Celebrity - Jumping Ship

[Colrabi]

Hi, hubby and I are just about to late book the Equinox cruise to Eastern Med on 27 June. We have been considering disembarking one day early at Naples and spending a few days exploring Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri and Amalfi Coast. Is this something anyone else has done. Is it just a case of letting Celebrity know and how much notice would they need. Would we be able to leave the ship at any time after docking once clearance had been given or would we be given a specific time to leave.

 

Also, if we book a GTY verandah cabin, will we have any say in obstructed/partially obstructed view or position on ship?

 

This will be our first Celebrity cruise. Our first cruise ever was on Princess to the Caribbean in February so will be good to be able to compare.

 

Thanks so much in advance for any advice.

[Colrabi]

Hi, hubby and I are just about to late book the Equinox cruise to Eastern Med on 27 June. We have been considering disembarking one day early at Naples and spending a few days exploring Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri and Amalfi Coast. Is this something anyone else has done. Is it just a case of letting Celebrity know and how much notice would they need. Would we be able to leave the ship at any time after docking once clearance had been given or would we be given a specific time to leave.

 

Also, if we book a GTY verandah cabin, will we have any say in obstructed/partially obstructed view or position on ship?

 

This will be our first Celebrity cruise. Our first cruise ever was on Princess to the Caribbean in February so will be good to be able to compare.

 

Thanks so much in advance for any advice.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Obviously contact the cruise line before finalizing any of your plans. I think this is a great idea. I did not disembark in Naples but I did disembark in 2008 in LeHarve on day 11 of a 12 night cruise. I got permission from the cruise line before leaving the US and reminded the front desk- who said that as long as my bill was settled I could get off as planned.

 

On the day we disembarked it was great. We had breakfast, used the pool, had lunch and just walked off the ship around 2PM. None of that having bags in the hall the night before and the lackluster service on the day of disembarkation.

 

On a 12 night cruise missing on night (the last night) isn't really a big deal.

[cruisestitch]

HI and welcome to Cruise Critic. I see this is your second post -- come back often and you will learn so much about cruising.

 

Yes, people do disembark before the end of the cruise. There were just a couple of threads about how to do this in the past month, but my memory of the conversation is that you should let the cruise line know ahead of time that it is your intention to skip the last day of the cruise (you know that there is no reduction in price for this!) and again once on board so they can have everything ready for you, your final bill, exit documents (if needed) and so forth. It isn't something you can do from every port, but apparently people have done it from Naples in the past. If you were in the U.S. it might not be possible due to some American laws, but it appears that there is no such restriction in Italy.

 

As to booking the GTY, no, you won't have any say in what cabin you are given, as that's the way the GTY works. If you want to be sure you have an unobstructed view, you need to book a specific cabin and not a GTY.

[jackdiamond]

Obviously contact the cruise line before finalizing any of your plans. I think this is a great idea. I did not disembark in Naples but I did disembark in 2008 in LeHarve on day 11 of a 12 night cruise. I got permission from the cruise line before leaving the US and reminded the front desk- who said that as long as my bill was settled I could get off as planned.

 

On the day we disembarked it was great. We had breakfast, used the pool, had lunch and just walked off the ship around 2PM. None of that having bags in the hall the night before and the lackluster service on the day of disembarkation.

 

On a 12 night cruise missing on night (the last night) isn't really a big deal.

Great! But, what happened to your bags?

[jodie84124]

Colrabi, Someone on that very same cruise plans to do the same. Look under roll call for June 27 and read her plans and the advice she got. BTW...I'm also on that same cruise which is how I came to read about her plans.

 

Good Luck. Jodie

[Gonzo70]

Hello,

 

This usually can be done, but has to be arranged in advance as the cruise line needs to settle your account and local authorities need to be available so you can be cleared to come into their country. Here is the FAQ from Celebrities website (and it includes the phone number you need to call to arrange this):

 

Can I Join My Cruise After It Starts Or Disembark Before It Ends?

Subject: Embarkation/Disembarkation Procedures

 

It depends on the specific itinerary of your cruise, your nationality, and various United States and foreign laws. Joining the cruise at one of its ports of call or leaving the cruise prior to its scheduled termination point may be prohibited by law. If you need to join late or leave early, or both, submit your request in advance and we will tell you whether your proposed changes will be permitted.

 

For more information, call 800-256-6649. There is a cut-off date for submitting this information, so make your request early. Please note that no refunds, prorated or otherwise, are granted to customers who join their cruise late or leave their cruise early. Certain governments impose fines or other charges when a guest permanently disembarks from a cruise before its final port of call. The guest will be responsible for those charges.

[Greghouseo]

Regarding your guarantee cabin it means that you are Guaranteed the minimum grade of the type of cabin you have contracted to or higher.

Technically you have no say whatsoever.

If for example you went for an X cat balcony you could certainly get a 2C or 2D obstructed. Whilst you might possibly be able to move your cabin within that grade you couldn't demand a clear view cabin because that is not what you have bought in to. You paid less, you take the risk. End of!!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Great! But, what happened to your bags?

 

Nothing- we got off the ship with the luggage and I don't even think anything happened that I recall in terms of customs. I think they may have looked at our passports but don't remember. It was easy. We took a taxi to the train station and then went to Paris for two nights.

[jt1120]

Just make sure you tour Herculaneum instead of Pompeii. If you're into ruins and that kind of thing, the ruins in Herculaneum are far better. Sorrento is heavenly, I could retire there tomorrow. Make sure you buy a bottle of Limoncello, as Sorrento is the birthplace of Limoncello.

[bajathree]

The term the cruise lines use for what you are looking to do is called "down-line debarkation".....there is a special dept with the CL that you need to notify and arrange this with ahead of time.

[Colrabi]

Thank you everyone for your responses. We've now decided to stay on the ship until it docks in Rome and hubby has promised to come back to Sorrento on another holiday to give the area the time it deserves.

 

As for cabin, we've booked a Concierge C1 cabin which turns out to be at the aft of the ship - any views on this please.

[Gonzo70]

Thank you everyone for your responses. We've now decided to stay on the ship until it docks in Rome and hubby has promised to come back to Sorrento on another holiday to give the area the time it deserves.

 

As for cabin, we've booked a Concierge C1 cabin which turns out to be at the aft of the ship - any views on this please.

 

On Solstice Class ships the aft balconies have pros and cons. Some of these balconies are larger than others, so you may want to research the thread here on Cruise Critic where people describe individual staterooms to see if you have a room with a large balcony (and if not, you may want to swap into one of these rooms if it is available). The pros of the afts staterooms are many people enjoy the panoramic views and the view of the wake, some of the aft balconies are larger than normal and the ship blocks most of the wind. The cons are they are a long walk to nearest stairs/elevators, you feel a bit more movement than if you were midship, the balconies have little to no covering and they sometimes get soot from the smokestacks. Personally I'd prefer a C2 stateroom on the slanted portion of the hump, but some prefer the C1's.