Jump to content

Schengen issue on Transatlantic cruise


alaskancruzr
 Share

Recommended Posts

Does anyone know when or whether Princess stamps our passport and/or records our exit date from the Schengen countries? We will be taking a TA cruise to return to the U.S. after an extended stay in the Schengen zone. We would be at 92 days in Tenerife (our last port). We've decided to take a 3 day side trip to Gibraltar during our stay just to be safe but I'm curious if we really would have had a problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I read your plans correctly you are on a round-trip Dover cruise September 11-25; touring Europe on your own September 25 to November 23, then sailing a B2B Venice-Rome November 23-December 5 and Rome-Ft Lauderdale December 5-22. (Niiiice...:p)

 

So your Schengen clock will reset on September 25 when you disembark in Dover. And even if you spend your entire land trip in the Schengen zone you will exit the EU on November 27 when Pacific Princess calls at Kotor, Montenegro. Which puts you well under 90 consecutive days, even if counting from the first day you arrive from the US (which you shouldn't have to due to reentering the UK in the interim).

 

(But to answer the original question: I've not taken a European cruise on Princess but on the lines I have our passports were held and stamped each time we moved from an EU country to a non-EU or vice-versa)

Edited by fishywood
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So this stamping process is done internally because Princess will have our passports? We leave Italy/Sicily with our first stop in Gibraltar, then Spain/Canaries before crossing to FLL. I guess they will take care of the stamping process as we arrive in and out of the Schengen areas. Good to know. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So this stamping process is done internally because Princess will have our passports? We leave Italy/Sicily with our first stop in Gibraltar, then Spain/Canaries before crossing to FLL. I guess they will take care of the stamping process as we arrive in and out of the Schengen areas. Good to know. Thanks

 

The ships certainly prefer to have the passports examined as a batch. But they are at the whim of local authorities. On one cruise were were summoned to the Purser's desk at 11:30 PM to pick up our passports as Scottish immigration just notified the ship that all non UK or EU citizens must show their passport in the terminal the next morning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I read your plans correctly you are on a round-trip Dover cruise September 11-25; touring Europe on your own September 25 to November 23, then sailing a B2B Venice-Rome November 23-December 5 and Rome-Ft Lauderdale December 5-22. (Niiiice...:p)

 

So your Schengen clock will reset on September 25 when you disembark in Dover. And even if you spend your entire land trip in the Schengen zone you will exit the EU on November 27 when Pacific Princess calls at Kotor, Montenegro. Which puts you well under 90 consecutive days, even if counting from the first day you arrive from the US (which you shouldn't have to due to reentering the UK in the interim).

(But to answer the original question: I've not taken a European cruise on Princess but on the lines I have our passports were held and stamped each time we moved from an EU country to a non-EU or vice-versa)

 

Sorry, I should have been clearer. We will enter the zone on Sept. 13th when we land in Olso (flight from JFK) then continue on to Portugal where we will stay until Nov. 23rd when we fly to Venice to board the cruise ship. If I understand the rules correctly, the only day outside the zone is the one in Montenegro and if they do stamp us in and out it would still leave us with 91 days out of 180. So...we added the side trip to Gibraltar during our land portion to give us some leeway. I'm just not sure where we get officially "checked out" of the zone during the cruise so can't figure out our exact count and make sure we don't run into problems the next time we try to enter it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have done a TA's on Princess to Barcelona, Copenhagen, Rome and Southhampton and have zero stamps in my passport from these cruises. Never had to give my passport to Princess to hold on these TAs.

 

I would know if my passport was stamped as I work very hard to avoid stamps on cruises. We have taken some awesome trips to countries that require multiple blank pages. It gets expensive if one has to get a new passport or add pages to accommodate travel to these countries. The most recent requirement was for 4 consecutive blank pages.

 

If the cruise line insists on taking the passport I would clip a note inside asking that the stamp be placed on a page that is already used or the next consecutive page -- those random stamps can be a problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK it sure seems like the side trip to Gibraltar is necessary. You should be restarting from Day 1 when you return. And also when you exit Montenegro assuming your passport is stamped as reentering the EU at the next port.

 

On one cruise we went from Stavanger (non-EU but Schengen) to Hamburg (both EU and Schengen) to Southampton (EU but non-Schengen). So due to the variance in agreements our passports were stamped in both Hamburg and Southampton--and we were told that our visitor's clocks reset to Day 1 with each of those stamps. Though I didn't bother to vet how true that was as we were leaving seven days later for a grand total of 39 days abroad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am in UK at the moment and from what I see on the news here many European countries are tightening up on passport inspections, this has lead to long lines and up to 3 hour delays at airports and missed flights.

How this will impact cruise ship passport inspections I don't know but it won't be quicker than before for sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have done many TA from Europe to Florida after spending as much as 45 days in the Med. We have never had our passports stamped...

 

We have had our passports collected at embarkation and stamped on a westbound TA with exit from the EU at the last port that was part of the EU.

 

Only time that did not happen is when bad weather prevented the ship from going to the scheduled last EU port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have done a TA's on Princess to Barcelona, Copenhagen, Rome and Southhampton and have zero stamps in my passport from these cruises. Never had to give my passport to Princess to hold on these TAs.

 

 

We were on a B2B with the first segment an eastbound TA and the second segment a Med cruise.

 

Passports were not collected for the TA. Those embarking for the second segment gave Princess their passports at check-in. Those of us on a B2B were not asked for our passports for the second segment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was on the Crown Princess's FLL-Southampton TA this spring and the following Med cruise RT Southampton. We had to do a face to face with British Immigration prior to arrival Southampton on the TA, and they did stamp our passports. No stamping took place on the second leg (which included a call at Gibraltar, the final call).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the rule that I (just traveling with a US passport) can visit one or many Schengen countries for a maximum of 90 days total during every 180 day period? My understanding is that one can do the 90 days continuously in one or many Schengen countries or periodically enter a non Schengen (such as the U.K.). I thought the "reset" happens at the 180 day mark which would give me another 90 days during the next 180?

 

(The BIG question is how long between the two 180 days do you need to be out of Schengen territory? Is it 90 days before you can start your second 180 ? .... Kathy)

 

 

Mike

Edited by dockhl
added another question!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the rule that I (just traveling with a US passport) can visit one or many Schengen countries for a maximum of 90 days total during every 180 day period? My understanding is that one can do the 90 days continuously in one or many Schengen countries or periodically enter a non Schengen (such as the U.K.). I thought the "reset" happens at the 180 day mark which would give me another 90 days during the next 180?

 

(The BIG question is how long between the two 180 days do you need to be out of Schengen territory? Is it 90 days before you can start your second 180 ? .... Kathy)

 

 

Mike

 

per the Department of State

"As a U.S. citizen, how long can I stay in the Schengen area without a visa?

  • With a valid U.S. passport, you can stay up to 90 days for tourism or business during any 180 day period. Do not overstay! You must wait an additional 90 days before applying to re-enter the Schengen area.

So you are right on both counts. (your passport also has to be valid for at least 90 days beyond your planned departure date from the zone) Just talked to a friend in England who said that rules are being enforced much more strictly now and they need to be at the airport 3-4 hrs before international flights because it's causing such backups!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

per the Department of State

"As a U.S. citizen, how long can I stay in the Schengen area without a visa?

 

 

  • With a valid U.S. passport, you can stay up to 90 days for tourism or business during any 180 day period. Do not overstay! You must wait an additional 90 days before applying to re-enter the Schengen area.

So you are right on both counts. (your passport also has to be valid for at least 90 days beyond your planned departure date from the zone) Just talked to a friend in England who said that rules are being enforced much more strictly now and they need to be at the airport 3-4 hrs before international flights because it's causing such backups!

 

So they are checking more carefully so why is there a back up? Are they questioning people more on what their intentions are?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

per the Department of State

"As a U.S. citizen, how long can I stay in the Schengen area without a visa?

  • With a valid U.S. passport, you can stay up to 90 days for tourism or business during any 180 day period. Do not overstay! You must wait an additional 90 days before applying to re-enter the Schengen area.

So you are right on both counts. (your passport also has to be valid for at least 90 days beyond your planned departure date from the zone) Just talked to a friend in England who said that rules are being enforced much more strictly now and they need to be at the airport 3-4 hrs before international flights because it's causing such backups!

 

So, theoretically, if you spent a week in a Schengen country.(first week in January, let's say)...came home to the states...ran out the rest of your 180 days in the States or a non-Schengen country (now we are at the end of June)....you couldn't go back to a Schengen country until 90 more days had passed? (beginning of October).

 

 

That seems a bit harsh :confused:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

That seems a bit harsh :confused:

 

It may seem harsh to you, but, whilst we are not talking about Schengen, consider this:

1. US citizens can visit the UK for 180 days without a visa. We do not charge you.

 

Reference: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/usa/tourism

 

2. UK citizens can visit the US for 90 days. Your government makes us pay a fee.

 

Reference: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fact_sheet_esta_4.pdf

 

Why do you think that is harsh on US citizens?

 

OK, the UK is different from Schengen, but the moral is that Rules are not all the same and Life is not always fair; so don't complain about other people's rules without first looking in the mirror.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It may seem harsh to you, but, whilst we are not talking about Schengen, consider this:

1. US citizens can visit the UK for 180 days without a visa. We do not charge you.

 

Reference: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/usa/tourism

 

2. UK citizens can visit the US for 90 days. Your government makes us pay a fee.

 

Reference: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fact_sheet_esta_4.pdf

 

Why do you think that is harsh on US citizens?

 

OK, the UK is different from Schengen, but the moral is that Rules are not all the same and Life is not always fair; so don't complain about other people's rules without first looking in the mirror.

 

 

Wow, I think this response is a little harsh!

I am only trying to make sense of a confusing situation. Sorry if I hit a nerve....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, theoretically, if you spent a week in a Schengen country.(first week in January, let's say)...came home to the states...ran out the rest of your 180 days in the States or a non-Schengen country (now we are at the end of June)....you couldn't go back to a Schengen country until 90 more days had passed? (beginning of October).

That seems a bit harsh :confused:

 

My interpretation is that the first day in a Schengen country starts a 180 Day clock and a 90 day counter and your 90th day in a Schengen country starts 90 Day clock.

The 180 day clock is how much time you have to "use up" your 90 Schengen days and once you've used them up (whether on the 90th day of your clock or the 180th day of your clock, you have to wait 90 days to start your 90 counter again which will also restart a new 180 day clock.... uh....OMG I think I've followed Alice down the rabbit hole...

Alice: Which way should I go?

Cat: That depends on where you are going.

Alice: I don’t know.

Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

;p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, I think this response is a little harsh!

 

I am only trying to make sense of a confusing situation. Sorry if I hit a nerve....

 

 

 

Nope you didn't hit a nerve.

It just amused me when you introduced the word harsh without first climbing over the fence and considering how the US treats visitors.

Sorry if my reply offended.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, theoretically, if you spent a week in a Schengen country.(first week in January, let's say)...came home to the states...ran out the rest of your 180 days in the States or a non-Schengen country (now we are at the end of June)....you couldn't go back to a Schengen country until 90 more days had passed? (beginning of October).

 

 

That seems a bit harsh :confused:

 

New definition as of 2013 “90 days in any 180-day period […]“. “The date of entry shall be considered as the first day of stay on the territory of the Member States and the date of exit shall be considered as the last day of stay on the territory of the Member States. ” European Commision "The new definition simplifies the calculation, and is based on a “rolling” 180 days from the date of entry. This means on any given day, you need to look back to the previous 180 days, and you must not have stayed in the Schengen zone for more than 90 days in that period, including entry and exit dates."

 

 

Sounds like they have corrected that issue by making it rolling.

 

Land Lover: According to an article in the Telegraph "The problem is being blamed on the introduction of tighter European Union-introduced border controls in Schengen, the border-free area that incorporates most EU member states. New rules, which were introduced after a series of terror attacks in Europe, mean checks against a series of databases are now carried out on each passenger from non-Schengen countries. At some airports, flight delays have increased by 300 per cent compared to last year."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would know if my passport was stamped as I work very hard to avoid stamps on cruises.

 

But you want that Schengen exit stamp - it's your proof that you didn't overstay. If you have an entrance stamp and no exit stamp, they will assume you've been in the Schengen zone continuously unless you can prove by other means when you left.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...