Spending a Night Ashore

[cocopico]

I'm reluctant to ask the "tellus" folks this question, thinking it might be better to ask forgiveness than permission, but does anyone know if there is any Viking policy that would prohibit passengers from spending a night on shore, particularly if that night falls during a port change?  We are on one of the cruises that spend three days in Israel, but because the three days fall on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, many things we want to see are not going to be open because of the Sabbath closings from noonish on Friday to Sunday morning.  (I think Viking made a mistake on the timing of this cruise -- the cruise also starts in Rome on a Saturday and the day in Rome falls on a Sunday, when many of the Vatican sights are closed.)  We are wanting to spend the night in Jerusalem when the ship moves from Haifa to Ashdod, which is only an hour or so south.  I guess after reading all the horror stories about "cancellations" for not showing up, I wanted to be sure our spending a night ashore while the ship moves would not create a problem.   (I note that one of the Viking shore excursions in Israel actually involves an overnight in a hotel, but the overnight occurs while the ship remains in port.)  Anyone out there have actual experience with this?  Thanks!

[Heidi13]

Since the ship is departing and moving to another port, it does not just involve the cruise line, as it also includes the local immigration authorities. When dealing with immigration authorities, I always prefer the permission, rather than trying to get forgiveness.

 

Fortunately, I do not believe a Visa is required for tourists to visit Israel (< 90 days), so that should not be an issue. However, if you do not advise the ship of your intensions, you will be classed as missing ("jumped ship") at departure Haifa. This may cause some delays to departure, while they confirm whether you are actually on-board.

 

While I do not believe you must advise Viking in advance of the cruise, I suggest providing notification of your intensions to the Purser's Desk, before departing the ship. They may also ask for contact details, should the plans change regarding the ship's schedule. Advising the ship in advance also permits them to advise the Immigration Authorities, if notification is required for an evening off the ship.

[Rawmac]

All passengers are required to attend a face-to-face meeting with Israeli Immigration officials on arrival in Israel.  Passengers are given a 3-day Israeli Shore pass, which must be carried at all times, along with your passport and stateroom keycard when going ashore.  Thus, once through Immigration on arrival, everything is civilised and painless.

 

Viking ships read each passenger's keycard on leaving the ship and again when returning on board, so the ship knows exactly where each passenger is.  To leave the ship on Port A, intending to return in Port B would create mayhem, and probably prevent the ship from leaving on time unless clear arrangements were made beforehand, in which case, there would probably be no problem.  In Israel, there would be no immigration concerns.

 

This Immigration information was taken from the Viking Daily of 15/11/17 in Ashdod.  I have actually been on Viking Star in Israel on this cruise.

[cocopico]

54 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Since the ship is departing and moving to another port, it does not just involve the cruise line, as it also includes the local immigration authorities. When dealing with immigration authorities, I always prefer the permission, rather than trying to get forgiveness.

 

Fortunately, I do not believe a Visa is required for tourists to visit Israel (< 90 days), so that should not be an issue. However, if you do not advise the ship of your intensions, you will be classed as missing ("jumped ship") at departure Haifa. This may cause some delays to departure, while they confirm whether you are actually on-board.

 

While I do not believe you must advise Viking in advance of the cruise, I suggest providing notification of your intensions to the Purser's Desk, before departing the ship. They may also ask for contact details, should the plans change regarding the ship's schedule. Advising the ship in advance also permits them to advise the Immigration Authorities, if notification is required for an evening off the ship.

Thanks for the good advice.  My plan was to let the folks on the ship know — just didn’t want to raise it with the central office before the cruise.  If there is an issue with immigration, we can always cancel the night ashore the day before. I just know that they sponsor shore excursions that involve a night ashore in Israel, so figured it wouldn’t be a big issue, especially since both ports are in the same country.  We’ll see . . .

[cocopico]

6 minutes ago, Rawmac said:

All passengers are required to attend a face-to-face meeting with Israeli Immigration officials on arrival in Israel.  Passengers are given a 3-day Israeli Shore pass, which must be carried at all times, along with your passport and stateroom keycard when going ashore.  Thus, once through Immigration on arrival, everything is civilised and painless.

 

Viking ships read each passenger's keycard on leaving the ship and again when returning on board, so the ship knows exactly where each passenger is.  To leave the ship on Port A, intending to return in Port B would create mayhem, and probably prevent the ship from leaving on time unless clear arrangements were made beforehand, in which case, there would probably be no problem.  In Israel, there would be no immigration concerns.

 

This Immigration information was taken from the Viking Daily of 15/11/17 in Ashdod.  I have actually been on Viking Star in Israel on this cruise.

Thanks — the immigration info is very helpful.  Sounds like we would be okay with immigration with the three-day pass, so it’s just a matter of whether the folks on board would have any concerns.  This is our fourth VO Cruise, and they always seem very accommodating unless there’s a compelling reason why they can’t be.  I think our biggest concern right now is that they get Jupiter finished on time! 🙂

Edited December 12, 2018 by cocopico

[MarkTapley]

This past September, we left Orion at Sihanoukville, Cambodia and flew to Siem Reap.  After our three day private excursion there, we flew to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and spent one night there.  After a day of touring, our driver took us back to the ship at the HCMC port.

 

There was no problem at all.  We had met with Guest Services in advance and reviewed our plan with them and gave them copies of our private itinerary.  I think they took our passports to verify our visas were proper.  Getting off the ship, the security people knew what we were doing.  When we returned, everyone was glad to see us back.

[cocopico]

15 hours ago, MarkTapley said:

This past September, we left Orion at Sihanoukville, Cambodia and flew to Siem Reap.  After our three day private excursion there, we flew to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and spent one night there.  After a day of touring, our driver took us back to the ship at the HCMC port.

 

There was no problem at all.  We had met with Guest Services in advance and reviewed our plan with them and gave them copies of our private itinerary.  I think they took our passports to verify our visas were proper.  Getting off the ship, the security people knew what we were doing.  When we returned, everyone was glad to see us back.

Thanks for your reply - very good to hear! 

[Jim Avery]

1 hour ago, cocopico said:

Thanks for your reply - very good to hear! 

We had friends leave the Viking Sun in Muscat, Oman for a private trip to Dubai and Jordan.  Five days later they rejoined Viking Sun in Aquaba, Jordan.  No problems at all.  Yes, they had cleared it all with the Hotel Manager in advance and yes, they would have been responsible for any and all mishaps but it certainly can be done quite easily.

[roothy123]

We visited Easter Island on Oceania.  The ship was scheduled to be there two full days.  Two people spent the night ashore.  They had let Oceania know what they were doing. It was good they did, as the ship had to move from where it had anchored for  first day to get away from bad weather.  Then the decision was made to leave early the next day due to the weather.  Oceania was able to contact the people and get them back on the ship.   

[cocopico]

4 hours ago, roothy123 said:

We visited Easter Island on Oceania.  The ship was scheduled to be there two full days.  Two people spent the night ashore.  They had let Oceania know what they were doing. It was good they did, as the ship had to move from where it had anchored for  first day to get away from bad weather.  Then the decision was made to leave early the next day due to the weather.  Oceania was able to contact the people and get them back on the ship.   

Thanks for your reply.  Good advice to leave a contact number in case of emergency or unexpected circumstances.