Want to get off the ship before the cruise is over???

[cruisingallover]

We want to get off the ship one day before the cruise ends.

 

Do I have to tell Princess ahead of time or just tell the Pursers desk once we board?

[cruze610]

This is generally something that is not allowed. What is the itinerary? Normally if you do something like that you (and the cruise line) would be (could be) in violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act. Princess could be fined for this and in which case they would pass the fine on to you. I would definitely check with Princess before doing this.

[4cats4me]

I wondered about this too. We live near San Francisco and found a cruise

departing from Canada for an Alaskan cruise, ultimately ending in San Diego. The ship stops

over in SF overnight, so I had wondered if this would be permissible or

impermissible?

[cruisingallover]

We will be in Europe and want to get off in LeHavre (Paris) instead of Southampton (London). We are doing a 27 day Transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale. FYI last year we saw a lot of people get off early.

[julia]

In the US it is permissible IF the ship has ported in a distant foreign country AND you have prior approval from the cruise line. In some instances, they may not grant approval, depending on the itinerary and circumstances. One thing to remember when returning to a US port, is that you MUST report to customs and immigration, and that will need to be arranged before you can just leave a ship in the city of your choice.

[crisp1]

I know it's possible. On RCI it's called 'downline debarkation'. The ship must first visit a non US port and I beleive return to a US port. Do not just get off the ship. Contact Princess or have your travel agent do it for you. The people I know that did it cruised out of Fl, visited St Maarten and then San Juan, where one of the group was allowed to get off and fly home to attend a wedding

[toberman]

I've read posts on this before and from what I remember it is possible in your case, but (again from memory) it has to be pre-approved by Princess. The Capt has to know about it in advance. I think it has something to do with Princess insuring you have all the proper visas etc to get off in the country you wish (which shouldn't be a problem in this case). As far as leaving the ship early from the left-coast.. no idea.

 

If you want some really good advice on this.. go to the Cruise Air boards and post a message for 'greatam'... something like.. "Looking for advice from greatam". I know she did the exact same thing last year when leaving from the west coast to Asia and made arrangements to get off in Russia. It seemed quite complicated, but that could have been because of the part of the world she was in and required visas.

 

Whatever you decide, I'd definately make sure Princess knows of your desires in advance!! Good Luck.

[paul929207]

You definitely have to get clearance in advance from Princess and the local authorities. If you are boarding in one US port and want to get off in another US port, you will probably not be able to do it. Unless your cruise calls on a "distant" foriegn port, it is illegal for most cruise ships to carry passengers from one US port to another.

[geoherb]

Contact the cruise line to see if it is possible and to make the arrangements. Also, realize beforehand that you are not guaranteed to make it to a specific port. Several people wanted to get off of an Alaskan cruise in Victoria a couple of cruises before ours a few years ago. The ship wasn't able to dock there because of high winds.

[cruisingallover]

I am Canadian :D

 

We are leaving from a U.S. port and going to Europe on a Transatlantic Cruise. All passengers, unless they are doing a b2b2b are getting off in Europe. So what difference will it make if we get off in Le Havre instead of South Hampton :confused:

[toberman]

I am Canadian :D

 

You don't get it!! It doesn't matter if you're 'Canadian' (we're not special), American, Russian or anything else. Listen to the advice you're given and contact Princess.

[Aussie Gal]

There was another posting about this last week. We left our cruise on the Ocean Princess a day earlier last year. We wanted to catch the train from Le Havre to Paris instead of going all the way to Dover.

 

I told our T.A. and she contacted Princess and it was arranged that way. It was easy because we had come from Africa to Europe via Spain and Portugal so there wasn't any passport control by the time we reached France.

 

By the way, Le Havre was one of our ports and many of our passengers went to see the Normandy coast.

 

We just left the ship at the time we wanted, which was 9am, caught a taxi down at the bottom of the gangplank and took the 11am train to Paris. We arrrived in Paris at 1.30pm and commenced our wonderful 5 day holiday there.

 

Jennie

[sammiedawg]

Our traveling companions in the Baltics got off a day early last July. Princess was notified in advance and they went to the front desk to check out when they left the ship. Call Princess to find out what the current process is. You can get off early regardless of where you are, even in the US. Someone I know got off a Celebrity ship early, they were not enjoying the ship conditions and decided to get off close to home.

[sultan_sfo]

Does not matter about nationality. As long as you are getting off at a foreign port it does not matter. But both Princess and the Port Authorities have to arrange Customs & Imm. So you need prior approval.

 

I am Canadian :D

 

We are leaving from a U.S. port and going to Europe on a Transatlantic Cruise. All passengers, unless they are doing a b2b2b are getting off in Europe. So what difference will it make if we get off in Le Havre instead of South Hampton :confused:

[cruisingallover]

thanks :)

[ONT-CA]

You don't get it!! It doesn't matter if you're 'Canadian' (we're not special), American, Russian or anything else. Listen to the advice you're given and contact Princess.

 

Kingston? Military? The OP is seeking advice not a commandment.

[cruisingallover]

kingston? Military? The op is seeking advice not a commandment.

 

 

lol ;)

[Philip217]

I am Canadian :D

 

We are leaving from a U.S. port and going to Europe on a Transatlantic Cruise. All passengers, unless they are doing a b2b2b are getting off in Europe. So what difference will it make if we get off in Le Havre instead of South Hampton :confused:

 

In this case, Canadian doesn't matter. US Port doesn't matter either.

Visa, Customs, and Immigration do matter.

 

When you travel internationally by ship, a blanket visitors visa is granted to all passengers travelling on the ship.

When the ship departs - with you or without you - your temporary visa is cancelled.

If you happen to be ashore at the time, you are an illegal alien who has entered the country without going through customs or immigration.

 

If you plan to leave a cruise early - anywhere in the world - the cruise line needs to contact local Customs and Immigration Officials to ensure that you can do it legally.

[toberman]

Kingston? Military?

 

Nope.. Penitentiary !! :D

[cruzisme]

On other cruises I have seen passengers departing (not staff).

Always wondered about that so am pleased to learn that this is

Possible as long as you go through the right channels.

Some people on our cruise will be leaving at Le Havre early instead

of returning to Southampton.

[cruisingallover]

On other cruises I have seen passengers departing (not staff).

Always wondered about that so am pleased to learn that this is

Possible as long as you go through the right channels.

Some people on our cruise will be leaving at Le Havre early instead

of returning to Southampton.

 

Are these passengers on your roll call?

[Musky Ike]

On our Canada /NE cruise out of Brooklyn we got back a day early due to a storm. We had to dock in NYC rather than Brooklyn as the terminal was full. NYC resident passengers were told they had to ride with us across the river and disembark at Brooklyn the next day as scheduled.

[Pam in CA]

I know it's possible. On RCI it's called 'downline debarkation'. The ship must first visit a non US port and I beleive return to a US port. Do not just get off the ship. Contact Princess or have your travel agent do it for you. The people I know that did it cruised out of Fl, visited St Maarten and then San Juan, where one of the group was allowed to get off and fly home to attend a wedding

Actually, this is incorrect information with regards to the PVSA. If you embark at one US port and disembark for whatever reason at another US port, the ship must stop at a FAR foreign port. Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America or Canada are not "far" foreign ports.

 

As for the OP, you must request pre-approval from Princess in order to disembark in Le Havre. It has nothing to do with nationality but rather you are entering a country, in this case France, and the authorities must be notified. In the case of an emergency, this is waived but you cannot just inform the Pursar's Desk, grab your bags and leave. It also depends on whether your previous port was a Schengen Agreement country or not. If it was not and you disembark in France, you must go through immigration and customs, and the port has to have the officials on hand to process you. It's more complicated than it appears on the surface.

[CruiseAdict218]

On our Canada /NE cruise out of Brooklyn we got back a day early due to a storm. We had to dock in NYC rather than Brooklyn as the terminal was full. NYC resident passengers were told they had to ride with us across the river and disembark at Brooklyn the next day as scheduled.

 

I was on that cruise, lol QM2 was at Brooklyn that day, too bad I missed it :( although I got to see the Carnival Miracle :D That was an interesting day, docking in front of the Verrazano Bridge until 3am or 4am then moving to Manhattan followed by moving back to Brooklyn at 3am or 4am the following night

[DeepWaterMariner]

I've seen it done where the request and approval had to have been during the cruise. On a TA on RCI we made an unscheduled stop in Miami as our first US port when our first US port was supposed to be Key West with a final destination of Galveston. Several passengers from the Miami area left the ship to avoid flying home at the scheduled end of the cruise. They only received about two days warning that we would stop in Miami so they got approval relatively quickly.