Off at one port On at another

[gwhizma]

We are booked on the Statendam, Osaka to Hong Kong. We would like to leave the ship in Beijing, tour around and then rejoin the ship in a few days in Shanghai.

 

The TA originally said no.Customer service indicated it would probably be OK but TA would have to submit the request and get management OK.

 

It has been a week and no word. Does anyone know HAL's position on this? Any advice?

 

Thank you

[jtl513]

We are booked on the Statendam, Osaka to Hong Kong. We would like to leave the ship in Beijing, tour around and then rejoin the ship in a few days in Shanghai.

I believe it's possible to do such an "open jaw" outside the U.S., but not within. For example, you could not get off at Hilo, fly to Honolulu for some time, and then rejoin the ship there. That would violate a U.S. law commonly called the Jones Act (Merchant Marine Act of 1920). Keep pursuing it, and you should be able to get your wish.

[hammybee]

Some of the luxury lines and world cruises offer extended shore excursions that do exactly what you want to do. I am also aware of pax on these cruises who use the time to do their own thing. I cannot imagine why this would not be allowed, provided you notified them in advance of your plans to do so.

 

If you think of it, please come back and tell us how this worked out for you.

[Navy_Chief]

I don't know about Pacific Rim type cruises but on Med cruises when HAL ships are visiting many countries, they have manditory passport collection in order to facilitate ship clearance in the various ports so this could be an issue. Another problem is that this may require a special visa from the Chineese Government; you will need to check with the US State Department as well.

 

Here is a link to the State Department facts sheet on China: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1089.html

[gwhizma]

Thanks for you thoughts. We have no problem getting a double entry Visa to China.

The TA is very unresponsive. If we don't hear from them we'll call HAL direct again. Very frustrating, We don't want to book train, plane and accomodations without approval.

[mamaofami]

If HAl tells you yes, I would get that confirmed in writing before I made my plans. Just a precaution to make sure it all works out.

[obriendan]

HAL has a very expensive tour that does just that ($2599, 4 nights, 3 days. Beijing, Xian, Shanghai. You can do a land tour of 14 days with airfare from LAX that visits the same places for $1695!!). Whether HAL will let you can set up such a tour on your own, I don't know.