Cutting Cruise short?

[Sarmty]

Hi -

 

We are scheduled to cruise on the Freedom in just over 2 weeks. My Hubby has just found out there is a huge meeting he has to attend during the time we are cruising. Is it allowed for him to get on the ship with us but when we stop in Key West he will just fly home? Is there a penalty we will have to pay for him leaving the ship? Would he be allowed to reboard the boat in Jamaica?

 

Does anyone know if there is any way to call into a meeting from the ship on a day at sea? I know the cost would be outrageous, but are the ship phones good quality or would it drop the call constantly?

 

We would cancel alltogether, but there is a group of family members going and it's not fair to cancel at this late date.

 

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!

[Igerster]

It is against us law to board a ship in one port and get off in another I.e get on in Miami and off in key west fl. However you can get off in another country. Carnival will let you do this and refund you the difference in the price of the cruise and the portion you were on the ship. It's part of their vacation guarantee. Sorry i don't have a link for you.

[DaDivaMom]

he could also try "skyping" in from the internet cafe.

[firefly333]

He could get off in a foreign port more than likely, but if he gets off in Key West without permission, its going to cost the cruiseship money .. some say its the jones act, but there could be other laws involved.

 

It could be quite a hefty fee for not going to a foreign port before leaving the port. Are there other ports before Key West? This might determine if it might be allowed by the ship.

 

You husband should check out his own cell phone service and the cost to call from the ship. ATT is as low as $2.49 a minute.

[Carolin]

How long is the meeting? I've been to many "important" meetings where I've sat there wondering why the heck I had to be there. If he's not expected to participate in the meeting (presentation etc) then a phone call will do. If its a all day meeting then even calling in is too expensive.

 

At what point in your cruise is the meeting? Sea day?

[Traveler353]

The Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 (sometimes abbreviated to PVSA, Passenger Services Act, or PSA) is a piece of United States legislation which came into force in 1886 relating to cabotage. Essentially, it says:

No foreign vessels shall transport passengers between ports or places in the United States, either directly or by way of a foreign port, under a penalty of $200 (now $300) for each passenger so transported and landed.

[okgirl]

Why doesn't he just miss embarkation and fly to Jamaica to meet the ship.

[idjaffe]

They have conference rooms...and many now have video conferencing.

[salty dingo]

If he must attend the meeting, he could try to fly to the first port of call the ship will visit after the meeting and board there. You would definitely want to clear this with Carnival ahead of time to be sure it is OK and so they will be expecting him.

 

It is certain that he cannot board in Miami and get off in Key West, as it is illegal. The reverse is also true - one cannot board in Key West and disembark in the US.

 

It is really a shame that someone cannot go on a pre-planned vacation without being interrupted by a meeting. That really stinks. Is there someone you can stand in for him as his proxy, and represent his point of view and interests?

 

Good luck working this out.

[salty dingo]

he could also try "skyping" in from the internet cafe.

No, the bandwidth would not be any good for VoIP, plus it is 55 to 75 cents a minute.

 

I have heard people say that they could use a Blackberry on the ship and were only charged for data usage and not for "per-minute" fees, but I do not know if that is true.

[ChefSusan]

OP have you spoken to anyone at Carnival yet? They would be the best resource for you, other than your husband having someone sit in on the meeting for him, and relaying any important information post-cruise.

[Sarmty]

I did just call Carnival. While they said it is possible, it would be a $300.00 fee.

 

Our Itnenerary is:

10/3 - FLL

10/4 - Key West

10/5 - Sea

10/6 - Grand Cayman

10/7 - Ocho Rios

10/8 - Sea

10/9 - FLL

 

His meeting is in DC on the 6th and 7th. If only we weren't at sea on the days on either side, he would miss less time.

 

I am interested in checking out the video conferencing option - I'll call Carnival about that.

 

Thank you all for your help!

[firefly333]

I did just call Carnival. While they said it is possible, it would be a $300.00 fee.

 

Our Itnenerary is:

10/3 - FLL

10/4 - Key West

10/5 - Sea

10/6 - Grand Cayman

10/7 - Ocho Rios

10/8 - Sea

10/9 - FLL

 

His meeting is in DC on the 6th and 7th. If only we weren't at sea on the days on either side, he would miss less time.

 

I am interested in checking out the video conferencing option - I'll call Carnival about that.

 

Thank you all for your help!

 

Now I am confused ... you will be in a port on both days of the meeting ... why would you call from the ship. Call from the port for much much less $$.

 

Shows 10/6 and 10/7 as being in a port. Get a phone card in the port if you plan on a really long phone call. I call for about 40 cents a minute from internet cafes.

 

For sure you can call for way way less from the port than on the ship..

[Marie51]

You mention flying to Jamaica so he could reboard the ship there. An airline ticket will most likely cost more than the phone call.

A friend of mine had to pay $800 to fly to Grand Cayman to board the ship there.

[jb58]

I was on the Legend the beginning of this past August. Got a call on my blackberry while at sea at 2:00am to help with an issue at work. I was on a conference call for an hour until the issue was resolved. So yes it can be done but at what price? Thankfully this was my company phone and I didn't see the bill.

[MrPete]

To the ones that say you "can't", what happens if someone actually does miss the ship. Does Jones actually show up?

[ecosense]

If you've got a laptop, you can purchase wireless access minutes (reasonable if you are like me and really want an internet connection while you are cruising!) from the ship and Skype from your cabin? Skype costs nothing to download and is a great way to contact folks (video messaging for those who don't know what it is!) You should make sure to download the program to your computer before leaving home of course!

It will be like he is IN the meeting and he wouldn't have to leave the ship! Just a thought.......

[MCC retired]

Boarding at FLL on the 3rd and getting off next day , the 4th ,at Key West hardly seem worth the $300 penalty and lose of the rest of the cruise . A 1 day cruise for him, ugh!

 

I second the previous poster who stated she attended many an important meeting , only to wonder "why am I here" ? Been there done that too many times.;)

 

He must ask himself:

What if illness/accident/emergency prevented me from attending?

Would the meeting not be able to go one without me? Would the company be in jeopardy, would my job be in jeopardy ?:confused:

[ptcruzers]

You have already spoken to Carnival about your situation, now is the time to speak with your husbands' employer as well. Keep it simple throughout the whole process and it will be much better, possibly his employer will work with him, (I am just guessing that he will have put in for the time off months ago), so it should not be a big surprise to both parties exactly what is going on. Good Luck!!:D:D

[salty dingo]

Boarding at FLL on the 3rd and getting off next day , the 4th ,at Key West hardly seem worth the $300 penalty and lose of the rest of the cruise . A 1 day cruise for him, ugh!

Plus the flight from Key West, plus the flight back to rejoin the ship? No way anyone is going to pay all that!

 

If he must attend the meeting he is best off not embarking until after the meeting. Then no penalty and only one flight to pay for. But even then, it is sort of silly to fly to Jamiaca, take a cab to the other side of the island where the ship is, hope to not miss the ship, and then get rewarded with an evening and a sea day before ending the cruise. That's going to be really hard to justify.

 

Why doesn't he weigh the importance of the meeting versus the impact to the family of him missing the entire cruise? Maybe the meeting will not be as important then?

[firefly333]

OP have your hubby bring his laptop and he can do VOIP over his laptop from the two ports you will be at. There are lots of internet cafes, even if you had to pay top dollar, say $6 an hour .. its still much much cheaper than from the ship.

 

Or skype or one of those to listen into the meeting cheap.

 

Now that you say you will be sitting in ports those two days ... a lot more easily and cheaply solved.

[5waldos]

Isn't Washington fun when it comes to messing up plans? And they always make it sound utterly earth shattering and critical beyond words that you be there.

 

Is it possible that he could at least convince them that he only had to "attend" one day of the meeting by skype or whatever? That would be far less disruptive I would thing- and far less pricy. And many meetings really are not something you can let the world in on so he would also have to have some privacy I would think. Perhaps some of the local hotels offer free internet? Couldn't be much more expensive to rent a hotel room for the day than internet service- and he obviously won't be doing any excursions that day.

[goose30]

And if he retired tomorrow who would attend the meeting?

[skittl1321]

To the ones that say you "can't", what happens if someone actually does miss the ship. Does Jones actually show up?

 

 

I'm actually really curious about this too- if you miss the ship in a domestic port are you fined? Where if you miss it at a foreign port you're just screwed?

[cruisedawgg]

I did just call Carnival. While they said it is possible, it would be a $300.00 fee.

 

Our Itnenerary is:

10/3 - FLL

10/4 - Key West

10/5 - Sea

10/6 - Grand Cayman

10/7 - Ocho Rios

10/8 - Sea

10/9 - FLL

 

His meeting is in DC on the 6th and 7th. If only we weren't at sea on the days on either side, he would miss less time.

 

I am interested in checking out the video conferencing option - I'll call Carnival about that.

 

Thank you all for your help!

 

 

You're in port on the meeting days -- why not call in from internet cafe's ?