PVSA and embarking part way through a cruise

[jeana]

Hello. Im still trying to understand an issue my family encountered this week. We signed up for a carnival cruise to the bahamas departing from tampa. Due to major flight delays on BOTH legs of our flight from colorado, we literally missed the boat. Our original arrival time of 6 am on departure day turned into 6 pm. We had to have boarded by 3.

We tried asking about flying direct to bimini to catch the boat 2 days in, but were flat out denied with no explanation. Ive tried searching around a bit for policy explanations and have read up a little on the pvsa that might possibly be the reason, but am still unclear on whether this was their valid reason for our particular dilemma. Would it really be illegal for them to let us join at a different port? If there was a just a fee for that, couldnt we have paid it and still be able to join at least part of the way as well as enjoy the extra excursions we paid for? 

What was more disappointing was, even though it was well more than 24 hours advance notice, we couldnt cancel those excursions and get any money back because once we missed the boat we were kicked out of the app.

This has put a bad taste in my mouth for cruises. This was to be our first one. Please help me understand whether there really were good reasons for carnival not being more helpful in these circumstances absolutely out of our control.

[RoadTravelled]

@jeana  I'm certainly not an expert on the PVSA, but have studied it somewhat when the question of why Alaska cruises out of Seattle have to stop in Victoria, BC for only a few hours which seems pointless.  The answer of course is the PVSA.

If I'm reading your situation correctly, I think you are correct, that letting you fly directly to Bimini would be in violation of PVSA.  Click here for Carnival's position on this subject.  A few key elements I would call to your attention are these segments:

"Foreign-flag vessels like Carnival’s vessels may transport passengers between two different U.S. ports without violating the PVSA if the vessel stops at a distant foreign port and the passenger traveled with the vessel to that distant foreign port."

"Guests who miss the ship in the homeport are not allowed to embark the ship in any port of call if it is in violation of the PVSA."

So, in other words, Carnival is obligated under federal law to not let you board in this situation without being afoul of the law and incurring what I assume are hefty fines and federal oversight.  Bottomline, it's not in CCL's control to decide if you can do this in this case.

I totally empathize with your situation, and so sorry that this was your first cruise and it turned out this way. I wish there had been a better outcome.  I assure you that once you do a cruise, you will be hooked just like the rest of us.  It's a great way to vacation and explore the world.

If I could be so bold, I would offer a few suggestions the next time based on my own cruising experience:

• Travel to your port the day before the cruise, not the day of the cruise.  That's especially true if you are flying long-distance like you were in this case.  Be cognizant that traveling in winter from Colorado or other weather affected places during that time (Chicago for example) can be risky.  If you must travel on the day of the cruise, insure that you have checked that there are other available flights out that same day that you can catch and still make it on time.  If not, fall back to the day before scenario.  It's worth the cost of a hotel overnight stay to insure you catch the ship.
• Consider buying travel insurance.  This often times will mitigate costs incurred as the result of these type situations.
• Even though you didn't have access to the HUB app to cancel your excursions, did you call CCL customer service or talk with a CCL rep at the port and report the situation so they could work with you on that?

Hope that helps.

 

[kefthecruiser]

@jeana I'd say @RoadTravelled covered "the waterfront" for you. I do believe you get some charges refunded, perhaps someone else who is knowledgeable on that can reply.

I hope you were able to salvage something of a vacation here in the Tampa Bay area. As a long term resident, I can confidently state this area is a tourist destination all by itself, with the Pinellas beaches ranking high on many lists, Too many other things to do to list here ..... Seems to me your original flights back are tomorrow, so safe travels.

[euroguy]

@RoadTravelled I echo everything you wrote, as you are 100% correct in your info regarding PVSA.

I additionally agree with your warm hearted and sound suggestions. With my recent cruise where I flew from California to Port Canaveral (Florida) #1 I flew the day before unfortunately no direct flights. #2 I made sure I had additional flight options from the same carrier, 11 to be specific. #3 I made sure I was NOT  flying through any snow or known heavy delay airports, thus I flew through Austin Texas. And last but not least I always have travelers insurance as one never knows might curve balls might happen despite great planning.

Thanks for the great outline.

[Old Cruiser]

9 hours ago, RoadTravelled said:

@jeana  I'm certainly not an expert on the PVSA, but have studied it somewhat when the question of why Alaska cruises out of Seattle have to stop in Victoria, BC for only a few hours which seems pointless.  The answer of course is the PVSA.

If I'm reading your situation correctly, I think you are correct, that letting you fly directly to Bimini would be in violation of PVSA.  Click here for Carnival's position on this subject.  A few key elements I would call to your attention are these segments:

"Foreign-flag vessels like Carnival’s vessels may transport passengers between two different U.S. ports without violating the PVSA if the vessel stops at a distant foreign port and the passenger traveled with the vessel to that distant foreign port."

"Guests who miss the ship in the homeport are not allowed to embark the ship in any port of call if it is in violation of the PVSA."

So, in other words, Carnival is obligated under federal law to not let you board in this situation without being afoul of the law and incurring what I assume are hefty fines and federal oversight.  Bottomline, it's not in CCL's control to decide if you can do this in this case.

I totally empathize with your situation, and so sorry that this was your first cruise and it turned out this way. I wish there had been a better outcome.  I assure you that once you do a cruise, you will be hooked just like the rest of us.  It's a great way to vacation and explore the world.

If I could be so bold, I would offer a few suggestions the next time based on my own cruising experience:

• Travel to your port the day before the cruise, not the day of the cruise.  That's especially true if you are flying long-distance like you were in this case.  Be cognizant that traveling in winter from Colorado or other weather affected places during that time (Chicago for example) can be risky.  If you must travel on the day of the cruise, insure that you have checked that there are other available flights out that same day that you can catch and still make it on time.  If not, fall back to the day before scenario.  It's worth the cost of a hotel overnight stay to insure you catch the ship.
• Consider buying travel insurance.  This often times will mitigate costs incurred as the result of these type situations.
• Even though you didn't have access to the HUB app to cancel your excursions, did you call CCL customer service or talk with a CCL rep at the port and report the situation so they could work with you on that?

Hope that helps.

 

If the OP boarded in Bimini that would not be a violation of the PVSA as they wouldn’t be transported between 2 different U..S. Ports. Carnival has not let pax board once they miss the ship at-the embarkation port for some time now. The reason I don’t know.

[RoadTravelled]

6 hours ago, Old Cruiser said:

If the OP boarded in Bimini that would not be a violation of the PVSA as they wouldn’t be transported between 2 different U..S. Ports. Carnival has not let pax board once they miss the ship at-the embarkation port for some time now. The reason I don’t know.

@Old Cruiser  I would disagree based on the statement I quoted which says the passenger must have traveled on the ship to the foreign port from the US port.  Flying to Bimini would not meet that requirement in my reading of the rules.

[Old Cruiser]

3 hours ago, RoadTravelled said:

@Old Cruiser  I would disagree based on the statement I quoted which says the passenger must have traveled on the ship to the foreign port from the US port.  Flying to Bimini would not meet that requirement in my reading of the rules.

"Foreign-flag vessels like Carnival’s vessels may transport passengers between two different U.S. ports without violating the PVSA if the vessel stops at a distant foreign port and the passenger traveled with the vessel to that distant foreign port."

The key part here is that the vessel is not transporting the OP between 2 U.S. ports since they would be embarking in a foreign port. (Bimini)

Like this cruise on Discovery Princess which starts in Seattle and ends in Vancouver.

Sep 21, 2024 – Sep 28, 2024

Seattle, United States • Juneau, United States • Skagway, United States • Ketchikan, United States • Vancouver, Canada

[Cruising Caribbean]

@jeana That is such an unfortunate circumstance! It's always best to plan air travel for the day prior to embarkation. Just like any other travel type, airlines can be inconsistent and can't control weather delays. After spending so much on a cruise itinerary, it's a huge bummer to chance missing getting onboard. For the record, I think CCL, along with most other cruise lines, have the right to deny boarding for any reason of their choice. If CCL was unwilling to allow you to board in Bimini, I would assume it's a reasonable decision on behalf of the cruise line. Thanks for all of the supporting feedback @euroguy, @Old Cruiser, @RoadTravelled, and @kefthecruiser. All of you are very knowledgable on CCL's protocols! 

[euroguy]

The other reason you cannot board after the ship leaves the U.S. is each passenger must clear U.S. customs  when leaving and re clear when returning.

[euroguy]

I could be wrong but It seems I read something about the whole customes thing.

[Old Cruiser]

1 hour ago, euroguy said:

The other reason you cannot board after the ship leaves the U.S. is each passenger must clear U.S. customs  when leaving and re clear when returning.

I read somewhere letting someone board after the cruise sets sail changes the manifest and changes the cruise from closed loop to open at least for the people getting on at another stop.

[3Sisters]

@euroguy That makes so much sense! I didn't even think about the closed loop vs open loop analogy @Old Cruiser. Also, if you are willing to make all of that extra effort to hop on the ship via Bimini and pay all of those extra costs, you might as well just find another cruise itinerary that departs from the same port. Missing out on an entire cruise vacation due to flight issues is just awful. I hope you made the most of it somehow and enjoyed Tampa at least. That's disappointing for sure. After all of this mishap, did you get any sort of reimbursement from the airline?