Just off Majesty - Key West immigration heads up

[lcccbeloeil]

I'd like to tell you about our experience on Majesty of the Seas going through immigration in Key West last week, March 27, 2014. This is somewhat of a warning.

My husband and I had tickets to the Key Lime Bike Tour and we were to meet on the dock at 10:15 for a 10:30 tour start. We arrived in port shortly before 10 a.m.

Passengers with excursions bought from Royal Carribean (and that's the important part here) have priority for going through immigration. My husband and I were first in line and we disembarked at 10:45! That was after finding every single public toilet - both women's and men's - on Deck 4 near the Centrum blocked and full of excrement... so I had to go back to my cabin... but I digress. BTW, I told an employee about the toilets. He said he would tell maintenance, but he just kept standing there.

Anyway... the order for going through Immigration is by Muster Station number. If you didn't have an RCI excursion, then you had to wait for your Muster Station to be called. We were Station #1, so even if we didn't have an RCI excursion, we would still have disembarked fairly early.

People we met on board, first-time cruisers (and probably last-time cruisers) were already disappointed that our stop in Coco Cay had been cancelled. They had Muster Station #9. They were called to Immigration at 1 p.m!! So they saw very little of Key West. They were very upset and rightly so.

Anyone who reserved a non-RCI excursion for early morning probably missed their excursion.

Those who complained about the extremely long wait for going through immigration were told that it was the fault of the US government sequester. Fewer immigration agents, longer wait times.

Edited April 3, 2014 by lcccbeloeil

[BillOh]

There may have been some local event with Customs. I've done this cruise twice and while its not as convenient as just walking off the ship, both times were didn't have excursions and were ashore by 9:30.

[FLACRUISER99]

I'd like to tell you about our experience on Majesty of the Seas going through immigration in Key West last week, March 27, 2014. This is somewhat of a warning.

My husband and I had tickets to the Key Lime Bike Tour and we were to meet on the dock at 10:15 for a 10:30 tour start. We arrived in port shortly before 10 a.m.

Passengers with excursions bought from Royal Carribean (and that's the important part here) have priority for going through immigration. My husband and I were first in line and we disembarked at 10:45! That was after finding every single public toilet - both women's and men's - on Deck 5 near the Centrum blocked and full of excrement... so I had to go back to my cabin... but I digress. BTW, I told an employee about the toilets. He said he would tell maintenance, but he just kept standing there.

Anyway... the order for going through Immigration is by Muster Station number. If you didn't have an RCI excursion, then you had to wait for your Muster Station to be called. We were Station #1, so even if we didn't have an RCI excursion, we would still have disembarked fairly early.

People we met on board, first-time cruisers (and probably last-time cruisers) were already disappointed that our stop in Coco Cay had been cancelled. They had Muster Station #9. They were called to Immigration at 1 p.m!! So they saw very little of Key West. They were very upset and rightly so.

Anyone who reserved a non-RCI excursion for early morning probably missed their excursion.

Those who complained about the extremely long wait for going through immigration were told that it was the fault of the US government sequester. Fewer immigration agents, longer wait times.

The thing with US immigration is that it can change every trip. This week trip may or may not have the problem.

[ehfl]

If the problem is with the US officials, changing cruise lines won't help. You can write to the Key West Chamber of Commerce and let them know your experience, and that next time you plan to stay aboard instead of visiting local businesses. Maybe they can put pressure on the government to improve the experience.

 

Otherwise, the only other thing is consider who you vote for at the Federal level.

[rclibertygirl5]

I am not familiar with the policy of having to go through immigration at Key West. When we sailed on the Grandeur a few years ago, we stopped in Key West and I do not remember having to go through immigration. Is this new? Is it only certain cruises? We are booked on a Brilliance cruise out of Tampa this coming February and our first stop is Key West. Will we have to go through immigration? Thanks for your help.

[bradpole]

I am not familiar with the policy of having to go through immigration at Key West. When we sailed on the Grandeur a few years ago, we stopped in Key West and I do not remember having to go through immigration. Is this new? Is it only certain cruises? We are booked on a Brilliance cruise out of Tampa this coming February and our first stop is Key West. Will we have to go through immigration? Thanks for your help.

 

Only if your previous port was not a US port. Majesty's previous port is Nassau, which then requires the "FUN" of US Customs.

[bradpole]

The thing with US immigration is that it can change every trip. This week trip may or may not have the problem.

 

EXACTLY! The best advice, sit and be patient. There's NOTHING the ship can do to speed things up. Thankfully things have changed (at least they did back in December when I experienced Key West Customs) that you no longer have to wait for the ENTIRE ship to be processed. I remember waaaaaay back in 2004 on Majesty we had to wait for the ENTIRE ship to be processed before anyone went ashore. Of course there is always ONE person who thinks the rules (and the announcements calling for them) don't apply. Luckily back in December as soon as you presented your passport your sea pass was punched indicating you had been processed and could go ashore.

 

Here's the thing I find "funny"... In December on Grandeur as we entered the dining room our sea pass was scanned (so the ship could tell how many people were left) and I'm assuming they informed US Immigration when everyone went through. If Immigration can "trust" the ship to tell them when everyone had been processed, why can't they "trust" the ship to say, "Nope, no one boarded in Nassau. Everyone onboard boarded x days ago in Baltimore." Thus avoiding the joy of the immigration inspection. But I guess that would be using logic, and we all know US Immigration and logic are two words that typically don't go together.

[cayugashue]

EXACTLY! The best advice, sit and be patient. There's NOTHING the ship can do to speed things up. Thankfully things have changed (at least they did back in December when I experienced Key West Customs) that you no longer have to wait for the ENTIRE ship to be processed. I remember waaaaaay back in 2004 on Majesty we had to wait for the ENTIRE ship to be processed before anyone went ashore. Of course there is always ONE person who thinks the rules (and the announcements calling for them) don't apply. Luckily back in December as soon as you presented your passport your sea pass was punched indicating you had been processed and could go ashore.

 

Here's the thing I find "funny"... In December on Grandeur as we entered the dining room our sea pass was scanned (so the ship could tell how many people were left) and I'm assuming they informed US Immigration when everyone went through. If Immigration can "trust" the ship to tell them when everyone had been processed, why can't they "trust" the ship to say, "Nope, no one boarded in Nassau. Everyone onboard boarded x days ago in Baltimore." Thus avoiding the joy of the immigration inspection. But I guess that would be using logic, and we all know US Immigration and logic are two words that typically don't go together.

 

We were on the Grandeur in Feb and had to experience Immigration in KW. It was a nightmare. My husband and I felt the same as you in regards to trusting the cruise line that no one boarded in Nassau... I guess the "upside" was we only had to go thru Customs when we got back to Baltimore. Took moments to get thru.

[Truckersar]

EXACTLY! The best advice, sit and be patient. There's NOTHING the ship can do to speed things up. Thankfully things have changed (at least they did back in December when I experienced Key West Customs) that you no longer have to wait for the ENTIRE ship to be processed. I remember waaaaaay back in 2004 on Majesty we had to wait for the ENTIRE ship to be processed before anyone went ashore. Of course there is always ONE person who thinks the rules (and the announcements calling for them) don't apply. Luckily back in December as soon as you presented your passport your sea pass was punched indicating you had been processed and could go ashore.

 

Here's the thing I find "funny"... In December on Grandeur as we entered the dining room our sea pass was scanned (so the ship could tell how many people were left) and I'm assuming they informed US Immigration when everyone went through. If Immigration can "trust" the ship to tell them when everyone had been processed, why can't they "trust" the ship to say, "Nope, no one boarded in Nassau. Everyone onboard boarded x days ago in Baltimore." Thus avoiding the joy of the immigration inspection. But I guess that would be using logic, and we all know US Immigration and logic are two words that typically don't go together.

 

You must remember that CBP officers are required to inconvenience and make life miserable for the lowly riffraff citizens to justify there jobs and pay!

[WeatherFx]

Is this a recent change? We did this same trip in Oct 2011 on Majesty and when we got to Key West, they had everyone go through the theater - enter in the starboard side doorway, walk down front, get scanned by immigration, walk up and exit port side doorway, then were allowed to just walked off the ship. Will be doing the Bahamas - Key West cruise next April on Grandeur.

 

.

[TC1957]

You must remember that CBP officers are required to inconvenience and make life miserable for the lowly riffraff citizens to justify there jobs and pay!

 

Or they could simply be doing their jobs to the best of their ability given the current staffing levels. Want more people working there to speed things up...vote for a bigger federal government and debt. Absolutely NOTHING is free.

 

Getting off my soap box now...

[Eng23]

EXACTLY! The best advice, sit and be patient. There's NOTHING the ship can do to speed things up. Thankfully things have changed (at least they did back in December when I experienced Key West Customs) that you no longer have to wait for the ENTIRE ship to be processed. I remember waaaaaay back in 2004 on Majesty we had to wait for the ENTIRE ship to be processed before anyone went ashore. Of course there is always ONE person who thinks the rules (and the announcements calling for them) don't apply. Luckily back in December as soon as you presented your passport your sea pass was punched indicating you had been processed and could go ashore.

 

Here's the thing I find "funny"... In December on Grandeur as we entered the dining room our sea pass was scanned (so the ship could tell how many people were left) and I'm assuming they informed US Immigration when everyone went through. If Immigration can "trust" the ship to tell them when everyone had been processed, why can't they "trust" the ship to say, "Nope, no one boarded in Nassau. Everyone onboard boarded x days ago in Baltimore." Thus avoiding the joy of the immigration inspection. But I guess that would be using logic, and we all know US Immigration and logic are two words that typically don't go together.

The issue isn't wether anyone boarded or not in Nassau, it's the fact the ship stopped in Nassau (a foreign port) before returning to the US which requires the Customs Clearance process in Key West as you are re-entering the country. If Key West were the first stop on the itinerary no Customs clearance is required since you have yet to visit a foreign port.

[wolfcathorse]

Is this a recent change? We did this same trip in Oct 2011 on Majesty and when we got to Key West, they had everyone go through the theater - enter in the starboard side doorway, walk down front, get scanned by immigration, walk up and exit port side doorway, then were allowed to just walked off the ship. Will be doing the Bahamas - Key West cruise next April on Grandeur.

 

yes, this is a change from 3 years ago. They did it this way when I was on September 2013. Additionally, if you were Diamond, Diamond Plus, Pinnacle, and Suite Guest you could line up early. Doing it by muster station makes sense for crowd control, there's only 150 people per lifeboat.

[cdamion]

What a stupid routing. I would never do this cruise and have to deal with immigration mid cruise. I had no idea. Makes sense that they have to, but what an inconvenience in the middle of a cruise.

 

I wonder why they route it that way.

[kruzerci]

What a stupid routing. I would never do this cruise and have to deal with immigration mid cruise. I had no idea. Makes sense that they have to, but what an inconvenience in the middle of a cruise.

 

I wonder why they route it that way.

 

Yeah, when we sailed on Majesty years ago, KW was our first stop, then Nassu and CocoCay. That makes a lot more sense as far as customs are concerned.

[CruznTom]

It seems like the administrations' policy of " make every interaction with us is as painful as possible until we get our way" is still in effecty. :(

[Eng23]

What a stupid routing. I would never do this cruise and have to deal with immigration mid cruise. I had no idea. Makes sense that they have to, but what an inconvenience in the middle of a cruise.

 

I wonder why they route it that way.

On Majesty's 4 day cruise Key West is the last port on the itinerary.

[Eng23]

Yeah, when we sailed on Majesty years ago, KW was our first stop, then Nassu and CocoCay. That makes a lot more sense as far as customs are concerned.

This routing does make more sense.....

[UCF_Knight]

What a stupid routing. I would never do this cruise and have to deal with immigration mid cruise. I had no idea. Makes sense that they have to, but what an inconvenience in the middle of a cruise.

 

I wonder why they route it that way.

 

Key West is a small port with only a couple of docks for cruise ships. They can't just show up whenever they want.