You can't embark on a port call

[tallyho8]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Yes and yes.  I watched them come onboard and then happened to have a conversation with a couple of them the next day.  Their plane was coming from Chicago and they were waiting for it in Atlanta if memory serves.  They boarded in Cozumel.  They missed Half Moon Cay and Georgetown, Cayman Islands.  Possibly because those are tender ports.

That goes to show that HAL makes exceptions to their rule if you book your flight with them.

[tallyho8]

I had some good news today to report. After speaking to representatives at HAL and being denied any type of reimbursement for the cruise I missed, I decided to call the casino department as this cruise had been booked with a casino discount. 

 

Our PCC in the casino department talked to managers on HAL and made a deal for us. We were able to book the Nieuw Statendam on 1-7-23 going on the same itinerary and he applied all the money we spent for the missed cruise to this cruise. This was a much more expensive cruise and without the casino perks but on a newer ship that we really like much more and we only had to pay about $1000 more. We were able to move our Southwest flights to those dates and did not have to pay any more for airfare.

 

The downside was that we don't get to cruise with our best friends that were booked on the original cruise with us. It's hard to wait 2 more months for a cruise we were really looking forward to but we have a short local NCL cruise in December to help us get through this tough waiting period.

 

And our friends on the cruise right now phoned us from San Juan and told us that shortly after they left Fort Lauderdale some people must have upgraded and moved into the cabin that we had booked. Maybe that is why they refused to let us board in San Juan.

[DAllenTCY]

I am familiar with some sailings that do allow for you to downline (join the ship elsewhere along the specific voyage) if a US passport holder.

 

For example, a couple today could join the Zuiderdam in Puerto Vallarta while she sails from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale.  The ship will stop in a distant foreign port (ABC islands or South America).

 

David

Edited November 18, 2022 by DAllenTCY

[Essiesmom]

19 hours ago, DAllenTCY said:

I am familiar with some sailings that do allow for you to downline (join the ship elsewhere along the specific voyage) if a US passport holder.

 

For example, a couple today could join the Zuiderdam in Puerto Vallarta while she sails from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale.  The ship will stop in a distant foreign port (ABC islands or South America).

 

David

Yes they could, but it has nothing to do with the PVSA.  That cruise is not a closed loop.  Yes, it has to visit a distant foreign port because it starts in one US port and ends in another US port.  But a guest boarding in any of the other ports would be legal.  EM

[aprilsp88]

15 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Yes they could, but it has nothing to do with the PVSA.  That cruise is not a closed loop.  Yes, it has to visit a distant foreign port because it starts in one US port and ends in another US port.  But a guest boarding in any of the other ports would be legal.  EM

@Essiesmom

So, if a cruise is closed loop, HAL won't allow embarkation in any other ports, which makes it open loop, because of immigration and extra fee.

 

But if open loop, then it's possible to embark in a foreign port?

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, aprilsp88 said:

@Essiesmom

So, if a cruise is closed loop, HAL won't allow embarkation in any other ports, which makes it open loop, because of immigration and extra fee.

 

But if open loop, then it's possible to embark in a foreign port?

Generally, yes.  BUT it's necessary to the the OK from the cruise lines prior to cruise to do this.  I've read that most downlining wasn't being OKd during the pandemic.  

[GeezerCouple]

27 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Generally, yes.  BUT it's necessary to the the OK from the cruise lines prior to cruise to do this.  I've read that most downlining wasn't being OKd during the pandemic.  

 

It might also require permission from the other country.  They may need to have an immigration official available, etc.  Ditto to plan to get off at other than the final port.

This was the case on the "before times" as well.

 

GC

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

It might also require permission from the other country.  They may need to have an immigration official available, etc.  Ditto to plan to get off at other than the final port.

This was the case on the "before times" as well.

 

GC

I believe that's why you need actual permission from the cruise line prior to cruise.  They need to be sure all the "ducks are in a row", official procedures are covered, re immigration official what whatever else...

[AKN]

This has been a fascinating discussion. We booked Celebrity cruises from 1. San Juan (exempt from PVSA) to Ft. Lauderdale; 2. FLL to L.A. (Panama cruise with a far-distant port stop of Cartagena); 3. Los Angeles to Vancouver, BC; 4. Vancouver to Seward, Alaska (our home). Several months passed and our travel agent called to say she had a cruise representative on the other line and we needed to decide NOW which segment, 3 California or 4 Alaska, that we would cancel. They were pressuring her to convince us to cancel Alaska, but she knew that would be a non-starter. The other option they offered was for us to travel round trip from Vancouver to Seward. Again, that was no good. The remaining option offered as a possibility was that we disembark in Victoria (the port stop previous to Vancouver) thereby interrupting “the trip.” We did not want the extra expense and hassle of taking the bus or ferry to Vancouver and also paying for a hotel. We quickly checked out other cruise lines from Vancouver to Seward or Whittier, but none of them left that day, so all the options included an extra hotel stay in Vancouver. We canceled California 3 and decided to visit family in Nevada while the ship makes its way from L.A. to Vancouver, then we will rejoin in Vancouver and sail home. I admit by this point in the decision-making process my heels were dug in and I wasn’t changing the segment home for anything. LOL.

 

In later posting with a Canadian on the Cruise Critic roll-call, they described a similar experience, but they took advantage of the “opportunity” to make the Vancouver to Alaska segment round-trip instead of one-way. I guess a part of me sees the urgent phone call as a ploy to get us to buy an additional cruise. Another part of me does not understand how a trip from San Juan (exempt) to Seward, Alaska can be considered in violation. If the cruise had been sold as one cruise instead of four cruises, this would be no problem at all. Or even three cruises. After all, the Panama segment 2, stops in a far-distant port between FLL and L.A. So again, is it the marketing department creating this problem? I wish I had earlier thought of writing Celebrity to make the argument that we were starting our trip at an exempt port and asking for an exception, but I’m over it now and onto checking out wine tours, etc. Also, the price on segment 3 California has gone up significantly, so even with an exception to book us as a single cruise from Puerto Rico to Alaska, it would cost more.

 

And there are probably other reasons that I don’t know about as to why they might not make an exception.

 

Paula

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

I believe that's why you need actual permission from the cruise line prior to cruise.  They need to be sure all the "ducks are in a row", official procedures are covered, re immigration official what whatever else...

 

I mentioned the issue of perhaps needing to get permission from another country because on another cruise line CC sub-forum there was a passenger who was absolutely furious that the cruise line would not make an exception from "their" rules about passports, without even considering that maybe it wasn't "only" the cruise line who had a say in the issue.

 

Not everyone realizes what is involved sometimes, that a ship/cruise line isn't just being arbitrary (although they *do* have the right to whatever rules they wish to impose, as long as they are disclosed, etc. - and then the market will decide...).

 

GC

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, AKN said:

This has been a fascinating discussion. We booked Celebrity cruises from 1. San Juan (exempt from PVSA) to Ft. Lauderdale; 2. FLL to L.A. (Panama cruise with a far-distant port stop of Cartagena); 3. Los Angeles to Vancouver, BC; 4. Vancouver to Seward, Alaska (our home). Several months passed and our travel agent called to say she had a cruise representative on the other line and we needed to decide NOW which segment, 3 California or 4 Alaska, that we would cancel. They were pressuring her to convince us to cancel Alaska, but she knew that would be a non-starter. The other option they offered was for us to travel round trip from Vancouver to Seward. Again, that was no good. The remaining option offered as a possibility was that we disembark in Victoria (the port stop previous to Vancouver) thereby interrupting “the trip.” We did not want the extra expense and hassle of taking the bus or ferry to Vancouver and also paying for a hotel. We quickly checked out other cruise lines from Vancouver to Seward or Whittier, but none of them left that day, so all the options included an extra hotel stay in Vancouver. We canceled California 3 and decided to visit family in Nevada while the ship makes its way from L.A. to Vancouver, then we will rejoin in Vancouver and sail home. I admit by this point in the decision-making process my heels were dug in and I wasn’t changing the segment home for anything. LOL.

 

In later posting with a Canadian on the Cruise Critic roll-call, they described a similar experience, but they took advantage of the “opportunity” to make the Vancouver to Alaska segment round-trip instead of one-way. I guess a part of me sees the urgent phone call as a ploy to get us to buy an additional cruise. Another part of me does not understand how a trip from San Juan (exempt) to Seward, Alaska can be considered in violation. If the cruise had been sold as one cruise instead of four cruises, this would be no problem at all. Or even three cruises. After all, the Panama segment 2, stops in a far-distant port between FLL and L.A. So again, is it the marketing department creating this problem? I wish I had earlier thought of writing Celebrity to make the argument that we were starting our trip at an exempt port and asking for an exception, but I’m over it now and onto checking out wine tours, etc. Also, the price on segment 3 California has gone up significantly, so even with an exception to book us as a single cruise from Puerto Rico to Alaska, it would cost more.

 

And there are probably other reasons that I don’t know about as to why they might not make an exception.

 

Paula

I don't understand it, either.  B2B (2B2B) cruises on the same ship are viewed as one cruise, regardless of whether you booked them all separately.  San Juan/Ft Lauderdale/Los Angeles/Vancouver/Seward is the same as a San Juan to Hawaii cruise, and has a distant foreign port (covered under the Lauderdale to LA portion) that counts.

 

Even if you eliminate the San Juan/Ft Lauderdale port (due to the exemption part) the cruise would still be Ft Lauderdale to Seward with the distant foreign port covered.

 

Only thought I had - are you staying onboard the same ship the whole time?

 

I'd be questioning the cruise line as to WHY I'd  have to change it, if it were me.

Edited November 19, 2022 by Shmoo here

[Boytjie]

On 11/15/2022 at 8:13 AM, BetsyS. said:

USN59-79. I agree with you. I have seen entertainers board a ship at various ports.

 

It is different for those working on the ship.

[Shmoo here]

3 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

San Juan/Ft Lauderdale/Los Angeles/Vancouver/Seward is the same as a San Juan to Hawaii cruise, and has a distant foreign port (covered under the Lauderdale to LA portion) that counts.

Should read "San Juan to Seward"

[aprilsp88]

19 hours ago, AKN said:

which segment, 3 California or 4 Alaska, that we would cancel.

 

Paula

I don't understand it either. Regardless it's openloop cruise, begin and end in different US port, visiting a remote port, why cancel one would make it work?