Getting on in different port than inital port

Here is the dilemma! Boat leaves New Orleans, Sunday Nov 19 at 4pm and you have to be onboard by 3pm

Daughter has a play performance (senior year play) on Sunday at 2 pm and both have college classes till Tuesday evening. Travel agent got word from VP of Carnival that the girls could meet us in second port on Wednesday in Nassau but not first port Key West since it is a US territory. Huge fine for cruise line if we did this and if they even allowed it. Flight to Nassau not bad less than $500.00 for both. The whole fam damily is going (14) for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. Airport in Nassau is 12 miles from cruise terminal, flight leaves NO around 10 am, stop in Miami and arrive in Nassau at 3 and ship leaves at 5pm. (tight timeline for holiday week!)

Has anyone ever gotten on at another port and if so how did it go?

What if their flight is late ,traffic in Nassau ,ect , They miss the ship ,How would they get back home ..2hrs is to close of time frame

That’s a very tight schedule. Not sure I would chance it.

If the ship leaves Nassau at five that means all aboard is 4:30, which is not enough time.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

I'm seeing a little disconnect here....Have they changed your itinerary? I see Dream calling at Freeport, not Nassau, as your second port.. Nov. 22. Nassau is Thursday Nov. 23. EM

deleted

that's not enough time. All aboard time is 30 mins prior to departure. I just flew into Nassau for vacation and it took at least 30-40 mins to get by the cruise terminal. Not to mention the 30-40 mins it took to go through customs when we got off the plane.

What if their flight is late ,traffic in Nassau ,ect , They miss the ship ,How would they get back home ..2hrs is to close of time frame

THIS.....

No way I am chancing it cuz if missed or plane late etc., it gets way more difficult to get them to the ship with cost, itineraries, flight times etc.....looks like your family has some really important decisions to make.....Good Luck!!!!

I do not think this is a good plan for many of the reasons already mentioned.

It sounds like the girls' schedule just doesn't fit well with this cruise.

I know you are trying to have them get there to be with the family for this special occasion but they will have to decide if they can skip their activities or skip the cruise?

You didn't say where home was the girls but I am going to assume New Orleans area since the flight is out of NO. Have you looked into flying out to either Nassau or Miami Tuesday evening? Or flying to Nassau via Miami with an overnight layover in Miami? Sometimes you can choose a flight that splits days and still is one fare. That might allow them arrive in Nassau earlier. They could either spend the night in the terminal or stay at an airport hotel.

Lastly have you looked at private plane charters from no to Nassau. (Haven't donr this to international

Destinations so I am not sure what extra hoops you might have to go

Through). They are surprisingly affordable when you are flying multiple people short distances. Even better some of the private air charters offer special

Deals when they have an empty flight leaving a destination. I.e. Someone hires plane from

Destination A to B one way. Rather than fly home

Empty they offer discounted rates to fill the plane on the next leg of the trip. Those legs are usually less flexible and likely won't meet your needs but you could look at the various websites and see if you might get lucky.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

What you describe isn't a vacation it's a marathon.

I would try to get them out of their college obligations so they could sail with the family. There are too many what ifs for me to live with.

Too risky and too complicated. I would either have them miss classes and play or have them miss the cruise. This is one of those times where you have to make a choice and just can't have everything you want.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Here is the dilemma! Boat leaves New Orleans, Sunday Nov 19 at 4pm and you have to be onboard by 3pm

 

Has anyone ever gotten on at another port and if so how did it go?

I can see the play being important, but college classes on Tuesday might be skipped, so look for earlier flight arrangements or leave them home.

As far as your question at the end of your post, I missed a departure out of Miami due to my Mom's funeral, and I missed the first 4 days of a 21 day B2B. I had to fly to Antigua, stay overnight, get to the port at 8AM, and go through departing Customs (PASSPORT required!) before I was able to board the Glory at noon that Wednesday. After boarding where I needed to show my Mom's death certificate (for emergency boarding status) and getting unpacked, I was required to watch a special muster drill tape in the comedy club with the 1/2 dozen or so other passengers who just boarded that morning. The rest of the cruise was uneventful.

So to answer your final question, yes it can be done, but with lots of attention to detail, planning and having travel use status. (It didn't cost me anything to switch flights e.g.) I talked to Carnival at least 6 or 8 times about emergency boarding before I got the okay to board.

I am not sure that college classes would be an acceptable excuse to permit an in transit cruise boarding, but the time table you present probably wouldn't allow it anyway.

Got a Plan B? or C?

I'm seeing a little disconnect here....Have they changed your itinerary? I see Dream calling at Freeport, not Nassau, as your second port.. Nov. 22. Nassau is Thursday Nov. 23. EM

AGREED. I'm trying to duplicate what you described and none of the information is correct as you wrote.

Omg that's doing too much! I hope you get it figured out!

I am assuming the girls have passports, as they can't fly out of the country without them. EM

......and it's Thanksgiving week (if post 5 is correct).

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Send them a postcard from the Bahamas

Maybe the girls don't want to be with the whole family. It may be their excuse to "do their own thing".

I would try to get them out of their college obligations so they could sail with the family. There are too many what ifs for me to live with.

This or they choose school over the trip. I wouldn't chance missing the ship at another port. The $500 one could turn into $ 1000 if they miss the ship

It looks to me like your girls aren't going...

Did this conflict just come up? It seems like a play and the college classes would have been scheduled well in advance. Personally, I wouldn't deal with the stress. I'd tell the girls this isn't going to be feasible without jumping through many, many hoops, some of which are on fire, and tell them they need to choose between staying home or leaving with the rest of the family on the cruise on embarkation day. If you don't do this you're likely going to need a vacation from the vacation when you get home.

Someone posted this, maybe you could just pay the fine and get them on board in Key West:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2535555

Can't they pay the $300 pp fine for boarding in another US port and get on in Key West? That time line is really tight in Nassau, one little hiccup and they miss the ship.