leaving cruise early? (& flying back from NZ)

[aussielozzie18]

Do cruiselines allow passengers to disembark from the cruise early?

 

Wondering what the feasibility of having one member of our party disembark at the last port (Wellington) and fly to Sydney.

 

In port from 7am - 4pm.

Does this allow us enough time to get family member to the airport?

 

Is Wellington ever missed as a port?

 

Passenger would be a minor (1 week shy of 18) does this have any impact on cruiseline allowing said passenger to disembark?

 

Would appreciate feedback from experienced cruisers/New Zealanders on whether feasible or not.

 

(btw, if you don,t see my countdown - we are on Royal Carribbean and will be in NZ in Jan)

[icat2000]

Best bet is to contact the cruiseline and ask your questions.

[rkmw]

Do cruiselines allow passengers to disembark from the cruise early?

 

Wondering what the feasibility of having one member of our party disembark at the last port (Wellington) and fly to Sydney.

 

In port from 7am - 4pm.

Does this allow us enough time to get family member to the airport?

 

Is Wellington ever missed as a port?

 

Passenger would be a minor (1 week shy of 18) does this have any impact on cruiseline allowing said passenger to disembark?

 

Would appreciate feedback from experienced cruisers/New Zealanders on whether feasible or not.

 

(btw, if you don,t see my countdown - we are on Royal Carribbean and will be in NZ in Jan)

 

yes its best to ask the cruise line as they have the final say and you wouldnt get a refund for the unsued portion of the cruise

 

btw no port is guaranteed just in case of bad weather and they have to skip ports to make up time

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Do cruiselines allow passengers to disembark from the cruise early?

 

I don't know if its "allowed" as such, but I have a friend who was on the Radiance of the Seas relocation cruise, and because of her work, she had to leave the cruise early and she fly to Sydney from Wellington.

 

Just make sure the ship knows that they wont be coming back :)

 

Wondering what the feasibility of having one member of our party disembark at the last port (Wellington) and fly to Sydney.

 

In port from 7am - 4pm.

Does this allow us enough time to get family member to the airport?

 

Yep, its not far from the port to the airport, it tacks about 30 minutes from the port to the airport by taxi.

 

Is Wellington ever missed as a port?

 

In the last two year - three years since I have been tracking all the cruise ships that have been visiting New Zealand none have missed Wellington that I know off.

 

But there is always a chance this may happen.

 

Passenger would be a minor (1 week shy of 18) does this have any impact on cruiseline allowing said passenger to disembark?

 

Good question, but I guess if she has to get back to OZ, then the ship wont stop her? I guess?

[The_Big_M]

You can - but you need to contact the cruise line (or TA if you booked through them) before you board. It needs to be approved and set up with them in advance.

 

I'm not sure about the minor part.

 

If it's cleared before you board, it actually helps in the very unlikely event of Wellington being missed - I've never heard that happen though. As the departure is scheduled, they would attempt to come up with a workaround if possible e.g. tender to enable departure.

[dizzy1948]

Cover all options just in case - make the persons flight fully flexible - to cover the worst case scenario. Do as others have said - get everything in place before you cruise if the person is leaving the ship early. It's all paperwork - can't live without it :eek::p We have left a ship a day before we should have - family issue - the paperwork !!!!!! But it is doable.

Edited November 12, 2014 by dizzy1948

[Tara Jane]

My cousin was on a cruise and had to leave the ship in Auckland mid cruise due to a death in the family. She was on Princess, and no problems leaving the ship. Obviously she was unaware that this would happen so didn't have the chance to pre arrange.

[Royalty X]

We get asked about this all the time. You would need to contact the cruise line (or have your TA contact them if you used one) and permission needs to be granted by the cruise line. This will need to be done well in advance and confirmed before you leave. There will need to be customs and immigration set up especially for your friend's disembarkation, so the cruise line will need to have clearance from NZ customs officials for this to happen. And the cruise line will still charge the full fare for the cruise. With them not selling sectors of short cruises, they wouldn't be able to sell your friend's cabin to someone else for the last sector, so your friend won't get the fare any cheaper. Let us know how you go.