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Are there any U.S. domestic cruises where you don't have to go through customs?

LoganTheCruiser

By LoganTheCruiser,
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LoganTheCruiser

LoganTheCruiser

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I'm trying to find a cruise that departs from the USA and returns to the USA and doesn't stop in any other countries. Was hoping for a Seattle to Alaska cruise, but they all stop in Victoria BC. Was hoping for a Seattle to Hawaii cruise, but they all seem to leave or return to Vancouver. I have a friend from Ukraine who is here on parole status and cannot leave the USA for a couple of years per the conditions of the parole so they can attain permanent residence here. So I'm trying to find a cruise that would work for them for us to go on together that doesn't involve any international stops and thus no customs upon returning.

 

I did an Alaska cruise back during COVID and they removed the Victoria BC stop because Canada was closed. That was perfect because there was no customs when we got back to Seattle as a result. 

Is anyone aware of any options? Even just a short 3-day to Coco Cay wouldn't work because Coco Cay is technically considered the Bahamas and you have customs upon arrival back in Florida (as stupid as that is). I even spoke with a Port Canaveral CBP officer about this and they said while it's a "very low risk" that my friend would have a problem re-entering with the status they have, there's no guarantees and it's always up to the individual discretion of whatever CBP officer you happen to be standing in front of. That's just not a risk they can take, however low. So I'm trying my best to find something domestic with no customs upon return.

Thanks for your help!

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Jasukkie

Jasukkie

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I wouldn't risk it, and no, they don't exist in scheduled form due to the passenger vessel laws that have been around for a long time. The Seattle to Seattle cruises were a special exception permitted by Congress due to the economic impact of the pandemic on Alaska.

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LoganTheCruiser

LoganTheCruiser

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4 minutes ago, gmerick said:

One does not NEED a passport for a lot of cruising.  US News just posted this.  Go to Bermuda, Bahamas, and much of the Caribbean.

Thanks, but it also says this: "Non-U.S. citizens, with the exception of Canadians and Mexicans, are not subject to passport exceptions, so a valid passport will need to be provided."

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LoganTheCruiser

LoganTheCruiser

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22 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Generaly there are not because of the PVSA which requires a stop at a foreign port but there are Hawaii cruises on NCL that have an exception so they depart from Hawaii and return to Hawaii without a foreign port.

Ah! That's right. I completely forgot about the Passenger Vessel Services Act. And because all cruise lines are registered abroad for tax reasons, that makes sense. Thank you! I will look into trying to find an NCL cruise with that exception.

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GimmeOcean

GimmeOcean

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Just now, LoganTheCruiser said:

Thanks, but it also says this: "Non-U.S. citizens, with the exception of Canadians and Mexicans, are not subject to passport exceptions, so a valid passport will need to be provided."

And they facial scan you at customs.

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d9704011

d9704011

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2 minutes ago, LoganTheCruiser said:

Ah! That's right. I completely forgot about the Passenger Vessel Services Act. And because all cruise lines are registered abroad for tax reasons, that makes sense. Thank you! I will look into trying to find an NCL cruise with that exception.

You can do a river cruise.

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Biker19

Biker19

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58 minutes ago, LoganTheCruiser said:


Is anyone aware of any options?

American Cruise Lines does both river and coastal cruises on very small ships (compared to RCI fleet). They are within the US so no passport needed. Not sure you would like the pricing. 

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taglovestocruise

taglovestocruise

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21 minutes ago, Babblespeak said:

Only option I know of is the NCL Pride of America doing Hawaii cruises because it was built in the US.  

POA began its construction in America but was purchased by NCL and finished construction in Germany. POA is the ONLY American flagged cruise ship in the world, outside of river cruises.  Because it is American flagged  there is no PVSA requirement that it needs to stop at a foreign port doing a closed loop cruise. 

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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American Cruise Lines, Uncruise Adventures, Alaska Dream Cruise lines all are US flagged, so they don't need to visit a foreign port, and all do Alaska cruises.  NCL's Pride of America does Hawaii only cruises, as it is also US flag.  There are some Lindblad/NatGeo ships that are US flag and do US domestic cruises as well.

1 hour ago, LoganTheCruiser said:

Coco Cay is technically considered the Bahamas and you have customs upon arrival back in Florida (as stupid as that is).

Coco Cay is not "technically" part of the Bahamas, it is part of the Bahamas.  Just because a cruise line either owns or leases an island does not make it a sovereign nation.  Does owning your house make it not part of the US?  Here in Maine, there are quite a lot of privately owned islands, but I can assure you they are all part of the US.  What is stupid about this?  If you take the Bimini Resorts World ferry to Bimini and back (and that is only 50 miles from Miami, not the 140 to Coco Cay), you have to clear customs and immigration upon return.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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3 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

POA began its construction in America but was purchased by NCL and finished construction in Germany. POA is the ONLY American flagged cruise ship in the world, outside of river cruises.  Because it is American flagged  there is no PVSA requirement that it needs to stop at a foreign port doing a closed loop cruise. 

No, the POA is the only large US flag cruise ship.  As noted above, there are 3 cruise lines that go to Alaska, or do US coastal cruises, and one cruise line that has 2 or 3 US flag expedition ships.

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BND

BND

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Um, the answer to the OP, is NO.  Your friend needs to wait until their status allows them to leave the US and return.  Parole status?  Maybe on a probationary or pending status?  Waiting for permanent status?  No Royal cruise leaves and returns to the US without a distant foreign port.  It's a violation of the PVSA.  

 

Otherwise as others have said, US based cruises, such as Mississippi river, Hawaii only. 

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smokeybandit

smokeybandit

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1 hour ago, taglovestocruise said:

POA began its construction in America but was purchased by NCL and finished construction in Germany. POA is the ONLY American flagged cruise ship in the world, outside of river cruises.  Because it is American flagged  there is no PVSA requirement that it needs to stop at a foreign port doing a closed loop cruise. 

And POA actually sank while under construction in Germany.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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17 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

The law reads FAR, but somehow Ensenada and Victoria Island are far enough. Maybe @chengkp75 can explain how these quite-near ports qualify...  

You are confusing a closed loop cruise with an open-jaw cruise.  A closed loop cruise (that begins and ends at the same US port) only needs to visit any foreign port.  An open jaw cruise (that begins at one US port, and ends at a different US port) is required to stop at a far distant port.  A "far distant" port is defined as any port not in North or Central America, the Caribbean, Bahamas, or Bermuda.

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njhorseman

njhorseman

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To be accurate the terminology used in the regulations is "distant foreign port", not "far distant port".

 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2019-Sep/PVSA-ICP.pdf

 

19 C.F.R. § 4.80a- Coastwise transportation of passengers The CBP regulations in 19 C.F.R. § 4.80a set forth the definitions used in the enforcement of the PVSA including “coastwise port”, “nearby foreign port” and “distant foreign port”, as well as the meaning of “embark and disembark”. In addition, this section sets forth scenarios that would apply the PVSA to the transportation of passengers on noncoastwise-qualified vessels.

 

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navybankerteacher

navybankerteacher

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On 12/15/2023 at 6:56 PM, LoganTheCruiser said:

I'm trying to find a cruise that departs from the USA and returns to the USA and doesn't stop in any other countries. Was hoping for a Seattle to Alaska cruise, but they all stop in Victoria BC. Was hoping for a Seattle to Hawaii cruise, but they all seem to leave or return to Vancouver. I have a friend from Ukraine who is here on parole status and cannot leave the USA for a couple of years per the conditions of the parole so they can attain permanent residence here. So I'm trying to find a cruise that would work for them for us to go on together that doesn't involve any international stops and thus no customs upon returning.

 

I did an Alaska cruise back during COVID and they removed the Victoria BC stop because Canada was closed. That was perfect because there was no customs when we got back to Seattle as a result. 

Is anyone aware of any options? Even just a short 3-day to Coco Cay wouldn't work because Coco Cay is technically considered the Bahamas and you have customs upon arrival back in Florida (as stupid as that is). I even spoke with a Port Canaveral CBP officer about this and they said while it's a "very low risk" that my friend would have a problem re-entering with the status they have, there's no guarantees and it's always up to the individual discretion of whatever CBP officer you happen to be standing in front of. That's just not a risk they can take, however low. So I'm trying my best to find something domestic with no customs upon return.

Thanks for your help!

“Customs” does not seem to be the issue,  questions regarding re-entry involve Immigration.

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