Having a guest onboard in a port of call

[St Pete Cruiser]

I would like to have a friend come onboard later this month while my cruise is in port in his hometown.  I called the HAL reservations number, but didn't get an answer.  Has anyone done this successfully?  Thanks.

[1025cruise]

Unfortunately, due to security issues, this won't be allowed.

[taxmantoo]

We tried for our port day in Puerto Vallarta last year before our cruise and were turned down by HAL Headquarters in Seattle.  We tried again with Guest Services once on board (just in case 😉)and were denied again. 

[erewhon]

We have twice had visitors to visit us on board, and have lunch.

We arranged the visits while on board the ships, had to enter their passport details on the visitor request form.

While our guests were on board, their passports were held by ship security staff.

 

 

 

[St Pete Cruiser]

20 minutes ago, erewhon said:

We have twice had visitors to visit us on board, and have lunch.

We arranged the visits while on board the ships, had to enter their passport details on the visitor request form.

While our guests were on board, their passports were held by ship security staff.

 

 

 

Thank you.  I know others have been able to do it in the past.  Did you go to the front desk/guest services?  

[Shmoo here]

23 minutes ago, erewhon said:

We have twice had visitors to visit us on board, and have lunch.

We arranged the visits while on board the ships, had to enter their passport details on the visitor request form.

While our guests were on board, their passports were held by ship security staff.

 

 

 

I'm curious, were these in US ports?

[erewhon]

1 minute ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Thank you.  I know others have been able to do it in the past.  Did you go to the front desk/guest services?  

 

We were in a Neptune Suite, the concierge had the forms in his desk,  the next day  recieved a note advising that our request was granted.

[erewhon]

4 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

I'm curious, were these in US ports?

 

No, New Zealand.

[erewhon]

One cruise we were denied our request for our Travel Agent to visit  at Akaroa ( a tender port), we noticed that there were other visitors on board that day. 

We were surprised that our TA was denied, can only guess how many future cruisers HAL missed from that decision!

[St Pete Cruiser]

17 minutes ago, erewhon said:

 

We were in a Neptune Suite, the concierge had the forms in his desk,  the next day  recieved a note advising that our request was granted.

My friend lives in Halifax, and that is the last port call before disembarking in Boston.  He has offered to take us touring, and he has never been on a nice cruise ship, so it actually may be to HAL's benefit in the long run if he books a cruise.  We are in port until 11pm, so it should work.  Maybe it depends on the ships staff?  Thank you, Robert

[KroozNut]

2 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Unfortunately, due to security issues, this won't be allowed.

 

Whoops, wrong answer... based on other's responses above. 😕

Edited July 2, 2019 by KroozNut

[Copper10-8]

Visitor requests: It is still done, at times however, purely at the discretion, and with the permission of, the ship's captain (through the staff captain and security officer). A "visitor request" form needs to be filled out which needs to include the visitor's "horsepower" (name, nationality, DOB, male/female, relationship to the visitor (not if he/she is happily married, single and on the prowl, divorced, etc. ), passport/drivers license or other government issued photo I.D. number plus expiration date) and the name of the person who will be "sponsoring" the visitor.

 

The form needs to be approved by the staff captain and is then forwarded to the security officer who will input (or have a security supervisor input) the info in the official ship's visitor's list that is forwarded electronically to the ship's agent by the SECO. The original VL will be present at one of the gangway security podiums on the date/location (port) in question. Upon arrival at the port/ship, the visitor(s) will exchange the government issued identification listed on the form with a ship visitors pass at the gangway by ship security. That I.D. will be kept by ship security at the podium for the duration of the visit. The "sponsor" will be responsible for the whereabouts of the visitor for the duration of the visit onboard, so please don't go wandering off, leaving your visitor free to roam the ship by him/herself. Those written visitor requests have to be in, and approved by the staff captain at least 72-hours prior to the visit. 

 

Crew members also have this privilege and it is done quite frequently. For passengers, it is a fairly frequent event on the longer voyages such as the grand world voyage, the trips around South America, etc., not so much for the more routine 7-10-day Caribbean, Canada/NE and Alaska voyages, so please don't have your hopes sky high for approval for these type of cruises. What was said earlier in this thread still is true: visitors during all cruises were a fairly routine event however, 9/11 changed all that, as did frequent bridge and, to a lesser extend, engine room visits.

 

I would start with an email/phone to HAL in Seattle. If you get a negative response, then try Guest Services on the ship as soon as you board. If you're trying to get someone on as a visitor on the same day as your own embarkation, chances are pretty much zero, Lastly, it helps to know a crew member for visitor requests as some here on this board can verify    

Edited July 2, 2019 by Copper10-8

[erewhon]

5 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Visitor requests: It is still done, at times however, purely at the discretion, and with the permission of, the ship's captain (through the staff captain and security officer). A "visitor request" form needs to be filled out which needs to include the visitor's "horsepower" (name, nationality, DOB, male/female, relationship to the visitor (not if he/she is happily married, single and on the prowl, divorced, etc. ), passport/drivers license or other government issued photo I.D. number plus expiration date) and the name of the person who will be "sponsoring" the visitor.

 

The form needs to be approved by the staff captain and is then forwarded to the security officer who will input (or have a security supervisor input) the info in the official ship's visitor's list that is forwarded electronically to the ship's agent by the SECO. The original VL will be present at one of the gangway security podiums on the date/location (port) in question. Upon arrival at the port/ship, the visitor(s) will exchange the government issued identification listed on the form with a ship visitors pass at the gangway by ship security. That I.D. will be kept by ship security at the podium for the duration of the visit. The "sponsor" will be responsible for the whereabouts of the visitor for the duration of the visit onboard, so please don't go wandering off, leaving your visitor free to roam the ship by him/herself. Those written visitor requests have to be in, and approved by the staff captain at least 72-hours prior to the visit. 

 

Crew members also have this privilege and it is done quite frequently. For passengers, it is a fairly frequent event on the longer voyages such as the grand world voyage, the trips around South America, etc., not so much for the more routine 7-10-day Caribbean, Canada/NE and Alaska voyages, so please don't have your hopes sky high for approval for these type of cruises. What was said earlier in this thread still is true: visitors during all cruises were a fairly routine event however, 9/11 changed all that, as did frequent bridge and, to a lesser extend, engine room visits.

 

I would start with an email/phone to HAL in Seattle. If you get a negative response, then try Guest Services on the ship as soon as you board. If you're trying to get someone on as a visitor on the same day as your own embarkation, chances are pretty much zero, Lastly, it helps to know a crew member for visitor requests as some here on this board can verify    

 

Kia Ora John,

Thanks for your thorough explanation.

 

When do you return to work?

[ski ww]

We did it on a stop in Hamburg. I asked at the front desk a few days before our arrival in port, said no problem. Filled out some forms. The day they arrived their passports were collected, we did a ships tour, showing them the main public areas, had a nice visit. They really enjoyed it. 

[St Pete Cruiser]

When all else fails, post a question here on CC/HAL board and hope Copper John is watching!  You are the to go to guy if ever there was one.  Thank you again.

Robert

PS: After Captain Albert steps down, you are hereby nominated to be company historian extraordinary.  

 

 

[sail7seas]

17 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

I would like to have a friend come onboard later this month while my cruise is in port in his hometown.  I called the HAL reservations number, but didn't get an answer.  Has anyone done this successfully?  Thanks.

 

 

You must arrange it on  board   the ship in advance of calling at  the  port..  Be sure   to have  the  person's  passport number/ full name/ drivers license number.

 

Are you speaking of a U.S. port?

 

 

The Staff captain is the one to approve it or not in  conjunction with a 'security check of your 'potential guest'.

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

Each time we were permitted to  have  guests on board,  they  were U.S. citizens and it  was    in U.S. ports

 

We, ourselves have been guests on board   HAL ships when not sailing but invited. 

 

 

[bEwAbG]

Sounds like a lot of extra work for the crew.

[Copper10-8]

16 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

Sounds like a lot of extra work for the crew.

 

Takes literally five minutes (or less depending on your typing skills) to input the data on the visitor request onto the visitors list

[bEwAbG]

That's just one part of the process though.  You noted at least 6 employees involved on the ship & more than that if the request is made in advance.  I can understand why they don't routinely allow it on every sailing.  It's not as simple as having someone drop by your hotel room on land.

[Alberta Quilter]

Thank you for the timely question/responses.  We are thinking about making such a request in September but for Canadian citizens in a Canadian port.  Copper, you said that one needs to provide the relationship to the passenger; what if they're friends and not relatives?  Are relatives more likely to be granted permission than friends?  My other question is, assuming that one is successful in getting their friends onboard, can one take them to dinner, in any one of the dining venues?  Would there be an additional charge for say the MDR for the friends?  What about the PG; would there be an additional charge above the usual surcharge?  (I have no issues paying such a charge, I just want to be prepared.) 

[Copper10-8]

3 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Thank you for the timely question/responses.  We are thinking about making such a request in September but for Canadian citizens in a Canadian port.  Copper, you said that one needs to provide the relationship to the passenger; what if they're friends and not relatives?  Are relatives more likely to be granted permission than friends?  My other question is, assuming that one is successful in getting their friends onboard, can one take them to dinner, in any one of the dining venues?  Would there be an additional charge for say the MDR for the friends?  What about the PG; would there be an additional charge above the usual surcharge?  (I have no issues paying such a charge, I just want to be prepared.) 

 

#1 - The relationship of the visitor to the "sponsor" has no bearing on the request being approved, so it does not matter if the person is a friend or family

 

#2 - That would totally depend on the time the ship is in port. Visitors usually have to be off the ship one hour prior to All Aboard time. Visitors can have lunch in the Lido but not in establishments that charge an extra fee such as the PG, Tamarind, etc.

[Copper10-8]

12 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

That's just one part of the process though.  You noted at least 6 employees involved on the ship & more than that if the request is made in advance.  I can understand why they don't routinely allow it on every sailing.  It's not as simple as having someone drop by your hotel room on land.

 

The staff captain's approval/signature as part of his routine daily paperwork takes less than a minute. The forms are usually placed in his inbox and he places them signed in his outbox on thge wall outside his office behind the bridge when done. The SECO picks them up there as part of his routine rounds which include multiple visits to the bridge. The swapping out of a visitors pass for the visitor's government-issued photo I.D. by the guard manning the gangway podium, and the documenting of such on the VL, takes less than two minutes. The VL forms are routinely kept at the Guest Services counter on the ship. Requesting a VL in advance through Seattle also does not take much time and neither does an electronic response so, I guess we can agree to disagree how much time and effort is involved in the actual process 

[Alberta Quilter]

53 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

#1 - The relationship of the visitor to the "sponsor" has no bearing on the request being approved, so it does not matter if the person is a friend or family

 

#2 - That would totally depend on the time the ship is in port. Visitors usually have to be off the ship one hour prior to All Aboard time. Visitors can have lunch in the Lido but not in establishments that charge an extra fee such as the PG, Tamarind, etc.

 

Thanks, Copper.  We'll be in Corner Brook from 10 am to 11 pm so I guess they'd likely have to be off by 9:30 pm.  It's good to know that the Lido will be the only possible venue for a meal.

[Copper10-8]

5 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

Thanks, Copper.  We'll be in Corner Brook from 10 am to 11 pm so I guess they'd likely have to be off by 9:30 pm.  It's good to know that the Lido will be the only possible venue for a meal.

 

If you get the approval for your visitor, check with the PG Mngr beforehand if there is a possibility for dinner there. Things always change! Good luck!