Ships Missing Port of Hilo?

[Divetex]

On our Honolulu to Ensenada cruise in December, we're planning on leaving the Legend of the Seas in Kona and reboarding her the next afternoon in Hilo. If something were to prevent the ship from entering the Port of Hilo, we'd have to fly back home, with our luggage still on the ship - not a happy prospect. Nightmare stuff, actually.

 

Have any of you ever heard of any cruise ship not being able to get into Hilo for any reason? Aaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!:eek:

[bug_dan]

We were on the Infinity in Nov 2003 going from Ensenada to Honolulu and we did not dock in Hilo because of rough seas, so it definitely does happen. The date of our missed docking was 21 Nov and they actually pulled the ship into the pier, but the Captain was afraid of damage to the ship and we left right away.

[SweetEmi]

On our cruise last year, hurricane Jimena happened and we did get to Hilo - but not until Wednesday intead of Monday because they closed the port.

 

So, the possibility is there (though pretty slim I would imagine).

 

Emi

[Divetex]

Well, based upon the comments here, it looks like we have a pretty good chance of success with this plan of ours. I think we're going to take our chances if the weather looks like it might cooperate. If we know it's going to be dicey, we'll just go back to the ship. If not, and we make the wrong decision and get stranded, we'll do whatever is necessary.

 

Does anyone know a phone number we could call for the port in Hilo to check weather/docking information?

 

Hey, SweetEmi, if we get stranded and drive back to Kailua-Kona, may we camp out at your house for a month or two? Or maybe a lifetime? We don't eat much, and I'm the only one of the four of us who snores. Well, loudly, anyway. You know, like dueling chainsaws. We're really a pretty quiet group. so whaddaya say? :D

[SweetEmi]

Divatex: Well...you might have to duke it out with the dogs since they think the backyard is theirs, but what the heck! We have occasional bananas, papaya, and mangos growing in the yard- if you can live on those - you are all set!!

 

I would say that you have a very good chance that nothing with go wrong with your plan...but you always need to keep an eye out for those lemons...

 

Emi

[KTE]

Divetex:

There's actually a better chance of missing Kona due to the fact that that's a "tender only" port. On our 3 interisland cruises, that's the only port we ever missed (once) due to rough seas. You might want to check into that possibility also.

KTE

[Divetex]

SweetEmi,

 

Don't worry about the dogs. We'll just stay inside. :D

 

Seriously, though, I do appreciate the information from all of you. Thanks.

[bug_dan]

Divetex,

 

Found this info on http://www.hawaiiocean.com

http://www.state.hi.us/dot/harbors/contact.htm#hawaii

[SweetEmi]

Divetex: lol!! Just reread your post and since you said "camp out" I immediately assumed you meant in the back yard....LOL!!!

 

Funny though because we have thought about renting out rooms during the Ironman. There is always a shortage of places to stay then. Maybe with the Star staying here 2 days on the BI - I could start a Thursday night sleep over....lol!!!

 

Emi

[Divetex]

Bug_Dan - thank you so much. We will definitely use those websites to help make our final decision.

 

SweetEmi - LOL - Let us know when you start your Thursday night sleep overs....we might book a lot of them and then continue to look for the Fridays-Wednesdays. :D

 

You guys are the best!

[bug_dan]

Hey Emi,

 

Are you close enough to the Elks that we could walk if we over imbibe???

[SweetEmi]

Hey Dan! First off - I thought you didn't do that evil stuff any more....*smile* Secondly, no...but I guess you could try rolling down the hill...but it's a few miles...hehehehe...OH...wait that would be rolling back home UP the hill. That won't work...

 

If you want me to be a chauffeur....you'll have to pay big bucks! lol!

 

Still thinking about the Alaska cruise. Another thought I've been having is renting an RV and driving up to Washington from Reno. If I could swing 3 weeks off - I'd do all three things...But I don't think either job would be happy if I took that much time off.

 

Emi

[ptngr]

Divetex, I don't know the answer to your original question but would like to suggest you check with RCCI before you do this. I have read about some people who (unintentionally) missed ports and were billed for the fees the ship incurred. The largest of which being the $300/person fee from the Jones' Act violation (that the ship has to pay the government). Where is your foreign port stop? If it's on both ends (i.e. board foreign port, then get off at Kona. Get on at Hilo, then get off at a foreign port) then you probably have no problem with this fee. If there is only a foreign port on either end of your leaving and reentering the ship, then you'd be violating the Jones' Act on one of the legs. Hope I'm making sense here.

 

P.S. I'm back from our POA cruise where we snorkeled Kailua Bay. It was quite nice snorkeling for such a convenient spot. Thanks for your advice about that.

[spleen93]

Shouldn't be an issue for Divetex - he's talking about sequential ports and going off one day at one port (Kona) and then getting back on the next day at the next port (Hilo). No Passenger Services Act violation involved. It would only be invoked if he skipped the foreign port.

 

Spleen

[ptngr]

Spleen, what I heard was that if he gets off at Hilo and gets back on at Kona, it would be considered as 2 separate cruises for the Passenger Services Act (Thanks for that name, I know Jones' Act isn't the right one since it's just for cargo, but I figured most people think of the PSA as the Jones' Act anyway so didn't try to find the right name) since it can no longer be considered a "stop". That means he'd have to have a foreign port both before and after in order to not violate the PSA. Of course, I'd check with RCCI on this to be sure. I think it's a good idea to inform the cruiseline about anything like this anyway.

 

Divetex, please let us know what you find out. I'm sure there are other people considering doing the same thing. (Wouldn't be a problem on the Pride of Aloha!)

[ajtigger]

In my mind, this whole thing is way too risky. Sure, the possibility of the port being missed is limited, but imagine if it DID happen -- all your luggage and passports and all of your other belongings all stuck on the maui-bound ship! It definately would be a disaster, and, plus, you paid for a 7-NIGHT cruise, not a 6-night one. In my opinion, you are better off not risking it.

[cctexan]

I checked with my TA on this and found that people do it all the time in the Caribbean. Jones Act doesn't play into this.....he is boarding in an American port but he is not "disembarking" as he is reboarding the next day.....same 10 day cruise....no violation. Hope this helps.

[ptngr]

cctexan, are you sure? I can see that you can do it in the caribbean without violating the PSA since those ARE foreign ports, so each of the two legs of your cruise would at least have one foreign port in it. This is different if there is no foreign port before or after the "hop". (Of course if Divetex's cruise is roundtrip from Ensenada or something like that, there would be no problem either.)

 

I'm trying to recall the story I heard. I believe the people were on a one-way Alaska-Vancouver cruise. They missed a port somewhere in Alaska (not the originating port). At that point, it doesn't matter when or whether they get back on the ship, they've already violated the PSA by having traveled on a ship from one American port to another American port with no foreign stop in between. If they had, for example, missed port at Victoria instead of somewhere in Alaska, it would have been no problem either. See the difference?

[spleen93]

We can guess all we want - Divetex needs to confirm with RCCI as to whether this would be a problem or not. It's the only way to find out if this will be an issue or not.

 

Spleen

[Divetex]

ptngr, that's really not a problem as long as we reboard the ship. If we were not allowed to leave the ship before hitting a foreign port, there would be no shore excursions allowed in Hawaii or anywhere else prior to visiting a foreign port. A perfect example is Miami, Galveston, or Ft. Lauderdale to Key West before going to a Caribbean island. It doesn't matter if you leave the ship for 8 hours, 12 hours, or ovenight for 30 hours, as long as you don't "permanently" disembark, as in missing the ship. If that happens, we'll pay the fine and get back as best we can. Otherwise, we'll be fine, do the night hike, and still enjoy the trans-Pacific days to Ensenada.....depending, of course, upon the weather, sea conditions, and our getting the Captain's permission to do so. It's his call.

[ptngr]

It doesn't matter if you leave the ship for 8 hours, 12 hours, or ovenight for 30 hours, as long as you don't "permanently" disembark, as in missing the ship.

Right, I understand that you can get off the ship and the time doesn't matter. But I thought what you wanted to do is leave the ship when it's docked at Kona, then reenter when it's docked at Hilo. That, IMHO, would be akin to "missing the ship" because you'd be getting off and on at a different port so it cannot be considered just a stop. That's why those people I heard about got fined when they missed the ship at one Alaskan port and got back at another port then go on to Vancouver. Of course the story I heard could have been a bunch of smoke and there actually is no problem at all!

[Divetex]

I don't know what could have been the problem in AK, but I've been assured now that it's no problem for us...but it's still up the the captain of the ship to give permission ahead of time. Perhaps that's why the AK group had problems...they might have been reported as missing the ship. In our case, that wouldn't happen, as we'd have the Captain's advance permission to do so. Dunno.....

:confused:

[cctexan]

...it seems that ptngr may be on to something :eek: .... I just copied this from the U. S. Customs (they monitor and enforce the Jones Act) website. . .

 

Question

Does CBP fine cruise ships that allow passengers to disembark before the end of the cruise's itinerary?

Answer

Foreign flag vessels are restricted from a practice known as coastwise trade. Coastwise trade entails picking up cargo or passengers from one point in the United States and discharging them at another point in the U.S. For example, an Argentinian-flagged cruise ship picks up passengers in Miami then sails to various ports of call, including Bermuda, Charleston, South Carolina, and Annapolis, Maryland before returning to Miami. While passengers may leave the vessel to see the U.S. ports, they must return to the ship before it sails. If the ship sails before everyone is on board, that would be a violation of the law forbidding coastwise trade because they would have transported a passenger between two different U.S. ports. There is a penalty of $300 for each passenger illegally transported. Because Bermuda is not a U.S. port, passengers could disembark there without causing the cruise line to incur a penalty.

 

This penalty may be mitigated if the passenger left the ship for clearly documented emergencies such as illness or family emergency.

 

If you have had to leave a ship in the middle of the itinerary, the cruise line may assess a fee to cover the possible penalty they may incur. It is a matter of public record whether or not they did, in fact, have to pay such a penalty for any particular instance of early departure. If you have any questions about such a fee, please contact your cruise line directly to discuss their policies.

 

(As of 10/30/03, foreign flagged cruise lines may transport passengers between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. However, if a U.S. flag vessel starts providing service between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, this allowance will no longer apply. This exception does not apply to transporting cargo.)

 

Guess now it is all up to what RCI says..... :confused:

[SweetEmi]

Hmmmm....that kind of puts a damper on my "side business" *smile*

 

Emi

[Divetex]

The news is in. SweetEmi has no cottage industry hiring her back yard out to cruise passengers, unless they're from NCL ships. Those lucky folks can get off the ships wherever and whenever they want to.

 

Anyway, I heard back from RCI today via my TA, and my request to spend the night on the Big Island has been turned down by Royal Caribbean and the infamous Mr. Jones. Their reply:

 

"THE FOLLOWING PASSENGER MOVEMENT IS DENIED.

 

This would be a violation of a federal law commonly referred to as the Jones Act. The law is enforced by U.S. Customs and no exception can be made."

 

 

Rats. I guess we all learned something today, and that's what these boards are good for, IMHO - sharing information. Double rats.