicle) entrances to the cruise port. The southern most one (by the old fort) appear to be the closest to the ships and also to the train station. I could not find whether cruise passengers HAVE to use a specific entrance ( probably the cruise terminal entrance - the middle one) either to enter or exit the port, or both. Does anyone know? The walk to/from the train station is shortest if the south entrance can be used

After specifying that your port in question is in Italy and involves the infamous Trenitalia, I would skip that adventure. They are more often late than not and frequent strikes are almost a given :D

Caveat emptor!