Boarding In A Port Other Than Your Point Of Departure

[whalingcity]

I am new to Cruisecritic and we have never been to Europe. We will be leaving on the Brilliance of the Seas on 9/30/2007 but will be flying into Nice on 29th to enable us to visit Monte Carlo for a day 1/2

Will there be a tough time in trying to board in Villafrance which is the 2nd port on 10/1. The Ship will be tendered at that time.

Mike has his heart set on gambling in Monte Carlo Grand Casino for a night!!

[cruiseluv]

Hi,

 

I don't have a direct answer to your question which I think can only be 100% answered by the cruise line.

 

My comments:

 

When we went to Villefranche with Royal Caribbean it was a tender port. I don't know if they would be set up to receive passengers with luggage in a tender port.

 

Does the ship leave from Nice? If so,can't you stay in Monte Carlo the night of 9/29 and then transfer to Nice the next day to board the ship? MonteCarlo is less than 30 mins from Nice .Even if you are staying in Nice you could go to MC for the evening as it is very close.

That way you don't shortchange your cruise by one night.

 

Regarding the Monte Carlo Casino, I hope Mike isn't disappointed. I went there years ago ( I was staying in MC) and I am still trying to figure out what is the great myth about this place. Maybe they have private gambling rooms that are more glitzy but what I saw left me cold.

 

Editing to add:

 

I just checked the itinerary of your cruise. You are aware that this cruise leaves from Barcelona, Spain?

[tom_uk]

So your cruise is a 7-night Western Med cruise from Barcelona. Well, you can ask the cruise line about boarding in Villefranche instead of Barcelona, but I think they'll say no. I don't think that either Villefranche or Livorno (your nrext port of call) are set up to process embarkees.

 

Some of the european lines - OK, MSC & Costa - actually run their 7-day cruises with multiple starting points, eg the 7-night cruise we did on MSC Sinfonia had people joining and leaving at Genoa (the official start & end point), Naples, Barcelona and Marseilles, and doing the full 7-days until they got back to their particular start points. But this seems to be to cater to specific national groups - Germans, Brits & most Italians booked from Genoa, Spaniards booked from Barcelona, the French from Marseilles, and a few Italians joined at Naples. I'm not aware that any of the US lines do anything similar.

[Ine]

Check with your cruise-line.

Due to immigrationrules it is sometimes not allowed or possible.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Why don't you just find another itinerary that starts in Monte Carlo, Villefranche or Nice??

[Jade13]

I don't understand the problem if you are coming in on the 29th and the ship leaves the next day on the 30th? So, you will have one night in Nice or Monte Carlo before your ship leaves on the 30th.

 

If your ship is docked in another country than I don't understand why you are flying into Nice. You need to check this out before booking. You need an itinerary starting in Nice or Monte Carlo OR fly two days early so you can then fly to where the ship departs.

[Janet19]

NO WAY this can be done!:eek:

[shedevil]

Due to changed in security policies.....cruise lines....for the most part (due to increased security at all ports) do not allow travelers to join a cruise after it has left it's port of embarkation. You will need to get approval from the cruise line (for insurance I would get it in writing) to join the cruise after it's embarkation ......and you will need to get it before the embarkation date.

[Queenk2]

I really don't understand why you would want to shorten an already short 7 day cruise further. Why not take a train or a small plan and visit Monte Carlo AFTER you cruise. In that way you can see everything you wanted to and have a bit of extra time at the end?

Karen

[ehogan]

I agree with the poster who said the casino was no big deal. We were there in May 2005 and it is a little bit of a hassle to get in - you have to show your passports and you get to see the main floor. I couldn't figure out the big deal either (except you can check it off on your must see list). After we returned to the ship, one of our tablemates told us the elite get to go downstairs to a much swankier area - invitation only I think.

 

Mind you, Monaco itself is beautiful. If you go, make sure you go up to the castle area.

[nancy anne]

Hopefully you haven't purchased your flight to Nice. I'd contact RCCL to be sure, but I don't think they will let you board in Nice. Why don't you come a day earlier to Barcelona and meet up with your fellow cruisers. There are several of us staying at the same hotel and plan on having a pre-cruise get together. See you in Sept.---Chuck and Nancy