Getting on then off the ship on embarkation day (Tampa)

[Velvetwater]

Bit of an odd one. I posted this in the general ask board but realised Carnival may have different rules.

 

We have purchased FTTF this time for tendering at Cabo san Lucas and Grand Cayman and to get our Luggage and ok(ish) time.

 

On arrival day we would like to board the ship as early as possible as usual (11ish if we can) and drop off our things in our cabin (possibly wait for our checked luggage as well) then get off the ship to spend an hour or two in Tampa and board again around 2.30 when everyone is supposed to be on board for 4.00pm sail away.

 

Will Carnival allow us to do this and are there any special things we need to do? We are used to the Legend and not very used to Tampa and are hoping to maybe pick up some more wine.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. We realise that boarding make take a while and in that case we would stay on the ship.

 

Thanks :)

[Pjnc]

Bit of an odd one. I posted this in the general ask board but realised Carnival may have different rules.

 

We have purchased FTTF this time for tendering at Cabo san Lucas and Grand Cayman and to get our Luggage and ok(ish) time.

 

On arrival day we would like to board the ship as early as possible as usual (11ish if we can) and drop off our things in our cabin (possibly wait for our checked luggage as well) then get off the ship to spend an hour or two in Tampa and board again around 2.30 when everyone is supposed to be on board for 4.00pm sail away.

 

Will Carnival allow us to do this and are there any special things we need to do? We are used to the Legend and not very used to Tampa and are hoping to maybe pick up some more wine.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. We realise that boarding make take a while and in that case we would stay on the ship.

 

Thanks :)

 

 

 

Hi

 

Last cruise on the Liberty I left my prescription snorkel mask in my car at the hotel. No problem to get off the ship to go back to the hotel. They just tell you what time you u have to be back on. You will have to go thru security scanning upon return.

 

hope this helps

 

pat

murrells inlet, sc

[Velvetwater]

Hi

 

Last cruise on the Liberty I left my prescription snorkel mask in my car at the hotel. No problem to get off the ship to go back to the hotel. They just tell you what time you u have to be back on. You will have to go thru security scanning upon return.

 

hope this helps

 

pat

murrells inlet, sc

 

Thanks for the information! :)

[Havingfun2010]

Bit of an odd one. I posted this in the general ask board but realised Carnival may have different rules.

 

We have purchased FTTF this time for tendering at Cabo san Lucas and Grand Cayman and to get our Luggage and ok(ish) time.

 

On arrival day we would like to board the ship as early as possible as usual (11ish if we can) and drop off our things in our cabin (possibly wait for our checked luggage as well) then get off the ship to spend an hour or two in Tampa and board again around 2.30 when everyone is supposed to be on board for 4.00pm sail away.

 

Will Carnival allow us to do this and are there any special things we need to do? We are used to the Legend and not very used to Tampa and are hoping to maybe pick up some more wine.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. We realise that boarding make take a while and in that case we would stay on the ship.

 

Thanks :)

 

So really this is only a smuggling thread? Just reading between the lines. Get on the ship, with your limit, than get off, get more, and get back on with your "second" limit? Just curious, because if you really wanted to see something in Tampa, it would be easier to see it first, than going back and forth to the ship.

[Velvetwater]

So really this is only a smuggling thread? Just reading between the lines. Get on the ship, with your limit, than get off, get more, and get back on with your "second" limit? Just curious, because if you really wanted to see something in Tampa, it would be easier to see it first, than going back and forth to the ship.

 

Not really.

 

We have FTTF for tenders. We have massive bags and are out of the hotel 10.30ish. We do not want to carry our hand luggage (and checked) bags around yet because of FTTF they will likely arrive early outside our cabin (last time they arrived within 30 minutes of us) and we dont want them sitting there for hours (I feel its not good security).

 

If we didnt buy FTTF we would have dropped them off at port and gone into Tampa knowing they would probably make it to the room the same time as us.

 

We might 'risk' the 2nd wine thing if we feel like it but as you can see we are from the UK and it is not likely we will visit Tampa again with many other FL cruise ports with other options.

 

I asked for advice, not 'oh my gosh you smuggle' judgement.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Velvetwater

[tampabaytom]

i was thinking the same thing ^^^^^^^

[ChaplainPagne]

I remember sitting on the balcony of one cruise and looking at my car in the parking lot and it hit me "I forgot my camera!". I didn't know you could get off the ship - but my wife ran down and went to the car and came back, no problem. She said they told her when she had to be back and it was a simple process. You should be fine! Have a great cruise!

[Havingfun2010]

Not really.

 

We have FTTF for tenders. We have massive bags and are out of the hotel 10.30ish. We do not want to carry our hand luggage (and checked) bags around yet because of FTTF they will likely arrive early outside our cabin (last time they arrived within 30 minutes of us) and we dont want them sitting there for hours (I feel its not good security).

 

If we didnt buy FTTF we would have dropped them off at port and gone into Tampa knowing they would probably make it to the room the same time as us.

 

We might 'risk' the 2nd wine thing if we feel like it but as you can see we are from the UK and it is not likely we will visit Tampa again with many other FL cruise ports with other options.

 

I asked for advice, not 'oh my gosh you smuggle' judgement.

 

Many people drop luggage off, than go sightseeing. However, the whole process of getting on the ship, than getting off the ship, became a curiosity because, you really can't do too much in 2 hours in Tampa. You did say pick up extra wine. Plus, this is a Carnival board, and you can't go a day without someone talking about creative ways to smuggle extra.

[AdGuyMG]

The 1 bottle of wine policy pertains to Embarkation. You can get off the ship but you are doing so as a passenger who has already gone thru the Embarkation and check in process. You will get off the ship and return with your Sail and Sign card showing you are already checked in. Thus you have already done Embarkation and most likely will not be able to bring any wine with you or it will be taken and held until the end of your cruise.

[crusinpsychRN]

A visit to the aquarium might be doable, it's right at the port. Going anywehre and being back in 2 hours in Tampa is not very feasable. When you return you might want to visit the Clearwater beachers or go down to Sarasoata and Anna Maria Island or the Ringling museum. Tampa isn't a hot spot for tourism. Unless you're looking for a strip club--we've got hundreds of those!!:eek:

[jenng1976]

Not really.

 

We have FTTF for tenders. We have massive bags and are out of the hotel 10.30ish. We do not want to carry our hand luggage (and checked) bags around yet because of FTTF they will likely arrive early outside our cabin (last time they arrived within 30 minutes of us) and we dont want them sitting there for hours (I feel its not good security).

 

If we didnt buy FTTF we would have dropped them off at port and gone into Tampa knowing they would probably make it to the room the same time as us.

 

We might 'risk' the 2nd wine thing if we feel like it but as you can see we are from the UK and it is not likely we will visit Tampa again with many other FL cruise ports with other options.

 

I asked for advice, not 'oh my gosh you smuggle' judgement.

 

If you don't tell the outside porters you're FTTF ... they won't put the special (orange I think) tags on your bags, so they'll just arrive at your cabin the normal way and not be sitting outside for hours.

 

It does seem like a bit of a hassle to get on the ship, off again, and back on again within a couple hours! But, I'm not opposed to smuggling either if that's the main goal, so whatever works for you!

 

Jenn :)

 

PS ... did you see that the Cheers price is now reduced? In case that impacts your desire to pick up bottles of wine.

[theriac]

When you get back you should come over to the good side of the bay! You will see it when you sail under the skyway. They're right though not much to do in downtown tampa unless you want to tour a cigar factory, go to cigar city brewery(try a jai lai) check out centro ybor, or go to the Aquarium. Most of the museums are in St. Pete(at least the good ones) hopefully the cruiselines build a port on this side of the bay like they've been discussing for years.

[tigereye]

I've done that. I don't know why it should be a problem. Might be tougher to smuggle on second entry as you will not have any luggage. I did it in New Orleans because I hadn't seen enough of French Quarter yet.

[NavarreCruiser]

The 1 bottle of wine policy pertains to Embarkation. You can get off the ship but you are doing so as a passenger who has already gone thru the Embarkation and check in process. You will get off the ship and return with your Sail and Sign card showing you are already checked in. Thus you have already done Embarkation and most likely will not be able to bring any wine with you or it will be taken and held until the end of your cruise.

 

ditto.

[Ship's Wake]

The 1 bottle of wine policy pertains to Embarkation. You can get off the ship but you are doing so as a passenger who has already gone thru the Embarkation and check in process. You will get off the ship and return with your Sail and Sign card showing you are already checked in. Thus you have already done Embarkation and most likely will not be able to bring any wine with you or it will be taken and held until the end of your cruise.

 

Is your answer based on first-hand knowledge or is this just conjecture?

[<3 2 Cruise]

Now I'm mad. I left my camera in the car once. In New Orleans. We could see the car in the parking garage. Never even thought to ask if we could get off. As much hoopla as you go through to get on the ship, I figured getting off wold be impossible!!!

[MimiMia]

I myself have planned to do just this next year on the Pride out of Baltimore. I live in DC and purchased FTTF already but want to drop bags at room then head to the Harris Teeter a few blocks away for wine and Soda.

 

I personally think its a lot of hassle to try to drag luggage and sodas at embarkation. I was able to check in, drop bags and get back off the Valor in PR a few months ago. We headed to CVS, got our wine and got back onboard. I will admit that it was only 2 bottles and I was carrying a small beach bag. I thought once I hit security and had to put my bag through they would ask about the wine but they were more concerned about the liquid in BF tumbler that he had actually purchased and filled before we got off.

 

Just my opinion from my experience, you shouldn't have any problems getting of and back on regardless if you have beverages or not, unless they are in an open container.

[AdGuyMG]

I was able to check in, drop bags and get back off the Valor in PR a few months ago. We headed to CVS, got our wine and got back onboard. I will admit that it was only 2 bottles and I was carrying a small beach bag.

 

Just my opinion from my experience, you shouldn't have any problems getting of and back on regardless if you have beverages or not, unless they are in an open container.

 

The Embarkation and on/off ship procedures at the San Juan pier for the Valor are a different than mainland US ports.

[AdGuyMG]

Is your answer based on first-hand knowledge or is this just conjecture?

 

I'm not a wine drinker and never tried this myself. But I am a frequent cruiser, have had to get off and on recently in Fort Lauderdale for a forgotten item and am pretty observant about the process of security screening procedures in several ports.

 

This is why I said the poster "most likely" would not be able pull this off.

[AdGuyMG]

When you get back you should come over to the good side of the bay! You will see it when you sail under the skyway. They're right though not much to do in downtown tampa unless you want to tour a cigar factory, go to cigar city brewery(try a jai lai) check out centro ybor, or go to the Aquarium. Most of the museums are in St. Pete(at least the good ones) hopefully the cruiselines build a port on this side of the bay like they've been discussing for years.

 

The OP's cruise is going to both Grand Cayman and Cabo San Lucas. That means they are on the 13 day Legend repositioning cruise leaving on Sunday the 17th going thru the Panama Canal and ending up in Los Angeles. The ship then sails to Australia. I don't think they are coming back.

Edited August 12, 2014 by AdGuyMG

[Velvetwater]

As much as have considered smuggling booze I am not really too fussed. I am indeed half tempted to pick up an extra bottle of wine and see what happens, but I am just as likely to go to a shop and buy some US snacks that we dont get back home before boarding the ship. Easy either way.

 

I know 2 hours isn't a lot of time but the fact I am going to be on a ship for 13 days (and one I have already sailed on) just a wander round the bay in the morning would suffice. Its interesting someone mentioned Cigar city and craft brews as our main plan for those 2 hours was to drink some Florida craft beer (beer enthusiasts) and enjoy Florida before we go and the Aquarium is a good idea too.

 

Thanks for the help everybody. Theres always the chance we will get on the ship and feel happy/tired enough to stay on board and get a cocktail. :D

[BamaLady#13]

I went back to my car after boarding the Oasis at Ft. Lauderdale. It was no problem to come back thru security and back onto the ship. I had no extra baggage as I came back thru so it only took about 20 minutes for the whole process. Just remember to take your passport and all ID with you as you will need to show it when you reboard.