Clearing US Customs/Immigration in Honolulu?

[bazzaw]

One possible way to enter US for a holiday is via Honolulu. Hawaiin Airlines fly direct from Brisbane to Honolulu. Does anybody know where, having cleared Customs/Immigration in Hawaii, and then flying to a point on the mainland, whether there are any further Customs/Immigration procedures- or is it just an internal "domestic" flight.

 

Barry

[rkmw]

One possible way to enter US for a holiday is via Honolulu. Hawaiin Airlines fly direct from Brisbane to Honolulu. Does anybody know where, having cleared Customs/Immigration in Hawaii, and then flying to a point on the mainland, whether there are any further Customs/Immigration procedures- or is it just an internal "domestic" flight.

 

Barry

 

Barry we have been to Hawaii twice by ship and we had to see customs at the first port of entry so i suppose it'd be the same for a plane

 

we had to go thru security at every port which is only normal doing the Hawaiin islands

[Sparky74]

We're cruising out of Honolulu in 12 1/2 weeks :D

 

I looked at flying over with Hawaiian Airlines. Their price was reasonable for one way and they allow 32kg of luggage. However, the day I went to book, their price had increased and I got a better deal with JetStar, even after I paid for all the extras (luggage, meal, movie, etc). Both lines fly nonstop from Sydney to Honolulu.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Big Kev]

One possible way to enter US for a holiday is via Honolulu. Hawaiin Airlines fly direct from Brisbane to Honolulu. Does anybody know where, having cleared Customs/Immigration in Hawaii, and then flying to a point on the mainland, whether there are any further Customs/Immigration procedures- or is it just an internal "domestic" flight.

 

Barry

 

 

After first Port of entry, its all domestic travel within the entire USA. - eg. You can fly from HNL to JFK and only need to pass thru normal domestic security points.

 

Phil

 

.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

One possible way to enter US for a holiday is via Honolulu. Hawaiin Airlines fly direct from Brisbane to Honolulu. Does anybody know where, having cleared Customs/Immigration in Hawaii, and then flying to a point on the mainland, whether there are any further Customs/Immigration procedures- or is it just an internal "domestic" flight.

 

Barry

 

We did that last year Barry..... went through customs in Honolulu (which was a breeze) and then didn't have to go through it in LAX. What threw us though was that the plane landed in the domestic terminal at LAX and until we realised where we were, we were a little disoriented. :eek::D

 

We liked Hawaiian Airlines and will travel with them again...... can't say the same about Jetstar to Honolulu (service was lousy, both at the checkin and in the air) To clarify we flew Jetstar to Honolulu and Hawaiian to LAX, and we only flew Jetstar because the company we originally booked with went belly up 1 month before we left and going with Jetstar was the only available flight to link up with our Hawaiian Airlines one. We had such a bad experience with Jetstar going to Honolulu that we will NEVER fly with them again, in fact we would gladly pay double so we don't have to. Long story, sorry about the rant! LOL

[fishtaco]

After first Port of entry, its all domestic travel within the entire USA. - eg. You can fly from HNL to JFK and only need to pass thru normal domestic security points.

 

Phil

 

.

 

Last year we still had to use our passports as ID against boarding cards at domestic airport security checks because our other AU ID was not acceptable ID.

 

At the LongBeach cruise terminal the check in person was not going to let us board because she could not find our USA entry stamp in the passports!

 

A loop cruise is classed as a domestic trip so not sure why the entry stamp in our AU passports were so important to a cruise employee, especially as we were already in USA :confused:

[cassamanda]

We're cruising out of Honolulu in 12 1/2 weeks :D

 

I looked at flying over with Hawaiian Airlines. Their price was reasonable for one way and they allow 32kg of luggage. However, the day I went to book, their price had increased and I got a better deal with JetStar, even after I paid for all the extras (luggage, meal, movie, etc). Both lines fly nonstop from Sydney to Honolulu.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

We booked through Virgin who uses Hawaiian and the price was cheaper than direct with Hawaiian:confused: Some Jetstar services use Qantas aircraft.

 

The stub of the immigration card gets stapled to your Passport until you exit the USA. Treat Hawaii like Tasmania - actually does belong to the country:D

 

You have to show your Passport at every airport security gate for ID purposes. BTW shoes have to come off too at HNL (unless you are over 70) as they have very outdated equipment. Security at Maui was much more modern than Honolulu - uses the new body scan technique where you appear as a stick figure when you go through the machine.

 

We will stage through HNL on our way to Alaska next year - no LAX:) plus 2 relatively short flights - 9.5 hrs and 6 hrs.

[Sparky74]

We did that last year Barry..... went through customs in Honolulu (which was a breeze) and then didn't have to go through it in LAX. What threw us though was that the plane landed in the domestic terminal at LAX and until we realised where we were' date=' we were a little disoriented. :eek::D

 

We liked Hawaiian Airlines and will travel with them again...... can't say the same about Jetstar to Honolulu (service was lousy, both at the checkin and in the air) To clarify we flew Jetstar to Honolulu and Hawaiian to LAX, and we only flew Jetstar because the company we originally booked with went belly up 1 month before we left and going with Jetstar was the only available flight to link up with our Hawaiian Airlines one. We had such a bad experience with Jetstar going to Honolulu that we will NEVER fly with them again, in fact we would gladly pay double so we don't have to. Long story, sorry about the rant! LOL[/quote']

 

:eek:

Oh we'll, we've paid our money and will have to take our chances.

I did look at Air New Zealand but it meant about a 10 or 12 hour wait for a connection.

At least we're flying through the night and have 4 days before we board the ship, so we'll have time to recover.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll now be going with very low expectations for the flight. :)

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

:eek:

Oh we'll, we've paid our money and will have to take our chances.

I did look at Air New Zealand but it meant about a 10 or 12 hour wait for a connection.

At least we're flying through the night and have 4 days before we board the ship, so we'll have time to recover.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll now be going with very low expectations for the flight. :)

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

I hope you have a better experience than us!:D

[The_Big_M]

 

A loop cruise is classed as a domestic trip so not sure why the entry stamp in our AU passports were so important to a cruise employee, especially as we were already in USA :confused:

 

The passport is standard id required for cruises. They do allow US citizens to produce local id e.g. drivers licence if domestic only, but it's still a bit of a risk.

 

As for the stamp, US government regulations on ships are very strict (Jones Act as one example) and if you aren't travelling as an approved entrant to the US it may well cause problems with the DHS.

[fishtaco]

The passport is standard id required for cruises. They do allow US citizens to produce local id e.g. drivers licence if domestic only, but it's still a bit of a risk.

 

As for the stamp, US government regulations on ships are very strict (Jones Act as one example) and if you aren't travelling as an approved entrant to the US it may well cause problems with the DHS.

 

Yes but we were going out of USA to Mexico and had to re do immigration on our return to USA port anyway! I showed her our ESTA,s Which is all we should need to re land back into USA on any vessel!

 

If you have authority to travel to USA with an ESTA I cant see how cruise staff can say you dont have authority to "leave" because they cant find your original entry stamp lol. This would be an immigration matter on return not a check in staff matter on leaving?

 

Thankfully a senior supervisor had better eyesight than all of us and found the very feint entry stamps.

 

Which brings to mind, we didnt get any exit stamps from USA? how do they know we even left and then returned next time I cruise from USA?

[MicCanberra]

Yes but we were going out of USA to Mexico and had to re do immigration on our return to USA port anyway! I showed her our ESTA,s Which is all we should need to re land back into USA on any vessel!

 

If you have authority to travel to USA with an ESTA I cant see how cruise staff can say you dont have authority to "leave" because they cant find your original entry stamp lol. This would be an immigration matter on return not a check in staff matter on leaving?

 

Thankfully a senior supervisor had better eyesight than all of us and found the very feint entry stamps.

 

Which brings to mind, we didnt get any exit stamps from USA? how do they know we even left and then returned next time I cruise from USA?

ESTA is a visa waiver so should be on record for entry/re-entry of the US. Very puzzling that they would be stopping you leaving the US.:D

[The_Big_M]

If you have authority to travel to USA with an ESTA I cant see how cruise staff can say you dont have authority to "leave" because they cant find your original entry stamp lol. This would be an immigration matter on return not a check in staff matter on leaving?

 

The problem is the same with airlines.

 

If you have issues/are denied entry when you arrive i.e. the "immigration matter on return" INS take it up with the carrier who brought you there. So it is no longer an immigration problem, but a cruise line problem in this case. And that then can potentially delay the next cruise, aside from the hassle.

 

That's basically why airlines (and cruises) check your destination details when you are leaving.

 

Anyway, good that the stamp was there and it was found in the end!

[bronte2]

We flew Hawaiian a couple of years ago on our way to join a ship in San Francisco.

We breezed through immigration at Honolulu but it may have had something to do with the fact that we must have arrived between other flights as the airport at around 8am was deserted!

 

We stayed in HNL a couple of days then flew on to SFO. This was a domestic flight so no further immigration. As we were ticketed all the way through from Sydney to SFO we were still entitled to the international baggage allowance with Hawaiian which was much more generous than the domestic allowance. I'm not sure if this is still the case.

 

We checked in to board the ship and there was no issue whatsoever. What did worry me after the ship sailed was that we never got an exit stamp. Passengers who arrived on the ship and were cruising onwards had to ensure they deposited a 'docket' in a receptacle before the ship sailed. (Bazaaw, you probably remember this, as it was on Arcadia in 2011), but those pax who joined in SFO never had proof of exit from the US. I checked with the ship a couple of times and was informed that you didn't need to do anything.

 

We haven't been back to the US since then but have had an email to say our ESTAs have expired. Hopefully, next time we apply for an ESTA we won't be seen as overstayers LOL.

[MicCanberra]

We flew Hawaiian a couple of years ago on our way to join a ship in San Francisco.

We breezed through immigration at Honolulu but it may have had something to do with the fact that we must have arrived between other flights as the airport at around 8am was deserted!

 

We stayed in HNL a couple of days then flew on to SFO. This was a domestic flight so no further immigration. As we were ticketed all the way through from Sydney to SFO we were still entitled to the international baggage allowance with Hawaiian which was much more generous than the domestic allowance. I'm not sure if this is still the case.

 

We checked in to board the ship and there was no issue whatsoever. What did worry me after the ship sailed was that we never got an exit stamp. Passengers who arrived on the ship and were cruising onwards had to ensure they deposited a 'docket' in a receptacle before the ship sailed. (Bazaaw, you probably remember this, as it was on Arcadia in 2011), but those pax who joined in SFO never had proof of exit from the US. I checked with the ship a couple of times and was informed that you didn't need to do anything.

 

We haven't been back to the US since then but have had an email to say our ESTAs have expired. Hopefully, next time we apply for an ESTA we won't be seen as overstayers LOL.

That email from ESTA would be automatically generated. That said, they should have on record that you were boarding the ship (should have been noted in the ESTA).:D