Help Please!! Cruising With Friends Who Are Non US Citizens

Sailing out of Galveston with friends who are not US citizens. When arriving back in port after the cruise, it's our understanding that all non-US citizens must clear customs first before US citizens are allowed to disembark.

Is there anywhere our friends can wait for us after they clear customs? It could be a while before we're able to get off the ship, and they do not know their way around--depending on us to help them get to the airport as we're all flying out together.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Sorry...got two cruises confused. We are traveling out of Miami with the non-US citizen friends, not Galveston...if it makes any difference.

I could be mistaken but I think everyone gets off ship at same time...

We have traveled a couple times with a non US citizen. There was a call for all non US passengers to meet at a lounge at 6:30. Once they were cleared, we got back together for breakfast and walked off the ship together.

I am Canadian. I have never used the Miami port, but have always got off the ship and went through customs with everyone else (sailed from Mobile, NO, Port Canaveral and Port Everglades)

I am not a US citizen - but I am a Canadian. I have never been required to do anything special. We do self assist and just walk off the ship. We do go through the non-US line in customs though which is sometimes longer.

I am Canadian, and when I cruised with US friends we disembarked together, but I had to go into a different line, which was much slower. They ended up having to wait on the other side for me quite a while. This was in Miami, but back in 2007. There will likely be a different line for non US residents, but dont know how long or backed up it will be.

I was on a couple of cruises a few years ago where non-US citizens had to go to a lounge and be cleared before any passengers could disembark. Always had 2 or 3 names that would be called over and over because the people hadn't shown up in the lounge. Haven't had to do the pre-clearance for awhile, although my last few cruises haven't been out of Miami.

And on one of my first Carnival cruises, I remember having to hand in my passport at check-in and getting it back at the end of the cruise. Thankfully, they don't do that now either!

I wonder if some of you all aren't confusing port calls to US ports with the end of the cruise?

Before my Canadian wife became a US citizen we always exited the ship together on the final day and went through the "non-US Citizen" clearance line at the same time as everyone else.

But when the ship called at US ports (specifically Key West and San Juan) she, and other non-US citizens, was required to report to the main showroom for clearance, even if we didn't plan to get off of the ship in that port.

Come to think of it now....I remember twice when I cruised out of Tampa, that we (non US citizens) had to convene in a lounge early in the morning to clear customs. I have sailed out Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and the only time we had to this was when we sailed out of and back into Tampa.

Sailing out of Galveston with friends who are not US citizens. When arriving back in port after the cruise, it's our understanding that all non-US citizens must clear customs first before US citizens are allowed to disembark.

 

Is there anywhere our friends can wait for us after they clear customs? It could be a while before we're able to get off the ship, and they do not know their way around--depending on us to help them get to the airport as we're all flying out together.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

If anything, US citizens can disembark earlier than others; especially those who opt for self-assist.

I'm a non-US citizen and have been on two cruises; one out of Miami and the other out of San Juan.

We had to of course go through a separate line (for non-US citizens) for immigration.

At San Juan we had to wait in the theater for a long time, everyone else was off the ship before our zone was called; our friends (US citizens) had to wait a while before we could come out.

I don't recall anything special for customs though.

another Canadian here:D, the only port we have disembarked differently was in San Juan, we cleared customs then went downstairs and got in line with everyone else and cleared customs again....... strange. All other times we have gotten off with everyone else.

I am Canadian, just got off Freedom in Fort Lauderdale and went through the same line as everyone else. Also the year before I was on Glory out of Miami and did the same thing. Never heard of a different line for other non-us citizens.

I am Canadian, just got off Freedom in Fort Lauderdale and went through the same line as everyone else. Also the year before I was on Glory out of Miami and did the same thing. Never heard of a different line for other non-us citizens.

Oh I do hope this will be my experience in Nov. I am also Canadian. The seperate line I was in last time in Port Everglades (2010) was for all non us citizens and was very long, and slow moving. Fast forward four years...I am travelling solo, but have problems standing more than an hour without incurring leg pain.

Hope hope hope....that this year I can clear customs without going to a separate long line.

when we departed the Destiny in Miami 2 years ago -- we had to go down to the lounge and present our id and get pre cleared.

they gave us a slip and we went back to our cabin. We debarked with everyone else -- and when we got to the customs guy we gave him the slip and he waved us through.

We travel on Carnival every year with my in-laws who are British citizens. We embark and disembark together. The only difference is once off the ship and have collected our luggage they have to go through a separate immigration line.

No big deal.

I'm now a US citizen. When travelling on my Canadian passport on my early cruises most ships required you to be cleared through customs before they cleared the ship to begin debarking. Most ports now have a separate area where non-US citizens can exit the ship then go through the separate line in the terminal. No more meeting in the lounge at 6 AM!

Of course I've been a US citizen for almost 10 years now so it's not an issue for me regardless but heavens I hated those last days, having to vacate your cabin and meet in the designated spot so early!:cool:

Two years ago we sailed out of Galveston with my anut and uncle from Germany. They had to go through the non-us line and we were aloud to go with them so we could stay together. LOOOOONGGGGGG line. We were the last to get out of the terminal, but there was only one line and they were training someone. Worst debark ever but not carinvals fault.

I am a US citizen married to a Spaniard. All the times we debarked in Long Beach, Ca they pull us out of the long customs line for US citizens and direct us to the much much shorter line for non-US citizens. We get off the ship a good hour before everyone else standing in that long US customs line! LOVE IT!

I cruised with non-US citizens several times. Never heard they had to be cleared before US citizens. If that was true, when there were many non-US citizens, the US citizens would miss their early flights. It does not make sense to me.

I traveled on the Legend out of Tampa with some German friends. The last morning they had to go to a lounge for Customs, then met back at the room and we all went to breakfast together. We disembarked as a group with no problems.

I think it depends upon the port of debarkation, and how their Immigration lines are set up. Some ships clear non-US citizens on the ship, and others clear through the actual port of entry.

On one cruise I was on, everyone had to clear Immigrations on the ship. I believe it was because St. Thomas USVI was our last port before returning to Florida. What a nightmare of lines snaking through the ship! Plus we had to carry with us anything that we were declaring, but thankfully not our luggage itself!

Tampa is the only port where we had to pre clear customs... That time it took over 2 hours to clear all of us aliens.. 865 of us on board. All of us were asked to be down at the theatre for 6:30 am to start the process . Once we were all cleared the ship could start the disembarkment process. I will never sail out of Tampa again due to this process of disembarkment, it makes for a very long brutal day returning home.

I have never had to convene anywhere special as a non us citizen, before or after a cruise. We also do self assist debarkation and it has never been a problem.

We are from the uk and have sailed from Port Canaveral , Miami and Tampa, the only time we had to do anything different was Tampa, we had to be in the theatre at 6am, after that we joined our friends and all left the ship together. All the other times we just got off with everyone else :)