Disembark in Nassau Before End of Cruise - Possible?

[SeaWatcher65]

NCL Escape cruise from Miami. Nassau is last port in Friday and ship returns to Miami Saturday. Can we disembark in Nassau? We would stay on the ship Friday, disembark before it sails, then stay overnight in Nassau 4 nights and fly home from Nassau.

 

If not possible or not a good idea, any suggestions for what to do for 3 nights in South Florida after the cruise other than more beach time at Ft Lauderdale? Will have 10 yr old son. Have passports.

Edited November 17, 2015 by SeaWatcher65

[jpcello]

NCL Escape cruise from Miami. Nassau is last port in Friday and ship returns to Miami Saturday. Can we disembark in Nassau? We would stay on the ship Friday, disembark before it sails, then stay overnight in Nassau 4 nights and fly home from Nassau.

 

If not possible or not a good idea, any suggestions for what to do for 3 nights in South Florida after the cruise other than more beach time at Ft Lauderdale? Will have 10 yr old son. Have passports.

 

If you do decide to disembark, make sure you tell them.

 

What about a trip to Everglades National Park? Vizcaya? The Keys for a few days?

[1025cruise]

Unfortunately, this will probably not be allowed as it will change the status of the cruise from a closed loop cruise. It can cause immigration issues for the other passengers on return to Miami.

[vlynn]

Unfortunately, this will probably not be allowed as it will change the status of the cruise from a closed loop cruise. It can cause immigration issues for the other passengers on return to Miami.

 

I question if this is at all true.

 

The only reason I doubt the above statement is because passengers are left at port or even removed from ships at ports without causing issues for the remaining passengers. I would say they could do this. What difference would it be if they willingly stay at Nassau or if they just miss the ship leaving?

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I question if this is at all true.

 

The only reason I doubt the above statement is because passengers are left at port or even removed from ships at ports without causing issues for the remaining passengers. I would say they could do this. What difference would it be if they willingly stay at Nassau or if they just miss the ship leaving?

 

This is true for Carnival cruise lines but I have not read about this on any of the other cruise line forums.

 

Best thing for the OP to do is call NCL and ask them.:)

 

Bill

[NCLfamily]

They cannot stop you, you have the right to leave whenever you want. You must tell them though, it is only right that they don't hold the ship up for you.

[SeaWatcher65]

If you do decide to disembark, make sure you tell them.

 

What about a trip to Everglades National Park? Vizcaya? The Keys for a few days?

 

I thought it might be fun to rent a car and drive on the roads down to Key West and back, maybe stay a night here and there.... but I have a fear of heights so wondering if I would be comfortable driving on that road. Thanks for the suggestions!

[SeaWatcher65]

We would definitely make arrangements with NCL in advance. The only reason I'd stay in Nassau for a few days is to have time at Atlantis. Don't want to do the day pass while in port because it's too expensive and not enough time. We could get a room at Comfort Suites for a few days instead.

 

I will check NCL's web site and call but I've found it difficult to trust what's on the web site and what the NCL phone reps say. Hoping someone has done this before.

 

I question if this is at all true.

 

The only reason I doubt the above statement is because passengers are left at port or even removed from ships at ports without causing issues for the remaining passengers. I would say they could do this. What difference would it be if they willingly stay at Nassau or if they just miss the ship leaving?

 

This is true for Carnival cruise lines but I have not read about this on any of the other cruise line forums.

 

Best thing for the OP to do is call NCL and ask them.:)

 

Bill

Edited November 17, 2015 by SeaWatcher65

[vlynn]

This is true for Carnival cruise lines but I have not read about this on any of the other cruise line forums.

 

Best thing for the OP to do is call NCL and ask them.:)

 

Bill

 

I agree the OP should call NCL.

 

I am confused however, about your statement that this is true for Carnival but not others. Please someone correct me if I am wrong (its certainly known to happen :D) but all cruise lines have it in the contract that they can disembark you at any point under certain conditions, health, disorderly conduct, criminal conduct.. etc.

 

Plus do you mean other cruiselines will wait to leave a port until all passengers have returned regardless of time? Say a passenger takes a private excursion and something happens to the vehicle on the return trip and they don't get to the pier until an hour after the scheduled departure time..other than Carnival..the other lines would be there waiting for the passenger? I find that hard to believe.

[MommaBear55]

I thought it might be fun to rent a car and drive on the roads down to Key West and back, maybe stay a night here and there.... but I have a fear of heights so wondering if I would be comfortable driving on that road. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

There are very few bridges that are more than 10 to 20 feet above the water and the highest is 65 feet. My kids at 10 years old would have found the drive boring. I liked the last hour. Key West is fun. There is a pirate museum as well as great food. The airboats in the Everglades are neat. There are also alligator farms that would appeal to a 10 year old.

[SullytheBFG]

We did the drive there and back to Key West on two motorbikes. While Key West was fun the drive gets boring and VERY hypnotic.

[duchesslt]

We would definitely make arrangements with NCL in advance. The only reason I'd stay in Nassau for a few days is to have time at Atlantis. Don't want to do the day pass while in port because it's too expensive and not enough time. We could get a room at Comfort Suites for a few days instead.

 

I will check NCL's web site and call but I've found it difficult to trust what's on the web site and what the NCL phone reps say. Hoping someone has done this before.

 

As an aside, I just had a friend who brought her family to Atlantis to the high end towers and the horror stories for the money paid from food quality, to mold in bathtub, to service attitudes, to restaurants being closed and the dangers on the beach which aren't really owned by Atlantis were unbelievable.

 

For much less you could consider the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne right by Miami and enroll your son in the Kids Ritz club which are phenomenal. Ok - so it's not the Atlantis slides but my friend on 4 days 3 nights in Atlantis spent close to $8000 and they all left absolutely disgusted.

[chengkp75]

I question if this is at all true.

 

The only reason I doubt the above statement is because passengers are left at port or even removed from ships at ports without causing issues for the remaining passengers. I would say they could do this. What difference would it be if they willingly stay at Nassau or if they just miss the ship leaving?

 

Hookay, one more time. CBP uses the passenger manifest provided at embarkation to screen the passengers throughout the cruise, since they assume that everyone will return to the port of embarkation. This allows them to have an extremely cursory interview upon disembarkation, basically checking that faces match ID, and everyone is there. According to the CBP guide for clearing ships (their internal guide for agents), if a ship leaves someone at a foreign port, or joins in a foreign port after the nominal port of embarkation, not only will a new passenger manifest need to be prepared and submitted, but CBP will treat the clearance at the port of disembarkation as a foreign entry, in other words, no longer as a closed loop cruise. While this will not affect the passengers ability to use BC/DL as ID for the cruise, as per the WHTI, it can result in a more intense interview with CBP for all passengers at disembarkation, more like arrival on an international flight. The submittal of a new passenger manifest results in costs to the cruise line, and the "foreign entry" status can lead to delays on disembarkation, which the cruise line doesn't want. For these reasons, which only came into effect within the last 2 years or so by CBP, "downstream boarding" (after start of cruise) or "upstream disembarking" (before end of cruise), on a voluntary basis has become something that the cruise lines will not give permission for. This applies to all cruise lines lately. NCL had problems with this, in a slightly different context, a couple years ago, when they sold a round-trip Tampa to Tampa cruise with a call in Roatan. They also marketed this to European customers as a round-trip Roatan to Roatan. Therefore, new passengers boarded in Roatan, and passengers disembarked in Roatan. Therefore, when the ship returned to Tampa, it took hours to clear the ship, since NCL had not notified CBP of the foreign entry nature of the cruise, and CBP did not have enough agents on duty.

 

They cannot stop you, you have the right to leave whenever you want. You must tell them though, it is only right that they don't hold the ship up for you.

 

Well, yes and no. When the ship clears Customs and Immigration in the Bahamas, all passengers are given a "temporary" cruise ship clearance to be in the country. This is true of any cruise in any country. If you decide to stay there, you would have to clear Immigrations when you disembark, otherwise when you go to leave the country, they will have no record of you entering, and you'll have to spend time explaining, rather than getting on your plane. It costs the cruise line money to have Customs and Immigration return, or specially clear you, and then clear another departure manifest, so they have the right to either charge you for this, or to perhaps place you on a "not allowed onboard again" list.

 

While this is far more common on European cruises, due to the nature of the EU Immigration laws, this early departure has become pretty rare in the US. And, yes, it does happen for passengers missing flights or medically disembarked, but the cruise ticket contract has wording to the effect that the line will pass costs on to you.

[Turtles06]

We've been to Nassau several times, and with the caveat that we've never gone to Atlantis, it's hard for me to see choosing four nights in Nassau over another night on a ship and three more in South Florida.

 

And that's putting aside whether you'd even be allowed to do it or the hassles described above even if you are.

[vlynn]

Hookay, one more time. CBP uses the passenger manifest provided at embarkation to screen the passengers throughout the cruise, since they assume that everyone will return to the port of embarkation. This allows them to have an extremely cursory interview upon disembarkation, basically checking that faces match ID, and everyone is there. According to the CBP guide for clearing ships (their internal guide for agents), if a ship leaves someone at a foreign port, or joins in a foreign port after the nominal port of embarkation, not only will a new passenger manifest need to be prepared and submitted, but CBP will treat the clearance at the port of disembarkation as a foreign entry, in other words, no longer as a closed loop cruise. While this will not affect the passengers ability to use BC/DL as ID for the cruise, as per the WHTI, it can result in a more intense interview with CBP for all passengers at disembarkation, more like arrival on an international flight. The submittal of a new passenger manifest results in costs to the cruise line, and the "foreign entry" status can lead to delays on disembarkation, which the cruise line doesn't want. For these reasons, which only came into effect within the last 2 years or so by CBP, "downstream boarding" (after start of cruise) or "upstream disembarking" (before end of cruise), on a voluntary basis has become something that the cruise lines will not give permission for. This applies to all cruise lines lately. NCL had problems with this, in a slightly different context, a couple years ago, when they sold a round-trip Tampa to Tampa cruise with a call in Roatan. They also marketed this to European customers as a round-trip Roatan to Roatan. Therefore, new passengers boarded in Roatan, and passengers disembarked in Roatan. Therefore, when the ship returned to Tampa, it took hours to clear the ship, since NCL had not notified CBP of the foreign entry nature of the cruise, and CBP did not have enough agents on duty.

 

 

 

Well, yes and no. When the ship clears Customs and Immigration in the Bahamas, all passengers are given a "temporary" cruise ship clearance to be in the country. This is true of any cruise in any country. If you decide to stay there, you would have to clear Immigrations when you disembark, otherwise when you go to leave the country, they will have no record of you entering, and you'll have to spend time explaining, rather than getting on your plane. It costs the cruise line money to have Customs and Immigration return, or specially clear you, and then clear another departure manifest, so they have the right to either charge you for this, or to perhaps place you on a "not allowed onboard again" list.

 

While this is far more common on European cruises, due to the nature of the EU Immigration laws, this early departure has become pretty rare in the US. And, yes, it does happen for passengers missing flights or medically disembarked, but the cruise ticket contract has wording to the effect that the line will pass costs on to you.

 

I thank you for your very informative answer. I enjoy learning new things, I did not know this. :D So when things like this happen it is certainly not taken lightly by the cruiseline. Makes sense.

[MBMGWM]

>>>Best thing for the OP to do is call NCL and ask them.<<<

 

I have a variation on the OP's original question, and may end up calling NCL as well. My wife & I will be on the Escape in January, which includes St. Thomas and Tortola stops on consecutive days. It's very easy to move between the U.S. and British Virgin Islands by ferry, so we were thinking about disembarking the Escape on St. Thomas; taking the ferry to St. John and spending the day and evening there; then ferrying over to Tortola the next day and re-joining the Escape there. I realize that we could do this on the sly by just calling the ship and telling them we were stuck somewhere and couldn't make it back to port in time on St. Thomas. That way the ship's departure from St. Thomas wouldn't be held up on our account, and we've read accounts in the past where passengers who missed the ship in one port could "catch up" by flying to the next port and rejoining the ship. I guess my thought would be, assuming the "missed the ship" excuse actually does work, wouldn't it make sense that the ship would allow a passenger to do what we plan to do voluntarily, with the ship's blessing in advance? Or do we risk being barred from re-boarding the ship in Tortola if we clue the ship in that we're planning to intentionally "miss the ship" in St. Thomas?

 

Only other fly in the ointment I could foresee would be if the Escape skipped the Tortola stop completely. But that's a very low probability risk that we'd be OK taking.

 

Anyone ever done something like this?

[Laszlo]

If you do decide to disembark, make sure you tell them.

 

What about a trip to Everglades National Park? Vizcaya? The Keys for a few days?

 

My vote is for the Keys, lots of things to do and see

[chengkp75]

>>>Best thing for the OP to do is call NCL and ask them.<<<

 

I have a variation on the OP's original question, and may end up calling NCL as well. My wife & I will be on the Escape in January, which includes St. Thomas and Tortola stops on consecutive days. It's very easy to move between the U.S. and British Virgin Islands by ferry, so we were thinking about disembarking the Escape on St. Thomas; taking the ferry to St. John and spending the day and evening there; then ferrying over to Tortola the next day and re-joining the Escape there. I realize that we could do this on the sly by just calling the ship and telling them we were stuck somewhere and couldn't make it back to port in time on St. Thomas. That way the ship's departure from St. Thomas wouldn't be held up on our account, and we've read accounts in the past where passengers who missed the ship in one port could "catch up" by flying to the next port and rejoining the ship. I guess my thought would be, assuming the "missed the ship" excuse actually does work, wouldn't it make sense that the ship would allow a passenger to do what we plan to do voluntarily, with the ship's blessing in advance? Or do we risk being barred from re-boarding the ship in Tortola if we clue the ship in that we're planning to intentionally "miss the ship" in St. Thomas?

 

Only other fly in the ointment I could foresee would be if the Escape skipped the Tortola stop completely. But that's a very low probability risk that we'd be OK taking.

 

Anyone ever done something like this?

 

As I've said, the way the cruise lines handled things like missed flights at embarkation has changed over the last couple of years in response to CBP. While the line will generally allow this for airfare that they arranged, or for cases of major weather delays, or strikes, etc, they are starting to not allow folks who miss the ship at embarkation, simply because their particular flight was delayed, to rejoin at a later port.

 

The cruise ticket contract states;

 

" Any Guest who fails to board the vessel one (1) hour prior to departure is at risk of being left at the port of embarkation or port of call. In such event, Carrier shall have the right without notice to depart without the Guest and Guest shall be fully responsible to pay for or indemnify the Carrier from all expenses incurred to rejoin the vessel at the next port or for his/her own return passage, including, but not limited to, government fees or fines, visa fees, subsistence, lodging, air fare, launch fare, car hire or agency fees"

 

So they can pass on the costs of submitting a new manifest, the cost of additional CBP agents required to screen passengers at disembarkation, etc. Will they do that? Probably not, but they will pass some of the cost to you.

 

So, will the "taxi broke down" excuse work? Maybe, maybe not. They may give permission for the OP as well as your case, but my experience is no.

[SeaWatcher65]

Thank you everyone. Was just an idea but certainly not with the trouble. The hardest part is I would miss that last night on a beautiful ship. I think we will find some fun things to do in South Florida or even rent a car and drive up to Orlando (Disney World) and fly home from there. Happy Cruising!!!

[49erfan007]

MBMGWM,

I love your idea, keep me posted on the outcome please

[zqvol]

Unfortunately, this will probably not be allowed as it will change the status of the cruise from a closed loop cruise. It can cause immigration issues for the other passengers on return to Miami.

 

This is nothing more than an urban myth. It does not change the status of the cruise nor does it have any impact on other passengers. I'm not sure where people come up with this information but it is untrue.

[chengkp75]

This is nothing more than an urban myth. It does not change the status of the cruise nor does it have any impact on other passengers. I'm not sure where people come up with this information but it is untrue.

 

This is not, in fact, an urban myth. While it does not change the status of a closed loop within the definition of the PVSA, nor does it change the ability to travel on BC/DL as part of the WHTI, it does in fact change how CBP clears the ship.

 

From the CBP vessel inspection guide, here: http://nemo.cbp.gov/opa/vessel_guide.pdf

 

Having a little technical difficulty in copying the quote, but on page 31, it says that a cruise that embarks additional passengers at a foreign port will not be inspected as a closed loop cruise, but will be inspected as a foreign arrival.. It is only the inspection status by CBP at disembarkation that changes from a closed loop cruise.

[Casino Freebies]

We would definitely make arrangements with NCL in advance. The only reason I'd stay in Nassau for a few days is to have time at Atlantis. Don't want to do the day pass while in port because it's too expensive and not enough time. We could get a room at Comfort Suites for a few days instead.

 

I will check NCL's web site and call but I've found it difficult to trust what's on the web site and what the NCL phone reps say. Hoping someone has done this before.

 

I'm a bit late to the party in my reply as I just found this thread when searching for advice on a similar cruise. I just wanted to share my experience as I am doing exactly what SeaWatcher65 proposed. I had finished booking a cruise on Escape with a Caesars 7 Star "free" cruise certificate and found dates with kids sail free to boot (plus the typical pick 2 freebies like UB package, etc). The very next day I was alerted to a new benefit that Caesars has with Atlantis giving us a free stay in Atlantis (Cove) with some other nice perks, so I thought getting off the ship in Nassau would be perfect way to combine benefits and extend our family vacation. As noted prior you only miss out on one night in a cramped cabin by disembarking early in Nassau and skipping the short leg back to Miami.

 

In any event I called NCL customer service and either found someone extremely competent or else this process is not as difficult as others have made it out to be. I was on hold for about 15 minutes while rep worked with a supervisor who put in request to Bahamas Port Authority. I was subsequently told my request had been approved and was e-mailed a letter. See excerpt below. Hope this helps others in the future.

-------------------------------

Date 4/9/2016

Ship and Sailing Date: N. ESCAPE 5/21/2016

Reservation #: XXXX

Passengers Name: XXXXX

Thank you for Choosing Norwegian Cruise Line,

Your request to debark in Nassau has been approved.

Please note approvals are subject to several conditions including an increase in the port’s security level or unforeseen changes in the itinerary.

In the event of any of the above variables it will be the responsibility of the guest to make alternative arrangements at their cost.

If your request was denied, please note below the condition on why request was not approved:

 

If you have any further questions please contact us at 800-327-7030.

Sincerely,

Norwegian Cruise Line

Passengers Services

[kcwingwalker]

I'm a bit late to the party in my reply as I just found this thread when searching for advice on a similar cruise. I just wanted to share my experience as I am doing exactly what SeaWatcher65 proposed. I had finished booking a cruise on Escape with a Caesars 7 Star "free" cruise certificate and found dates with kids sail free to boot (plus the typical pick 2 freebies like UB package, etc). The very next day I was alerted to a new benefit that Caesars has with Atlantis giving us a free stay in Atlantis (Cove) with some other nice perks, so I thought getting off the ship in Nassau would be perfect way to combine benefits and extend our family vacation. As noted prior you only miss out on one night in a cramped cabin by disembarking early in Nassau and skipping the short leg back to Miami.

 

In any event I called NCL customer service and either found someone extremely competent or else this process is not as difficult as others have made it out to be. I was on hold for about 15 minutes while rep worked with a supervisor who put in request to Bahamas Port Authority. I was subsequently told my request had been approved and was e-mailed a letter. See excerpt below. Hope this helps others in the future.

-------------------------------

Date 4/9/2016

Ship and Sailing Date: N. ESCAPE 5/21/2016

Reservation #: XXXX

Passengers Name: XXXXX

Thank you for Choosing Norwegian Cruise Line,

Your request to debark in Nassau has been approved.

Please note approvals are subject to several conditions including an increase in the port’s security level or unforeseen changes in the itinerary.

In the event of any of the above variables it will be the responsibility of the guest to make alternative arrangements at their cost.

If your request was denied, please note below the condition on why request was not approved:

 

If you have any further questions please contact us at 800-327-7030.

Sincerely,

Norwegian Cruise Line

Passengers Services

 

We have the same email from NCL. DS is sailing with me from Boston and disembarking in Aruba. I will continue to New Orleans. We arrive in Aruba on a Wednesday and there is a direct evening flight to Amsterdam. Much easier for him to return to Europe.

 

We made our arrangements well ahead of time with our PCC. Getting the OK did take a few weeks, but I'm sure if you have a good PCC the process could be expedited.

 

Keep in mind that you probably will still be charged port fees and the daily DSC for the entire cruise.

 

Have a wonderful cruise:)

[stetucke]

Unfortunately, this will probably not be allowed as it will change the status of the cruise from a closed loop cruise. It can cause immigration issues for the other passengers on return to Miami.

 

That is false. It just means that you are not afforded the lessened documentation requirements of a closed loop cruise. You will need to have all required documentation for proof of citizenship at customs.