Getting off early???

[CBowling]

We are scheduled for the Princess 10 day Mexican Riviera cruise. We are considering leaving the ship in San Diego 2 days early. We are scheduled to disembark in San Fran, but we would like to get off the boat in San Diego. Is this common? What preparations do we need to make before the cruise? Is this uncommon? Any info will be appreciated.

[coiran]

I think it will cost you a fine of $350 each - it is against some old maritime law regarding disembarkation from a port other than the originating port after entering and leaving a foreign port - you might call Princess and give it a try though.

 

Ron

[dosi]

I think that maybe , since you will have visited your foreign ports already you might be okay with this plan. But gee you will miss two days of food, entertainment and California coastline....you sure you want to do that?? :confused:

[lostdart58]

We are in the same situation as far as the possibility of getting off the ship a day early as we live here in St thomas, which is the last stop on our cruise, which ends the next day in San Juan.

There is no way we will even miss 5 minutes of our cruise, although we will leave off most of our baggage here in St Thomas.

[NitaBcruising]

I had been interested in getting off a Princess cruise early, so called them. They said you have to fax a request to them, and they may or may not grant permission to! You really need to call, to get the exact info of where to fax.

 

I do know of 2 couples who have disembarked from Princess early, so it can be done. :)

[GloriaF]

I wish I had the details, but on our first cruise, the Grand and Princess Cays was the last port, an announcement was made alluding to the pax that were remaining behind, and all others would be required to be back on board by...

 

It was our first cruise and everything was new and I never asked anyone about this. I assumed that there were a group of pax staying on at a resort on Eleuthera for an extended vacation.

Lucky devils! :D

 

Please post whatever you find out, I'd like to know for future plans also.

[KCSungirl]

CBowling, My parents have gotten off the ship early two different times on European itineraries. They didn't do anything ahead of time, only upon check in did they tell the cruise line they were getting off early. I don't think the cruise line can prevent anyone from getting off if they want to. You can call ahead, of course, but if you want to get off I would go ahead and plan for it. Sungirl ;-)

[geoherb]

The downside to making plans to get off the ship early is that the ship may skip a port. I remember reading about people who wanted to get off the Star Princess last summer in Victoria--the last night of the cruise--for a wedding the next day. Unfortunately there were strong winds that prevented the ship from docking. I think the Diamond missed Victoria a few times earlier this summer. And, of course, the itineraries for ships in the Caribbean this past week have changed big time.

[SharkieRools]

It might pose a problem to get off in San Diego - even if you already made a stop in Mexico, but it doesn't hurt to ask! According to the Passenger Vessel Services Act, a roundtrip cruise from/to a US port is required to stop at any foreign port, however if you start and end in different US ports (as in SF to San Diego) you are required to stop at a "distant" foreign port. Mexican ports to my knowledge don't qualify as distant foreign ports. :(

[Tatka]

This is a fairly good explanation what Jones act is and what you can and can't do:

 

http://www.cruiseco.com/resources/jonesact.htm

 

What is known as the Passenger Vessel Act (PSA) of 1886 (46 U.S.C. 289) states that “no foreign vessel shall transport passengers between ports or places in the United States, under penalty of $200 for each passenger so transported or landed.”

All major cruise lines (except for NCL America "American Pride") are foreign Vessel...and can't be competitors to other US transportation. ( Yes I know...nobody uses cruiseships as transportation but still...)

[Murphey]

2 years ago we did a b2b in the Caribbean. St. Thomas was on both schedules (1 week the last port, 2nd week 1st port). We got off in St. Thomas and spent 3 days with friends in Tortola and got back on. We didn't arrange it ahead of time. BUT, we did have to sign paperwork that if for some reason the ship did not return to St. Thomas, we were on our own for catching up with the ship. We justified missing the 3 days on the cruise because it is so expensive for us to fly there for a visit. It just worked out nicely for us.

[Tatka]

2 years ago we did a b2b in the Caribbean. St. Thomas was on both schedules (1 week the last port, 2nd week 1st port). We got off in St. Thomas and spent 3 days with friends in Tortola and got back on. We didn't arrange it ahead of time. BUT, we did have to sign paperwork that if for some reason the ship did not return to St. Thomas, we were on our own for catching up with the ship. We justified missing the 3 days on the cruise because it is so expensive for us to fly there for a visit. It just worked out nicely for us.

St. Thomas is non-US port so this rule doesn't apply.

 

Jones act prevents competition between US and foreign transportation on US territory.

[GloriaF]

Sharkie, I beg to disagree re Mexican ports being foreign ports. That is exactly what the Regal did (and now Island does) on the LA RT Hawaiin cruises to satisfy the Jones Act: a brief stop in Ensenada for the Mecican official to board the ship, sign the paperwork, and we were on our way to LA.

[SharkieRools]

Sharkie, I beg to disagree re Mexican ports being foreign ports. That is exactly what the Regal did (and now Island does) on the LA RT Hawaiin cruises to satisfy the Jones Act: a brief stop in Ensenada for the Mecican official to board the ship, sign the paperwork, and we were on our way to LA.

 

Yes, but as this was a roundtrip cruise to/from the same US port a stop at any foreign port satisfies the Passenger Vessel Services Act requirements. However cruises that start in one US port and end in a different US port must stop at a "distant" foreign port (for the most part any foreign port not in Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and Carribean ports EXCEPT those in the Netherlands Antilles, such as Aruba and Curacao.) Why the rules are different I can't answer, i'm sure someone back in the year 1886 when the law was written thought it was a good idea. :cool:

 

Here's a Sealetter article that explains it a bit more:

Sealetter PVSA Article

[DanJ]

He didn't say that. He said Mexico aren't distant foreign ports. Foreign ports only allow a foreign ship to sail round-trip from the same US port. To sail from one US port and end the cruise at another requires a stop in a "distant" foreign port. Which is why all these one way Hawaii cruises start or end in Vancouver, Canada, instead of LA or Seattle. Technically, if somebody wants to depart San Francisco, and get off the ship in San Diego, they are in violation of the law. The easiest way would be to claim a family emergency, and you (or the cruise line) likely won't be fined.

[DanJ]

Sorry, Sharkie. I should have known you'd be right there to answer for yourself LOL.

[SharkieRools]

Not a problem, I'm really busy at work today! (OK, not really) :D

 

However i see a little discrepancy in what the article I referred to above, and what I said - although in the end the outcome is the same.

 

According to the article above "A cruise between different US ports where no permanent disembarkation is permitted along the way, but at least one port is a nearby foreign port" is allowed. So you actually CAN embark in one US port, make a stop at any foreign port, and get off at a different US port. So in theory getting on in SF, stopping in Mexico, and getting off in San Diego is OK.

 

BUT (and it's a big but) by letting someone off in San Diego, everyone who gets back off in San Francisco would be in violation. Again, quoted from the article I mentioned above: "A cruise between US ports where permanent disembarkation IS allowed at a US port along the way, but only if the ship visits a distant foreign port and any permanent disembarkation takes place at a subsequent US port" is allowed. So if I understand that correctly you cannot disembark passengers at 2 different US ports without stopping at a "distant" foreign port.

 

It's all one big annoying mess if you ask me! :) Like I said before, better to just ask Princess if they'll let you do it or not!

[Colo Cruiser]

Should not be a problem we have done it before and I have never heard of a fine.

[GloriaF]

OK, I just didn't see the distinction of "Foreign" port, thinking any port not in the US would be considered foreign. Thanks for setting me straight -- now I know something I didn't know yesterday! :)

[NitaBcruising]

The downside to making plans to get off the ship early is that the ship may skip a port. I remember reading about people who wanted to get off the Star Princess last summer in Victoria--the last night of the cruise--for a wedding the next day. Unfortunately there were strong winds that prevented the ship from docking. I think the Diamond missed Victoria a few times earlier this summer. And, of course, the itineraries for ships in the Caribbean this past week have changed big time.

It was Victoria for next year that I had called Princess about. We decided to just get off the ship in Seattle, and take the ferry back to Victoria! We didn't want to pay for a hotel, in case we didn't get into Victoria!

I still think getting permission, is the prudent way to go.

[ahracer]

St. Thomas is non-US port so this rule doesn't apply.

 

Jones act prevents competition between US and foreign transportation on US territory.

 

St Thomas is a US territory so why wouldn't the Jones Act apply??

 

Scott

[DrivesLikeMario]

It all depends on which port you're talking about and which ports you've visited. The best thing to do is to call Princess and ask them about your case specifically.

 

When we called Celebrity, they said my DH could leave early (in Costa Rica) on a 14 nt. cruise and fly home if he had to do so because we had already visited a foreign port after originating in a US port. It's best to arrange it all beforehand to avoid any hang-ups or hassles.

[spongerob]

Nothing about the PSA makes any sense or follows any reasonable style of logic, Scott. :)

[DanJ]

It's the same with customs regulations applying to St Thomas as well. It's like it's part of the US, but it isn't a part of the US. Do those people get to vote in US elections?

[SharkieRools]

Nothing about the PSA makes any sense or follows any reasonable style of logic, Scott.

 

That's the most sensible thing I've heard about the PSA in a long time! :cool: