Late departure- pursuit

[Boycey]

We’re currently on Pursuit  around Italy and Croatia, and this morning I went to guest relations try to arrange a late departure on the final morning (in Venice)

 

I was surprised to be told late departures were not possible on Pursuit and never have been. In fact the lady said she had been on Pursuit 6months and had never seen late departures,

 

The in room booklet still refers to late departures being a possibility subject  to local port rules, as does the main website. So I’m a bit perplexed.

 

So I guess my question is : Anyone done late departure on Pursuit?  I’m hoping it’s one person’s misunderstanding.

 

Other than This minor blip, everything is as it should be 😀

Edited May 31, 2019 by Boycey
Mis typed

[excitedofharpenden]

Just now, Boycey said:

We’re currently on Pursuit  around Italy and Croatia, and this morning I went to guest relations try to arrange a late departure on the final morning (in Venice)

 

I was surprised to be told late departures were not possible on Pursuit and never have been. In fact the lady said she had been on Pursuit 6months and had never seen late departures,

 

The in room booklet still refers to late departures being a possibility subject  to local port rules, as does the main website. So I’m a bit perplexed.

 

So I guess my question is : Anyone done late departure on Pursuit?  I’m hoping it’s one person’s misunderstanding.

 

Other than This minor blip, everything is as it should be 😀

This does not sound correct although admittedly I've had problems with the late departure program in Venice before and it's because of their local regulations. Also Pursuit isn't that long back from South America where it doesn't operate at all. So perhaps it's just a misunderstanding by someone based upon lack of experience. I would ask for Guest Relations Manager, German. He will know for sure. As I say though, I think Venice is problematic. 

 

Phil 

[Boycey]

Thank you, excitedof

 

i took your very welcome advice and spoke to German.

 

Good news is it’s possible, but a bit of a circus. We have to go thru’ Customs as everyone else, then store our luggage for later , then return to the ship. 

 

Our flight is is not until 13h00 so we can comfortably stay until 11 and enjoy a last precious couple of hours.

 

thanks for your advice and help

[excitedofharpenden]

Just now, Boycey said:

Thank you, excitedof

 

i took your very welcome advice and spoke to German.

 

Good news is it’s possible, but a bit of a circus. We have to go thru’ Customs as everyone else, then store our luggage for later , then return to the ship. 

 

Our flight is is not until 13h00 so we can comfortably stay until 11 and enjoy a last precious couple of hours.

 

thanks for your advice and help

No problem. There is a luggage store at San Basilio that I've used. Depending upon where the ship docks you may have a long walk with your case or take the short (very short!) shuttle bus and then back to the ship. It's a bit of a palava there to be honest. Late debarkation and b2b guests will probably check out with the ship at around 9.15am and then back in either with visitors passes or new keycards. With a flight time of 1pm I personally don't think it's worth it, but obviously is a decision for you to make. 

 

Glad that German could clarify it for you. 

 

Phil 

Edited June 3, 2019 by excitedofharpenden

[Boycey]

Just to close the issue for anyone interested in the future, we did indeed stay on board until lunchtime but it wasn't quite as straightforward as we've had previously at other ports.

 

At around 9 we had to leave and walk our luggage thru' customs, and then store it in the private facility immediately outside the building (€5 per case). We then had to walk to the other end of the facility where newly boarding guests were already congregating, and enter through local port security as visitors. This wasn't as straightforward as it could have been, but 20 minutes later, and following the intervention of Az staff, we were back on board exchanging passports for visitor passes, and in very short order laying by the pool.

 

We saw on the British Airways app that our flight was a little delayed so we stayed aboard until lunchtime and had around 3 hours by the pool (itself a rarity this cruise)  instead of inside an overcrowded airport.

 

So hats off to Az. This is a real benefit,  and one we haven't found elsewhere.

 

Thanks to Phil for your kind advice

 

[Werangels]

44 minutes ago, Boycey said:

Just to close the issue for anyone interested in the future, we did indeed stay on board until lunchtime but it wasn't quite as straightforward as we've had previously at other ports.

 

At around 9 we had to leave and walk our luggage thru' customs, and then store it in the private facility immediately outside the building (€5 per case). We then had to walk to the other end of the facility where newly boarding guests were already congregating, and enter through local port security as visitors. This wasn't as straightforward as it could have been, but 20 minutes later, and following the intervention of Az staff, we were back on board exchanging passports for visitor passes, and in very short order laying by the pool.

 

We saw on the British Airways app that our flight was a little delayed so we stayed aboard until lunchtime and had around 3 hours by the pool (itself a rarity this cruise)  instead of inside an overcrowded airport.

 

So hats off to Az. This is a real benefit,  and one we haven't found elsewhere.

 

Thanks to Phil for your kind advice

 

 

Thank you Boycey.  We have a late afternoon flight from Venice in a few week’s time so your information is very useful for us.  I just wondered why you have to go through customs?  It is our first cruise, so may well be a stupid question!

[Boycey]

On 6/8/2019 at 12:55 PM, Werangels said:

 

Thank you Boycey.  We have a late afternoon flight from Venice in a few week’s time so your information is very useful for us.  I just wondered why you have to go through customs?  It is our first cruise, so may well be a stupid question!

 

Hi Werangels

 

No stupid questions as far as I am concerned 🙂 . At the end of each cruise you have to pass through local customs with all your luggage etc, just as if arriving by air, and usually, at most Cruise turnaround ports, the customs facility is manned all day, so you pass through at your convenience. 

 

At Venice, possibly because they have quite a number of terminals for cruise turnarounds and they are managing staff numbers, the local regulations say that everyone disembarking has to do so by 10h00 local time.  Hence the choreography described above.

 

If your flight is late afternoon I would strongly recommend it. The whole process of leaving and re-boarding took less than 30 minutes and could have been less. A small price to pay for those crucial extra hours, and incidentally the only price, since Az kindly didn't charge us (it's usually around $70)

 

Best of luck for your upcoming cruise - The first is often the best even if you don't start with Az. 

[Werangels]

2 hours ago, Boycey said:

 

Hi Werangels

 

No stupid questions as far as I am concerned 🙂 . At the end of each cruise you have to pass through local customs with all your luggage etc, just as if arriving by air, and usually, at most Cruise turnaround ports, the customs facility is manned all day, so you pass through at your convenience. 

 

At Venice, possibly because they have quite a number of terminals for cruise turnarounds and they are managing staff numbers, the local regulations say that everyone disembarking has to do so by 10h00 local time.  Hence the choreography described above.

 

If your flight is late afternoon I would strongly recommend it. The whole process of leaving and re-boarding took less than 30 minutes and could have been less. A small price to pay for those crucial extra hours, and incidentally the only price, since Az kindly didn't charge us (it's usually around $70)

 

Best of luck for your upcoming cruise - The first is often the best even if you don't start with Az. 

 

Thank you very much.  That is really helpful.  We are getting very excited now and I just hope we enjoy it.