Liberty of the seas U.S. Customs Inspection

[runner2013]

We're leaving on Liberty this Saturday and I just received at text from RC saying there will be a U.S. Customs inspection when the ship arrives Saturday morning. Boarding can't begin until it is completed, therefore check-in for the trip will take place between 12:00pm-3:00pm. They also ask no one show up at the cruise terminal before 12:00 noon.

 

Hmmm hope things are o.k. :rolleyes:

[hellsop]

We're leaving on Liberty this Saturday and I just received at text from RC saying there will be a U.S. Customs inspection when the ship arrives Saturday morning. Boarding can't begin until it is completed, therefore check-in for the trip will take place between 12:00pm-3:00pm. They also ask no one show up at the cruise terminal before 12:00 noon.

 

Hmmm hope things are o.k. :rolleyes:

 

Totally routine. Not sure how much they can inspect in what, two hours? That's about enough time to make sure the pool-fillers have anti-backflow devices and count the lifeboats.

[leaveitallbehind]

Totally routine. Not sure how much they can inspect in what, two hours? That's about enough time to make sure the pool-fillers have anti-backflow devices and count the lifeboats.

 

Not sure what the US Customs would have to do with any of that, unless there was some form of contraband stashed in the pools or there are improperly documented passengers hiding in the lifeboats!

 

I think that would be more of a USCG inspection......

Edited March 27, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[gaiamother]

Yep got the same email. Still planning on showing up by 11:30.

[Eng23]

We're leaving on Liberty this Saturday and I just received at text from RC saying there will be a U.S. Customs inspection when the ship arrives Saturday morning. Boarding can't begin until it is completed, therefore check-in for the trip will take place between 12:00pm-3:00pm. They also ask no one show up at the cruise terminal before 12:00 noon.

 

Hmmm hope things are o.k. :rolleyes:

 

A Customs Inspection usually involves a complete review of customs paperwork from debarking passengers and also inspection of the crew customs statuses. These inspections are conducted randomly throughout the year or if some kind of suspicion is raised to US Customs about a specific ship and possible violations. The only impact to boarding passengers should just be a delay in boarding time as has already been passed on to you by Royal Caribbean.

[BillB48]

Don't know if my experience has anything to do with the op's posting or not. We were recently on the Liberty and a Saturday departure at that... arrived at the terminal around 11:30 got checked in with the seapass and all that. We then went up the escalators and told to sit in one of the D+, D Emerald/Plat waiting areas. Occasionally they would make an announcement that the ship had not been cleared for boarding. We were one of the first on board when we were finally allowed on and it was not until almost 1:30. The good thing was the cabins were ready when we boarded!! Did not receive any email nor did we ever find out exactly why the delay. Also sailed late.:confused:

[Mark_K]

Most likely Liberty is due for one of its 90 day full inspections, or CBP just decided to do one.

 

Arriving Crew

 

It is the responsibility of the owner, agent, or master to present all persons on board a vessel to a CBP officer for inspection, at the first port of entry to the United States. Likewise it is the responsibility of the owner, agent or master to ensure that all persons are properly documented for entry to the United States. The master is responsible for the safekeeping of all nonimmigrant crew member travel documents. All persons employed in any capacity on board any vessel arriving to the United States shall be detained on board the vessel by the master or agent until admitted or permitted to land by a CBP officer.

All crew members on board an arriving vessel should be presented for inspection as follows:

1. When and where directed by CBP officers;

2. In person;

3. With proper travel documents (passport and visa or other documentation as required);

4. With CBP Forms I-95 or I-184; and

5. With all names and biographical data properly listed on CBP Form I-418 (crew list).

Upon completion of inspection, the CBP officer will return each nonimmigrant crew members travel documents to the master for safekeeping.

 

90-Day Crew Inspections

 

Cruise ships with itineraries originating in the United States and terminating in the United States are eligible to be processed under the 90 day Crew Exception. Under this policy, cruise vessel crew need only be presented for an in-person inspection upon initial arrival. Subsequent arrivals within the next 90 days may not be required as long as the crew member has not been in the United States for more than an aggregate of 29 days. This does not exempt crew members who have engaged on the vessel after the initial inspection, nor does it relieve the owner, master, or agent from complying with regulations relating to the discharge or parole of crew members. CBP retains the authority to conduct a full or partial inspection at any time without notice.

 

 

 

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Edited March 27, 2014 by Mark_K

[runner2013]

Woops, my mistake. I'm guessing Coast Guard should be on/off in no time. Probably doing the required checks for life jackets, safety eqpt, etc.

[silentbob007]

At least they are being pro-active about this once they know it's going to happen ... I done my fair share of waiting in terminals because of these inspections and they can sometimes drag on.

[GTO-Girl]

Both RCI and Carnival send out e-mails asking people not to come before 12:30 due to whatever. Now some of these e-mails I'm sure are legitimate but most all are just form letters that everyone gets for every cruise. We have been getting them for at least a year now.

 

When we sailed in November on the Allure we got the e-mail, but went to the terminal anyway about 10:30. The lady just inside the terminal told us boarding would be delayed and that we might want to go and come back later. Nobody elected to get out of line or leave. We were checked in 15 min later and onboard by 11:20.

 

So you make you own call, but if it were me I would go ahead and head to the terminal as planned.

 

Happy Sailing!!!

Edited March 27, 2014 by GTO-Girl

[Trekker954]

We're leaving on Liberty this Saturday and I just received at text from RC saying there will be a U.S. Customs inspection when the ship arrives Saturday morning. Boarding can't begin until it is completed, therefore check-in for the trip will take place between 12:00pm-3:00pm. They also ask no one show up at the cruise terminal before 12:00 noon.

 

Hmmm hope things are o.k. :rolleyes:

 

We'll never know for sure, but they love to blame Customs delays for anything and everything. Before we could bring wine on board, I had a couple of bottles of wine confiscated (and not returned) on a west coast boarding and they told me it was a Customs policy. NOT!!!!!

 

I'm not saying its not, could be they were alerted to a stowaway on board and/or have an arrest to turn over or a number of things, including some repair that has to be made on the Liberty. could be anything.

 

I would normally show up at 11ish; so delaying an hour isn't a big deal.

[lmp29]

When we sailed on the Oasis last May there was an inspection also. It didn't delay boarding very much at all, but it did seem as if we weren't able to get to our rooms as early as expected.

 

The inspection may have been a stroke of good luck for me, however; somewhere through our flights and night in the hotel prior to the cruise, all six bottles of wine brought by our family for three staterooms ended up in the luggage tagged for one room :eek:. I believe that the crew was so busy dealing with other things involved with the inspection that it prevented me from being called to the naughty room.:D

[chengkp75]

If it's Customs, the 90 day inspection takes a couple of hours, and the crew are presented by department. It's a major hassle for the personnel office and purser, as all the crew passports (which are kept in personnel) have to be sorted and then they staff tables to give them back to crew and the crew proceed to visit the CBP officer, and then return the passport to personnel.

 

If it's USCG, then the inspection and drill may take more than a couple of hours, and requires the entire crew for the drill. They generally have shore-side assistance for turning the cabins. Depending on crew performance during the drill, it may be repeated, and if still not up to standards, or there is a piece of SOLAS gear found not working, the USCG could deny boarding until things are fixed. Generally, for a poor drill, they will, after one repeat, allow the ship to proceed with the restriction that the ship will be reinspected at the next US port.

 

Again, both inspections result in only a couple of hours delay, and sometimes no noticeable delay at all.

 

USPH inspections (the pool fillers having backflow preventers, mentioned above) generally do not interfere with ship operations, as the inspectors want to see the crew's normal operations during meal hours, etc. These will take about 8 hours minimum, but except for seeing the people in khaki surrounded by staff in white, you wouldn't know one is going on.