Warning to all booking cruises calling at or ending in the UK

[uktog]

You might want to look at this link, sounds like rules are going to be tightly enforced now and previous waivers are to lapse

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-20904585

 

Most signficant impact will be on the posters who wanted to have quick getaways back to Heathrow or Gatwick airport, do not rely on any posts that tell you what they managed to do last year as the process will NOT be the same this year. Allow the time the cruiseline advises!

[newport dave]

How I understand it is, that the lengthy immigration check will be done at the first UK port of call, and, not the last which would be Southampton, Dover or Harwich. So I'd have thought it wouldn't affect passengers disembarking and taking flights home later that day.

[uktog]

No I have asked a contact at the Borders Agency and it will most certainly affect returning cruises. Boarding will generally be without checks (though of course passengers will have airport checks when they come into the UK) but all vessels returning to UK ports will have to clear at their first port as they are deemed to be re-entering the UK from a foreign port.

 

We did experience this on a recent cruise where clearance was actually done between Amsterdam and Southampton but that was because we had an at sea day then

[newport dave]

No I have asked a contact at the Borders Agency and it will most certainly affect returning cruises. Boarding will generally be without checks (though of course passengers will have airport checks when they come into the UK) but all vessels returning to UK ports will have to clear at their first port as they are deemed to be re-entering the UK from a foreign port.

 

We did experience this on a recent cruise where clearance was actually done between Amsterdam and Southampton but that was because we had an at sea day then

 

My mistake, was only thinking about Round UK cruises, and not Baltic or Med cruise from UK. This is what you get for posting when you've just got out of bed from your first nightshift.....

 

You get this immigration procedure in the USA, if you cruise there. We've had it twice, once on a Panama Canal transit and the other was a Mexican Riviera cruise. Both times we had to do immigration at LA, and it took forever....

[uktog]

No problem Dave, I just worry about several posts I have seen about folks aiming for 1100 flights out of Heathrow which was always marginal but in the past you would get some posts that said "I did it" I just want cruisers to realise what we did in 2012 and before is no longer relevant information.

 

I doubt they will put agents on board, but will clear at the port, certainly the Celebrity ships at Southampton have 3000 capacity and add this to RCI, P and O etc who might also be clearing and Borders Agency staff cutbacks and I would think being off the ship, through Borders agency and reunited with your luggage by 1000 will be a good result