Show up at dock with no reservations?

Question

I have heard that it is possible to get a super deal on a cruise if you show up at the dock with your bags and a passport (US Citizen) and buy an unsold Cabin. Is that true?

Answer 1

It is unlaw for a cruise ship to take walk on passengers as of 9-11 the manifest has to be filed 24 hours in advance.  So any walk up would violate the law and plus  most cruise lines try to sell out the ship and go full anynway

Answer 2

No, that is not true.  Before September 11, 2001 it might have been possible.  Now the cruise lines have to submit their passenger list to homeland security four days in advance.  This requirement would make this impossible, even if there are unsold cabins on the ship.

Also, the chances of finding an unsold cabin is almost nil.  On my June 2007 cruise aboard the Freedom of the Seas the cruise line had to stop selling because they ran out of room in the lifeboats.  In other words, even if you tried to purchase a cabin one week prior to the cruise they could not have sold it to you.

My next cruise has been pulled from the website.  Why?  Because all the cabins are sold, and the cruise is not for another three weeks.

A cruise ship is considered to be at 100% capacity once there are twice as many passengers as cabins.  However, since some cabins hold more than two people, the average cruise ship sails at over 100% capacity.

No matter how many beds there are, the cruise line cannot sell to more passengers than the lifeboats can hold.  And no matter how many cabins are unsold 96 hours prior to the cruise, the cruise line cannot sell them because of the reporting requirement.

Here is more information on this subject ...

http://www.cruisecheap.com/immigration_i...

The United States Border Security Act requires cruise ship passengers to pre-register for their cruises prior to arriving at the pier. Complete your pre-registration online or by fax and reduce your wait time to board the ship. Once you pre-register, many cruise lines also give you the ability to reserve other items in advance which can include shore excursions, spa treatments, specialty dining and more. You MUST have your cruise line reservation number in order to pre-register online.

http://www.cruises.com/cs/faq_page.asp?c...

What is the United States Border Security Act, and what do I need to do to prepare?

The United States Border Security Act is legislation, signed by President George Bush in May 2002, which requires all airlines and cruise lines to collect immigration information from each passenger prior to their cruise to or from the United States. As of March 1, 2003, all cruise lines must electronically report a manifest of all passengers on each cruise prior to their arriving at the port on embarkation day. his manifest includes personal information about each passenger including name, gender, birthday, residence, citizenship, and passport data. Any passengers who have not submitted all the required information before they get to their ship can expect very long delays at the pier. If a passenger does not supply any piece of required data, he may be denied boarding without a refund. The Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) will be standard for all airline and cruise reservations. Your cruise line will include additional information about APIS with your cruise documents, and you will be asked to send or fax this information prior to your cruise.

Answer 3

I think it's true to buy an unsold Cabin if you show up at the dock. but i'm not sure if you will get a super deal.....

Answer 4

AFTER WHAT I READ FROM THE INTERNET YOU CANNOT JUST GO UP TO THE DOCK AND BOOK PASSAGE. BEFORE 911 YOU COULD BUT SINCE THEN YOU CANNOT. THE CRUISE LINES MUST GIVE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 48 TO 72 HOURS BEFORE DEPARTURE DATE  A PASSENGER LIST FOR SECURITY REASONS.  I HAD THE SAME HOPES AS YOU SINCE I LIVE WITHIN TWO HOURS OF A MAJOR CRUISE TERMINAL. BEST YOU CAN DO DEPENDING ON THE CRUISE LINE, SHIP AND DESTINATION 3-4 WEEKS.  YOU COULD BEFORE THAT BOOK A GUARANTEED CABIN AND IF THE CABIN CATAGORY IS SOLD OUT YOU WILL BE UPGRADED TO A HIGHER CATAGORY AT NO CHARGE.

Answer 5

Yes that is true, but you take a chance that there will be no unsold cabins. You can get upto about 40% off, I did this once I was getting off the ship and wanted to stay for another week.

Also they may have unsold cabin, but decide to leave them un-occupied for maintenence. So you are taking a chance.

You are invited to join the hottest new cruise group on Yahoo.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cruiseaddi...