Disembarking early

[Yg13]

One of the people in my group recently disembarked on day 5 of a 10 day Norwegian sailing. It was her first cruise and she couldn’t handle the seasickness. 
 

what can we expect in terms of refunds for the following (all prepaid)

 

gratuities 

Port fees and taxes 

spa thermal pass

 

TIA

[zqvol]

I would not expect any refunds for those items. 

[Yg13]

5 minutes ago, zqvol said:

I would not expect any refunds for those items. 

Why not? If you get those refunded as a no show, shouldn’t you get it refunded for disembarking early?

[graphicguy]

9 minutes ago, zqvol said:

I would not expect any refunds for those items. 

Agree, unfortunately.  But, Dramamine, Bovine and Ginger Chews should be available from either the Med Center or the on board gift shop! 

Edited December 7, 2023 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

1 minute ago, Yg13 said:

Why not? If you get those refunded as a no show, shouldn’t you get it refunded for disembarking early?

If the ship can’t demand a port for a variety of reasons, you could expect port fees to be refunded.  But, if the ship docks at the port, dock fees are charged whether you get off the ship or not.  Same for Spa.  Once it’s charged, it doesn’t matter if you use the Spa or not.

 

That’s true of ALL cruise lines!

[ColeThornton]

2 minutes ago, Yg13 said:

Why not? If you get those refunded as a no show, shouldn’t you get it refunded for disembarking early?

 

No.      NCL held up their part of the deal.  Your friend left of their own accord. NCL owes them nothing.

[MeHeartCruising]

The passenger probably should have asked about refunds before leaving the ship.  I don't think there is any stated policy regarding this situation by the cruise line. Therefore, I doubt there is any process to initiate refunds.  Perhaps the passenger will get lucky and get some refund if there is someone on board the ship who recognizes that it would be something they could do for the passenger.  But I would not bet money on this happening.

Edited December 7, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[Yg13]

3 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

No.      NCL held up their part of the deal.  Your friend left of their own accord. NCL owes them nothing.

I understand what you’re saying but if she had no showed and never boarded, she’d have been refunded at least partially (port fees and gratuities). I don’t see the distinction between the two for the purposes of these fees 

[brookie848]

13 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

The passenger probably should have asked about refunds before leaving the ship.  I don't think there is any stated policy regarding this situation by the cruise line. Therefore, I doubt there is any process to initiate refunds.  Perhaps the passenger will get lucky and get some refund if there is someone on board the ship who recognizes that it would be something they could do for the passenger.  But I would not bet money on this happening.

And honestly, if they left because they couldn't handle being at sea, the chances of them returning for another cruise are pretty slim. So NCL doesn't have a huge incentive to bend over backwards for them.

[SomewhereGirl]

I can't answer your question but since the question of disembarking early is asked occasionally on this board, would you mind sharing what process the person in your group had to go through in order to disembark early?  What kind of itinerary was this?  Were there threats of fines?  Just curious.  Sorry to hijack...

[julig22]

52 minutes ago, Yg13 said:

Why not? If you get those refunded as a no show, shouldn’t you get it refunded for disembarking early?

Because those are packages, not use-as-you-go items, and there is a difference between not using anything vs partial use.

Any booked excursions should be returned, possibly DSC if she paid in advance.  If she was paying on a daily basis, she probably wasn't charged additional days. Anything else would be subject to NCL cancellation policy. No different than if you were to cancel anything partway through a contract - terms of the contract dictate whether or not you get any money back.

[TheDawg79]

She broke the terms of her contract with the cruise line. She don’t get compensated for that. She might get some excursions refunded IF she gave 24 notice. 

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

I hope that her leaving didn't upset the ship's manifest because if it did, and NCL were heavily fined for having an incorrect manifest, then they will seek recompense from her for the fine.

[julig22]

3 hours ago, SomewhereGirl said:

I can't answer your question but since the question of disembarking early is asked occasionally on this board, would you mind sharing what process the person in your group had to go through in order to disembark early?  What kind of itinerary was this?  Were there threats of fines?  Just curious.  Sorry to hijack...

First and foremost, the process is going to depend on the itinerary. Unless you haven't traveled beyond borders, you are entering a foreign country so arrangements need to be made with immigration and customs. If you haven't traveled across any borders, you may be in violation of passenger transport laws, which is where the "threats of fines" may come into play.

Fines aren't up to the cruiseline, they are assessed by Customs/Border Patrol or similar agency. They are assessed, regardless of why a passenger disembarks, but the cruiseline can absorb the cost, ask for an exemption or charge the passenger.

[RD64]

Yes it seems totally unusual that the affected cruiser was allowed to disembark (assuming it was somewhere in North America) without any financial repercussions. Perhaps the OP could provide some further details.

[RD64]

6 hours ago, Yg13 said:

One of the people in my group recently disembarked on day 5 of a 10 day Norwegian sailing. It was her first cruise and she couldn’t handle the seasickness. 
 

what can we expect in terms of refunds for the following (all prepaid)

 

gratuities 

Port fees and taxes 

spa thermal pass

 

TIA

Perhaps you should have asked prior to the disembarkation instead of asking after the fact.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@Yg13

 

Please indicate three things

 

Embarkation Port

Debarkation Port

 

Port where passenger left the ship.

 

Then who did the passenger see to get permission to leave early  AND  what specific information did that person require?

[bluesea777]

nvm

 

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by bluesea777

[Yg13]

20 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Perhaps you should have asked prior to the disembarkation instead of asking after the fact.

I was not the one who disembarked nor do I have a financial interest other than just asking on behalf of the person. 

[Yg13]

59 minutes ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

@Yg13

 

Please indicate three things

 

Embarkation Port

Debarkation Port

 

Port where passenger left the ship.

 

Then who did the passenger see to get permission to leave early  AND  what specific information did that person require?

embarkation NYC

dismebark in St Thomas (we already had visited Bermuda and St. Maarten, so had called on Ports outside of the US)

 

the person went to guest services, informed them they intended to disembark, got sent up to the area where US Immigration was staging, had their information logged, and was given the all clear. 

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, Yg13 said:

One of the people in my group recently disembarked on day 5 of a 10 day Norwegian sailing. It was her first cruise and she couldn’t handle the seasickness. 
 

what can we expect in terms of refunds for the following (all prepaid)

 

gratuities 

Port fees and taxes 

spa thermal pass

 

TIA

No refunds. 
 

And may be a big fine for voluntarily disembarking and not completing the voyage back to NYC. It is a violation of the PVSA. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by BirdTravels

[Yg13]

Just now, BirdTravels said:

No refunds. 
 

And depending on the itinerary, may be a big fine for voluntarily disembarking and not completing the voyage. 

There were no fines, no violation of the PVSA. She was cleared to leave by the ship authorities and by American CBP

[Yg13]

Update to avoid confusion

 

she did inquire about refunds and fees at guest services. She was told the gratuities would not be her responsibility for all days following disembarkation (at the time they answered they didn’t know we prepaid, so they later told us to just contact the main office), and she got money back from the internet package which she bought on board. 
 

we were told to contact guest services about the gratuities and spa which were prepaid along with obviously the port fees and taxes. The information I received from ncl is that these refunds are done on a case by case basis

[BirdTravels]

4 minutes ago, Yg13 said:

There were no fines, no violation of the PVSA. She was cleared to leave by the ship authorities and by American CBP

She 100% needed to be cleared by CBP to enter the country. She could not enter the US without clearance. That does NOT mean there will not be a fine coming. 
 

btw did she get a sea sickness shot from the medical center?  

Edited December 8, 2023 by BirdTravels

[njhorseman]

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

No refunds. 
 

And may be a big fine for voluntarily disembarking and not completing the voyage back to NYC. It is a violation of the PVSA. 

 

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

She 100% needed to be cleared by CBP to enter the country. She could not enter the US without clearance. That does NOT mean there will not be a fine coming. 
 

btw did she get a sea sickness shot from the medical center?  

There will be no fine. Embarking in New York and disembarking in St. Thomas is not a violation of the PVSA. I suggest you read USCBP's informed compliance documentation of the PVSA at https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2019-Sep/PVSA-ICP.pdf . On page 7 you'll see that the coastwise laws (the PVSA being one of them) do not apply to the US Virgin Islands:

"APPLICABLE STATUTES

46 U.S.C. § 55101(a) and (b)- Application of Coastwise Laws

The coastwise laws apply to the United States, including U.S. island territories and possessions. The coastwise laws do not apply to American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands."