memoie Posted November 17, 2014 #1 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Do all cruise ships stop and pick up other passengers at their port of calls? We were on an MSC Black Sea cruise and every port they stopped at there were more passengers coming on board. Do all cruise lines do this or just MSC? Your answer will determine the next cruise line we take a cruise on.Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted November 17, 2014 #2 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Not from my experience. e sail on Princess and will see entertainers getting on and off in ports. However, rarely are any passengers getting on or off at other than the scheduled end of a leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmoo here Posted November 17, 2014 #3 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Do all cruise ships stop and pick up other passengers at their port of calls?We were on an MSC Black Sea cruise and every port they stopped at there were more passengers coming on board. Do all cruise lines do this or just MSC? Your answer will determine the next cruise line we take a cruise on.Thanks in advance. Well, they're probably not just picking up and disembarking passengers randomly. In the European market, they can sell a cruise that does a Barcelona roundtrip with stops in Marseille, Genoa, Napes, Messina, and Tunis. And also sell a cruise (on the same ship) that goes from Barcelona to Naples. Or another from Genoa to Barcelona. Then the ship would be picking up passengers in Barcelona and Genoa, while disembarking others in Naples and Barcelona. Just a small example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted November 17, 2014 #4 Share Posted November 17, 2014 I think just MSC, Pullmatuer & Louis cruise line do this ...maybe Costa Not typical for most cruise lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PORT ROYAL Posted November 17, 2014 #5 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Do all cruise ships stop and pick up other passengers at their port of calls?We were on an MSC Black Sea cruise and every port they stopped at there were more passengers coming on board. Do all cruise lines do this or just MSC? Your answer will determine the next cruise line we take a cruise on.Thanks in advance. Used Carnival as a vehicle to island hop in the Caribbean. Cheaper than flying. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted November 17, 2014 #6 Share Posted November 17, 2014 On its Baltic cruises Princess allows embarkation in Copenhagen, Warnemunde, or St. Petersburg. But North American citizens must book a round-trip disembarking in the same port. Same with MSC, Costa and the European lines in the Mediterranean: only residents of European Union/Schengen Agreement nations can book segments of round-trip sailings as there are no immigration or customs formalities necessary for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_BJ Posted November 17, 2014 #7 Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) not on a "closed loop cruise" from a US port . . . and this statement makes me curious . . . Used Carnival as a vehicle to island hop in the Caribbean. Cheaper than flying. Edited November 17, 2014 by Capt_BJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PORT ROYAL Posted November 17, 2014 #8 Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) not on a "closed loop cruise" from a US port . . . and this statement makes me curious . . . Used Carnival as a vehicle to island hop in the Caribbean. Cheaper than flying. Flew barbados, stayed Barbados for 7 days, boarded Barbados, went to SJ, stayed in the Convent to have lunch and dinner with friends, then back to Barbados, stayed Barbados for 10 days, flew back to the UK. Edited November 17, 2014 by PORT ROYAL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted November 18, 2014 #9 Share Posted November 18, 2014 not on a "closed loop cruise" from a US port . . . and this statement makes me curious . . . Used Carnival as a vehicle to island hop in the Caribbean. Cheaper than flying. If the poster was getting off in one or more Caribbean islands, they were not doing a closed loop cruise, so the PVSA would not apply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Scrapnana Posted November 18, 2014 #10 Share Posted November 18, 2014 World Voyages have people coming and going in various ports (different segments are sold in different markets). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveDiving Posted November 18, 2014 #11 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Flew barbados, stayed Barbados for 7 days, boarded Barbados, went to SJ, stayed in the Convent to have lunch and dinner with friends, then back to Barbados, stayed Barbados for 10 days, flew back to the UK. So are you saying you took a cruise R/T from Barbados that stopped one day in SJ? If so, this seems to me to be a far cry from what I think of as <<Used Carnival as a vehicle to island hop in the Caribbean.>> Scott & Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted November 18, 2014 #12 Share Posted November 18, 2014 This can vary based on many factors including the length of voyage and the rules related to the itinerary. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie J. Posted November 18, 2014 #13 Share Posted November 18, 2014 If a passenger misses the ship for what ever reason they do fly to the 1st port and get on the ship. Or, they just miss the cruise. Once we needed to change cabins but none were available. But someone who missed the ship didn't want to fly to the 1st port so we were given their cabin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markanddonna Posted November 18, 2014 #14 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I read about this happening on some mainstream cruises but can't recall which ones. The Americans found it irritating but the cruiselines seemed to offer it for their European guests. The consensus on cruise critic seemed to be to avoid this as it disrupted the flow of the trip (getting to know fellow passengers, the hassle of other guests embarking/disembarking, etc.) but that some Europeans used the cruise ships to be more of a one way destination rather than multiport cruise. This seemed to be available on only some voyages as a way of filling up cabins and didn't appear to be marketed very openly or frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted November 18, 2014 #15 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I read about this happening on some mainstream cruises but can't recall which ones. The Americans found it irritating but the cruiselines seemed to offer it for their European guests. The consensus on cruise critic seemed to be to avoid this as it disrupted the flow of the trip (getting to know fellow passengers, the hassle of other guests embarking/disembarking, etc.) but that some Europeans used the cruise ships to be more of a one way destination rather than multiport cruise. This seemed to be available on only some voyages as a way of filling up cabins and didn't appear to be marketed very openly or frequently. I guesss ass far as meeting other passengers, it would be like going to an all-inclusive resort. People are arriving and departing everyday. It does make it difficult to get to know people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iancal Posted November 18, 2014 #16 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Costa offers this on a number of their Med cruises...not certain about others. I did see data on that Carnival ship from Barbados but on a UK web site. On the itinerary I saw it was possible to board at different islands. The cruise did not stop in any US ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BlueRiband Posted November 18, 2014 #17 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Sometimes a passenger can arrange to board at a port different than the embarkation port. If the entire voyage isn't selling well it's more likely the cruise line will do it. But it has to be booked in advance. Or, a passenger misses their flight into the embarkation port. Arrangements are made for them to board at the next port. Normally the cruise line would rather have a cabin booked for the entire voyage rather than just part of it. As others have mentioned though it's harder to do from the US and not legal at all to travel directly from one US port to another due to the PVSA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamchops Posted November 18, 2014 #18 Share Posted November 18, 2014 This happened on my recent September MSC cruise. I had made note of it in my journal. Embarkation: It was the smoothest embarkation process that we’ve ever encountered on any of our cruises. When we arrived at 2:00 we were the only people checking in. I believe it is due to that fact that MSC allows you to begin and end any 7 day cruise at any of its scheduled ports. My guess was that 25% of the guests boarded in Southampton, while 30% each boarded in Amsterdam and Hamburg, with the remainder in Zeebrugge or LeHavre. This is not noted on the USA website or I may have started the trip in LeHavre instead and spent more time in Paris and the French countryside as we’ve been to London before. We would have saved on the high cost of London and the Eurostar fare to visit Paris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loubetti Posted November 18, 2014 #19 Share Posted November 18, 2014 In Europe, this practice is common on Costa, MSC, and probably others. Think of it as a world cruise with segments. Not sure what RCI or Celebrity or Carnivore do, but I suspect they do not do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco Posted November 18, 2014 #20 Share Posted November 18, 2014 If no US port is involved, it's quite common. On all the European cruises we've been on, folks were getting on or off at just about every port, regardless of the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athankfulheart Posted November 18, 2014 #21 Share Posted November 18, 2014 (edited) I believe that the way it works with the San Juan itinerary for Carnival (currently the Valor) is that there are 2 ports of embarkation. This also explains why the ship leaves SJ so late on "embarkation day". The people who get on in SJ also get off there. The people who get on in Barbados also get off there. I have also read that there are 2 " sail away" type deck parties. One in SJ and one in Barbados. I don't know if a port in a US territory is considered a "US port" or not ? Edited November 18, 2014 by Athankfulheart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sekhmet Posted November 18, 2014 #22 Share Posted November 18, 2014 We've had the same experience with an MSC cruise round trip from Southampton. It stopped in Holland, Guernsey, La Coruna, Bilbao and La Rochelle, and passengers got on and off in all but one port. What was slightly weird for the French boarding in (for us) the last call of La Rochelle was that the entertainment cycle was based on Southampton, so they all boarded and the main entertainment on their first night was the Grand Farewell Gala Dinner and Show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispb Posted November 18, 2014 #23 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I've been on a number of cruises where passengers have got on and got off (not US). I think it's brilliant and gives people more choice on the length and destination of their cruise, especially if they want a longer stay in a particular area. It has certainly never impacted negatively on my cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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