Can you do inclusive air with early disembarkation?

[JennAngel9]

Does anybody on this thread know if you can use an air deviation request to fly home from a port or two before the cruise ends?

 

We are tempted by the 12/20/09 Southern Cross schedule, but I think DH must be back in CA by 1/6. Has anybody successfully used Oceania's air AND flown back 1-3 days early from a different port?

 

Thanks in advance!

[StanandJim]

Does anybody on this thread know if you can use an air deviation request to fly home from a port or two before the cruise ends?

 

We are tempted by the 12/20/09 Southern Cross schedule, but I think DH must be back in CA by 1/6. Has anybody successfully used Oceania's air AND flown back 1-3 days early from a different port?

 

JennAngel-

 

I'm fairly certain that O will not allow that, however, you can always ask them.

 

If they do agree to let you do it, please continue to tread very carefully.

 

At each step along the way, make sure that you get everything in writing. And if they won't give it to you in writing, DONT DO IT!

 

The glitch that I'm forseeing, is that a cruise ship pays port fees based on its' status in that port. In effect, they pay less in a port that they are passing through than in ports where they are loading or unloading passengers.

Now, somebody leaving a cruise early because of an emergency or an illness is a whole different ballgame, but if Oceania knew that you were disembarking early (or, worse, made your return plane reservations for you), it would, technically, change their status in the port where you disembarked.

 

Yes, it's only two passengers out of Six hundred and some odd, but you know how officious officials can be. And my understanding of the passage contract says that if they get hit with additional fees, they will pass them on, pro rated, amongst the disembarking passengers.

[JennAngel9]

Thanks StanandJim. When we cruised on the Tahitian Princess, we got off at BoraBora instead of completing the circuit back to Papeete-- so I didn't realize early disembarkation could cause that problem. My thinking was that if the cruise line buys bulk airfare for its expected ports, it probably wouldn't be amenable to say, allowing its passengers to fly home from Brisbane instead of Sydney. On the other hand, we did have a nightmare with Princess b/c somehow, after giving us the written confirmation that we could disembark early, some genius decided that meant we wanted to cancel our cruise and we had a scary three days between when we were told there were no minisuites left (and no good balconies either) and when I successfully agitated for reinstatement of the minisuite they mistakenly cancelled without our permission. Unfortunately, they refused to give us back our spot on the waitlist for a full suite (we had been first in line), and it ended up costing us the ability to upgrade. This is all a long winded way of saying we know that early deviation is dangerous, but thought it might be better than not being able to take advantage of the cruise at all.

 

Also, because of that experience, I thought that past cruisers might have better information about early disembarkation than whomever I reach at Oceania.