Immigration and embarkation

[The Odd Couple]

Can anyone help me please. We will be arriving from London into Miami the day before our cruise and as Brits, will have go through US immigration procedures at the airport. Presumably, on the day of embarkation, we will be required to do it all again at the dock before boarding? Thanks for your help.

[sapper1]

Can anyone help me please. We will be arriving from London into Miami the day before our cruise and as Brits, will have go through US immigration procedures at the airport. Presumably, on the day of embarkation, we will be required to do it all again at the dock before boarding? Thanks for your help.
Once you do immigration procedures at the airport you are in the country and do not have to redo them at embarkation. You will have to go through a security check and regular check-in procedures at the dock, but no immigration. At the end of the cruise you will go through immigration as you disembark.

We are fortunate that in Canadian international airports, we can go through US customs before we board the plane so when we arrive in the US, we are good to go, with no further delays.

[English_in_Spain]

No, you will just go through check-in and security like everyone else.

There will probably be a non-US section at check-in (which is usally shorter than the priority check-in queues) but there is no immigration process.


Edit to say: Sapper1 beat me to it

[The Odd Couple]

Thanks very much for the advice. Just wanted to know what we might have let ourselves in for!

[English_in_Spain]

You will find immigration at Miami airport very slow and intimidating. It is just something we have to endure if we want to cruise from Miami or Fort Lauderdale. On our last entry it was taking up to 1 ½ hours to get through immigration checks. This is after we have filled out all our details in the ESTA application before arriving.

I know security is important but the way we are treated, in my opinion, is unacceptable.

I would like to see what would happen if people from USA, coming to Europe, had to fill in a form online before departure then be fingerprinted at the airport and treated as criminals.

The funny thing is that once you are in the country the people are some of the friendliest and most welcoming people anywhere in the world.

[The Odd Couple]

I haven't been through Miami for a number of years - pre 9/11 - and it was bad enough then, so I can imagine from what I have read on CC and elsewhere just what to expect. I'm all for security, but I think that the majority immigration officials are just plain obnoxious for the sake of it.

[Globaliser]

You will find immigration at Miami airport very slow and intimidating.It depends. I've had my fair share of poor experiences at Miami airport, and I always rather dread the thought of it; but the reality is that on just as many occasions I've cleared immigration in less than 5 minutes.

[Gerd]

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Hello "English_in_Spain"

dear Carol, I fully agree with your remark about US immigration – and also about US citizen.

We sometimes do have trouble while entering into the States => but we also do have quite a lot of US friends which one we became during a cruise or ashore.

And Yes, I have had also strange behaviors at the border of other countries !

Here, we do also apply a strict safety check, but they do not search for "hazardous stuff" so close at the body of kids- ore elderly "terrorist" then they do elsewhere.

For my part, and for the same reason, I also avoid flying out of Frankfurt-Main, Germany.
I guess because of a close-by air-base, the last check-in while entering into the plane with destination to the other side of the Atlantic, there are also those (non German) "special forces" => You know, those self-proclaimed "psy-scouts"

Meanwhile it’s always "amazing" how those officers (and please don’t aggress me, if I do not know there correct service grade ore status), how they thread passengers if they cannot speak English.
Why the hell everybody on the world should and must speak just English ?
And on a German airport – or even somewhere else, why one expect that a tourist should be able ?

It’s true, today the main language for travelling and for business is English, but please, no-one is obliged to do so….!


Ones it was told to me quote "since today one can listen everywhere around the world CNN, everybody should now speak and apply our language" end-quote
=> No comment……



Happy cruising

G E R D


Our marvelous cruises : :)

MS Ryndam – Wayfarer – March 1997
MS Noordam - Transatlantic Island Hook - April 2001
MS Volendam - Southern Caribbean - April 2002
MS Volendam - Westfarer Caribbean - April 2004
MS Prinsendam - Windmills & Waterford – September 2004
MS Westerdam - Western Caribbean - April 2005
MS Statendam - Hawaii Circle - September 2005
MS Rotterdam - Vikings and Czars – July 2006
MS Veendam - Southern Caribbean – March 2007
MS Volendam – Panama Canal – April 2008
MS Noordam – Mediterranean Enchantment – September 2009
MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Inaugural Cruise - July 2010
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Future Cruise : :p


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