US Immigration Document Check DURING the cruise

My wife, daughter and I will be on the Harmony in a couple of weeks, itinerary Fort Lauderdale - Nassau - St Thomas - Labadee - Fort Lauderdale. Does anyone have any recent info on whether there will be an On-Board US Immigration document check when we arrive in St. Thomas from Nassau on the 4th day of the cruise?

I ask because on a previous cruise -- admittedly, about 10 years ago or so -- we went to a foreign port first, then stopped in San Juan, and everyone had to make themselves available in the main dining room upon arrival for US Immigration. The visit was mandatory in order for the ship to be "cleared" and passengers allowed off for their excursions.

While we understand and accept the need for the check, the pain is having to get up so early in the morning ... a minor inconvenience I suppose, but we want to be prepared.

Thanks in advance,

Michael

We worried about the same thing because we've had that happen before also. On the Anthem this past summer, we went to Bermuda and St. Maarten before Puerto Rico, but it was fine. We were not even awake when we docked and never heard anything about it.

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We were on Harmony in August - Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Kitts. We did not have a chance check during the cruise.

I'm not positive, but I think the rule is that you must go through immigration on the first US port that doesn't have any additional foreign ports after it.

If, for example, you sailed from (picking random ports) Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) to Cozumel and Key West before returning to Port Everglades, you'd go through US immigration in Key West.

If, however, you sailed from Port Everglades To Cozumel, Key West, Labadee, San Juan, and then back to Port Everglades, you'd go through US immigration in San Juan because there were no non-US ports after that.

I'm not positive, but I think the rule is that you must go through immigration on the first US port that doesn't have any additional foreign ports after it.

 

If, for example, you sailed from (picking random ports) Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) to Cozumel and Key West before returning to Port Everglades, you'd go through US immigration in Key West.

 

If, however, you sailed from Port Everglades To Cozumel, Key West, Labadee, San Juan, and then back to Port Everglades, you'd go through US immigration in San Juan because there were no non-US ports after that.

Years ago when sailing from Galveston on the Rhapsody we had to go through immigration in Key West before we could disembark. It was our first port and we had 2 foreign ports afterward. It was a real pain and we ended up not being able to get off until after 11am because so many passengers disregarded the instructions. No one was allowed off until everyone went through the immigration check.

Then, a few years later we took the same cruise and in Key West instead of having to report to a lounge for clearance, we had to have our passports or other documents in hand as we reached the gangway. There was a CBP officer checking the documents. It moved faster, but was a real pain worrying about carrying around the passports all day.

This year we sailed from Galveston to Key West and the Bahamas. Key West was the first stop once again, and this time no immigration check at all. We were free to disembark the ship as soon as it docked. What a relief!