Leaving ship early? Allowed?

[SydneyD'Augstralia]

Hello Princess People!

 

I am going to be in Ft Lauderdale in November for a week, have a free week, then I need to be in Aruba.

 

Caribbean Princess leaves FLL during the free week and I am thinking of going and getting off in Aruba and just not doing the two sea days back to FLL. Cruising always beats flying! :D

 

My question is - Does Princess allow a passenger to get off before the cruise is complete? Are there extra fees?

 

If anyone has this info, I'd really appreciate your suggestions.

 

Thanks.

[Smokeyham]

Hello Princess People!

 

I am going to be in Ft Lauderdale in November for a week' date=' have a free week, then I need to be in Aruba.

 

Caribbean Princess leaves FLL during the free week and I am thinking of going and getting off in Aruba and just not doing the two sea days back to FLL. Cruising always beats flying! :D

 

My question is - Does Princess allow a passenger to get off before the cruise is complete? Are there extra fees?

 

If anyone has this info, I'd really appreciate your suggestions.

 

Thanks.[/quote']

 

I would think that they can't really stop you if you just walk off the ship with your luggage.

 

However, I wonder if there are some issues with immigration in Aruba? For instance, if they cleared you for only temporary entry into the country, leaving on the ship, and then you attempt to fly out, would that cause problems? In such an example, your passport was not stamped for entry into the country, so they may question you as you leave.

 

You might want to contact the Aruban authorities to get a read on this.

[geoherb]

Check with Princess directly. The only danger is that the ship may not be able to make it to the port due to unforeseen events. So far, we've been lucky on Caribbean cruises on only missed ports twice--and one of those times we knew ahead of time that we wouldn't be going due to hurricane damage.

[TracieABD]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I am with you... I would rather cruise than fly any day!:)

[chipq]

This happened recently on a CCL ship that a family of three disembarked in Jamaica with their bags. It was in the news originally as three missing tourists, the media picking up on something and running with speculation without knowing fact. Well, when it wss finally figured out that they had intentionally disembarked at Jamaica to extend their vacation, the questions then turned to what sorts of Jamaica immigration and US cruise laws they may have violated. Definitely hit up PCL about their policy and maybe also Aruba immigration.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[HJH]

You need to obtain permission from Princess before disembarking early. They can answer any immigration issues at the port you wish to leave the ship also.

 

Call them and get the proper people to speak with and they will require a written request well before your sailing date.

[highheel girl]

I agree you must obtain permission from Princess.

No they can't stop you but the Aruban authorities can detain you. ;)

[cruising g-mom]

We have friends that left the ship early in Amsterdam. Their process was to contact their travel agent who talked with Princess and made arrangements. Then on the ship they verified that the proper arrangements had been made. It apparently does vary from country to country so you will need to consider that.

[highheel girl]

Check with Princess directly. The only danger is that the ship may not be able to make it to the port due to unforeseen events. So far, we've been lucky on Caribbean cruises on only missed ports twice--and one of those times we knew ahead of time that we wouldn't be going due to hurricane damage.

 

Oh darn then they would have to complete their 2 sea days, bummer.

:eek:

[Pam in CA]

I agree you must obtain permission from Princess.

No they can't stop you but the Aruban authorities can detain you. ;)

I agree. You're cleared by a country's Immigration when the ship is cleared for disembarkation in a port but you haven't cleared Customs. It also depends on the type of clearance status you have when arriving by ship for the day vs. by plane for a stay. Most countries waive immigration clearance when they know you're arriving by ship for the day but take exception if you arrive and stay. This is why you have to have prior permission as your stay or complete disembarkation in their country has to be OK'd by the local authorities. I don't know the procedure for Aruba but this is a case where if you just walk off with your luggage without prior permission could wind up being expensive. Countries are kind of picky when people enter their country without permission or proper clearance. Telling someone to just walk off without saying anything is probably not the best advice.

[thinfool]

You actually don't need 'permission' from Princess, but you do need to inform them of your intentions, and clear any/all matters with immigration in Aruba.

 

The permission that you do need is from authorities in Aruba.

 

Your travel agent and Princess will be able to smooth the way for this all to happen.

[Underwatr]

Obviously, there's no discount for not completing all the days of the cruise...

[Talisker92]

Obviously, there's no discount for not completing all the days of the cruise...

 

But you should not be charged the service charge for the days you missed

[pris993]

We have done a similar thing in Europe. We got off in Lahavre France vs Southampton England. We did let the cruise line know through our TA in advance and then checked in with Customer Service aboard the ship to settle our account the night before we left the ship.

 

We did not have any problem with visas/customs in France. I would check with Aruba in advance to find out what is required. The cruiselines do not assume responsibility for knowing what is required. You can check with the Aruba embassy in the US, try googling for contact information.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

You actually don't need 'permission' from Princess, but you do need to inform them of your intentions, and clear any/all matters with immigration in Aruba.

 

The permission that you do need is from authorities in Aruba.

 

Your travel agent and Princess will be able to smooth the way for this all to happen.

 

I am not so sure about that:eek:

The gangway staff would have to check you off, and they would need to see some authourity that your On Board Account had been settled in full.

 

 

[PunkiC]

We disembarked early in Split, Croatia, to visit cousins, rather than continue on to Venice where we had previously spent a fair amount of time.

 

All we had to do was inform out TA of our intent and she did the rest. Princess had everything figured out and put our final statement in our box the night before we arrive in Split. They then had crew available to help us load our luggage on and off the tender.

 

It was totally smooth and effortless.

[Pam in CA]

But you should not be charged the service charge for the days you missed

If you don't make prior arrangements, you will.

[cellyml12]

I have a question that's sort of in the same vein. If you do disembark early do you get credit for a completed cruise (if you're working towards elite or something), or does it only count the days?