Can You Tour/Walk Around a Ship in Port?

[cjknox]

Does anybody know if a non passenger would be allowed to board a cruise ship in port, to "have a look around" and take pictures etc.? A friend of mine want's to know but I couldn't give him a definite answer seeing as I've never considered it myself.

[travlngrl1996]

I'm afraid not.

[chipq]

Some lines allow a passenger to arrange to have family join them for lunch at port calls but it is to be arranged in advance and they must pay a fee for lunch. A non-passenger just showing up at a pier asking to look around will be refused.

 

In June, the Valor (non 2.0) was in Nassau on the same pier as the fascination (?)(2.0). I could see and smell the Guy's Burgers so I approached the chief security officer for the Fascination and showed him my Valor S&S card and asked if there were a possibility of me running up to grab a burger from Guy's. I knew the answer but you know, the worst that can happen is he say no. He politely said he didn't blame me for trying but the security policies prohibit it.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[BettyCruiser]

Does anybody know if a non passenger would be allowed to board a cruise ship in port, to "have a look around" and take pictures etc.? A friend of mine want's to know but I couldn't give him a definite answer seeing as I've never considered it myself.

 

Princess offers the Bon Voyage Experience, I think it includes lunch and a tour of the ship, I think you need to know someone on the sailing, it's not free but I think you can get a credit of the amount if you book a cruise within a certain time frame, it's offered at embarkation ports.

 

The only other opportunity I've heard of is to attend a wedding that occurs before sailing.

[2GACruisers]

Can my friends visit me on the ship while in port?

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx

 

Carnival has implemented a "No Visitors" policy for the entire fleet. This applies to all ports of embarkation and ports of call. Guests sailing on our cruises will not be permitted to have visitors on board to see them off. We have changed this policy to improve our overall security program and enhance the onboard experience for our guests during embarkation day.

The following exception applies to this policy:

a) Wedding Guests attending a passenger's ceremony/reception or guests attending any type of party/reception on board that has been previously arranged by the Bon Voyage/Wedding Services Department will follow the policies stated by this Department.

[i5trucker]

Seems like a security risk to the regular passengers, I'm glad they don't let "looky-loos" aboard.

 

Also, the ship is only in port a short time to dis-embark and embark passengers, load luggage, restock the ship and most importantly, get cleared by customs.

Edited April 7, 2013 by i5trucker

[Blurgh]

Not since 9/11.

 

Awhile before that you used to have guests on board during the afternoon of departure. I was a cruise visitor in the 80's a couple of times when I was a kid. More recently, you could get on if you could pull some strings.

 

Not anymore, though.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Blurgh

[avatheps]

Does anybody know if a non passenger would be allowed to board a cruise ship in port, to "have a look around" and take pictures etc.? A friend of mine want's to know but I couldn't give him a definite answer seeing as I've never considered it myself.

I asked the same thing myself not long ago and was told much the same thing as you have found. I found out by chance from a CC member from out of my area that AAA was offering a 1 day tour of RCL Explorer of the Seas while it was docked at Port Liberty in Bayonne NJ on May 2nd. It took a bit of phone work, but I bought DW and I the tickets for this tour. It includes round trip bus fare from Allentown PA, a tour of the passenger areas of the ship, and lunch at the Windjammer. We are very excited to be able to actually get to see the ship before our very first cruise. I called AAA regional office here in NY and told them about what I was doing and they said they would look into it as well. I think it would be in the cruise business's best interest to offer such tours as an incentive to get more folks to travel. Maybe if more folks get on the horn with their cruise lines and travel clubs we would see more tours of this type. BTW, tickets were only $59pp.

Bob:)

[Cuizer2]

Does anybody know if a non passenger would be allowed to board a cruise ship in port, to "have a look around" and take pictures etc.? A friend of mine want's to know but I couldn't give him a definite answer seeing as I've never considered it myself.

 

You have to make arrangements with the cruise line ahead of time. If you use a travel agent, the travel agent might be able to arrange it for you. If you know one of the passengers on Princess, you can join them, for a fee, on embarkation day.

[Tapi]

If you have a good relationship with your PVP (like we do), they are allowed to do ship visits on the day of embarkation and they are allowed to bring up to 4 additional, non-traveling guests along.

 

Our PVP coordinated to have 4 of our friends join us for lunch and a ship tour on embarkation day when we sailed on the Liberty. It was a wonderful gesture on his part.

 

Not every PVP is willing to do this, but we've known ours for 8 years and he has become a great friend.

[SkyMaster]

Back in "the day", you could board other ships in port while at all the different ports of call. That was a really fun thing to do, and gave you a lot of insight on what cruise to book next. Sadly, with the security concerns of the current time, that's a thing of the past. :(

I'm retired now, but when I was working, one of my jobs was working on the computer systems aboard the Carnival ships while in port here in Tampa. I'd usually stay aboard, have lunch, and watch embarkation after I finish whatever I had to do. GREAT fun, and that too, gave me a good idea of what goes on behind the scenes. :cool: (I always tried to stay aboard, but they ALWAYS caught me, and kicked me off before sailing.) :confused:

 

"SKY"

[luv2trvlnow]

Princess offers the Bon Voyage Experience, I think it includes lunch and a tour of the ship, I think you need to know someone on the sailing, it's not free but I think you can get a credit of the amount if you book a cruise within a certain time frame, it's offered at embarkation ports.

 

The only other opportunity I've heard of is to attend a wedding that occurs before sailing.

Princess does offer the Bon Voyage Experience. You get priority boarding at the port of embarkation. You then get about 4 hours onboard inluding a tour and lunch in the dining room with wine. But you do not need to know anyone sailing on that cruise. It costs $39 and if you book within 90 days it is applied to your cruise fare.

 

The reason I know this is, we are doing this after debarking the Breeze on April 21. We will then drive up to Fort Lauderdale and board the Ruby Princess. And we do not know anybody onboard. You have to fill out forms similar to Carnival's Fun Pass. We provided our passport numbers and you have to set up an onboard account for any drinks you decide to buy while onboard.

 

Here is a link that explains it and shows which ships are having the Bon Voyage Experience:

 

https://book.princess.com/BookingSystem/jsp/home/ship_visit/BonVoyageExperience.jsp

 

Sharon

[Carnival_Brides]

I wish we could. I'm really unsure of booking one of the larger CCL ships and would've loved to look around the Magic when we were in Nassau.

 

I can say, if you're planning a wedding with CCL, they will allow you to schedule a tour (after booking) to look around the ship before the wedding. We were allowed to bring 2 additional people with us. They will also allow non-sailing guests to attend weddings at embarkation and different ports of call.

[matj2000]

Not since 9/11.

 

Why does everyone assume anything security related is due to 9/11?

On my first cruise, pre-9/11 I asked about this very subject and was told they really do not let visitors on anymore.

It is more of a hassle and the cruiseline gets no true benefit out of it.

Also, some of the cruiselines do offer tours, for a fee and others give them to travel agents because the sell cruises.

People are way to quick to throw out the "9/11 card" anytime they can...

[Cuizer2]

Why does everyone assume anything security related is due to 9/11?

 

On my first cruise, pre-9/11 I asked about this very subject and was told they really do not let visitors on anymore.

 

It is more of a hassle and the cruiseline gets no true benefit out of it.

 

Also, some of the cruiselines do offer tours, for a fee and others give them to travel agents because the sell cruises.

 

People are way to quick to throw out the "9/11 card" anytime they can...

 

You are correct. The restriction against guest on board cruise ships occurred after the October 1985 incident aboard the Achille Lauro.

[Txnmysoul]

Shame that we can't. I researched many cruise lines and finally decided on Celebrity Equinox from many online videos and cruise line comparison articles and loved it. We were docked next to RC Harmony and Caribbean Princess and really wanted to tour the ships as they were top contenders on my search. Princess was knocked off cause the decor seemed a lil too traditional and ships seemed crowded vs celebritys chic modern decor and low passenger count and Harmony was booted cause too many kids and ppl and ship seems too vast. Touring the ships would have been amazing, as I could've included them for future cruises, but will stick with Celbrity from now on since I'm worried about spending thousands of dollars and extremely valuable vacation time on something I'm unsure of is right for me. If anyone would like to give me thier cruise line comparisons, then please hit me up. I've talked to several fellow passengers on the Equinox and 98% had nothing good to say about either line, as they are loyal celebrity cruisers.

[beachbum6264]

Way back in '93 we were in Nassau on the Big Red Boat. My grandmother lived in Nassau (born there, lived there her entire life), and she got to come on board. Our kids got a huge thrill out of showing her our cabin. The next time were were there on a cruise she was only able to come out onto the pier (only because she knew everyone working on the dock and they let her go out).

[1025cruise]

New user, 5 year old thread....

[Towel Critter]

New user, 5 year old thread....

Yes it was, but now it is current again. :D

[watermelonqueen99]

Pretty sure that would make for a Homeland Security and/or Customs nightmare. :eek:

[Luckiestmanonearth]

With all that’s going on in this crazy world , I would be very nervous if I learned a cruise line would allow random passengers to board to “look around”

 

 

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[pacruise804]

Princess at least used to allow the Bon Voyage Experience (BVE) for certain sailings. For ~$40 you could board, see general areas of the ship, have lunch in the MDR and possibly a drink (maybe a picture too). The $40 could then be applied to a future booking.

 

I think it required the same identification methods though as a full sailing booking, so not just "random strangers."

[Lottacruises]

Sweet

[2Shoes2Go]

It has become much more difficult in even the last few years. We were able, less than five years ago, to go over and have a Guy’s burger on Liberty, while docked next to her, on Fascination in Nassau. They did require us to have an escort. GSM went with us.

Now, security measures almost prohibit this from happening. Even crew have to have 48 hr approval from Security and the Captains’ oks.

[rolloman]

If you have a good travel agent, they often are invited to sales seminars onboard prior to departure. This usually results in attending a seminar, room tours and complementary lunch. I have been invited 4 or 5 times over the years to attend with my travel agent.