thumbs down to St. Thomas as first port of entry after TA

[cruisestitch]

I'm surprised no one has reported on this yet. But most of the people severely affected probably aren't home yet.

 

Here is what took place.

 

On the Eclipse TA which ended Saturday in FLL, the actual first point of US entry was St. Thomas. We then went to Nassau, and ended in Florida.

 

All passengers (and crew) had to formally enter the US there.

 

We were given times to line up, starting at around 7 a.m. One set of lines for US and Canadian passengers, one set for all others.

 

The non-US/Canadians were all given green forms to fill out. Most did not, because the forms are now obsolete, since approximately June, and they figured that the forms were handed out in error.

 

The US/Canada line was painfully slow -- it took 45 minutes to an hour to get to the person who glanced at your passport and waived you on.

 

But this was nothing compared to the non US/Canada folks, who should have been able to have their documents scanned by the Immigration officers. However, after showing up late, and then demanding that their check-in tables be moved from their original (pre-approved) locations, the Customs/Immigrations officers revealed that they had brought no scanning equipment and all the non US/Canadians would have to have their documents (the green forms) dealt with manually.

 

It meant filling out the green form after all, and then waits of one to two hours to get through the line, for the 1600 British and all the rest of the non US/Canadian passengers.

 

Needless to say, there were lots of angry passengers, lots of people missed shore excursions (Celebrity shore excursions were held to allow for late passengers, but private excursions were all messed up). After about one hour the Captain announced that the ship would stay an extra hour in port to make up for the time missed, however, by then some passengers had already made their way ashore, so they never got that announcement and hurried back to the ship at the previously announced time.

 

The Captain made a "thank you for your patience but this was all beyond Celebrity's control, it was all Customs/Immigrations fault" which wasn't entirely accurate. There were many things that Celebrity could have done to make the lines move quicker, for instance, having someone walk down the line to make sure that passengers all brought both their passports and SeaPass cards, because astonishingly, some did not. Some passengers brought all the passports for their whole family, even though the instructions clearly stated that each person had to present themselves individually. Some had forgotten their SeaPass cards and held up the line with stupid comments like "I know my stateroom number, isn't that enough?" Some even tried arguing with the Customs/Immigration officials. Like that was going to work.

 

Later, the Captain announced that because we had all cleared, we would not have to go through Immigration in Florida again.

 

WRONG! A day later, a letter was sent to all staterooms, telling us that because we had left the US to go to Nassau, we WOULD have to go through the entire process again in Florida.

 

Many passengers felt like the Captain's declaration that we would not have to go through Customs/Immigration in Florida was a deliberate lie, said to keep people from going to Guest Relations and pitching fits. And they may have been right.

 

The overwhelming sentiment I heard was "well, we won't be coming back to the US after this treatment ever again."

 

I can only imagine what it will be like next year when Eclipse's first port of entry will be New York City.

Edited November 18, 2013 by cruisestitch

[cle-guy]

So passengers got letters telling them to fill out a form and come together with all family members and passports with your sea pass at a specified time.

 

They they then showed up without the forms since they know better than the ship and customs officials as to what paperwork was needed. Oopsie, apparently the forms ARE needed...maybe there's a reason they wrote the letter telling them to bring the form? Customs arrivals procedures are always in shift anyway just like security.

 

They didn't bring all family members

 

They left passports in room or sea pass in room

 

And some missed out on private excursions, while others got their full excursions in with X trips, even though all know that's a risk for not taking ship sponsored excursions.

 

And Celebrity could have done better - then sending a letter with exactly what was needed? Perhaps a butler for each individual cabin to check the homework before proceeding?

 

Then those off the ship soonest and affected by the delay least arrived back in port not knowing the captain delayed departure on time while those affected worst only got an hour of time made up?

 

Agree perhaps captain should have been ready for double immigration but then again it is unusual for X to have such an occurrence of US arrival.

 

And to each their own if they choose to visit the US again. There are lots of places in the world to visit anyhow...! Seems silly to allow a single instance of unusual occurrence to blind ones thoughts of an entire situation, but I suppose some are that simple about it.

 

Hopefully next year in New York the passengers actually read and follow the important instructions given them...

 

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

 

meh. Its standard immigration issues to me.

Edited November 18, 2013 by cle-guy

[avalon1025]

I've stood in line at Heathrow for hours getting through a long immigration line....it happens

[CaroleSS]

Not a cruise, but coming back from Portugal we zipped through Customs/Immegration in Newark only to have to stand in line to get through security.....for 2.5 hours!! :eek:

 

Needless to say, we missed our flight home!

 

While I'm sure it was frustrating, frequent travelers know this scenario all too well. :(

[wwcruisers]

Boy, this sounds familiar! On our Sept 2012 Millie wine cruise, San Francisco was our first US port, since embarking in Canada. We were scheduled to arrive around 10:00 am for an overnight stop there. Many people had excursions to the Napa Valley, and other long trips planned.

 

Our ship was a little late arriving, but the Customs/Immigration folks were even later. The Captain had been told (and had informed the passengers) that, as the passengers cleared the Customs/Immigration line, they would be allowed to depart the ship. But the officials arriving that day apparently did not get that memo. As we were standing in line (with all of our required documentation), the voice of our very unhappy Captain came over the loudspeaker, announcing that the US Customs/Immigration officials were not allowing anyone to leave the ship, until ALL passengers had been cleared (even those not getting off in port). :mad:

 

To their credit, Millennium's Captain and crew did their absolute best to manage the unbelievably long lines. But still, the process took hours, and many people missed their shore excursions and pre-arrainged transportation. :rolleyes:

[nikel]

.

 

 

 

 

I can only imagine what it will be like next year when Eclipse's first port of entry will be New York City.

 

Yikes!! I'm that one next year

[cruisestitch]

Yes, passengers who didn't follow instructions made it worse for all of us, but if the Customs/Immigration staff had shown up on time, and gotten the process started in a timely manner, and brought the correct equipment to scan the ESTA forms, it would have all gone much more smoothly.

 

And knowing that passengers don't always follow instructions, Celebrity staff could have made the entire process go better if they had communicated better why the green forms were needed, and if they had walked the lines making sure that each and every passenger had everything they needed prior to getting to the place where the SeaPass cards were being scanned and we were sent on to see the Customs/Immigration official.

[Fouremco]

Yes, passengers who didn't follow instructions made it worse for all of us, but if the Customs/Immigration staff had shown up on time, and gotten the process started in a timely manner, and brought the correct equipment to scan the ESTA forms, it would have all gone much more smoothly.

 

And knowing that passengers don't always follow instructions, Celebrity staff could have made the entire process go better if they had communicated better why the green forms were needed, and if they had walked the lines making sure that each and every passenger had everything they needed prior to getting to the place where the SeaPass cards were being scanned and we were sent on to see the Customs/Immigration official.

I'm with you! HAL and Customs/Immigration officials do this constantly and should be able deliver the process smoothly and with absolute minimal disruption to the passengers. The latter do have to take responsibility for their actions too, but both HAL and Customs/Immigration officials know full well that there are many inexperienced passengers who haven't a clue on how things work.

 

I just follow the maxim "hope for the best and prepare for the worst."

 

[Oville]

Cruisestitch, first the Millie now this, maybe the cruise gods are telling you something.;)

 

We're you adversely impacted by the non-US/Canadian delay or are you just reporting it for those who were? Either way, sounds like some were not happy campers.

[cruisestitch]

Mostly just reporting. Yes, it wasn't pleasant waiting in line for 45 minutes but those who had times after mine waited a lot longer. The plan had been to clear the US/Canadians quickly and then move those agents over to the non US/Canadian line. Best laid plans......

 

Yep, I've spent a lot of time standing in lines in Celebrity public areas in the last few months.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Well, I think the moral of this story is: don't book a stop in St. Thomas on a TA coming back from Europe. Whether the Celebrity folks have the brains to figure this out is in doubt, but I will certainly scrutinize any TA coming back from Europe in the future for port stops prior to booking. Thanks for alerting us to the craziness.

[harz99]

I've stood in line at Heathrow for hours getting through a long immigration line....it happens

 

Yes, and I can remember the 2.5 hours it took from leaving Infinity in FLL to getting outside to the cab rank after the cruise from Buenos Aires earlier this year, and contrasting that with the TA home on Independence and the 40 minutes to get from ship to shore at Southampton!

[fishycomics]

Just like every day life....... GEE. no wonder why things are screwed up! :D

 

it is no laughing matter but that is what happens when more than one group is introduced to a world of not knowing...........

[BEAV]

Well, I think the moral of this story is: don't book a stop in St. Thomas on a TA coming back from Europe. Whether the Celebrity folks have the brains to figure this out is in doubt, but I will certainly scrutinize any TA coming back from Europe in the future for port stops prior to booking. Thanks for alerting us to the craziness.

 

Makes you wonder why =X= would even schedule a foreign port (Nassau) between two U.S. ports (St Thomas and Lauderdale), knowing it could very possibly require two immigration checks of passengers. And what business does a stop in Nassau have on a Europe to U.S. Transatlantic, anyway? Nassau belongs to the 3-day weekend booze cruises, not a Transatlantic! :D

Edited November 19, 2013 by BEAV

[ischeer]

Celebrity has introduced Caribbean/Bermuda ports on many of their westbound TA's as of this fall. This is done at the expense of European port calls.. I assume the reason is to attract more Europeans, but as Americans, it makes the TA less appealing to us.

[jaybird from SC]

One thing traveling has taught us is to "go with the flow". Whatever happens or doesn't happen is most often out of our control so make the best of the situation whatever it may be.

[BEAV]

Celebrity has introduced Caribbean/Bermuda ports on many of their westbound TA's as of this fall. This is done at the expense of European port calls.. I assume the reason is to attract more Europeans, but as Americans, it makes the TA less appealing to us.

 

I totally agree, which is why we passed on both Spring and Fall Transatlantics. As a U.S. citizen, I don't need to fly to/from Europe just to see the Caribbean! But, yes, I can see the appeal to Europeans who wish to visit the Caribbean without the round trip flight across the pond.

[BEAV]

I can only imagine what it will be like next year when Eclipse's first port of entry will be New York City.

 

I took a look at that itinerary. In addition to New York, it looks like you'd have to clear Immigration again in Port Canaveral, possibly delaying yet another round of shore excursions if the procedure didn't go too well. Yikes!

[If only]

We were also on this cruise & I think the problem was that only 2 immigration showed up. The Brits had a lot longer wait than us, yes it was not the most pleasant but it is also part of travel.

[OCruisers]

We were also on this cruise & I think the problem was that only 2 immigration showed up. The Brits had a lot longer wait than us, yes it was not the most pleasant but it is also part of travel.

 

Quite true! It was an unfortunate situation for all ... but like you said ... also a part of travel. :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

~~~~

[c-legs]

In addition to New York, it looks like you'd have to clear Immigration again in Port Canaveral, possibly delaying yet another round of shore excursions if the procedure didn't go too well. Yikes!

You wouldn't have to clear again in Canaveral as you enter USA in NewYork and are still in USA in Florida....( last time I checked...;))

Cheers

[Mark99]

Had a similar though much worse situation last spring on Sydney to Honolulu, where the first US port was Lahaina. Only one resident customs officer in Lahaina, and the team from Honolulu missed their flight (or it was delayed-that was never clarified). We arrived at 7am, waited, and disembarkation started around 10. You probably have never seen a line from the MDR to the theater and part way back! Luckily I had an afternoon 1pm diving excursion scheduled and barely made it. I won't describe the chaos and screaming, but it was pretty bad.

 

So the takehome lesson is to carefully examine your first US port of entry, and if it is not on the last day, assess its capacity to handle customs processing. It probably isn't a regular entry port, and given that the capacity may be limited, don't schedule private excursions. As a matter of fact, on our cruise, X excursions were given priority, so that's one strategy to shorten the wait.

 

At least we only had to clear customs once.

[kevinyork]

We docked in New Orleans a couple of years back on a cruise. Immigration had four desk to clear 3000 passengers and 1400 crew. People had to get a numbered ticket and wait to be called to attend immigration. We were lucky and were off within an hour (but had to face the most miserable of officials). As we reboarded at 4.30, they were still calling passengers to attend immigration some 8 hours later. Very poor service from US Immigration which meant some never got to see New Orleans at all.

 

As a contrast we did a transatlantic this year on RCI. UK officials boarded in The Azores and over the next two sea days passengers could attend the conference suite when they wished to have their documents checked prior to our arrival in the UK (by a smartly dressed, smiling official). A Canadian friend commented that he had never had a more pleasant experience clearing immigration.

[harz99]

As a contrast we did a transatlantic this year on RCI. UK officials boarded in The Azores and over the next two sea days passengers could attend the conference suite when they wished to have their documents checked prior to our arrival in the UK (by a smartly dressed, smiling official). A Canadian friend commented that he had never had a more pleasant experience clearing immigration.

 

Exactly; and there is no good reason why the US could not do the same at the stop prior to first entry, IF officialdom had the wit and willingness to arrange it.

[WestLakeGirl]

C-legs, next years itinerary WILL require clearing in both NYC and port Canaveral because the ship goes to Bermuda in between