chengkp75

Why? Canada is part of the WHTI, which allows for cruise passengers to use the birth certificate and ID documentation. The only time Canada requires a passport for a cruise, is if you are taking the scenic railway from Skagway into Canada, which is a land crossing.

And, once again, you have completely misunderstood the purpose of the passenger muster, which has absolutely nothing to do with lifeboats. If it did, then the Star Princess would not have called for passenger muster when the fire first broke out, but would have waited hours until it was clear that the ship could not be saved (which didn't happen). But, your years of cruising experience has clearly shown you all you need to know. In fact, the last actual emergency muster that I have heard about, on an RCI ship, was due to a man overboard situation, so there was no earthly possibility of getting into lifeboats. And, from first hand reports, the muster was a shambles, because the passengers could not remember what deck their muster station was on, let alone where it was specifically. And, the excuse given was "well, it was 7 days ago when we were shown our muster station", so I guess that the e-muster drill has a "retention time" of less than 7 days.

And, what were the exact circumstances of the posters that allowed disembarkation, and how do those compare with the OP's situation? Enquiring minds want to know if you know the facts. And, I'm sure that Heidi13, who was an unlimited Master (just the same as any cruise ship captain), who skippered passenger vessels and cargo vessels (and later ferries) all around the world for decades, is not impressed with whatever credentials you bring to the discussion. But, you don't seem to hold the entire maritime industry in high regard anyway, just your opinions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Oriana_(1959)

Of course a sick passenger would be allowed off for hospitalization, and the cruise line would swallow, or argue, the fine. I know of one case where the passenger died onboard, and his remains and spouse were disembarked early, and the couple were levied the fine. The cruise line did provide the necessary paperwork for the surviving spouse to contest the fine with CBP.

Since Heidi13 is a Canadian Ship Captain, he would be well versed in the CTA, which is a Canadian domestic cabotage law. Most Captains rely on local agents for possible local laws that may affect the ship, they are not subject matter experts on them, and the agents are not legal experts either. The laws that the Captains know intimately are the ones from the flag state, and the country that issued their license. The only people at the cruise line who are well versed in national cabotage laws are the compliance department (lawyers), which is why so many back to back cruises are booked by the call center customer service representatives, only for the passenger to be notified months later, by the compliance department, that their cruise is not legal, and they have to cancel part of the booking.

It depends on the reason that the embarkation was missed. If it was outside the passenger's control (weather or airline cancellation), then it is usually allowed. The OP doesn't say whether or not the medical emergency was the OP's or someone else's. If it was a family member, then it really isn't an "act of god", and wouldn't be allowed. Also, if the reason was an airline problem, and the air reservations were through the cruise line, then typically the cruise line will swallow the fine. The fine is after all levied against the cruise line, and it is in the ticket contract that allows the cruise line to pass the fine to you the passenger.

The crew stairs/elevators would be at the forward end of the long "white space" inboard of your cabin. While there may be some pantries or storage lockers near your cabin, most of that long space is the AC air handler room, so typically only an occasional inspection by an engineer would go there.

Since the altered cruise is from one US port to a different US port, no longer a closed loop, it requires a stop at a "distant" foreign port to comply with the PVSA. A "distant" foreign port is defined by CBP as one that is outside North and Central America, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Panama canal cruises will always have a port call in South America (typically Cartagena, Colombia) to meet the PVSA requirements. Also, the "ABC" islands, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, are considered part of South America, so those are also "distant" foreign ports. For the OP, typically, a medical emergency will not qualify as a reason to allow down line boarding in violation of the PVSA, and the cruise lines will not knowingly violate the act.

Simply for security reasons, under the ISPS (International Ship and Port Security) regulations, no company is going to publish non-public space descriptions. Many crew don't know what all the spaces are, or are allowed into them.

The class society issues a "certificate of class", which indicates the ship meets SOLAS, and is considered seaworthy for insurance purposes, but without this certificate, the ship's "register" (think of a car title) is invalid, and cannot sail.

That time in "moth balls" is worse on a ship's hull than operating. The anti-fouling paint on the bottom of the ship, designed to keep barnacles and seaweed from attaching, requires that the ship be moving a lot, so that the water flow past the hull cleans away the dead growth, and the depleted paint surface. The "law" is SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) Convention, the international safety convention, sponsored by the IMO (the International Maritime Organization. The IMO is a subsidiary of the United Nations. 167 member nations have signed SOLAS, representing about 99% of the world's shipping tonnage. SOLAS regulations are enforced by the "flag state" (the nation where the ship is registered), and the "port state" (the nation where the ship is in port), because a condition of approval of SOLAS is that the approving nation enact laws that use the exact wording of SOLAS. Further, SOLAS is enforced, and in particular the drydocking rules, by the "classification societies" (think of an insurance underwriter) that certify a ship as seaworthy, on behalf of the flag states. The regulations require that every ship (whether cruise ship or not), be inspected in a drydock "twice in five years" (in other words, around 2.5 years). The drydock every 5 years is mandatory for all ships. Special compensation is made for new ships (less than 15 years old), where the "mid-period" drydocking (the one in between the 5 year intervals) can be replaced by a UWILD (UnderWater In Lieu of Drydocking) inspection by divers with video equipment, which can be done over several port calls without interrupting service. After 15 years, it is considered that the need for more intensive inspections (hull thickness measurements, weld inspections, etc) require that the ship can no longer be inspected in the water. Some cruise lines, notably HAL, do not rely on a UWILD, and do in fact drydock even their newest ships every 2.5 years.

Sure, they can replace the filter, but what has already traveled into the ductwork will just have to work itself out, or they could go with a duct cleaning service, but most of that is smoke and mirrors. The air handler for the fresh air system is about the size of a "smart car", and they reside in those long white areas on the deck plans that run down the middle of the passenger decks between the inside cabins.

Can't really tell from the photos, but I would suspect that this is from the "fresh air" AC system, so moving to another room may not solve the problem, as that system supplies many cabins in common. It looks to me like the air filter in the air handler has plugged up, and blown through, allowing particulate matter, like from the engine exhausts (and some looks like it was in the filter for a while, and got salt encrusted), to travel through the ductwork. The "stringy" bits in the top right photo look like a piece of the air filter.

Have you ever walked down the passageway and heard the wind whistling under a cabin door? That is how we find the offenders when we get complaints from a cluster of cabins. Leaving the balcony door open unbalances the air flow to an entire block of cabins.

But, it would still be transportation between two US ports by a foreign flag ship, which is only allowed for US flag ships. Many, many people here on CC think of the PVSA only from the viewpoint of the cruise lines, but it also protects the business and jobs of US citizens involved in any "passenger vessel" service (a passenger vessel is defined as any vessel that carries more than 12 people for hire), including ferries, water taxis, casino boats, dinner cruise boats, river boats, sightseeing and whale watching boats, and large charter fishing vessels. It also, by requiring these services to be performed only by US flag vessels, requires them to meet the stricter safety, inspection, training, and documentation requirements of the USCG, that foreign flag ships do not need to meet.

CBP will fine the ship, the cruise line will pass the fine to the passenger, and then it is up to the passenger to appeal the fine to CBP. I've seen this happen to a deceased passenger.

The cruise line will be fined for your leaving, and the ticket contract allows them to pass this fine on to the passenger, which is about $760/person. The ship should likely clear immigrations in Maine, so there won't likely be a problem with "improper entry" for leaving the ship without clearing immigration (which could result in 6 months in jail for a first offense).

Almost every ship out there today has satellite internet, though crew use may be limited, but officers generally have good access. If the ship is carrying passengers, they will have access similar to the officers, though it may be wired and not wi-fi. Speeds are good, but not great, not really designed for streaming, main use is for ship's business.

This is correct, the PVSA precludes you boarding a foreign flag cruise ship in one US port, and disembarking in another US port, unless the cruise visits a "distant" foreign port. CBP defines a "distant" foreign port as one that is not in North or Central America, the Caribbean, the Bahamas or Bermuda. So, your stops in Canadian ports do not qualify as "distant" foreign ports.

Back in 1977, my wife and I relocated from the UK back to the US on the QE2. While the company paid for a shipping container to follow via cargo ship for most of our belongings, that would be about 2-3 months before we got the stuff. So, Cunard allowed two suitcases per person in the cabin, two steamer trunks per person in the "baggage room" (not accessible during the voyage), and 200 cubic feet per person of freight in the cargo hold. As others have noted, arriving in your new country via airplane or ship is just the same, but you will have to have a different interview with customs and immigration than the rest of the passengers getting off the ship.

Welcome to a real emergency.

The only thing that a passenger should "get" from the muster drill, is to experience how to get to their muster station, from wherever they are onboard, while at the same time, everyone else onboard is trying to do the same. This is a far different scenario than having a few people at a time, by themselves, or escorted by crew, reporting directly from the gangway. It takes away any feeling of the "drill" being a simulation of a real muster, which is the objective of the drill. The safety video has long been an acceptable substitution for a live presentation during the in-person musters, so that can remain, and has no bearing on the "training" aspect of the drill for the passengers.

There was an actual muster on an RCI ship a few months back, man overboard if I remember right, and a poster who was there said it was chaos, with many passengers not remembering what deck their station was on. The excuse given was that "it was 7 days ago that we checked in at our station, so it's understandable that they would forget".

Yeah, the small ships don't have the luxury of the multiple engine redundancy that the large ships have. Ship built prior to Safe Return to Port rules, so almost invariably a single engine room. Thanks for the inside info from the Coasties.

I agree with Andy that this might not have resulted in a muster, let alone an evacuation on a newer ship. Until the advent of the e-muster, I would have had few concerns about this happening on a larger ship, but I have well documented my concerns for the training of both crew and passengers for an actual emergency muster.