Staying overnight then catch ship in next port

[stever]

Thinking of "accidentally" not making it back in time for departure from Rome and meeting up with ship next day in Naples. The ship is visiting both ports midway through the cruise. Would like to have an overnight stay in Rome. I would contact the ship 1 hour before they are to depart for Naples, saying I would not be able to return to the ship in time. Has anyone done this? As far I can tell they only say you are responsible at your own cost to reach the ship.

 

Some people might object to this. As I stated I would contact the ship so I would not disrupt their operations.

[Freecall]

I can’t really see why it would not work although contacting the cruise line is essential to your plan and not just to avoid disruptions to the company’s operations.

 

If they don’t have any knowledge of your situation they may offload some or all of your belongings to the handling agent. They sometimes do this in order to ensure that you have you necessary travel documents for onward movements.

 

Obviously if the ship is unable to dock in Naples you will be stranded in Italy so you need to make sure that when you phone you let the company know that you have your passports with you.

 

Otherwise Rome to Naples is a very easy (& cheap) journey on the train.

[hancock]

Make arrangements beforehand with the cruiseline. It shouldn't be a problem since you aren't dealing with the US Passengers Service Act(Jones Act). It would be a problem if sailing from a US port.

[floridatravelersforlife]

Overnights are done all the time, but you should follow the protocal with Celebrity. In fact, in some countries, its mandatory. We did two overnights on our own in Israel and Egypt and it worked flawlessly.

 

Do a search on overnights and you will find threads on how to contact Celebrity. There is a specific RCCL email address to use which someone else can cite.

[gaddgie]

What are you going to do if teh Cruise Line decides to skip next port of call, say for bad weather or such like.

 

True its unlikely to happen in the Med but it could.

[Susie51]

I hope this works out well for you. I worry about the "what ifs" so I don't think I would risk it. Make sure you get everything in writing and confirm with the front desk about your plans before leaving the ship.

[Friscorays]

There is no problem doing this and there is no reason to hide what you are doing from the Cruise line, in fact you should follow their established protocol for this.

 

My wife and her mother overnighted in Rome on their last Mediterranean cruise April 2009 and transferred to Naples by high speed train (90 minute trip) the next morning. Train ickets are reasonably priced and can be purchased on-line.

 

Let theCelebrity personel know when you board that you will be overnighting and remind them again the night before or day of disembarkation in Civitavecchia. There is no reason to try and deceive or mislead them as people do this all the time. You will only potentially run into trouble with the ploy aspect of your plan.

[CruisinManiac]

I didn't know this could be done.:) RCCL should make an excursion out of the plan. Passengers can be bused into Rome, spend the day, check into a RCCL sponsored hotel, tour Rome at night, and catch the bus to the train station the next morning. RCCL takes care of getting the train tickets. You arrive in Naples early enough to tour.

[stever]

Thank you for all the info. I am glad to see you are allowed to do this. So now I know have to lie about it.

 

I also was thinking that if allowed, why don't cruise lines have excursions like this.

 

Again thank you, now I have more leverage for talking my wife into this cruise.

[kitty9]

If you want to do excursions that do overnights, including a hotel stay, you have to get off the mass market lines and cruise on the luxury lines. I've done many overland excursions on Crystal where we've departed the ship one day and returned a few days later. Have done this for excursions in Cambodia, Vietnam, China, India, an African safari and quite a few others. Mass markets with their huge numbers of passengers would never be able to do such a thing just due to the logistics and probably due to the high costs that those types of excursions. It's easier to handle 100 or so passengers who would book extended excursions, but it would be a nightmare to try and find hotels for a few hundred from a mass market line.

[Gonzo70]

I am not in total agreement with the others on this thread; I think that there is a chance that this is not permitted. The U.S. is not the only country with cabotage laws. Italy does have cabotage laws similar to the PSVA (sometimes referred to as the Jones Act). I do not have much expertise on Italy's cabotage laws, but do know that they exist. As such, while I cannot say for certain that what the OP is asking is impossible, I would not recommend he/she just go ahead and do it unless formal approval is obtained from the cruise line. If Italy's cabotage laws prohibit what the OP wants to do, he/she would be denied boarding in Naples.

 

Carnival actually has a FAQ on this issue and cautions that Italy has cabotage laws: http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Jones_Act.aspx

[bob278]

They don't actually have to do it for hundreds of passengers. They can (and do) limit the number of people on excursions. I would think most of those offered on upscale lines were while the ship was in a single port. I don't see why they couldn't handle 60-70 people for that in Rome. It would be a wonderful tour for people that might not be able to go stay in Rome on their own. How much harder would it be if the return to the ship was Naples rather than Civitavecchia? I don't see why they couldn't handle 60-70 people. It would be a wonderful tour for people that might not be able to go stay in Rome on their own.

 

Celebrity offers an overnight excursion in Alexandria, Egypt. Of course it costs close to $500, but I'll bet they have 2 or 3 busloads of people that take them.

 

I thought the law in question for the US did not allow the ship to transport a passenger between two cities and then leave. This would be different in that the people are moving independently of the ship to reboard.

[stever]

With doing a little more research Celebrity will allow this. I talked to Celebrity and all I have to do is inform them well in advance.

[Gonzo70]

With doing a little more research Celebrity will allow this. I talked to Celebrity and all I have to do is inform them well in advance.

 

Glad to hear it. That is good that you checked with them.

[Steph27]

I am glad to hear that you have received the OK from Celebrity to leave the ship in Rome and reboard in Naples. I read the other posts from people doing something similar in 2009. Celebrity may have changed their policies.

 

In 2007 prior to my Century cruise I requested written permission to depart the ship in Rome and reboard in Florence. I received a reply from Celebrity that they would not permit this due to Cabotage Laws.

 

It is very possible that Celebrity has changed their policies due to many requests similar to yours. I certainly would be great news. I am going to send a request for my April 2010 Equinox cruise to reboard in another port and see if they are more flexible now.

[D4]

I agree that you should let Celebrity know what you plan to do. If you're from the USA, we're the foreigners on Med cruises and Celebrity keeps your passport until right before the end of the cruise. It is standard practice that you have to present your passports when you check into a hotel in Rome.

 

I think this is a great idea because Rome is AWESOME! We had 3 nights there after our cruise just 7 weeks ago and it just wasn't enough. I want to go back to Rome this year for at least a week and probably Venice for about a week.

[Cruise Junky]

I agree that you should let Celebrity know what you plan to do. If you're from the USA, we're the foreigners on Med cruises and Celebrity keeps your passport until right before the end of the cruise. It is standard practice that you have to present your passports when you check into a hotel in Rome.

 

I think this is a great idea because Rome is AWESOME! We had 3 nights there after our cruise just 7 weeks ago and it just wasn't enough. I want to go back to Rome this year for at least a week and probably Venice for about a week.

 

Celebrity doesn't keep your passports. They only collect them if you're going out of the EU... ie Turkey and then they'll return them. A straight Med. Cruise staying in the EU you keep your passports.

[Xport]

If you want to do excursions that do overnights, including a hotel stay, you have to get off the mass market lines and cruise on the luxury lines.

 

I did overland tours--sponsored by Celebrity--in both Israel [port calls at Haifa and Ashdod; stayed in Jerusalem] and Egypt [two day port call at Alexandria; stayed in Cairo] while aboard Equinox last September/October... Both tours were pricey but exceptional...

[Gonzo70]

I am glad to hear that you have received the OK from Celebrity to leave the ship in Rome and reboard in Naples. I read the other posts from people doing something similar in 2009. Celebrity may have changed their policies.

 

In 2007 prior to my Century cruise I requested written permission to depart the ship in Rome and reboard in Florence. I received a reply from Celebrity that they would not permit this due to Cabotage Laws.

 

It is very possible that Celebrity has changed their policies due to many requests similar to yours. I certainly would be great news. I am going to send a request for my April 2010 Equinox cruise to reboard in another port and see if they are more flexible now.

 

I don't think it has anything to do with Celebrity policies, but local laws. If there are not cabotage laws against it, they likely will work it out so that you are able to do it.

[Freecall]

Celebrity doesn't keep your passports. They only collect them if you're going out of the EU... ie Turkey and then they'll return them. A straight Med. Cruise staying in the EU you keep your passports.

 

Absolutely correct. We have done several Med cruises both stopping outside the EU and not doing so and this is what happens.

 

What I don’t know however is why. Other cruise lines don’t do it.

[Cruise Junky]

Absolutely correct. We have done several Med cruises both stopping outside the EU and not doing so and this is what happens.

 

What I don’t know however is why. Other cruise lines don’t do it.

 

Princess does, we had the same thing happen on the Grand in 08. We had to turn them in a couple of days before Ephesus and then got them back the next day.

[Freecall]

Princess does, we had the same thing happen on the Grand in 08. We had to turn them in a couple of days before Ephesus and then got them back the next day.

 

Any idea why? I don’t know for sure but it may be something to do with the group visa arrangements. If you fly in to Turkey there is a 10 Euro visa charge but on cruises this does not seem to apply.

[caribdvr]

stever, have you taken your cruise? Were you able to overnight in Rome? This sounds like a great idea, we would probably get off in Livorno, go to Florence on day 1, train to Rome day 1 evening, stay 2 nights, train to Naples on day 3 to catch up with our Princess ship. Or possibly some abbreviated version of this, but it seems it would give a chance to see Rome when less crowded. And the transportation doesn't seem that it would take much more time than getting to the city from the ports.

 

In looking all over the internet, it appears that there is a chance that the Italian laws have changed to permit this. I did call Princess, and they did say we could do it with prior notification, but I would really like to hear of someone actually doing this in 2011 in Italy. I think, but certainly don't know, that it is more to do with the Italian law than with the cruise line (although that might also vary if it is not an American line).

 

Another question if you did this, or lots of people should know the answer to this question: is it necessary to buy train tickets in advance (Florence--> Rome and/or Rome --> Naples) or can you maintain your flexibility by just showing up and buying a ticket?

 

Thanks for your help

[buffi001]

Here's a novel idea....why not tell the truth? We've become a society

of people who are always trying to get away with something....or, in the

case of famous athletes and celebrities caught doing something wrong lie.

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, just let them know ahead of time.

[Cruise Junky]

Here's a novel idea....why not tell the truth? We've become a society

of people who are always trying to get away with something....or, in the

case of famous athletes and celebrities caught doing something wrong lie.

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, just let them know ahead of time.

 

Did you miss the part about him letting the ship know so it wouldn't interfer with their operations?