Disembark prior to last port????

[stprdi]

St Thomas will be our last stop before we disembark in San Juan. We're wondering if it's possible to finish the cruise in Charlotte Amalie. Reason being is we want to head back to St. Thomas anyway and want to avoid the costs of returning from Puerto Rico. Does anyone know if this is possible or a cheaper way to get back there?

[CryogenicSpecter]

I had asked a man at the pursers desk on one cruise because I had considered something similar and the answer was yes. I would do it with RCCL though instead of a travel agent.

 

I had considered doing this last January. We left from Galveston on a four day on the Splendour for only $220 a person (window room). The first day in the gulf was still pretty chilly though and we really could not enjoy the sun until we were in Cozumel. I had noticed that the Splendour was doing a 5 day next and would go to Cozumel and Costa Maya. I wanted to do back to back, but was considering just staying in Cozumel for a couple of days until the ship came back.

The pursers desk said that it would not be a problem and that they have people who will stay on the ships for months at a time, but will jump ship to ship in different ports in order to visit other places. Sounds good to me! Now to solve the cash problem...... Hmmm ;)

[gnparend]

Don't want to throw water on your parade but I believe there are international laws which are very strict on people departing the ship. I believe if you visit Aruba which is considered a Foreign Port of call you can then leave but RCI can be fined or charged an dthey may pass that fee onto you which may be more than the float plane back to St Thomas. Make the call to RCI before you make any plans.

[bunting]

Don't want to throw water on your parade but I believe there are international laws which are very strict on people departing the ship. I believe if you visit Aruba which is considered a Foreign Port of call you can then leave but RCI can be fined or charged an dthey may pass that fee onto you which may be more than the float plane back to St Thomas. Make the call to RCI before you make any plans.

 

Hi its actually a US law that has the concerns, it is known as the Passenger Services Act (sometimes referred to as the Jones Act), but since if you are coming from Aruba to St Thomas you should really have no worries but as gnparend says it is always a good idea to verify with RCI, also you would then be able to let them know officially of your intentions, so that the Pursers can be made aware you have no surprises on the last day of your cruise....

[takeavacation]

I've done this for clients - and it really depends on the itinerary and where you want to disembark early. Either you or your TA needs to call the cruise line and ask. Don't wait until you are onboard -- you could end up very disappointed. Good Luck!

[KikiKruiser]

We were on Princess sailing home on a TA repo. We had a port stop in NYC before our final stop in FLL. Prior to sailing, we had to fax both Princess and the port authority in NYC for approval to early disembark (had to also tell them WHY - we were going to be gone a long time and just felt we could get home quicker if we could just fly home from NYC rather than waiting 2 days to fly home from FLL). Got the OK and all went well. But yes, you do need to get approval before you sail.:)

[kc320]

With most of the ships sailing full these days I can't imagine just being able to "hop" on another ship that happened to be going to where I wanted to go......not without making advance reservations for sure.

[Mark_K]

I had asked a man at the pursers desk on one cruise because I had considered something similar and the answer was yes. I would do it with RCCL though instead of a travel agent.

 

I had considered doing this last January. We left from Galveston on a four day on the Splendour for only $220 a person (window room). The first day in the gulf was still pretty chilly though and we really could not enjoy the sun until we were in Cozumel. I had noticed that the Splendour was doing a 5 day next and would go to Cozumel and Costa Maya. I wanted to do back to back, but was considering just staying in Cozumel for a couple of days until the ship came back.

The pursers desk said that it would not be a problem and that they have people who will stay on the ships for months at a time, but will jump ship to ship in different ports in order to visit other places. Sounds good to me! Now to solve the cash problem...... Hmmm ;)

It shouldn't be a problem, since Aruba (and Curacao) are officially classified as distant foreign ports, you would not need to return to the same US port as you left from. This is also why the full-transit Panama Canal cruises stop at one of these ports.