immigration when reaching USA

[Jazdax]

We will be coming from Europe to USA.  our first stop in USA is new York.  then we do Bermuda and Bahamas before disembarking Miami.  When/where will immigration/customs be done?  and how long will it take? We want as much time as possible in NY.  

we recently did australia to hawaii.  the immigration process took forever. (first stop in Kona disembarking HNL)  We didnt get off till 1.30 pm.  and what we wanted to do closed at 2pm.  so we got off turned around and went back on.  if we had done a shore excursion thru the ship we would have been first thru immigration and off.  Just trying to decide if i want to pay for a  shore excursion in NY so we get off early enough. 

[RafaellaCG]

I haven't done this itinerary, but I expect you'll need to pass immigration in both NY and Miami.

[FionaMG]

I agree with @RafaellaCG, NY because it's the first US port after arriving from Europe and Miami because it's the first US port after the stops in Bermuda and the Bahamas.

There was a huge outcry not that long ago about a stop in Miami where immigration was required. It was a complete mess, with people who had not intended getting off the ship at all having to wait for hours in the terminal while they cleared the whole ship. Meanwhile, people who had gone on excursions returned to the terminal to find massive queues because all the other passengers were still there unable to reboard.

Of course, that may not happen in NY, but I'd say it would be worth paying the extra for the excursion to ensure you're able to be among the first off.

[Ray]

My own experience travelling to US from UK was customs when i arrived at JFK, flew down to Puerto Rico which was classed as an internal flight so no customs needed. 

Hopped on cruise around the Caribbean then flew from Puerto Rico back up to JFK, again no customs as its an internal flight. 

You don't say where in Europe you are flying from! If its from Dublin then you clear customs for the US while still in Ireland.

[smokeybandit]

Puerto Rico is a US Territory so mainland USA to PR is considered a domestic flight.

[Jack805]

I had heard various times that US always requires customs after returning from ANY foreign port (which is why usually if an itinerary is stopping at US ports they often put them at the beginning), but I don't have personal experience with the situation.

I'm trying to research if I'll have to go through customs during an itinerary of mine next year that stops at Labadee as the first port, then goes to Puerto Rico and USVI after and am trying to plan for if I'll have to go through customs when we get to Puerto Rico before I book any excursions to know the timeframe.

[smokeybandit]

10 minutes ago, Jack805 said:

 

I'm trying to research if I'll have to go through customs during an itinerary of mine next year that stops at Labadee as the first port, then goes to Puerto Rico and USVI after and am trying to plan for if I'll have to go through customs when we get to Puerto Rico before I book any excursions to know the timeframe.

I did this same path in March. There were no immigration stops in PR (after Labadee) or USVI (after St Maarten).

[Ray]

51 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Puerto Rico is a US Territory so mainland USA to PR is considered a domestic flight.

Yeah

I was pointing out that as a foreigner that after original customs check in new york ( 1st stop ) i travelled internally within the US then onto a cruise then back to US without the need for customs checks as its all treated as internal. 

 

[smokeybandit]

20 minutes ago, Ray said:

Yeah

I was pointing out that as a foreigner that after original customs check in new york ( 1st stop ) i travelled internally within the US then onto a cruise then back to US without the need for customs checks as its all treated as internal. 

 

Agreed. But your scenario was essentially non-USA to USA to USA.

The OP's scenario is non-USA to USA to non-USA then again to USA.  OP will have to face customs in NY and again in Miami.

[twangster]

You have my interest.

What ship goes to New York then to Bermuda and Bahamas and ends in Miami?

[Jack805]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I did this same path in March. There were no immigration stops in PR (after Labadee) or USVI (after St Maarten).

Good to know about no immigration hang ups for a similar itinerary. Mine is going US > Labadee > PR > USVI > rest of Caribbean islands > US.

I know Labadee can be a bit different for how regulations are applied (as in some requirements for Haiti aren’t/haven’t been needed for Labadee, even though it’s physically located on Haiti), but wanted to be prepared just in case for stopping in PR as the next stop. CBP could always decide to do things differently for dates that are months down the line, but always good to hear about past experience as a guide for strong possibilities for how it will be handled. 

[Jack805]

31 minutes ago, twangster said:

You have my interest.

What ship goes to New York then to Bermuda and Bahamas and ends in Miami?

(While not explicitly stated) I interpreted it as possible TA to Miami for the overall trip, stopping in NY as a port stop, then going down to Bermuda and Bahamas and ending in Miami.

Though I definitely could have read into that wrong…

[smokeybandit]

37 minutes ago, twangster said:

You have my interest.

What ship goes to New York then to Bermuda and Bahamas and ends in Miami?

Looks like Serenade from Amsterdam to Miami, Aug 19, 2024.

[Jazdax]

5 hours ago, Ray said:

My own experience travelling to US from UK was customs when i arrived at JFK, flew down to Puerto Rico which was classed as an internal flight so no customs needed. 

Hopped on cruise around the Caribbean then flew from Puerto Rico back up to JFK, again no customs as its an internal flight. 

You don't say where in Europe you are flying from! If its from Dublin then you clear customs for the US while still in Ireland.

cruise from amsterdam to miami.  last leg of world cruise.  on the seranade

[Jack805]

58 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Looks like Serenade from Amsterdam to Miami, Aug 19, 2024.

Maybe the last segment of the World Cruise then with those dates. 

[Jazdax]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

You have my interest.

What ship goes to New York then to Bermuda and Bahamas and ends in Miami?

last segment world cruise.  serenade of seas.

[Ray]

10 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Agreed. But your scenario was essentially non-USA to USA to USA.

The OP's scenario is non-USA to USA to non-USA then again to USA.  OP will have to face customs in NY and again in Miami.

Not sure this is correct! 

Both original poster and myself travel from Europe to US 

Both original poster and myself join a cruise in the US ( OG poster is Miami i was PR ) 

As i mentioned in my intiail post i joined a cruise in PR so We both sail around various caribean islands which are not part of US or a US territory 

We both return to ports either on mainland US or in PR which as you stated is a US territory, so i can't see how original poster and my own scenarios were different 

[Mr.Cruiser]

16 hours ago, FionaMG said:

There was a huge outcry not that long ago about a stop in Miami where immigration was required. It was a complete mess, with people who had not intended getting off the ship at all having to wait for hours in the terminal while they cleared the whole ship. Meanwhile, people who had gone on excursions returned to the terminal to find massive queues because all the other passengers were still there unable to reboard.

That sounds terrible. Do I understand correctly that you weren't even allowed to stay in your cabin but every passenger was forced to leave the ship just to go through customs, only to be allowed back on the ship, even if you didn't want to enter the country in Miami?
With thousands of passengers this can take all day and ruin it. No wonder people were very upset.
Is that always the case in Miami?

[FionaMG]

2 hours ago, Mr.Cruiser said:

That sounds terrible. Do I understand correctly that you weren't even allowed to stay in your cabin but every passenger was forced to leave the ship just to go through customs, only to be allowed back on the ship, even if you didn't want to enter the country in Miami?
With thousands of passengers this can take all day and ruin it. No wonder people were very upset.
Is that always the case in Miami?

I wasn't on the particular cruise in question but people posted about it on the boards (either here or over on Cruise Critic, or maybe both). I followed the thread because it was an 8-night Anthem cruise and I was going to be doing a similar one not long after. Luckily, on my sailing, the ports were the other way round so we were not affected by the situation.

According to the reports, and due to US law, the ship had to be fully cleared so everyone on board had to get off and go through immigration even if they had intended staying on the ship all day. The problems arose partly because not everyone obeyed the instructions and a number of guests had to be hunted down to get them off the ship, and partly because there just weren't enough officials to handle the number of passengers. The whole thing was further complicated by the fact that because these guests were expecting to walk off, go through immigration and straight back on board, they didn't bring essentials for a lengthy wait, such as water and food. So instead of being able to enjoy a relaxing day on board the ship, many people were left crowding the terminal for hours and there were reports of some fainting or requiring other medical attention.

It's significant that within days of this incident happening Royal changed the itinerary on an identical sailing for 2024 by dropping Miami altogether.

[twangster]

5 hours ago, Mr.Cruiser said:

That sounds terrible. Do I understand correctly that you weren't even allowed to stay in your cabin but every passenger was forced to leave the ship just to go through customs, only to be allowed back on the ship, even if you didn't want to enter the country in Miami?
With thousands of passengers this can take all day and ruin it. No wonder people were very upset.
Is that always the case in Miami?

When Symphony first came to the US it added a stop at Port Canaveral before ending in Miami.  This way the mandatory US immigration was done before the grand arrival in Miami.

Everyone had to go through the terminal to meet CBP in Port Canaveral.  Disembarking in Miami was easy.

The problem is US CBP.  They are more thorough as the ship is arriving from another country combined with the fact that there tends to be more non-US citizens on transatlantics which require more processing by CBP.  The two factors makes CBP processing more time consuming.  

So yes, every passenger was "forced", or required, by US CBP to leave their cabin and go through the terminal.  

[TessFromFlorida]

On 6/2/2023 at 2:19 AM, Jazdax said:

We will be coming from Europe to USA.  our first stop in USA is new York.  then we do Bermuda and Bahamas before disembarking Miami.  When/where will immigration/customs be done?  and how long will it take? We want as much time as possible in NY.  

we recently did australia to hawaii.  the immigration process took forever. (first stop in Kona disembarking HNL)  We didnt get off till 1.30 pm.  and what we wanted to do closed at 2pm.  so we got off turned around and went back on.  if we had done a shore excursion thru the ship we would have been first thru immigration and off.  Just trying to decide if i want to pay for a  shore excursion in NY so we get off early enough. 

I would 100% book an early excursion.

[Mr.Cruiser]

Oh dear. Obviously not all passengers had been sufficiently informed about this process.
I imagine that is also very stressful, especially if customs also wants to see what you brought and you even have to pack your bags because of it.
Or can you at least leave your belongings on the ship?

[twangster]

3 hours ago, Mr.Cruiser said:

Oh dear. Obviously not all passengers had been sufficiently informed about this process.
I imagine that is also very stressful, especially if customs also wants to see what you brought and you even have to pack your bags because of it.
Or can you at least leave your belongings on the ship?

There are two aspects of CBP.  Customs and Immigration.  The stuff you acquire and bring into the country is a matter of customs policy.  Your citizenship and the ability to enter the US or come home is a matter of Immigration.  

CBP handles both customs and immigration but in the case of a first stop into the US on a cruise CBP is more focused on immigration matters as opposed to customs which for a cruiser would be handled on the final return into the US at the final port of call.  

In my example of Symphony stopping in Port Canaveral we did not have to bring all of out stuff off the ship to meet with CBP since CBP was focused on immigration for this first entry for the ship into the US.  They may have asked customs related questions just to see if someone is bringing excess money or purchases but we were not required to pack our stuff and show it to CBP in Port Canaveral.    

When we arrived in Miami the next day it was more like arriving back after a normal US cruise.  

[RafaellaCG]

On 6/2/2023 at 7:07 PM, FionaMG said:

I agree with @RafaellaCG, NY because it's the first US port after arriving from Europe and Miami because it's the first US port after the stops in Bermuda and the Bahamas.

There was a huge outcry not that long ago about a stop in Miami where immigration was required. It was a complete mess, with people who had not intended getting off the ship at all having to wait for hours in the terminal while they cleared the whole ship. Meanwhile, people who had gone on excursions returned to the terminal to find massive queues because all the other passengers were still there unable to reboard.

Of course, that may not happen in NY, but I'd say it would be worth paying the extra for the excursion to ensure you're able to be among the first off.

It's the same in Israel, everyone needs to be accounted for. I understand this was really inconvenient for those who sailed from Cyprus.

[Jazdax]

13 hours ago, RafaellaCG said:

It's the same in Israel, everyone needs to be accounted for. I understand this was really inconvenient for those who sailed from Cyprus.

We had heard that for Israel  and are already planning a shore excursion for that port 

[mscinmia]

I do believe that you will have the full immigration in NY, face to face with USCBP official.  In Miami you will have a normal debark going thru facial recognition.  All crossings coming into the US normally have the full immigration at the 1st US port and this includes crew as well.

 

 

[xyliavandyck]

If paperwork is an issue, getting a fast track apostille can be a lifesaver. It speeds up the process of legalizing documents, which can make things smoother when dealing with immigration. I’ve seen cases where missing or uncertified paperwork caused unnecessary delays, so having everything properly authenticated in advance can save a lot of stress.

[FOB]

we are U.K. citizens so this is the view from a non US standpoint
If doing a back to back that involves a US port or us cbp as the B2B port you don’t always leave the ship 

we did B2B2B last October Seattle to Alaska ended in Vancouver, then Vancouver to Honolulu then Honolulu to Sydney Australia

In Vancouver we were given a choice

a) get off the ship as if leaving (luggage stayed in) and we could get a fast track back onboard or

b) stay on ship, meet in theatre, get taken off as a group, proceeded for US immigration and taken back on ship. If you did this you would not be allowed into Vancouver at all

we chose option a and it worked pretty well

in Honolulu we had the same option a and option b was stay on ship, meet in theatre, get processed in theatre, stay there until they had got a “zero headcount” ie all leaving and B2B passengers were accounted for then we could do what we liked, including going off into Honolulu if we wanted to

this time we chose option b and just stayed on the ship. 
 

we also did transatlantic Amsterdam to Boston last summer

we needed proof of our ESTA before we could even board in amsterdam

we did ‘leaving the EU processing” in Iceland onboard - not an issue for me as I have dual citizenship and travel on both uk and Irish passports, hubby needed his UK passport stamped

arriving in Boston there were two lines - one for US passports and one for non US. After 1 hour in the non US line we reached the front and were allowed to leave. By that stage there was no line for US passports and the line for non US was as long as when we had joined it -so probably another wait for those at the back

i have just realised we have B2B2B2B in October - Southampton -Miami- Miami - Miami. I will come back and give an update on how it goes after we get through it all