Can I skip a port on an NCL Dawn cruise?

[Smitheroo]

On 11/11/2023 at 6:11 PM, BirdTravels said:

You really want to miss departure, keeping thousands of people waiting for you. And eventually, the Captain making the hard choice to take the gangways and leave. Then the cruise line spends thousands of dollars in fuel because they have to sail faster to the next port. 
 

I think that if anyone intentionally missed departure, their property should be dumped at the next port (I would really like it to be thrown overboard, but that is not eco friendly) and they should be banned from cruising for life. 

 

I think it would be hard to prove intent unless the person made an announcement on the news that he/she just jumped ship

[Smitheroo]

16 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

Well, you suggested "accidentally" missing the ship, affecting every.single.other.person on the cruise.

 

That's going to get you a bit of negative feedback. Welcome to CC.

 

My understanding is that the OP did NOT suggest she accidentally miss the ship in order to stay in the port and then catch up the day after.  She was using it as an argument that if she can catch up if she accidentally misses the ship at a port why couldnt it be a scheduled "deviation" ?  There are reasons why it wouldnt work but she is not suggesting that is what she should do. Read.

[sanger727]

I am not going to try and pretend that I know German immigration/cabotage laws. But the assumption that if you missed the ship in port and would simply re-connect in the next port is an incorrect assumption. In the US, for example, if you missing the ship and/or reboarding violates the PVSA; you will first be charged $700 for the fine. And there is an excellent chance that they will not let you re-board. 

 

Cruise ships are allowed to be funny with letting people change the itinerary, even if it's as simple extra immigration paperwork. I would think that you would have considered this before you booked the cruise and if you wanted an extended vacation in Germany, you would just take a land trip to Germany.

[Smitheroo]

On 11/12/2023 at 4:45 AM, 9265359 said:

It certainly does.

 

The full EU rules are here EUR-Lex - 32016R0399 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) and the Art 2 definition of cruise ship is - 

‘cruise ship’ means a ship which follows a given itinerary in accordance with a predetermined programme, which includes a programme of tourist activities in the various ports, and which normally neither takes passengers on nor allows passengers to disembark during the voyage;

and the checks on cruise ships are different and more relaxed compared to checks on people arriving to stay via aircraft, ferries, trains, buses, etc. because of that and the information that the cruise line provides in advance.

 

 

That might happen where you are, but I have seen many occasions on European cruises when people have missed departure - it seems to happen most at Civitavecchia with people who made their own way to Rome being late back because of the complexities of needing to link together multiple forms of public transport which some people are not used to.

 

However the passengers just make their way to the next port, which is usually in Italy and embark again there, usually looking a bit bedraggle, tired, and a little poorer having had to pay for accommodation and taxis or trains.

 

If the cabin was cleared and the contents handed over to the port staff, then for a ship that is already due to depart do you think the captain is going to want to delay another hour or more?

 

Emptying the cabin is a real hassle for the ship because it has to be done carefully and under supervision to ensure the company can rebut any claim of damaged or missing items.

 

And that I experienced on a recent cruise where yet again there were passengers who were going to be late back from Rome because they had missed the train.

 

However they phoned the ship to let them know and when they were due to arrive and the captain decided to delay departure 90 minutes. Why did he do so, well it was because the next stop was Valetta in Malta for final disembarkation and waiting 90 minutes was less hassle than clearing the cabin to offload the contents in Civitavecchia which would have delayed departure by that time anyway. And if they hadn't offloaded in Civitavecchia but cleared the cabin during the next sea day then they were going to have fun dealing with the authorities in Malta offloading those bags and repatriating them to their owners who would have probably just flown home from Rome rather than trying to catch the ship in Malta.

 

  

 

It would be interesting to see where that provision exists in the cruise booking terms and conditions, and if it did then anyone doing a self-guided trip from the ship is taking a very very big gamble if they are accidentally late.

 

 

Yes, there did seem to be an awful lot of people leaping all over you, but it was an awful lot of people who didn't seem to have any knowledge themselves.

 

Asking the question of the cruise company was the correct thing to do - and if they say 'no' then no it is.

 

And obviously deliberately being back late and causing hassle for the captain and their crew is not acceptable, and from everything you said that was not your intention, but the 'world will fall on your head' doomsayers... well I suggest that they actually do some research before typing.

I'm going to butt in here and say THANK YOU for assuring the OP that it was obvious she was not intending to deliberately miss the ship. I got that by reading her post once. People do not read and then jump to all kinds of erroneous conclusions about intent. It has happened to me recently and it is not fun. 

[Smitheroo]

5 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

I am not going to try and pretend that I know German immigration/cabotage laws. But the assumption that if you missed the ship in port and would simply re-connect in the next port is an incorrect assumption. In the US, for example, if you missing the ship and/or reboarding violates the PVSA; you will first be charged $700 for the fine. And there is an excellent chance that they will not let you re-board. 

 

Cruise ships are allowed to be funny with letting people change the itinerary, even if it's as simple extra immigration paperwork. I would think that you would have considered this before you booked the cruise and if you wanted an extended vacation in Germany, you would just take a land trip to Germany.

No, it is quite likely that the thought came to her after booking and studying the itinerary

[Smitheroo]

On 11/11/2023 at 11:01 PM, Arizonee said:

 

That is not my intention at all.  I am asking if it is possible to skip a port, and if it's not possible, why not.   I was hoping not to be cyber bullied due to my lack of travel knowledge.  

I understood completely what you meant in your post. Unfortunately some people do not read before jumping to conclusions.   I guess thats the nature of a public forum.    There are no entrance requirements or tests of reading comprehension 

 

Some people did give good reasons why skipping the sea day would not be allowed, and someone  without a lot of international experience  may not realize.   You also have to realize that with a company the size of NCL "deviations" are difficult to arrange.  (and much of it is out of NCLs control and due to local jurisdictions)  You can ask and perhaps even push for it but as some one pointed out you want to be sure you really have won the case. Personally, I would not think it was worth the energy to do all this just to spend one day in germany.  Make a mental note to go back to explore at a later date. I do that all the time. 

[Smitheroo]

15 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

I am not going to try and pretend that I know German immigration/cabotage laws. But the assumption that if you missed the ship in port and would simply re-connect in the next port is an incorrect assumption. In the US, for example, if you missing the ship and/or reboarding violates the PVSA; you will first be charged $700 for the fine. And there is an excellent chance that they will not let you re-board. 

 

Cruise ships are allowed to be funny with letting people change the itinerary, even if it's as simple extra immigration paperwork. I would think that you would have considered this before you booked the cruise and if you wanted an extended vacation in Germany, you would just take a land trip to Germany.

I think your first point would depend on why she missed the ship. Bad weather, transportation problems, maybe even poor planning would probably be taken better by NCL than "I wanted to see such and such tourist attraction"    I know I have read in trip insurance that  "if you miss your ship costs to catch up are covered"  This may mean if you miss your embarkation and not a port  and it might also depend on the reason but I know I have read that.

[sanger727]

22 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

I think your first point would depend on why she missed the ship. Bad weather, transportation problems, maybe even poor planning would probably be taken better by NCL than "I wanted to see such and such tourist attraction"    I know I have read in trip insurance that  "if you miss your ship costs to catch up are covered"  This may mean if you miss your embarkation and not a port  and it might also depend on the reason but I know I have read that.

 

Well, yes, obviously missing the ship to spend more time in port would not be covered by trip insurance or taken to kindly by NCL. But, there have certainly been instances where someone legitimately missed the ship due to unforseen circumstances and were either charged the PVSA fine or advised they could not catch up to the ship if it would violate the PVSA. 

[skittl1321]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

 

Well, yes, obviously missing the ship to spend more time in port would not be covered by trip insurance or taken to kindly by NCL. But, there have certainly been instances where someone legitimately missed the ship due to unforseen circumstances and were either charged the PVSA fine or advised they could not catch up to the ship if it would violate the PVSA. 

But PVSA has NOTHING to do with Germany.  (Germany, the EU, and the Schengen Area all likely have similar laws, many of which have been noted; but US law means nothing here, except if NCL has a blanket policy for their entire line based on the US law.)

[9265359]

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

But the assumption that if you missed the ship in port and would simply re-connect in the next port is an incorrect assumption.

 

I have seen it happen several times on European cruises with no issue, other than the passengers needing to cover their own travel expenses and accommodation getting between the ports.

 

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 In the US, for example, if you missing the ship and/or reboarding violates the PVSA; you will first be charged $700 for the fine. And there is an excellent chance that they will not let you re-board. 

 

Europe isn't the US and things are done differently here.

 

 

[Smitheroo]

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

Well, yes, obviously missing the ship to spend more time in port would not be covered by trip insurance or taken to kindly by NCL. But, there have certainly been instances where someone legitimately missed the ship due to unforseen circumstances and were either charged the PVSA fine or advised they could not catch up to the ship if it would violate the PVSA. 

I believe you. I dont know about many cases of people missing the ship in port. Although there have been a few.  In any case, until I was extremely savvy about a port I would not take a chance with exploring any great distance on my own.

[sanger727]

44 minutes ago, skittl1321 said:

But PVSA has NOTHING to do with Germany.  (Germany, the EU, and the Schengen Area all likely have similar laws, many of which have been noted; but US law means nothing here, except if NCL has a blanket policy for their entire line based on the US law.)

 

Obviously. But Germany may have a similar law. My point wasn't the OP can't do what they want to do. I have no idea what the laws in Germany are. But the OP pointed to the example that you can miss the ship and catch back up. My point was just that that isn't always true, and if there is cabotage law being broken, it may come with a heavy fine. 

[9265359]

13 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

Obviously. But Germany may have a similar law. My point wasn't the OP can't do what they want to do. I have no idea what the laws in Germany are. But the OP pointed to the example that you can miss the ship and catch back up. My point was just that that isn't always true, and if there is cabotage law being broken, it may come with a heavy fine. 

 

It isn't too hard to discover what the law is in the EU rather than just speculating - Internal market - Services (cabotage) (europa.eu)

[Trevor Fountain]

1 hour ago, 9265359 said:

 

It isn't too hard to discover what the law is in the EU rather than just speculating - Internal market - Services (cabotage) (europa.eu)

Regardless of what the Law may or may not say, imagine if all the passengers decide, oh, that's a good idea lets stay ashore for an extra day and join the ship at the next port.

For goodness sake, book a cruise for what it is, and if you want to stay on land, then book a land based holiday.

[9265359]

7 hours ago, Trevor Fountain said:

Regardless of what the Law may or may not say, imagine if all the passengers decide, oh, that's a good idea lets stay ashore for an extra day and join the ship at the next port.

For goodness sake, book a cruise for what it is, and if you want to stay on land, then book a land based holiday.

 

If you had read my comments earlier you would have already noted that I had expressed a view that it would not be a good idea.

 

My reference to the law was directed at someone who was pontificating about the legality without either knowing about the legality or the initiative to look up the legality before commenting.

[Travelling2Some]

On 11/11/2023 at 11:01 PM, Arizonee said:

 

That is not my intention at all.  I am asking if it is possible to skip a port, and if it's not possible, why not.   I was hoping not to be cyber bullied due to my lack of travel knowledge.  

Well said!  We wanted to do something similar once in Spain.  The next port only 2 hours' drive away and still in Spain.  Seemed like a reasonable request.  My emails asking for an answer were totally ignored for over two months. Finally they responded quite rudely and refused to give any reason for the refusal.  Maybe somebody was just having a bad day but I was shocked at the tone taken.  Maybe consider canceling the cruise and doing a land trip.  Frankly, I would not trust them not to renege on any answer they give you anyway.

[marrashadow]

ETIAS begins in May 2025(postponed from 2022 and now 2024 due to Olympics) this is a new required specified precheck which gives you 3 years of travel within EU but you are intended to declare travel intentions. This will include on cruise ships. The time between now and then is not black and white due to adoption of regulations so you may have to verify with that country their requirements and if they allow such a departure from itinerary, then if approved speak with NCL. For deviations NCL doesn't do the work for you and as such will likely just say no. If you go an say I have a preapproval for xyz they may be okay with it. I do not recommend intentionally missing the ship as they can refuse your re-board and they record all calls so they have you asking so they will know. If not maybe switch your travel arrangements to a TA they may be able to assist with getting an approval. Doing travel arrangements for yourself is fine if you do not need anything special but for things like this a TA is extremely helpful.

[JGander]

On 11/11/2023 at 2:41 PM, Arizonee said:

Our NCL cruise ship has day 3 in Germany, then day 4 at sea, then day 5 at another port in Germany. So far, NCL customer service says we can not skip the sea day and rejoin the ship on day 5. Why not? If I missed the ship accidentally, wouldn’t I get to rejoin at my own expense at day 5 anyways? I’d love to spend the time in Germany instead of at sea. (US citizen). Thank you.

 

Yes, you can. Inform the ship prior to departure that you will be staying overnight and will be rejoining the ship at X point.

 

This is not uncommon in Central America when people want to go see ruins that are too far inland for a day trip, you just overnight on land and rejoin later.

 

You are required to do some homework though. Make sure you have everything you need for a visa of the length of time you are staying, this varies by country. And you will need to meet any visa and medical requirements of any country you enter or pass through.

 

And I agree, as someone who doesn't like sea days I would far rather spend that day in Germany.