Disembarking early with overnight at end of cruise

[sr4mjc]

Hello,

 

We are doing Around the Horn next Jan and are contemplating leaving the ship in Buenos Aires early, on the first day of an overnight at the end of the cruise. For anyone who has had an overnight at the end, how do they handle those leaving early? Is there certain windows of time where you can do this?

 

Thanks in advance.

[jbuch02]

If I understand your question correctly, you will be able to debark when the ship is cleared by local officials. I suspect that you will have to walk off with your luggage though as the usual luggage service on the scheduled debarkation day where your luggage is placed in the departure terminal will not be available.

 

Sometime during your cruise, let guess services know of your intention to debark Buenos Aires on the first day of the overnight and they will tell you what needs to be done.

Edited March 21, 2016 by jbuch02

[Keith1010]

When you are on board the ship stop by the front desk to finalize the arrangements. I would do this early in the cruise.

 

Keith

[villauk]

Hello,

 

We are doing Around the Horn next Jan and are contemplating leaving the ship in Buenos Aires early, on the first day of an overnight at the end of the cruise. For anyone who has had an overnight at the end, how do they handle those leaving early? Is there certain windows of time where you can do this?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

We are actually doing this in Singapore later in the year. Our US TA spoke to X and as mentioned above by jbuch, we were told that once the ship has been cleared, then we are fine to leave. Obviously we will need to carry our own luggage from the ship, but X also advised us that we must tell Guest Services once we board of our intention to leave early (quoting day and time etc.). As it's an overnight in the same port at the end of the cruise, then it's slightly different than those wishing to disembark from an earlier port stop.

 

I would definitely notify X of your intentions for them to keep on file, and note the person you have spoken to.

[sr4mjc]

If I understand your question correctly, you will be able to debark when the ship is cleared by local officials. I suspect that you will have to walk off with your luggage though as the usual luggage service on the scheduled debarkation day where your luggage is placed in the departure terminal will not be available.

 

Sometime during your cruise, let guess services know of your intention to debark Buenos Aires on the first day of the overnight and they will tell you what needs to be done.

 

Yes that's it exactly. We are fine carrying our own luggage off. We are looking at a 1am flight home, so ideally we'd love to wander about town a little in the day before leaving. But I wasn't sure if they would want us to leave first thing or not. I assume because customs will not be there at the port all day, there is only certain times we can leave and not go when we please. I know Royal has an email box you can send a message about this, does Celebrity? We of course would let Guest Services know as soon as we board.

 

Our other choice is an 11:33 AM flight home (on original disembark day), but I fear that might be a little tight even if we walk off early.

Edited March 21, 2016 by sr4mjc

[GottaKnowWhen]

Hello,

 

We are doing Around the Horn next Jan and are contemplating leaving the ship in Buenos Aires early, on the first day of an overnight at the end of the cruise. For anyone who has had an overnight at the end, how do they handle those leaving early? Is there certain windows of time where you can do this?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

I can't answer specifically about the early disembarkation, but some observations about Buenos Aires based on our cruise from/to there on Infinity last year...

 

1. The port is a bit of a chaotic mix of cruise ships and cargo. When you disembark you will then take a shuttle to the luggage/customs area. I presume the shuttle is somewhat available whenever, but that is worth checking on. And obviously you'll need to verify that someone is on duty to clear you through immigration and customs. When we disembarked nobody really seemed to care who we were or what we were carrying, but there does need to be somebody who at least glances at you as you go by. And don't forget to pre-pay and carry your receipt for the "visa". Can be done online.

2. When you leave the terminal customs building you are on a relatively narrow sidewalk facing a four-lane major street with limited parking along the curb for taxis. Nobody in charge, many drivers vying for your business. And remember it is the middle of the summer and hot and/or raining.

3. I speak Spanish quite well. I have spent many years in Latin America and traveling elsewhere. So I am comfortable dealing with situations like the Buenos Aires port terminal. Nevertheless, I am quite glad we had prior arrangements for a driver to pick us up and take us to the local airport for our flight to Iguazu. I could have coped, but not a situation I wanted to deal with at the end of a 14-day cruise.

4. Buenos Aires is a wonderful city with great restaurants, broad boulevards, parks, crafts vendors... We enjoyed several days there pre and post cruise. We also did a 3-day trip to Iguazu Falls. Our drivers, tours, etc in Buenos Aires and Iguazu had all been arranged ahead of time through a tour company. I strongly recommend spending as much time in Argentina as you can. On the other hand, Valparaiso also deserves several days on the front end of your trip and you may not have unlimited time and resources...

5. The recent presidential elections in Argentina indicate many changes to come. But the legislature is not onboard, so I predict months if not years of chaos and debate and strikes and demonstrations. But I wouldn't worry about that except that you might not want to plan on a tight schedule to make the hour drive to the international airport. Our 15 minute drive from the local airport to our hotel (after our Iguazu trip) took 1.5-2 hours because the driver had to work his way around the mass demonstrations relating to the assassination of the lead prosecutor who was investigating the (now former) president. No big deal since we were not on a tight schedule.

6. If someone hasn't already said this, check the Buenos Aires section of CC - good information there.

 

Enjoy!

Edited March 22, 2016 by GottaKnowWhen

[sr4mjc]

Who did you arrange your transport with? Thanks!

[2552phxcrzr]

A good number of passengers left the ship after we docked in BsAs a few years ago instead of taking advantage of the overnight on the ship. I know they had to wait for the ship to be cleared first, and I recall there were specific time frames, but that may have pertained to those with transfer to the airport. Details of the arrangements were provided to those pax several days ahead of time. Since those arrangements could change from year to year, go to the front desk a few days after you board to ask about specifics. We find that visiting the desk during dead hours when there are no long lines always yields more information.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Who did you arrange your transport with? Thanks!

 

We got a customized package through http://www.sayhueque.com

I had seen that they had a 6-day package. Contacted them, asked to get something totally different, that gave me quotes (different amounts depending on class of lodging), I picked one from column A, two from column B, and we could not have been more pleased with the service we received.

We got to BA a couple of days early. A driver met us at the airport, took us to our hotel. Our local Say Hueque rep met us there, we discussed our itinerary, made some adjustments based on her recommendations. Rest of the day on our own. The next morning Elisa was back with a driver, we had a half day tour of the city. They dropped us off at a restaurant near a museum we wanted to visit. That evening a driver came by to take us to a Tango show they had booked for us. The next morning they picked us up and took us to the cruise terminal. When we got back two weeks later they picked us up at the terminal. We drove by the hotel, dropped excess luggage (no more need for cold-weather gear) and then to the local airport. We flew to Iguazu, were there 3 days with a one-day tour on the Argentine side, half day tour of the Brazilian side,rest of the time on our own.

 

Back in BA a driver met us at the airport, took us to our hotel. The following day was on our own, Elisa came by in the afternoon to verify that all had gone well, then a driver took us to the international airport. It was all incredibly smooth and well coordinated.

 

Your plans are not nearly so complicated and if you just need pickup/dropoff service I am sure that there are recommendations to be found on the Buenos Aires port board. But if you want a small or large package of services, this group can't be beat.