Meeting the ship at the next port?

[clairebearinaus]

Hello,

 

I'm hoping someone will have advice or, even better, experience of this. 

 

My upcoming cruise stops at 2 ports on consecutive nights which are in the same country and about 4 hours apart by road or rail.

 

We are particularly interested in a place about halfway between the two.   The ship doesn't offer an excursion there and we feel it's a bit risky to travel that far and back in a day.

 

Would it be possible to leave the ship behind at the first port, stay overnight on land and then join the ship at the second port the following evening?  I understand I'd need permission from the ship, does anyone know what the process would be and how likely it is to be approved?  I imagine we could 'accidentally on purpose' miss getting back on the first port but do not want to do that!

 

Thank you.

[chemmo]

I suggest you name the country as that will have a significant implication. What is acceptable to the ship and the country will vary depending where you are.
 

For example, in India Celebrity has a history of organising overnights to Agra and catching up at a later port. There have been posts on CC where people have been allowed to do this independently. In Bangkok, people overnighting in the city is common…Other countries may have more strict ‘rules’ as well as the ship.

 

It is also important to consider method of travel and the country’s stability. For example, Athens used to be really easy to visit until there was a spate of lightening strikes…So if you do manage to set up what you plan make sure you keep up with local issues and have a draft back up plan.

 

Sincere best wishes that you do manage to arrange what you want! It would help others if following your research you feed back your findings.

[Canuker]

chemmo, you make a good point.

Cruises ships' long-projected arrival and departure times are carefully adhered to, in part because the host port (country) is expecting it. It's also expecting that all passengers will be aboard. A deviation from that (not properly logged, unlike, say, the transport of an ill passenger) gets very messy and the potential for legal issues, should anything go wrong, puts the cruise company in a very difficult position.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Canuker

[chengkp75]

When you disembark at the first port, you would need to be cleared by that country's immigration for a stay of other than a cruise ship port call.  Then the ship needs to submit a new passenger manifest for departing the port to the immigration officials, without you on it, and get that cleared.  Then, at the second port, you need to be cleared by immigration out of the country, and then the ship needs to submit another new passenger manifest adding you back onto the ship, and get that cleared.  This typically involves expense to the cruise line, so in many cases they are reluctant to grant you the clearance to do this.  While they cannot hold you on the ship (if you have the proper documentation to be in the country as someone other than a cruise passenger), they can refuse you re-embarking at the second port.

 

You would have to contact the cruise line's "down lining" or compliance departments, not just the phone service center agents, to get this clearance well in advance of the cruise.

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

Very unlikely it will be approved by cruiseline.

[cruisestitch]

Without knowing the specific country, I would not venture a guess whether something like that would be likely to be allowed.

 

 

[clairebearinaus]

Thanks everyone.  Sounds like it's more complex than we hoped.

 

We're travelling in Sri Lanka, I'm quite confident that the logistics would work re: land travel but it's a moot point if the cruise line isn't going to allow it.  I'll have another look at private tours and see if we can make something work.  It's just a little annoying as we'd be headed halfway to the next port stop then have to double back on ourselves to return to the ship, when we could have relaxed, stayed the night, travelled the rest of the way at at a leisurely pace the next day.

[chengkp75]

Looking up the visa requirements, you would need an ETA from Sri Lanka, just for the cruise.  Then, when you cleared ashore at your first port, they would give you a tourist visa (based on the ETA)(so requiring a face to face with immigration), and you would have to show proof of sufficient funds for the travel time in Sri Lanka, and proof of onward travel (written authorization from the cruise lines to reboard at the second port).

[clairebearinaus]

Thanks chengkp75, I really appreciate the time you took to look into it and reply again.