US Customs in Fort Lauderdale

[jlesw]

What is the process for going through US Customs in Fort Lauderdale at the end of a cruise? We will have been to Princess Cays, Curacao and Aruba on the Crown Princess in mid-March.

[ginnynj]

What is the process for going through US Customs in Fort Lauderdale at the end of a cruise? We will have been to Princess Cays, Curacao and Aruba on the Crown Princess in mid-March.

 

Fill out the form, get a porter to haul the luggage and breeze through.

Never has seemed to be a problem, for your minor purchases just write souveneirs (keep the receipts handy though). I think this only gets complicated when you go above the customs limits.

Hrees the link to review what you can bring back into the country.

They do a sample form too

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/

On the 2/4 Crown cruise, when we returned , no customs for the first time ever for us....we didnt stop at any foreign country/port. This was a new one for us.

Edited February 20, 2012 by ginnynj

[Pia1913]

What is the process for going through US Customs in Fort Lauderdale at the end of a cruise? We will have been to Princess Cays, Curacao and Aruba on the Crown Princess in mid-March.

 

Just returned Saturday on the Grand from this exact itinerary. Took 3 seconds. They took the immigration declaration form, glanced at the passports and that was it. I am assuming you are a US citizen.

[CMHCruiseCouple]

Hi,

 

We just arrived in Port Everglades on Sunday. Filled out one form for our household. We always keep receipts in handy pouch, but have never been asked to produce them.

 

That said, I was once questioned about a watch I was wearing. The Customs agent viewed the clasp and saw some minor wear marks, then waved me through.

 

The entire process is 15-20 seconds if you have your paperwork and identification handy.

[shepp]

Just returned Saturday on the Grand from this exact itinerary. Took 3 seconds. They took the immigration declaration form, glanced at the passports and that was it.

 

 

Yeah, but the Feds know better than to mess with you. ;)

[Pia1913]

Yeah, but the Feds know better than to mess with you. ;)

 

hahahaha :D

[Vexorg]

Yes, usually pretty easy, although on our last cruise we had a couple of food items (meat products) from Curaçao that they wouldn't let through.

[Treven]

I don't think the customs agent even looked at the passports. As everyone was going by the agent we handed him our declaration form and that was it. I personally had my passport in hand, but that was it.

[caber]

I don`t remember any problem going through customs there either, and I am non US. It was very fast, probably perhaps because we were checked at our first US port. We boarded in Canada and did a repositioning cruise.

Edited February 21, 2012 by caber

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Does not always run smooth, once we were behind a poor guy from Mexico we waited 20minutes, tried to move to another que got told

to get back in line,

 

another time wait was well over an hour Commordore was out side saying sorry to passengers, nice guy even recalled my name.

 

another time they did not stamp DWs passport,

 

then in the days of green cards, because we were b2b we landed up with three, guy freaked out when I said which one do you want,

 

yours Shogun

[jagoffee]

I don't think the customs agent even looked at the passports. As everyone was going by the agent we handed him our declaration form and that was it. I personally had my passport in hand, but that was it.

 

Since Customs and Immigration are the same person in Fort Lauderdale that statement is very surprising. Are you saying that you departed the ship and did not show anyone your passport? If yes, perhaps you cleared in St. Thomas first?

 

I do agree with everyone that it is a very easy and simple process.

[chrysalis]

Since Customs and Immigration are the same person in Fort Lauderdale that statement is very surprising.

 

That was not always the case. Up until a couple of years ago, there was one person you went thru for Immigration and then another for Customs.

[Treven]

Since Customs and Immigration are the same person in Fort Lauderdale that statement is very surprising. Are you saying that you departed the ship and did not show anyone your passport? If yes, perhaps you cleared in St. Thomas first?

 

I do agree with everyone that it is a very easy and simple process.

That was it. I've not been on a cruise, yet, that stopped at St. Thomas, during all three of my Caribbean vacations. My last cruise, full transit through the Panama Canal, ended at San Francisco, customs agents came onboard and checked everyone's passports. I even got an entry stamp in my new passport! in the ten years life of my previous passport I never got it stamped.

Edited February 21, 2012 by Treven

[cantwaitfornextcruise]

The 'non US' line can be slow as we are checked against our electronic 'Esta' now last Feb in LA it was painful nearly 2 hours to clear the port, then another painfully long line at LA airport, but better to be safe

[caribill]

My last cruise, full transit through the Panama Canal, ended at San Francisco, customs agents came onboard and checked everyone's passports.

 

Came on board disenbarkation morning or were onboard to do this on a sea day?

[Vexorg]

When they do customs in San Francisco (they did this on the Sapphire repo last year when we stopped in Victoria before SF) they Have customs agents come aboard the ship and set up In a couple of different locations (Club Fusion for US residents, the theater for non-US residents) and check everyone's passports before letting anyone off. It might be different with SF as the terminal port, rather than a port call. The process wasn't exactly smooth, and led to delays in getting off the ship which ultimately led to cancelled shore excursions.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Vexorg

[Treven]

Came on board disenbarkation morning or were onboard to do this on a sea day?

They came on board disembarkation morning in San Francisco. They had a couple different stations. The one I went to was one of the dining rooms; in there were , if I remember correctly, 3 customs agents. Once the line of people got into the dining room, it was split into 3 lines where the agents checked our passports. Non-US passport holders were seen somewhere else.

 

It did take awhile for the agents to check every one's passport & of course no one got to leave the ship until everyone got checked. Strictly from a passenger's standpoint, it sure would have been easier if they could have been onboard the last sea day before SFO.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Treven

[sailor1362]

Hello, which is the procedure when arriving in Fort Lauderdale from a transatlantic cruise? We will not desembark from the ship in FL, we will stay for one more week for a Caribbean cruise, when will we be checked? at our first stop in FL, only at desembark from ship at our second stop in Fl, or both?

thank you very much,

Vittorio

[mmckm]

Both

[sailor1362]

Both

Thank you mmckm. But on the first stop, both groups of passengers (desembarking and staying for one more cruise) will pass the same procedure, or there is a simplified procedure for passenger in transit?

[beg3yrs]

Thank you mmckm. But on the first stop, both groups of passengers (desembarking and staying for one more cruise) will pass the same procedure, or there is a simplified procedure for passenger in transit?

 

For in-transit it is simpler. No need for customs, just immigration. You will get instructions a day or two before. In-transit passengers get off as a group, go through immigration and can then leave the terminal for a tour or whatever, or, they wait as a group for the ship to be cleared and can then re-board. This process can take a little while, especially if the previous voyage was a trans-Atlantic.

 

You won't have to take your stuff through customs at the first stop. IIRC, you don't declare things until you actually take them off the ship.

[caribill]

For in-transit it is simpler. No need for customs, just immigration. You will get instructions a day or two before. In-transit passengers get off as a group, go through immigration and can then leave the terminal for a tour or whatever, or, they wait as a group for the ship to be cleared and can then re-board.

 

 

If in-transit passengers want to leave the terminal for whatever reason, they do not have to wait until the group goes through immigration (usually around 10 AM).

 

You can leave the ship anytime disembarkation has started. Be sure to get off with your passport and the "in-transit" card you will have been given.

[sailor1362]

many thanks to all of you! in the end, nothing different from a B2B in Fort Lauderdale, like we did in January with Royal Princess? I thought it was different for passengers arriving from a transatlantic.

Edited October 8, 2015 by sailor1362

[caribill]

many thanks to all of you! in the end, nothing different from a B2B in Fort Lauderdale, like we did in January with Royal Princess? I thought it was different for passengers arriving from a transatlantic.

 

The only thing different is that customs may inspect more carefully since all of the passengers started the cruise overseas. This can slow down the disembarkation process.

[Loonbeam]

I do think there is a cursory check, just to make sure you aren't carrying anything off to ship for example. But you can use the nothing to declare line (if there is one, I don't recall)

 

For in-transit it is simpler. No need for customs, just immigration. You will get instructions a day or two before. In-transit passengers get off as a group, go through immigration and can then leave the terminal for a tour or whatever, or, they wait as a group for the ship to be cleared and can then re-board. This process can take a little while, especially if the previous voyage was a trans-Atlantic.

 

You won't have to take your stuff through customs at the first stop. IIRC, you don't declare things until you actually take them off the ship.