Fat Bottom Gurl Posted December 7, 2013 #1 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I am wondering if the US gov. shutdown affected the cruises that originated in US ports? I realize it affected tours to things like national parks, but I am mostly wondering about how it affect foreign travelers in terms of customs, embarkments, airports. We are scheduled to travel in March, and I believe that the US shutdown is looming again (is it Feb or March?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan_Sea Posted December 7, 2013 #2 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Customs had less personnel so debarkation was a bit slower. Other than that, no problems that I am aware of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare nunuc2000 Posted December 7, 2013 #3 Share Posted December 7, 2013 We cruised in Oct during the shutdown and didn't notice any difference at all - we flew in from Canada and had to go through all the usual hoops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted December 7, 2013 #4 Share Posted December 7, 2013 A lot of the reported problems were due as much to other factors as the "shutdown." Yes, there were fewer Immigration officers which caused delays but there were also ships repositioning from elsewhere as well as construction in Port Everglades. Haven't read of recent delays. I think everything has gotten quietly back to normal. I wouldn't worry. We had far more of an issue at MIA flying home after our Royal T/A when the American Airlines terminal had ONE screening line for all passengers. It took almost an hour and a half to get through even though I was in the First Class priority line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted December 7, 2013 #5 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Overall, it had minimal impact. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dforeigner Posted December 7, 2013 #6 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Custom officers are considered essential personnel. Therefore, they still worked but did not get paid until after the shut down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted December 7, 2013 #7 Share Posted December 7, 2013 [quote name='dforeigner']Custom officers are considered essential personnel. Therefore, they still worked but did not get paid until after the shut down.[/quote] But, due to the sequester, their overtime hours were cut, and thus staffing at the ports was cut for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dforeigner Posted December 7, 2013 #8 Share Posted December 7, 2013 [quote name='CruiserBruce']But, due to the sequester, their overtime hours were cut, and thus staffing at the ports was cut for a while.[/quote] Now it makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padraic Posted December 7, 2013 #9 Share Posted December 7, 2013 [quote name='Fat Bottom Gurl']We are scheduled to travel in March, and I believe that the US shutdown is looming again (is it Feb or March?)[/QUOTE] Although a shutdown is possible at any time, the chances of one occurring in the spring of 2014 is almost nil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underwatr Posted December 7, 2013 #10 Share Posted December 7, 2013 The debt ceiling extension will run out in ~ February or March. I think this is where that thought originates. [url]http://www.cnbc.com/id/101118774[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted December 7, 2013 #11 Share Posted December 7, 2013 [quote name='Underwatr']The debt ceiling extension will run out in ~ February or March. I think this is where that thought originates. [URL]http://www.cnbc.com/id/101118774[/URL][/quote] [B] Yes, ^^ that. [/B] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted December 8, 2013 #12 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Actually, the temporary budget extension goes to, IIRC, Jan 15, 2014. So, theoretically, there could be a shutdown then. Not at "any time". A budget deal appears to be near. The borrowing limit, again, IIRC, goes to mid February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustCruiseMe Posted December 8, 2013 #13 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Well for us Old San Juan and El Morrow were closed because of the shutdown but didn't affect cruise operations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamessemaj Posted December 8, 2013 #14 Share Posted December 8, 2013 It's something to think about when planning travel. Hard to predict if Congress might shut down government again or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lannp Posted December 8, 2013 #15 Share Posted December 8, 2013 We arrived back in Brooklyn (Red Hook) in mid-October and I didn't notice empty Immigration booths and it didn't seem to take any longer than usual. A friend was coming from Canada to pick us up at Buffalo airport and had a huge delay crossing the Canada-US bridge. She was there 5 hours! Fortunately she had heard about the problems and left early in the morning. There were only a few officers manning booths and they examined the inside of every vehicle and asked my friend numerous questions about why she was crossing and who she was picking up, etc. The officer made rude comments about her almost-new vehicle (which had replaced her very old - 12 year van) and her friend (me) who could afford this expensive travel, etc. She said it was really hard to stay polite but she was not going to give him the satisfaction unlike others who were getting out of their cars and yelling about the delay. Being closer to Buffalo than Toronto it usually makes more sense for us to use Buffalo. If there are going to be potential problems again in the new year I'm glad I don't have any travel booked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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