Countries/Passport

[Jjarlath115]

Wondering, when on a river cruise, do you have to go through customs in each country??

[TravelerThom]

Wondering, when on a river cruise, do you have to go through customs in each country??

No easy answer. Depends on which countries. Sometimes there are technically Customs but generally minamal formalities. Sometimes there are immigration controls. Sometimes both. Sometimes neither. Sometimes the currency changes, sometimes it doesn’t. If you could give info on where you are thinking about cruising you’ll get much more specific answers.

[Jjarlath115]

No easy answer. Depends on which countries. Sometimes there are technically Customs but generally minamal formalities. Sometimes there are immigration controls. Sometimes both. Sometimes neither. Sometimes the currency changes, sometimes it doesn’t. If you could give info on where you are thinking about cruising you’ll get much more specific answers.

TY I’m doing a Viking River cruise Amsterdam to Basel Switzerland going through Germany and France

[notamermaid]

Presuming you are entering Europe by flying into Amsterdam airport you will do all the necessary formalities then. After that you do not need to when entering Germany, France or Switzerland as those companies have signed the Schengen agreement of free travel within Europe. There are technically no passport or border controls, unless in a time of crisis. We have had a thread here discussing travel within Schengen countries and out of them. Search for Schengen. Those countries are not the same as the European Union countries, the United Kingdom for example is not in the Schengen area.

 

 

In Switzerland, if that is your last country before leaving the Schengen area, you will again do the formalities at the airport for example.

 

 

You should never travel across country borders without identification though, just to make sure. I have read on the board here that when the river cruise ships dock in Kehl opposite Strasbourg the passengers are advised to take their passport or ID card with them. Kehl is in Germany and Strasbourg is of course in France.

 

 

notamermaid

[cole]

Last year we did the river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest and I believe there were 2 countries that had to have passport checks before we were allowed to disembark. One, in particular, did a face check of every passenger. We have traveled most of the other rivers in Europe and have never been delayed when docking for them to check passports. Of course, reception generally keeps your passport throughout the trip just in case.

Cole

[WisRiver]

We just finished a Bucharest to Amsterdam Viking River Cruise. We gave Viking our passports when we go on the ship in Romania. When we left Croatia and entered Hungary, our ship had to stop at a riverside immigration office. Hungarian immigration officials boarded the ship, and at 6 AM we had to present ourselves at the reception desk so the officials could match our faces to our passports. All passengers and crew had to be cleared by Hungarian immigration. Once we were in Hungary there were no passport controls for Austria, Germany or Holland.

[RDC1]

Did the Rhine (Basel to Amsterdam) two years ago and the Danube (Regensburg to Budapest) last year. In neither cruise did we have a customs or immigration check. Anything that needed to be done was done by the ship and was not apparent to the passengers.

[steamboats]

On a Rhine river cruise you do not leave the Schengen area. Therefore there is no passport control or customs. Switzerland joined Schengen although it´s not part of the EU.

 

 

steamboats

[CPT Trips]

As I recall, Serbia had immigration controls. We did a land crossing entering Serbia, and had to exit the bus and walk across the border. We exited via boat, got our passport stamped (held by the hotel director), but did not have a face check.

My hunch is that as nationalist political parties rise we'll need more passport pages per trip for stamps and possibly even visas.

[steamboats]

Serbia is not an EU member and also not a Schengen member.

 

 

Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus are EU members but no Schengen members.

 

 

 

Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein are no EU members but joined Schengen.

 

 

Great Britain and Ireland are EU members but no full Schengen members (so there are passport controls).

 

 

steamboats

[TravelerThom]

On a Rhine river cruise you do not leave the Schengen area. Therefore there is no passport control or customs. Switzerland joined Schengen although it´s not part of the EU.

As I understand it the Schengen Agreement addresses movement of people not goods. Switzerland is NOT a member of the EU Customs Union (which has a large overlap with the EU itself, but member countries are not exactly the same), and Switzerland does indeed have customs duties although tourists carrying only personal goods are exempt.

https://www.ezv.admin.ch/ezv/en/home/information-individuals/travel-and-purchases--allowances-and-duty-free-limit/importation-into-switzerland.html

[waterbug123]

Last year we did the river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest and I believe there were 2 countries that had to have passport checks

 

If I'm not mistaken, Romania (Bucharest) is not a Schengen country. Several other eastern European countries aren't either, so that's why you had some immigration checks.

 

 

We just finished a Bucharest to Amsterdam Viking River Cruise. We gave Viking our passports when we go on the ship in Romania. When we left Croatia and entered Hungary, our ship had to stop at a riverside immigration office..... Once we were in Hungary there were no passport controls for Austria, Germany or Holland.

 

Croatia isn't a Schengen country but Hungary is, as are Austria, Germany and Holland. Hence, the immigration check when leaving Croatia to enter Hungary.

[steamboats]

As I understand it the Schengen Agreement addresses movement of people not goods. Switzerland is NOT a member of the EU Customs Union (which has a large overlap with the EU itself, but member countries are not exactly the same), and Switzerland does indeed have customs duties although tourists carrying only personal goods are exempt.

https://www.ezv.admin.ch/ezv/en/home/information-individuals/travel-and-purchases--allowances-and-duty-free-limit/importation-into-switzerland.html

 

This is correct. I shortened it as there is no separate customs without any passport control. You have to declare goods to customs if your goods exceed personal items. But then it´s up to you to do so. When you drive over by car and don´t have anything else but personal items you just drive through. No customs control. You have to stop and go to customs if you have anything to declare.

 

I recently flew to Malaga via Zurich. Our bags ended up in a separate area and we had to go through customs but no passport control. Not that customs is a big thing in Europe as you just walk through the green door (and if you have anything to declare you go to the red one).

 

steamboats