1st US return port- Portland ME

[TMLAalum]

Celebrity Eclipse is scheduled to arrive in Portland ME at 9:30am after visiting Canadian ports. I am thinking about booking a boat tour that has a 10:30am departure.  When we arrived in Portland via the CAT that holds 866 pax/200 cars from Yarmouth NS it took nearly 90 minutes to get through Border/Customs before we were able to drive away! 

If you've experienced returning to the US via Portland by cruise ship, please share your experience, thanks! 

 

[1025cruise]

If it's a ship's excursion, don't worry about it.

[TMLAalum]

3 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

If it's a ship's excursion, don't worry about it.

Not a ship tour which is why I am wondering about arrival time vs. actual disembarkation time.

[Nitemare]

3 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

Not a ship tour which is why I am wondering about arrival time vs. actual disembarkation time.

Have you asked the excursion company what their experience is?  I bet they do this every week and know how long it takes

[TMLAalum]

6 minutes ago, Nitemare said:

Have you asked the excursion company what their experience is?  I bet they do this every week and know how long it takes

I did reach out. The company didn't know but did say they'd refund our fee if we couldn't make the 10:15 boarding time for 10:30 cruise tour. 

I figured cruisers whose 1st US port was Portland would have a better handle on the actual timeframe.

[1025cruise]

There's no way around it, you'll have to go through immigration. Just get in line and be ready to go. However, ship's excursions will have priority to get off the ship.