2552phxcrzr Posted May 23, 2019 #1 Share Posted May 23, 2019 We did back-to-back cruises out of Southampton in 2017 on Celebrity. Both legs returned to Southampton from another EU country. At the end of the first leg, we were given transit passes and except for a security checkpoint, we had no customs/immigration procedures to deal with ... that I can recall. Nor any formalities at the end of the second leg when we disembarked the ship permanently. We will be doing another back to back out of Southampton this year on Oceania. I am wondering if things have changed in the two years and how. On the first leg, we will be arriving in Southampton from Norway ... we will be transit passengers on this leg (hoping a transit pass will do the trick). On the second leg, we will be arriving from Ireland (specifically Dublin). We will be disembarking the ship and transferring to Heathrow for our onward travels. We are US passport holders. Any information would be welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kctwinmommy Posted May 23, 2019 #2 Share Posted May 23, 2019 I was completely shocked when we came back 2 years ago. I think we filled out a form at some point. But when it came to the actual debarkation, we basically walked off the ship. Nobody asked us for anything, about anything, etc... It was really weird! LOL! And we were coming back from France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOldBear Posted May 24, 2019 #3 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Our upcoming cruise has two Southampton visits - one after the eastbound transatlantic, and the other between Hamburg and LeHavre. I'm expecting the first Southampton visit to be painless [clearance and passport stamp onboard] - I'm hoping the rest of the port visits are smoother than our 2017 LeHavre visit [there was _one_ official examining and stamping passports for tours, embarking and disembarking passengers.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted May 24, 2019 #4 Share Posted May 24, 2019 we recently (April) did a TA from NYC ending in Southampton on Oceania with stops in Ireland where we had to line up to do a F2F with Immigration then on to France before ending in Southampton We had to line up collect our passports in the lounge before doing a F2F with immigration then we were given a ticket to say we had done the F2F & were allowed off the ship JMO The line up was long to get through immigration so if in a hurry I would get in the line early then wait for your colour/number to be call to disembark once the baggage is in the terminal unless you are taking your own off We were staying in Southampton so we just waited for the line to get smaller but we were off by 9:30 ish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2552phxcrzr Posted May 24, 2019 Author #5 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Thanks ... not necessarily in a hurry as we don’t get picked up for our transfer until 9:00a ... just trying to be aware of any changes as I read somewhere that things might have changed. There was no F2F in 2017, so doing one this time would definitely be a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GastroGnome Posted May 24, 2019 #6 Share Posted May 24, 2019 US passport holders no longer need to see a Border Force Official in the UK. (Neither do Canada, Australia, NZ, Japan, Singapore or South Korean nationals). The rules changed last last week. You do not need to fill in landing cards (which have also been scrapped) or get your passport stamped. Although there may possibly be some vague interest from a goods import point of view (UK may not be in the EU by them - but you never know!) from an immigration point of view you almost certainly won't see anybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted May 24, 2019 #7 Share Posted May 24, 2019 2 hours ago, GastroGnome said: US passport holders no longer need to see a Border Force Official in the UK. I think that the change is that at airports, nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the USA are now allowed to use e-gates where available, so that they don't have to go to a desk to see an officer there. But even in these cases, there is still a immigration border control point in the form of an e-gate. That is not quite the same as US passport holders not needing to see an officer. If there are no e-gates at an airport, then everyone - British passport holders included - need to see an officer. If you're arriving by ship, there may be circumstances in which the procedures are different from airports. But again, that is not quite the same as US passport holders not needing to see an officer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2552phxcrzr Posted May 24, 2019 Author #8 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Thanks all for chiming in. I believe we were able to use the e-Gates at LHR last time we came throught the UK ... once through the gate, an official stamped our passports and we were quickly on our way. Worked out well. Of course those US passport holders who have not renewed to get chip-enabled passports would not be able to use those kiosks. Since we’re entering via sea at Southampton, I’m trying to figure out if I have to plan for any additional formalities ... just to be prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted May 24, 2019 #9 Share Posted May 24, 2019 57 minutes ago, h2so4 said: I believe we were able to use the e-Gates at LHR last time we came throught the UK ... once through the gate, an official stamped our passports and we were quickly on our way. Were you registered under the Registered Traveller Scheme for frequent visitors to the UK? Before this week, I think that was the only way that a US passport holder could use UK e-gates. In any event, this doesn't sound quite right. Once you go through the e-gate, you do not formally pass any more officials so there would be nobody in a position to check or stamp your passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted May 24, 2019 #10 Share Posted May 24, 2019 1 hour ago, h2so4 said: Since we’re entering via sea at Southampton, I’m trying to figure out if I have to plan for any additional formalities ... just to be prepared. You will get instruction from Oceania onboard a couple of days prior to disembarkation Since you will be on a B2B you can check out the disembarkation procedure for those disembarking for good on the first leg Good luck It was Good Friday when we got off so if the rule have changed since it may be different than our experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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