Unbelievable disembarkation (Jewel)

[ChevyCruiser]

And we in the US want the government to handle our health care?

[monicajay]

Hope things improve in Tampa as our next 2 cruises dock there and we are Canadian. I realize the cruise lines don't control this but as they have experience at many other ports and one port is delaying them you would think they could talk to the authorities to try and smooth out the process.

 

We have not been singled out as aliens since our NCL Sun cruise.

[negc]

Inover 20 cruies with RCL Tampa was the worst embarkation and disembarkation

 

It certainly sounds like it, but our debarkation in Tampa at the conclusion of our repositioning cruise was quite smooth and without any serious problems (aside from some non-US citizens who had to be constantly paged to report to Customs which did delay us a bit since no one else could leave until they were found. Not sure about the reasons for the double check but it may have been just as much a surprise to the ship's staff which might explain why they seemed less prepared. On our TA, the ship's staff was notified at almost the last minute, that the Irish authorities were requiring that all passengers passports be collected and retained by the ship until we left Irish waters. When we left Cherbourg headed for Cobh, we had to turn in our passports and had them returned after we departed Dublin. It was a bit of a pain, but the crew seemed pretty well organized and the procedure went fairly smoothly.

Stuff happens and sometimes it is difficult to know who is responsible for the snafus, but in this case my money is on the Customs and Immigration officials.:)

[cantw8togo]

Hope things improve in Tampa as our next 2 cruises dock there and we are Canadian. I realize the cruise lines don't control this but as they have experience at many other ports and one port is delaying them you would think they could talk to the authorities to try and smooth out the process.

 

We have not been singled out as aliens since our NCL Sun cruise.

 

In hindsight I wish that we had gone for breakfast first since there was such a huge line up. If they get through the line up quickly, then I'm sure that we would be paged. If there weren't many foreign nationals on board then I would just line up first, but having to process 700 people when immigration didn't even get onboard and set up until well after 7:15 meant for a frustratingly long wait.

[lakelorain]

In Tampa, Customs and Immigration are two separate agencies and work independently. Everyone, including US citizens, has to pass both inspections.

In most other ports there is only one inspection.

[Karen_N]

I am surprised Tampa and Fort Lauderdale Customs process is so different for Canadians, especially since they are in the same state.

I used to hate cruising back in the day when they took our Passports for the entire cruise and we had to go to retrieve them(every member of the family) on the final day of the cruise. It made for a very early morning, with misserable kids. Your experience in Tampa sounds just like the process we experienced many years ago. I hope to never encounter that process again. Looks like Tampa and San Diego, will be off my debarkation list until things change.

KN

[Eileen2]

Had the same experience disembarking Tampa Oct 2011. Non US residents were informed the night before that we could not utilize self disembarkation{ which we had done at all other ports. we did get through immigration by 8 30 had to be there at seven. We still had trouble self disembarking{ early flight and we had booked that based on our previous experiences} Won.t sail out of Tampa again and have learned now to book later return flights.

[canuckcruzingirl]

We disembarked from Jewel in Tampa on Jan 2/2012 and it was a normal process for us "Canucks" - we were not asked to meet early with any non-US group? We walked off the ship around 9:15AM and were in a cab to the airport before 10AM.

 

The departing passengers were separated into US and non-US lines going through the 1st customs/immigration check in the terminal, and the non-US line definitely moved slower than the US, but it was not a major issue.

 

There was a second check-point after the luggage pick-up which moved very slowly - haven't seen that before (or maybe at other ports it was so quick it was not memorable?), but we just showed our passports once again and were on our way.

 

I am sympathetic to the OP - their experience sounds very frustrating!

 

However, we absolutely loved going through the Port of Tampa - one of our quickest embarks ever (porters are still the usual/pushy/grumpy types though), and we thought the Jewel OTS was fantastic! Future non-US cruisers through here may not have all of the hassles described by others - I sure hope they don't?

[niagaracris]

Have sailed out of Tampa twice/Carnival. Both times had to meet very early "0715" separately from USA citizens. Both times ended up waiting for customs officers to arrive. Over 1 hour...

So expecting it on the Jewel,out of Tampa.

Small inconvenience that the Cruise lines have no control over.

Port Canaveral we did not have to do this.

All part of the "waiting game" when travelling, waiting at the airport, waiting for luggage, waiting to check into hotel etc.

No Biggie!,

 

cheers, Cris

[negc]

The process in Boston at the conclusion of our recent Jewel TA was equally problematic. Non-US citizens were supposed to report to Customs officials in the Safari Lounge at 6:30 am but a little past 9:00 am they were still making PA announcements urging those passengers to report. Not sure, in that case, that the blame lies with RCI or the Customs officials.

Even with the delay, we (US citizens) were still off the ship by 9:30 and all we needed to do as we left the ship was to pass in our Customs declarations and pick up our luggage.

When we landed in Tampa last year after the Jewel repo cruise, I don't recall any inordinate delay. Our flight home to Boston this time isn't until 3 pm so we aren't too concerned about possible delays.:)

[WhiteSoxFan]

So how early can US citizens expect to disembark, I was going to book an 11:35 flight out of Tampa.

[smoosh21]

I'm non-US citizen.

 

I've embarked/dis-embarked at Los Angeles and San Diego. Both were pretty smooth, nothing like what was described here.

 

My parents who went to Caribbean also didn't complain about the process.

 

Is it a Tampa issue?

 

i think it all depends on the alignment of the stars. But usually, my worst customs and immigration experiences have been when re-entering the US. And it IS much worse since 9/11.

However, my partner always has trouble entering Canada for some reason. Every time we go he gets called aside for an additional 5-10 minutes of questioning, with no explanation.

 

I will add that Port Canaveral actually had a very good and efficient Customs, which surprised me.

[Tim,n,Sue]

We are talking about Tampa, but it can happen in any port. Just depends on the mood of the Customs and Immigration people.

It really does depend on the number and, more importantly, the mood of the C&I staff. Remember the P&O cruise in 2011 where it took over 7 hours for 2000+ people to go through the process. If not here is the link to the story.

 

 

 

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2011/06/british-cruise-ship-arcadia-passengers-los-angeles-customs/173352/1

[north29]

I'm non-US citizen.

 

I've embarked/dis-embarked at Los Angeles and San Diego. Both were pretty smooth, nothing like what was described here.

 

My parents who went to Caribbean also didn't complain about the process.

 

Is it a Tampa issue?

It should not be any more than Miami or Ft Lauderdale, maybe some over zealous agents, trying to justify there jobs, or maybe some one in the group is on a watch list, or id conforms to a watch list person or even a TSA alert/exercise ordered from the homeland security.

What ever reason for the delay issues, it has nothing to do with RC or any other cruise line, it is just the fact of travel in this day and age.

[Donray]

Depends on the non-USA passengers. If some don't show up nobody gets off untill they round up the non-USA people that don't do as asked.

[sr4mjc]

So how early can US citizens expect to disembark, I was going to book an 11:35 flight out of Tampa.

 

I'm wondering the same thing, I'm headed straight into work that day! I'm hoping I can just walk off the ship with my luggage early.

[Trekker954]

This is NOT an RCL or Jewel issue. It is an issue with ICE at this port only. When we boarded on Nov 12 last year there was a delay as everyone getting off Jewel that morning had to be fingerprinted. Please don't blame the cruise line for this!!!

 

 

ICE has nothing to do with the clearing of passengers. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the operational arm of Homeland Security who is responsible for passenger processing at U.S. ports of entry.

[Trekker954]

In Tampa, Customs and Immigration are two separate agencies and work independently. Everyone, including US citizens, has to pass both inspections.

In most other ports there is only one inspection.

 

This is inaccurate information unless you mean Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Operational is one and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is another. CBP at airports normally have officers set up in "documention control" and the passenger picks up their luggage and goes passes through another officer who will normally allow you out, or send you to secondary. At most cruise ship terminal you collect your luggage and go through one officer. But some ports may have similar clearance like airports. These are called CBP officers and are in uniform and are doing both documents (immigration entry portion) and customs and agriculture inspections - they are all the same agency (CBP).

ICE agents either HSI agents (investigativre) or ERO (enforcement and removal) officers are not operational and clearing passengers. This group does investigations and pick up unlawful undocumented aliens.

[bigboffs]

McDill US Air Force base is located less than 4 miles from the Tampa Cruise pier. Located at the McDill is the command center for Mid East Military operations. As a result, security in and around the cruise pier is extremely tight leading to sometimes ( to cruisers) a rather unpleasant embarkation/disimbarkation. The cruise lines have NO control over the administration of port security.

[negc]

I'm wondering the same thing, I'm headed straight into work that day! I'm hoping I can just walk off the ship with my luggage early.

 

As others have already indicated: how early you can get off depends on how well and quickly the ship can be cleared for debarkation and that can be determined by the various factors cited (how promptly non-US citizens appear before the Customs officials, when and how many officials are on hand to process passengers, whether or not weather (ex. fog conditions) delay the ship's arrival at the cruise terminal). With any luck you will be off early but be prepared to experience delays if everything doesn't go as scheduled.

[caissonqueen]

I have not sailed out of Tampa. I had a horrible experience in San Juan. Took hours to get off the ship and down to officials. I hope that was resolved.

[niko40]

We had a terrible disembarkation after our Jewel TA, Sept 2009. We were in Boston and waited for what seemed hours. We were told that it was the customs or immigration people who had caused the problem as they had not sent enough agents to process the ship.

It is the only bad disembarkation we have experienced.

 

We were on that cruise also and I agree it was the only time we have had a problem

[c-legs]

The whole of that episode is classic textbook '' post T.A. disembarkation experience''.

Happens to every single voyage returning to USA after 6+/- months ''away'' in Europe, SouthAmerica,wherever.

USCG, Homeland security, C&BP , immigration, etc.etc...all have their massive ''class 1 '' examination of everything and everybody....

Never fails...

Just watch what will happen in Everglades ( and Miami...) in a couple of weeks when the majority of the fleet returns from Europe....The threads will all be the same, the cruisers' feedback will be ''deja vu all over again'', and folks with flights prior to 2;30pm will see their blood pressure jump to heights never seen before.....

 

Cheers

[Elaine0138]

Not only TA's we had a horrendous experience coming back into Port Everglades, waits of over 2 hours standing in queues, people missing flights it was a nightmare.