Embarking at first scheduled port stop, new rules?

[macandlucy]

Friends would like to join us on a Med cruise, but the husband has a business meeting he can't miss on the day of embarkation from Rome. The first port stop is in Crete, Greece, so while I am aware Italy does have cabotage laws, I am not sure what they are exactly and if they apply in this situation.

 

I called NCL to inquire and the agent explained that that sort of thing used to be okay, that NCL would contact port authorities for permission, etc. and embarking at the first port stop was called a deviation. But recently, she explained, the rules have changed and it is no longer possible to embark a cruise (only in the Med ? I dunno) at a port stop. I asked her how recent this change was and she thought it was only in the past couple of months.

 

I am secretly hoping the agent I spoke to was in some way misinformed, but I not having much luck finding any more information about this and wondered if anyone had any knowledge or ideas about where I could find out more I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

[Vyhanek]

You should push a little further. People miss embarkation all the time and fly to the first port stop. Flights are cancelled and people figure out all the time how to make it to the first port stop. Ask her how that would work.

[mugtech]

Two years ago one had to hand in his passport to get off the ship in Greece and/or Turkey. The fact that you want to join up in Greece may be the problem.

[macandlucy]

Thank you for the replies. I did ask the agent what would happen if a passenger misses his flight, and she said if he didn't show up at embarkation, that would be treated as a cancellation, and it would be handled on a case by case basis. I asked if the person could fly to the next port to board and she just said, maybe, it depends. I thought it was odd, too, as I have heard of people missing the ship and flying to the next port, too, but it was the "recent change in the past couple of months" that really caught my attention.

 

As for Greece being the issue, I just read that Greece has scrapped their cabotage rules, so if it's not that, then perhaps a security issue?