Is it possible to skip some legs of a cruise?

Question

I was planning a trip around the Mediterranean countries when I found a cruise, with an interesting price, that actually goes to most of the cities/countries I want to visit.

I want to skip the last leg (maybe two legs) of the trip since I don't want to return to the start place and because I want to go inland and move to other places I intend to visit.

I know it's probably not the same as in flights, but I find lots of arguments not to skip legs here on TSE. From ethical reasons to bureaucratic and/or future consequences.

• Can I skip the last leg of my domestic return flight?
• Do you have to take the second leg of a domestic flight?
• Not flying the first leg of the journey – Company cancels the second-leg ticket

Can you actually skip a leg or more (either at start or the end)?

I know, as suggested in the comments, I can just walk out in any port, but these companies have their internal procedures and are responsible for you to a certain extent. When you buy a trip you also agree to certain rules. I don't know what these are but maybe they are strict on this for organizational purposes.

Update: This is Europe, Schengen area, which makes it easier from a legal perspective but I wonder if this would still be ok with countries with stricter VISA and immigration policies.

Answer 1

Most cruise companies will allow passengers to embark and disembark at any port they dock at, so if the question is "does such a ticket exist", the answer is yes.

However, it might be more expensive than a whole-cruise ticket.

For a lot of cruises, buying a ticket direct from the cruise line can prove more expensive than a package of flights and ticket from an agent, so you might find that you can skip legs, but the ticket is more expensive than the whole-cruise ticket that is the only one that the cheapest agent offers.

You can probably get away with leaving early - the cruise line is unlikely to care about stopping short, unlike airlines, as long as you tell them. Many ships will wait in port if they have passengers who are still ashore. Also, carrying your luggage through the passenger areas will cause problems. The crew have alternative ways to get your luggage off the ship and will assist you at your official debarkation port.

Embarking later than your booked ticket without informing the cruise line in advance is asking for trouble, though.

One trick might be to call the cruise line and say you've booked a ticket but want to get off earlier than planned or join the cruise later than planned and ask whether you can change the ticket. If you're happy not to get any money back (and you probably are: you're doing this because you got a great discount on a whole-cruise ticket) then most lines will be OK with this.