Preferential Suite Access To Customs?

[ABoatNerd]

A current thread (Summit to Bermuda) has a refererence to suite passengers having a separate line to access Customs.

 

1) Is this true?

2) Since when does the US Government provide separate access to its services based on paying more money than someone else? A particular concern since this a national security related preference

3) Celebrity - if this is true, Celebrity speak up and identify how you arranged this with the Government

 

This is offensive to say the least.

[casper106]

I doubt that it is true.

[TeeRick]

In my experience having sailed in suites recently on Celebrity over the past few years, suite passengers assemble in Michael's Club and get escorted by the concierge off the ship to baggage claim where there is a suite/Zenith area to pick up luggage. From there- suite passengers are on their own like everybody else. US CBP does not have special lines for anybody- just facilitated screening at kiosks if you have Global Entry.

[dodger1964]

I would guess that there isn't a special line, BUT that they (like using porters in San Juan and probably elsewhere) just cut in front of everyone else.

 

They don't say they are actually cutting the line, but they handle it like the crew line at airport customs...one line takes some regular people, but when crew show up, there is no line for them.

[Straughn]

There is no special line for suites. If they chose, suite passengers can be escorted off the ship by the Michael's Club Concierge. They are taken to a separate luggage area to claim bags. Because they are some of the first passengers off the ship, after self disembarkation, there are lots of porters waiting. The porters "know how" to get those passengers to a line that is short. Bear in mind that, by the time suite passengers get to Customs, most of the self disembarkation folks are thru. Because suites are off the ship early, the lines are simply shorter.

 

To my point, we chose not to get off the ship with our fellow suite passengers on one cruise, as we were meeting friends in Fort Lauderdale for a late breakfast. When we did leave, it took a while to get a porter and we waited in line with everyone else for customs. No special treatment or priority.

[phoenix_dream]

Suites have priority to get off the ship, but no priority going through Customs. There was a thread awhile ago where I think someone was complaining because they expected that and said that Celebrity advertised it as a perk, but if you read the actual wording it states priority disembarking, nothing about going through Customs.

[CruisersTimesThree]

No special line for suite guest at customs.

The convenience is that the luggage pick-up area for suites is situated right next to the customs area, at least in Bayonne, making it very easy to access the line.

 

 

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[LGNYcamper]

We did this Sunday. We were walked off the ship. Retrieved bags from suites area. We were then ushered to a very short line with a handful of people in front of us. There were two lines like this. The other side of the terminal was being herded into a much longer line.

 

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[cruzzzinma]

We did this Sunday. We were walked off the ship. Retrieved bags from suites area. We were then ushered to a very short line with a handful of people in front of us. There were two lines like this. The other side of the terminal was being herded into a much longer line.

 

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Yep. Escorted to a line.

[floridaag]

If I recall correctly on our last cruise (into the US), Suite guests and Zenith guests were directed and allowed into the Global Entry lines which bypassed the main long lines. As we were both in a Suite and have Global Entry - we naturally headed this way anyway

[cyntil8ing]

In the various terminals I've debarked in, there is one set of customs agents. There are various configurations of lines to appear before the customs agents. The configuration, and number, of lines is under the control of the terminal operator. The customs agents process whoever appears before them, without preference.

 

It's the same as the boarding process. There is a suite line, a status line, etc., all feeding to one set of operators, with "traffic cops" deciding which line to pull from for the next available operator.

[PSU]

If you fly first class in some airports you have a separate line for the TSA.

 

A current thread (Summit to Bermuda) has a refererence to suite passengers having a separate line to access Customs.

 

1) Is this true?

2) Since when does the US Government provide separate access to its services based on paying more money than someone else? A particular concern since this a national security related preference

3) Celebrity - if this is true, Celebrity speak up and identify how you arranged this with the Government

 

This is offensive to say the least.

[jcpc]

Every time I disembarked Bayonne I was escorted by the Michael's Club Concierge to a special, very short line (the extreme left hand lane when you are facing the Customs officials). Processing time took less than 5 minutes. To my right I could see all the "self disembark" folks in a very long queue (filling the entire terminal) to go through Customs. This was also the case for disembarkation in Fort Lauderdale.

[bigbenboys]

Our Jan 2017 in Asia was from Hong Kong to Shanghai. Any time we had customs our butler would take us to customs. The suite guest would go 1st.

[C 2 C]

Every time I disembarked Bayonne I was escorted by the Michael's Club Concierge to a special, very short line (the extreme left hand lane when you are facing the Customs officials). Processing time took less than 5 minutes. To my right I could see all the "self disembark" folks in a very long queue (filling the entire terminal) to go through Customs. This was also the case for disembarkation in Fort Lauderdale.

 

The same experience for us two weeks ago.

Miami I believe does not allow a special line.

 

Why would this be a national security issue?

Customs personnel are there to process passengers; the cruise line wants to make sure that the people who pay more for special perks are treated preferentially throughout the cruise experience.

[boscobeans]

We did this Sunday. We were walked off the ship. Retrieved bags from suites area. We were then ushered to a very short line with a handful of people in front of us. There were two lines like this. The other side of the terminal was being herded into a much longer line.

 

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Same thing when we returned from Bermuda on the Summit last year. Suite guests and disabled went to a short line to the right hand side of the custom's stations and the rest went into the usual serpentine.

 

bosco

[jagoffee]

A current thread (Summit to Bermuda) has a refererence to suite passengers having a separate line to access Customs.

 

1) Is this true?

2) Since when does the US Government provide separate access to its services based on paying more money than someone else? A particular concern since this a national security related preference

3) Celebrity - if this is true, Celebrity speak up and identify how you arranged this with the Government

 

This is offensive to say the least.

 

1. Never been on Summit to Bermuda, but I frequently see more than one line for customs and immigration.

2. The actual que provides no additional security, so whether one waits in a short line or a long line does not really impact security.

3. I would not think the government would be concerned about the que, but only the clearing/acceptance process. It is very common in many places to see different lines for citizens, non citizens, and even crew.

 

I wonder if someone is assuming that a different line actually means a different level of security? Like Global Entry?

[inforem]

A current thread (Summit to Bermuda) has a refererence to suite passengers having a separate line to access Customs.

 

1) Is this true?

2) Since when does the US Government provide separate access to its services based on paying more money than someone else? A particular concern since this a national security related preference

3) Celebrity - if this is true, Celebrity speak up and identify how you arranged this with the Government

 

This is offensive to say the least.

Book a suite...it's worth the extra dollars. It's not offensive, you get what you pay for. Is it offensive to get all four perks, access to Michaels Club, access to private dining room, reserved sitting for shows during chic night, suite line for embankment, disembarkment, shrimp cocktail everyday at 4:00, a butler, a dedicated concierge...I think not. I pay extra for all the amenities of pay a lot more for a suite class room. I hate lines and love to be catered to. Disembarked from the Summit in August and went to the short line to the left. Out in about 10 minutes....the perks of a suite life. Worth the money. Let the flaming begin.

Edited August 31, 2017 by inforem

[boscobeans]

 

I wonder if someone is assuming that a different line actually means a different level of security? Like Global Entry?

 

It wasn't that they had a free pass or anything like that. It was just that the line they were ushered to had only a few passengers, whereas the rest of the passengers had a serpentine that had at least 3 or 4 back and forth's to walk through.

 

bosco

[Husky61]

Book a suite...it's worth the extra dollars. It's not offensive, you get what you pay for. Is it offensive to get all four perks, access to Michaels Club, access to private dining room, reserved sitting for shows during chic night, suite line for embankment, disembarkment, shrimp cocktail everyday at 4:00, a butler, a dedicated concierge...I think not. I pay extra for all the amenities of pay a lot more for a suite class room. I hate lines and love to be catered to. Disembarked from the Summit in August and went to the short line to the left. Out in about 10 minutes....the perks of a suite life. Worth the money. Let the flaming begin.

 

You won't get any flaming from me. I totally agree with you! In fact I don't even take shuttles to and from the airport or cruise port, nothing but town cars and limos.

[2theship]

If you travel outside the country a fair amount, paying $100 to have TSA check you out and bestow Global Entry status is worth the money. While you only need your passport and fingerprints when re-entering the US at an airport, when you are returning to a cruise port, it's important that you have the actual card with you to to enter the Global Entry line. It is most definitely a separate line from the one most people are using. I don't know if they support Global Entry in Bayonne but they definitely do in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

There is also the benefit of always using the TSA Precheck line at airports.

[nps001]

Choices are a great thing. If someone feels that this is an important perk, they have the ability to book a suite. It certainly is not a "national security" issue. Nothing changes in the screening process other than they are taken to the front of the line. Every time I fly business class, I am given a "fast track" card which puts me in a short line for security screening and immigrations.

 

I do enjoy the perks of suite class but don't always have the luxury of booking them because of pricing. Sure I am envious of the perks but I have no right to say that suite passengers shouldn't receive them just because I didn't book a suite. I've never understood that logic. So if you want the perks, book the category that provides them.

[lmf914]

Would a suite guest with global entry be better off doing self walk off ( which we always do) or wait and disembark with the rest of the suites? This is our first time in a suite, we always like to be off early so we can get on the road as quickly as possible.

[ABoatNerd]

Focus back to the original question.

 

Question - do Celebrity suite passengers get to by pass the general passenger que for customs processing - YES or NO?

[jcpc]

Answer - yes, they do (in Bayonne)

 

 

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