Disembark at an early port

[AK Dreaming]

I am wondering how hard or possible to pre plan an early exit to a cruise.  I want to take a cruise out of Rome next year but it is 11 days and I'm having a hard time finding a flight out of Rome that fits my times.  If I could get off in Florence or Cannes it would give me the extra day I need, and I've been to those ports several times and would not mind missing them.  Can this be arranged in advance?

[smplybcause]

It might be possible. You'll have to contact NCL and see if you can arrange it with them. 

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

Let me know your outcome, I tried earlier this year with no luck.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, Funky Fusion FoodsJ said:

Let me know your outcome, I tried earlier this year with no luck.

I've not tried to leave early but sometimes with NCL it pays to be persistent.  Not all of the NCL folks that you talk to know all the answers and some seem to prefer to say no than actually take the time to research an issue.  I sometimes want to do stopovers at the end of my cruise and fly to a different airport.  But I've been told you can't do that.  Yet I've done it multiple times.  I've given up on trying to do it myself, so rely on a TA.

 

Also, many times the entertainment gets on/off of the ship at different ports, so if they can leave, why can't a passenger?  But it also might depend on the port because of immigration issues, so it might be good to research the issue with the port authority where you want to disembark before pursuing it with NCL.

[AK Dreaming]

I was hoping someone had done this but it seems like it is not as normal as I had hoped.  I was thinking Florence would be best as it is the same country and I don't do immigration on the ship, it is at the airport.  

[FLAHAM]

Surely Italian authorities will want to know who is getting off ships in their ports.

[Kittybork]

How could the cruise line stop you?

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, Kittybork said:

How could the cruise line stop you?

 

4 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

Surely Italian authorities will want to know who is getting off ships in their ports.

They can't stop you, but if they have not arranged for immigration officials to be there to clear you into the country when you disembark, you will be entering the country illegally, and could have some difficulty when trying to leave at the airport.  The authorities "clear" the passenger manifest when the ship arrives, under the assumption that all passengers are "in transit" or "day visitors", they do not clear passengers to disembark early unless they have been notified by the ship.

[LEtue]

Have returned to FL from Rome a few times and never had an issue getting home the same day to Tampa - usually by 8:30 pm.  You didn't mention what ship you are looking at and what time it arrives in Civitavecchia.   Arrival times are usually early enough to make an 11 am flight with ease with a prearranged taxi.

[JohnIreland]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

 

They can't stop you, but if they have not arranged for immigration officials to be there to clear you into the country when you disembark, you will be entering the country illegally, and could have some difficulty when trying to leave at the airport.

 

No immigration on a cruise that doesn't leave the Schengen area.

 

Very different to a cruise from the US.

[AK Dreaming]

18 hours ago, LEtue said:

Have returned to FL from Rome a few times and never had an issue getting home the same day to Tampa - usually by 8:30 pm.  You didn't mention what ship you are looking at and what time it arrives in Civitavecchia.   Arrival times are usually early enough to make an 11 am flight with ease with a prearranged taxi.

There is a non-stop that leaves at 10:20am and my ship gets in at 6:00am, but people were making me anxious about booking a flight before noon.  Everything after noon was over $3,000.  I'm flying into Miami. I'm solo so I don't have to wait for anyone and can get off early, so I may just book that and hope for the best. I've done Barcelona the last 3 times and it is super easy.  I've heard horror stories about lines at the Rome airport.