Leaving a cruise at the midpoint

[rafinmd]

This is a really bizarre situation.  I'm booked on QM2 September 29-October 13 New York-Quebec-New York.  It was booked in Princess Grill with a very generous credit from the aborted 2020 World Cruise.  Some of you know my favorite cruise line has long been Crystal which is just restarting after going bankrupt last year.

 

My cruising days are winding down and I had not expected to encounter a Crystal Itinerary that I could handle but then discovered that Crystal Serenity is in Quebec the same days as QM2 and headed to New York.  They quoted me a price I can live with and I'm fine with just not using the return part of the QM2 cruise. 

 

When my TA tried to clear me leaving QM2 in Quebec Cunard said I could not do it.  That seems very strange as many passengers are already disembarking at the same time so I'm stunned.  I don't expect a refund and I'd even be fine with Cunard selling the second one to someone else so it seems like a win-win but Cunard is saying no.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks

 

Roy

[Hygge!]

Having the same issue with Cunard QM2 leaving at the last port. All I have to do is walk off the ship with my luggage! My TA is asking again. She said this is the first she has encountered. 

[Lakesregion]

43 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

This is a really bizarre situation.  I'm booked on QM2 September 29-October 13 New York-Quebec-New York.  It was booked in Princess Grill with a very generous credit from the aborted 2020 World Cruise.  Some of you know my favorite cruise line has long been Crystal which is just restarting after going bankrupt last year.

 

My cruising days are winding down and I had not expected to encounter a Crystal Itinerary that I could handle but then discovered that Crystal Serenity is in Quebec the same days as QM2 and headed to New York.  They quoted me a price I can live with and I'm fine with just not using the return part of the QM2 cruise. 

 

When my TA tried to clear me leaving QM2 in Quebec Cunard said I could not do it.  That seems very strange as many passengers are already disembarking at the same time so I'm stunned.  I don't expect a refund and I'd even be fine with Cunard selling the second one to someone else so it seems like a win-win but Cunard is saying no.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks

 

Roy

Canada has some strange customs requirements that may prevent Cunard from allowing this. Fear of being invaded runs deep up there. However, I would get in touch with Cunard directly as the TA may have asked about refunds etc which of course you will not receive. And worse case you could simply leave the ship with the day trippers and not return. Luggage could be an issue but planed correctly as both legs are really short runs and there  are no real dress codes on either line a genrous over the shoulder type bag might work well and not be thought about when leaving in Canada.

[Victoria2]

When we enquired about this years ago, we were told it depends on the immigration status/services of that particular port.

Possibly worth a line of enquiry.

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

When we enquired about this years ago, we were told it depends on the immigration status/services of that particular port.

Possibly worth a line of enquiry.

Clearly the immigration facilities are available at the port, as lots of passengers are ending their cruise there.

[Victoria2]

21 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Clearly the immigration facilities are available at the port, as lots of passengers are ending their cruise there.

As I said, it depends on the port if the service is available and in this case, a passenger breaking a cruise.

[david,Mississauga]

10 hours ago, Lakesregion said:

Canada has some strange customs requirements that may prevent Cunard from allowing this. Fear of being invaded runs deep up there. However, I would get in touch with Cunard directly as the TA may have asked about refunds etc which of course you will not receive. And worse case you could simply leave the ship with the day trippers and not return. Luggage could be an issue but planed correctly as both legs are really short runs and there  are no real dress codes on either line a genrous over the shoulder type bag might work well and not be thought about when leaving in Canada.

 

I doubt this has anything to do with Canadian immigration or customs procedure. This voyage is available as a round trip from New York or as two one-way cruises: New York to Quebec and back. I have taken this route three times. Each time the majority of passengers were taking only a one-way cruise.  On the voyage in question the first port of call is Halifax. For immigration purposes the ship will be cleared there.  It is possible there could be random customs checks in Quebec for the many hundreds of disembarking passengers. I have disembarked Cunard ships in Canada four times and each has been as easy as possible -  without even speaking to any official.

 

On previous discussions regarding leaving a cruise early I mentioned I had a similar problem when we requested to disembark a w/b crossing in Halifax rather than continue on to New York. Cunard's immediate response was: it can't be done. Well, of course it can be done (as confirmed by the Canadian Immigration service as long as no law is being broken). My TA persevered and permission was granted. 

 

Would it be feasible for you to cancel the existing booking, sacrifice whatever the portion of the fare would be and re-book one-way from New York to Quebec? I note that PG is sold out for that segment but you already have a booking.  This is a bit of work for your TA and for Cunard. My experience is the 'it can't be done' attitude is prevalent with Cunard's US office.  

[techteach]

@rafinmd I sure hope this works out for you. Don’t let them tell you “no.”

[Rothko1]

20 hours ago, Lakesregion said:

Canada has some strange customs requirements that may prevent Cunard from allowing this. Fear of being invaded runs deep up there. 

 

I don't think that the invasion force is going to come ashore from the QM2.  But I could be wrong.

[exlondoner]

And anyway, it seems to me, it is the US that is afraid of invasion. They are the ones with ridiculous immigration procedures, making everyone doing return crossings disembark in NYC, and insisting on a full inspection for those returning to the US from Halifax. But then you never know about Cunard passengers.

[Pushpit]

I can see how before travel Cunard won't say "yes" to this, because there isn't a clear path for them to follow here, so the default is "no". There may be a factor about reduced ancillary income for them plus policies that relate to only changing existing bookings to more expensive ones. None of this is relevant to a customer wanting this, and from their perspective they are happy to pay what was agreed.

 

But once on a voyage, I can't see how Cunard can stop someone leaving, provided immigration in the country concerned is ok with it.

 

There would be some exceptions:

- places like St. Petersburg and Kalingrad of yore: most Cunard travellers would need a visa to visit Russia but there was an exemption for those making a ship excursion. The authorities there would firmly want everyone back on board after the brief visit or Cunard would get into trouble. Doesn't apply here.

- some small ports in (e.g.) Central and South America, Antarctic where the authorities don't run a full immigration check on those on shore excursions, they may retain passports and/or hand out a local boarding pass, again to reconcile numbers at the end. If landing at South Georgia you're not realistically going to stay there. Again that doesn't apply here.

- more generally if an immigration officer is under the impression that a particular passenger is making a brief stay but in fact it turns out want to stay or transfer on. So it would be incumbent on the person disembarking making a full declaration rather than an immigration officer relying on what 99% of the other passengers are doing. The presence of bags should give the game away.

There may also be a few places where they are staffed for immigration but not customs but I can't think of anywhere in this area for cruise ships, but it can catch out other mariners at some small ports. So you can enter, but not any luggage subject to a customs check,

 

So I think if you ask the purser's desk to make up your account the night before, and dobbing a hefty tip to your steward for assistance with luggage, I can't see how Cunard can stop you leaving.

 

 

[rafinmd]

Thanks all.  It seems like if Cunard allowed this and lost some ancillary income from me, they would end up with a Princess Grill Cabin they could still sell to someone else for a nice return.

 

Roy

[chengkp75]

30 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Thanks all.  It seems like if Cunard allowed this and lost some ancillary income from me, they would end up with a Princess Grill Cabin they could still sell to someone else for a nice return.

 

Roy

Call Cunard again, and ask to speak to the "Compliance Department", who deal with compliance with local laws and regulations (they sort out the PVSA issues), to get an answer to why this would not be allowed.  Escalate to supervisors.  I don't know of any legal reason to deny this, especially as it is sold as a one way cruise as well.

[d9704011]

14 hours ago, Rothko1 said:

 

I don't think that the invasion force is going to come ashore from the QM2.  But I could be wrong.

If they do, I hope it's people with experience organizing quality 'High Teas'.

[exlondoner]

37 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

If they do, I hope it's people with experience organizing quality 'High Teas'.

I don’t think QM2 serves High Tea.

[Rothko1]

42 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

If they do, I hope it's people with experience organizing quality 'High Teas'.

 

Afternoon Tea

[d9704011]

40 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I don’t think QM2 serves High Tea.

Well then, let's hope it's just passengers with the necessary experience and expertise who jump ship in Quebec.

[exlondoner]

Why the interest in High Tea?

[Rothko1]

19 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Why the interest in High Tea?

 

I think we Americans confuse the concepts of High Tea and Afternoon Tea.  High Tea sounds like it is the highest and best tea event - High Tea as opposed to "Low Tea".  Whereas Afternoon Tea sounds like what you drink in the afternoon when you need a little caffeine boost.

[exlondoner]

Afternoon Tea is tea and cakes, as served on Cunard. High Tea is a proper meal, served perhaps 5.30ish, with something like fish and chips, and bread and butter, with tea to drink.

[D&N]

The one venue where we experienced High Tea many times; served a selection of around ten main courses accompanied by toast, tea and coffee. Followed by plate(s) of cakes and scones. It was a cheaper option than dinner as it was all priced within the main course. The other benefit was that it was served and finished earlier, which allowed the group we were with to be up dancing as soon as the band struck up the first tune.

[exlondoner]

Where was that? 

[D&N]

Sadly now closed. The Willowbank Hotel/Restaurant in Largs had a decent sized dance floor and used to have live music suitable for ballroom, latin and sequence every Saturday night.

Edit: Correction; We were recently told that it had reopened but without the dancing. Apparently the coach tour companies that provided the bulk of it's clientele wanted other types of entertainment.

Edited July 29, 2023 by D&N

[Pushpit]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Why the interest in High Tea?

As opposed to invading by the high seas. Dame Karen Pierce, the British ambassador to Washington, likes to make the subtle point that "the Anglo-American relationship is defined by tea". The silly thing is that tea in Boston, Linconshire, is sold without any tax on it at all, whereas tea in Boston, Mass., attracts Sales Tax. So it was all a horrible mistake.

 

https://twitter.com/KarenPierceUK/status/1275125187722297348?s=20

Edited July 29, 2023 by Pushpit

[NE John]

As a British friend told me “All is forgiven, you can come back”.