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I've been searching for details on this for a while, and I know I could just phone some companies but maybe someone here knows. Is it possible to buy only some parts of a longer cruise.

For example, there's a cruise going round Asia, say departing from Singapore, visting Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, Hong Kong but I only want to travel from Manila to Hong Kong? Is there any way just to book that leg? Or would I have to pay full price? Since cruises seem to mostly sell out I guess there's no real advantage is selling part routes.

If I pay full price would they even let me board in Manila, or is it the same as airlines where if you miss any leg the whole trip gets cancelled and resold?

If I could find someone who wanted the rest of the cruise would they let us split the reservation?

Anyone have any experience of this?

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    You might be interested to consider freighter-travel instead, where this is certainly possible.
    – gerrit
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 14:59
  • @gerrit Freighter travel is my other option, although it's difficult to find out stuff on-line originating from Manila. I could do old school and get friends of friends to find out. My issue is that this would be the first stage of a long journey but the time I'll have (due to work, money, etc) is limited and freighter travel seems to be slow. I don't really want to burn a week of my travel time on a ship just to get to the mainland. My other option is private boats, but I'm not really a boat-person so I'm not sure if they'd want to have me aboard.
    – SpaceDog
    Commented Feb 28, 2014 at 0:59
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    Interesting question. A point to consider is that ports of call along an itinerary often have limited facilities such as a simple pier. In comparison, ports from which cruises depart have all the required facilities to bring in "new" passengers : ticketing, check-in, alcohol check-in, luggage handling, customs/immigration, waiting room... There also is the compulsory ship evacuation drill done before departure.
    – DavGin
    Commented Mar 20, 2014 at 14:06
  • Good point, I didn't think of the logistics of boarding at intermediate ports, although if I did it I'd be boarding / leaving at what I assume are major ports (Manila and either Hong Kong or Singapore).
    – SpaceDog
    Commented Mar 21, 2014 at 5:02
  • Alternatively, what if I board a cruise at the original departure point, but ditch halfway? I suppose I will have to make sure that immigration doesn't mind if I stay, but maybe I'm a citizen there or have a visa that allows me to remain indefinitely. Would the cruise line take action against me when they find out I didn't reboard?
    – Robert Columbia
    Commented Dec 10, 2022 at 15:37

1 Answer 1

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Depends -- it would be more helpful if you could provide the details of the specific cruise you're interested in.

But as a rule of thumb, cruise lines figure the more paying passengers the better. Local cruise companies thus sell packages originating from all major cities visited, and it's also quite common to do 'one-way' cruises where people cruise one way and fly back. Problem is, these are usually sold as packages with the return flight included, you may have trouble sorting out a simple one-way. Contact the cruise operator (not a travel agent) directly and ask.

On the other hand, if it's a 'non-local' cruise company doing something like a one-off repositioning cruise from Alaska to Asia, they may not have the infrastructure to handle passengers boarding from random ports along the way. This is more the exception than the rule.

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    Thanks for the answer, it sounds like I need to talk to the cruise company directly and also their local representatives at my embarkation point. I don't have a specific cruise in mind, I'm just looking for a way to get to mainland SE Asia from Manila without flying (just to see if I can, and because I get pretty much anywhere in Asia or Europe from there by road or rail).
    – SpaceDog
    Commented Mar 21, 2014 at 5:04

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