Embarking cruise at second port

[cadburysmom]

Is it possible to embark at the second port of a cruise, in this case Bermuda, and to make things more interesting, a transatlantic?

 

A family wedding has just been announced for the very weekend my spring transatlantic departs.  After departing Ft. Lauderdale, the next port on our itinerary is three days later in Bermuda before six days at sea.   I'm considering joining the cruise in Bermuda.

I've departed a transatlantic early in the past so know that IS possible but never before have I embarked at a later port of call.

 

Decided to try my luck here first to see if any fellow cruisers have successfully done this in order to save myself from who knows how long on hold if I call Celebrity. 

 

Thanks in advance for any helpful input!

 

 

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

I know that Royal formally changed their policy no longer allowing down-lining.  I believe Celebrity did as well but I'm looking for it.  

 

But, as with everything, never hurts to ask, but if they say yes, get it in writing.

 

 

[cadburysmom]

35 minutes ago, Funky Fusion FoodsJ said:

I know that Royal formally changed their policy no longer allowing down-lining.  I believe Celebrity did as well but I'm looking for it.  

 

But, as with everything, never hurts to ask, but if they say yes, get it in writing.

 

 

Thanks. 
….another fear is if weather causes the ship to miss Bermuda 🙄

[Jim_Iain]

I would recommend giving a call to Celebrity.    As others mentioned Down Load Boarding was discontinued during the Covid Epidemic.   I'm not sure if that was reinstated but have seen staff and entertainment being loaded at intermediate stops. 

 

If it has been reinstated you will have to contact a special department and pay a fee for them to research country requirements and per-approval of the plans.

[cadburysmom]

Just now, Jim_Iain said:

I would recommend giving a call to Celebrity.    As others mentioned Down Load Boarding was discontinued during the Covid Epidemic.   I'm not sure if that was reinstated but have seen staff and entertainment being loaded at intermediate stops. 

 

If it has been reinstated you will have to contact a special department and pay a fee for them to research country requirements and per-approval of the plans.

 Thank you.  This gives me hope.

 

I shall bite the bullet and give Celebrity a ring...

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I would recommend giving a call to Celebrity.    As others mentioned Down Load Boarding was discontinued during the Covid Epidemic.   I'm not sure if that was reinstated but have seen staff and entertainment being loaded at intermediate stops. 

 

If it has been reinstated you will have to contact a special department and pay a fee for them to research country requirements and per-approval of the plans.

Downline boarding was discouraged long before Covid.  It had to do with the extra headaches and paperwork for th ship and CBP due to it no longer being closed loop.  But this voyage is not closed loop, does not return to US, so it should be okay…if Celebrity allows it.  EM

[Alakegirl]

Downline embarkation permission is currently “on pause”.

 

When, and more importantly if, they ever reinstate it, there is a fee involved which used to be $65 per person. They do not prorate the cost of the cruise so you pay for any missing days.  The other country involved, in your case Bermuda, also has to give permission.

 

How the entertainers and the staff are handled is not relevant to how passengers are handled.

 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Downline boarding was discouraged long before Covid.  It had to do with the extra headaches and paperwork for th ship and CBP due to it no longer being closed loop.  But this voyage is not closed loop, does not return to US, so it should be okay…if Celebrity allows it.  EM

Agree that it was discouraged but at times it was approved and in some cases like an anirline not getting a passenger to the ship prior to departure.   During covid if you missed the ship you were out of luck as it wasn't permitted at all.     We were on Equinox the weekend South West had their meltdown and we sailed with about 25% of passenger no show and weren't permitted to join.

 

I've done a number of down line disembarkation and was rather painless but did have to pay a fee to process and get pre-approval.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

6 hours ago, cadburysmom said:

Is it possible to embark at the second port of a cruise, in this case Bermuda, and to make things more interesting, a transatlantic?

 

A family wedding has just been announced for the very weekend my spring transatlantic departs.  After departing Ft. Lauderdale, the next port on our itinerary is three days later in Bermuda before six days at sea.   I'm considering joining the cruise in Bermuda.

I've departed a transatlantic early in the past so know that IS possible but never before have I embarked at a later port of call.

 

Decided to try my luck here first to see if any fellow cruisers have successfully done this in order to save myself from who knows how long on hold if I call Celebrity. 

 

Thanks in advance for any helpful input!

 

 

Noooooooooo! 
you can’t be days late ! 😱
we all need to be in our red speedos for sailway at the Sunset Bar ! 😁

Edited October 7, 2022 by Ex-Airbalancer

[Arizona Wildcat]

Was told not allowed on a Pacific Coast cruise ending in Vancouver.  Same answer ending in SAN pedro.

[jelayne]

I wouldn’t call Celebrity as the downline requests and approval process is handled by Royal Caribbean’s Emergency Services department.  When I contacted them a few years ago they were very easy to reach and helpful.  

[Arizona Wildcat]

54 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I wouldn’t call Celebrity as the downline requests and approval process is handled by Royal Caribbean’s Emergency Services department.  When I contacted them a few years ago they were very easy to reach and helpful.  

Jelayne really?  If you make a request to begin or end a cruise at ports other than the designated locations it is handled in Miami.  When we did it years ago the email said Celebrity.  It could have said RCCL; just so we had permission to downline.  Makes no difference and those changes come out of pretty much the same office.  Yes, they were easy to reach and helpful.  And hopefully soon passengers can do itinerary changes again.

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Jelayne really?  If you make a request to begin or end a cruise at ports other than the designated locations it is handled in Miami.  When we did it years ago the email said Celebrity.  It could have said RCCL; just so we had permission to downline.  Makes no difference and those changes come out of pretty much the same office.  Yes, they were easy to reach and helpful.  And hopefully soon passengers can do itinerary changes again.

Really what?  The reason I wouldn’t call X is the chance of getting a rep who has no idea what they are talking about is pretty good.  Since is the requests are handled in Miami by Royals Emergency Service that who I called.

[Alakegirl]

The procedure from “years ago” has not been allowed since the restart.

[cruisestitch]

There have been no reports here on Cruise Critic of anyone getting permission for a downline embarkation.  I think it is unlikely that they have started this up again. Please come back and let us know if you are successful.

[journeymore]

23 hours ago, cadburysmom said:

Is it possible to embark at the second port of a cruise, in this case Bermuda, and to make things more interesting, a transatlantic?

 

A family wedding has just been announced for the very weekend my spring transatlantic departs.  After departing Ft. Lauderdale, the next port on our itinerary is three days later in Bermuda before six days at sea.   I'm considering joining the cruise in Bermuda.

I've departed a transatlantic early in the past so know that IS possible but never before have I embarked at a later port of call.

 

Decided to try my luck here first to see if any fellow cruisers have successfully done this in order to save myself from who knows how long on hold if I call Celebrity. 

 

Thanks in advance for any helpful input!

 

 

I did pre Covid. I was supposed to board in Civitavecchia but boarded in Athens for a B2B including transatlantic due to the funeral of family. I had to clean it with Celebrity and since it was immediate family the insurance covered airfare etc. 

Edited October 8, 2022 by journeymore

[cadburysmom]

16 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Noooooooooo! 
you can’t be days late ! 😱
we all need to be in our red speedos for sailway at the Sunset Bar ! 😁

But on the bright side, three full days of you and Patti not having to listen to me yammer on

...consider it a vacation within a vacation. 😁

[Arizona Wildcat]

9 hours ago, jelayne said:

Really what?  The reason I wouldn’t call X is the chance of getting a rep who has no idea what they are talking about is pretty good.  Since is the requests are handled in Miami by Royals Emergency Service that who I called.

I did not suggest calling anyone.  Calling either just confuses things.  The email to Celebrity works perfectly.  I have spoken with the Celebrity executive team and they are people that handle downline needs for Celebrity and others do the same for Royal.  Currently mostly for entertainers and staff.  Different people in what I agree are likely the same office.

Edited October 8, 2022 by Arizona Wildcat

[cadburysmom]

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

There have been no reports here on Cruise Critic of anyone getting permission for a downline embarkation.  I think it is unlikely that they have started this up again. Please come back and let us know if you are successful.

Short answer:   No, I have not been successful

 

Many thanks to those who chimed in with helpful advice. So far and not surprisingly, calling Captain's Club and regular reservations was not helpful at all.  I spent a lot of time on hold and those who managed to not disconnect were indeed clueless and/or came back with a hard NO.  However, one kind soul suggested I call back in the new year as things were changing daily, or so he said.  One can only hope...

 

Next week, I shall try the alternate methods suggested by @jelayne and @Arizona Wildcat and will report back.

 

Thanks again and a happy weekend to all!

 

 

[cruisestitch]

All you can do is ask but don’t get your hopes up

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, cadburysmom said:

Short answer:   No, I have not been successful

 

Many thanks to those who chimed in with helpful advice. So far and not surprisingly, calling Captain's Club and regular reservations was not helpful at all.  I spent a lot of time on hold and those who managed to not disconnect were indeed clueless and/or came back with a hard NO.  However, one kind soul suggested I call back in the new year as things were changing daily, or so he said.  One can only hope...

 

Next week, I shall try the alternate methods suggested by @jelayne and @Arizona Wildcat and will report back.

 

Thanks again and a happy weekend to all!

 

 

We will storm the bridge and hold the ship in FLL until you can fly in 😁

[cadburysmom]

21 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

We will storm the bridge and hold the ship in FLL until you can fly in 😁

Love this! 😁🤣

[kwokpot]

On 10/8/2022 at 10:41 AM, cadburysmom said:

Short answer:   No, I have not been successful

 

Many thanks to those who chimed in with helpful advice. So far and not surprisingly, calling Captain's Club and regular reservations was not helpful at all.  I spent a lot of time on hold and those who managed to not disconnect were indeed clueless and/or came back with a hard NO.  However, one kind soul suggested I call back in the new year as things were changing daily, or so he said.  One can only hope...

 

Next week, I shall try the alternate methods suggested by @jelayne and @Arizona Wildcat and will report back.

 

Thanks again and a happy weekend to all!

 

 

Have you actually sent an email to the proper department? The two times we wanted to disembark a Celebrity cruise at an earlier port we did the request and received the authorization all via email. 

GFOTravelServices@rccl.com

 

Part of our email:

Hello:

Attached is my recent booking.  I wish to disembark early on December 20th while porting in St. Maarten.  This would be for Robert Jay Berkowitz and Anthony K. Wong.

Please advise concerning approval.

 

Part of the response:

Good Day,

  Please be advised that we have received your request to Disembark  at an

  alternate port. After reviewing said request we are happy to advise that

  currently there are no regulatory restrictions that will prohibit an

  approval.

  There is a $65 Non Refundable  handling to finalize your approval and

  arrangement. Please contact us at your earliest convenience and provide

  us with a valid credit card payment.

 

  We can be reached 7 days a week, 24 hours a day at:  Domestic:

  1-800-256-6649 (prompt #1) or International: 305-539-4107.

Edited October 9, 2022 by kwokpot

[canderson]

@kwokpot

What year was this?  Dec 20 when?

[kwokpot]

Just now, canderson said:

@kwokpot

What year was this?  Dec 20 when?

2018. It was the Edge's inaugural Eastern Caribbean cruise. We wanted to sail this brand new ship but already had a family Christmas trip in South of Spain planned so we had to cut the Edge cruise early in order to have enough time to get home and pack up for our flight to Spain.