Koningsdam and early disembarkation

Hello -

I am planning to take the Koningsdam soon and I am interested by the possibility to disembark early.

On the phone Holland America stated that 50% of the cruise needs to be completed before having the possibility to disembark early. So I asked for that. I am waiting for their answer and if they do not agree I will simply cancel the trip and get a refund.

However, I am still a little bit curious:

-Could somebody tell me what are the consequences of early disembarkation without prior approval of the staff?

-Do they hold your passport onboard, forcing you to come back?

 

Cheers

This will 100% depend in the itinerary.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

First of all, where does the cruise begin and end, and where would you like to disembark? You could run afoul of cabotage and/or visa laws, totally out of HAL's control. Also the start/end points can make a difference on whether the ship holds your passport - on some European cruises it is held, but in the Caribbean it wouldn't be. And the port you wish to debark in must be prepared and willing to clear you through customs and immigration. Not all are. Give us more details.

Thank you for your reply.

Basically, as a French citizen I would like to stop at the first french island (Guadeloupe for example)

 

Here is the itinerary:

 

Sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US

Sea Day

Sea Day

St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda

Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe

Bridgetown, Barbados

Fort-De-France, Martinique

Daylight passing Mount Pelee

Castries, Saint Lucia

Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis

Sea Day

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Debark Ship Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US

Edited October 12, 2017 by Everdyn

Thank you for your reply.

Basically, as a French citizen I would like to stop at the first french island (Guadeloupe for example)

In my opinion (and ONLY my OPINION) since you are are French citizen quitting the cruise on a French island should be easy. You are not a prisoner on the ship, and as long the local authority approves I don't think HAL can stop you. You should check with authorities in Guadeloupe. People have left cruises very early for many reasons (such as crises at home) with little advance notice to the ship. You could always claim that you MUST go home for some reason.

 

Of course don't expect to get any refund from HAL. Personally, I would not pay for a 12 night cruise and get off after 5. At least stay on until Martinique!! That would also satisfy HAL's wish that you complete at least 50% of the cruise. :)

Edited October 12, 2017 by catl331

I agree.

You are going to have to do some homework and find out if one of the 2 French ports will allow you to do this.

You will also need a letter from HAL.

Don;t expect anything back money wise.

I would not pay for a full cruise and then leave the ship half way through just to stay a few days on an island.

I am going to disagree. I don't think this will be allowed. You are on what is known as a closed-loop cruise. That means people get on and off at the same port. If you are allowed to do this, even though it won't be a violation of the PVSA, it will change the "type" of cruise as far as immigration is concerned and could cause issues when the ship gets back to Ft. Lauderdale. There is a very good chance HAL will not allow this.

... it will change the "type" of cruise as far as immigration is concerned and could cause issues when the ship gets back to Ft. Lauderdale.

As I said above, many people have left a cruise early for crises at home etc, so they must have a way to deal with it. The OP said "On the phone Holland America stated that 50% of the cruise needs to be completed before having the possibility to disembark early" so they have already acknowledged that it is possible. We were once granted permission to leave a cruise from Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale at Port Canaveral for no better reason than it was closer to our home.

I have also left a cruise early but it was a transatlantic crossing not a closed loop.

 

We did a B2B Caribbean cruise followed by the TA. The cruise was due to end in Barcelona but the day before the port of call was Alicante - where we live.

 

HAL had to check with Alicante to make sure it was ok with them. I then received a letter from HAL to say it was agreeable and then once on the ship I also needed to get a form signed by the Captain.

 

The only way to really find out is to contact HAL.

I requested to disembark early from a 6 night Caribbean cruise for this November and they denied it because we did not complete more than 50%. We wanted to get off on the morning of the 4th day. The itinerary was:

Ft. Lauderdale

Sea

Amber Cove

San Juan

Sea

HMC

Ft. Lauderdale.

 

We wanted to get off in San Juan (all of this happened before hurricanes) because I had a work commitment in Punta Cana which is a 30 minute flight from San Juan.

 

We decided to cancel the reservation.

 

 

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