Government advice for travelers after Brexit. Including no deal.

[jeanlyon]

Yes, but not yet.  Will take ages to get that sorted.

[elmsliebev]

45 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

It has always been necessary to take passports ashore in Venice for instance.  Never had it looked at though.  That P&O policy has always been in place.  "you may need to take your passport ashore with 6 months left"

 

Nothing new there.

isn't there a difference between "taking your passport ashore" and "showing your passport to go ashore"? The latter implies queuing up to get through whereas the former is carrying it in case you are asked to show it while you are out and about. I thought that was more the issue - having to show your passport to go ashore, like in the US. Hopefully if that happens for cruises in the EU, it will just be the first port of call in the Schengen bloc, and that will be deemed sufficient. 

[Apial]

16 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes, but not yet.  Will take ages to get that sorted.

Yes 29th March 2019.

[Apial]

6 minutes ago, elmsliebev said:

isn't there a difference between "taking your passport ashore" and "showing your passport to go ashore"? The latter implies queuing up to get through whereas the former is carrying it in case you are asked to show it while you are out and about. I thought that was more the issue - having to show your passport to go ashore, like in the US. Hopefully if that happens for cruises in the EU, it will just be the first port of call in the Schengen bloc, and that will be deemed sufficient. 

You are correct.

 

Last year my trip and lots of other passengers trips too, were spoilt when we tried to go ashore in India. The whole badly manged process took up an hour of queuing the night before landing so that we could show our passport to  Indian Immigration Officers on board our ship.

 

The next morning we had to wait another 4 hours before we were given our passports back and allowed to get off, but not before 3 more officials had another triple check. We also had to pay for a Visa to add to insult that had already been issued 3months earlier.

 

Many passengers decided not to get off at all. I know some passengers missed their connecting flights to visit the Taj Mahal.

 

The trouble with the Schengen system is that each country makes up its own rules about whether to re-check passengers arriving by ship. In fact RCI threatened to boycott one Danish port as it required a full passport check for when the ship was actually leaving the Schengen zone which was pretty pointless.

 

So the answer to your question is nobody knows. You could be asked to formally present your Passport for scrutiny at every Port, to embark AND disembark, or perhaps just have to wave the passport cover and show your ships card.

 

After all, when you get off a flight from the EU you are greeted by a huge queue at UK Border control, and despite having machine readable passport machines it still can take over an hour to get through, and that's for UK passort holders!

[Apial]

I just read, that at an airport  it takes 25 seconds for the EU to  to check a  UK passport. After 29th March, a no-deal scenario will increase this by 90 seconds per passenger . So getting off the ship will take 1.5 minutes times 4000 passengers longer  (100 hours). To that you have to add the time it will take getting passengers back on board. How will the ports cope if this happens?

 

The extra time is due to having to apply 4 more checks: passport expiry date, database confirmation of the validity of the passport, purpose of stay, and visitors ability to support themselves. Perhaps some of these extra checks will be removed for cruise ships?

 

Well at least you will now get a stamp in your passport.😏

 

 

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Apial said:

I just read, that at an airport  it takes 25 seconds for the EU to  to check a  UK passport. After 29th March, a no-deal scenario will increase this by 90 seconds per passenger . So getting off the ship will take 1.5 minutes times 4000 passengers longer  (100 hours). To that you have to add the time it will take getting passengers back on board. How will the ports cope if this happens?

 

The extra time is due to having to apply 4 more checks: passport expiry date, database confirmation of the validity of the passport, purpose of stay, and visitors ability to support themselves. Perhaps some of these extra checks will be removed for cruise ships?

 

Well at least you will now get a stamp in your passport.😏

 

 

Warning bells are being sounded about this, but there's a refusal to accept that anything will change by some people on this forum - probably because they refuse to accept the consequences of voting a particular way in the referendum.

 

It's seen as scaremongering, whereas in reality it's simply forward planning.  And also, perhaps, warning potential customers that the nice relaxing cruise they're thinking of booking may involve several hours of queuing at ports visited.

 

I've booked, I decided not to cancel on the basis that a deal looked (and still looks) likely - but I seriously dread the impact of a no-deal Brexit.  And not just because of the cruise, though that could be ruined.

[jeanlyon]

I'll ask again.  Does it take 100 hours to get through passport control in non-EU ports?  No it does not and I have been to many of them.  Why would it be any different?

[daiB]

2 hours ago, Apial said:

I just read, that at an airport  it takes 25 seconds for the EU to  to check a  UK passport. After 29th March, a no-deal scenario will increase this by 90 seconds per passenger . So getting off the ship will take 1.5 minutes times 4000 passengers longer  (100 hours). To that you have to add the time it will take getting passengers back on board. How will the ports cope if this happens?

 

The extra time is due to having to apply 4 more checks: passport expiry date, database confirmation of the validity of the passport, purpose of stay, and visitors ability to support themselves. Perhaps some of these extra checks will be removed for cruise ships?

 

Well at least you will now get a stamp in your passport.😏

 

 

Most of the checking takes place on line before the ship docks. That is what happens nothing at all to do with Brexit.  What you are quoting is for airports. Which is why most of us cruise.

[jeanlyon]

and again Dai, exactly.  What a load of spin and rubbish being spoken.  Most of the non-EU ports, it doesn't take any longer than in the EU>

[Harry Peterson]

Still a blind refusal to face facts then. Brexit all over again I’m afraid.

[daiB]

3 hours ago, docco said:

Still a blind refusal to face facts then. Brexit all over again I’m afraid.

We are not misinterpreting the facts as you are. 

 

You are picking the wrong topic to show your dislike of Brexit. There are far more open doors to kick.

[kerryincork]

I just read, that at an airport  it takes 25 seconds for the EU to  to check a  UK passport. After 29th March, a no-deal scenario will increase this by 90 seconds per passenger . So getting off the ship will take 1.5 minutes times 4000 passengers long er (100 hours).

 

I think your maths is a little off. For the 100 hours to apply you would have to only have 1 passport control officer on duty, then everyone is wanting to get off the ship at the same time , everyone has a British passport and all passengers are adults.

 

This i think is an overly pedantic view.

 

In St. Petersburg where they definetly do inspect everyone's passport, I queued for about an hour most other passengers report the same. But in the afternoon when most people have disembarked its only a few minutes.

 

I think worse case scenario it will be like St. Petersburg, if you have tour you will end up queueing for an hour. If I don't have a tour I might not get off the ship till 11. Big crowds are gone I would anticipate maybe a 15 min wait.

 

Which is not too bad. Not as easy as it is now but not the absolute nightmare as some imaginings.

 

Besides we can't do anything about it but wait and see. Either it will be a big fuss about nothing or it won't.

 

The first month after brexit will be a right mess as no one will know what to do. But it will sort itself out eventually.

[Eglesbrech]

Cruising was always a convenient way to travel and to avoid all the carry on and long ques associated with airports. All anyone can assume at the moment is that post Brexit it will be the same as now, worse or very worse than the current situation, which is a shame really.

 

In terms of travel and holidays I have yet to hear anything positive in relation to Brexit. It all seems to result in more inconvenience and cost.

[Apial]

9 hours ago, kerryincork said:

I just read, that at an airport  it takes 25 seconds for the EU to  to check a  UK passport. After 29th March, a no-deal scenario will increase this by 90 seconds per passenger . So getting off the ship will take 1.5 minutes times 4000 passengers long er (100 hours).

 

I think your maths is a little off. For the 100 hours to apply you would have to only have 1 passport control officer on duty, then everyone is wanting to get off the ship at the same time , everyone has a British passport and all passengers are adults.

 

This i think is an overly pedantic view.

 

In St. Petersburg where they definetly do inspect everyone's passport, I queued for about an hour most other passengers report the same. But in the afternoon when most people have disembarked its only a few minutes.

 

I think worse case scenario it will be like St. Petersburg, if you have tour you will end up queueing for an hour. If I don't have a tour I might not get off the ship till 11. Big crowds are gone I would anticipate maybe a 15 min wait.

 

Which is not too bad. Not as easy as it is now but not the absolute nightmare as some imaginings.

 

Besides we can't do anything about it but wait and see. Either it will be a big fuss about nothing or it won't.

 

The first month after brexit will be a right mess as no one will know what to do. But it will sort itself out eventually.

Hi,

 

There is nothing wrong in the maths though. 100 hours is the extra man hours it takes to check 4000 airport passengers passports'.

 

At least the message is getting through but some people still have their heads stuck in the sand about this. Nobody likes bad news, I know. But I do have personal experience of Indian ports where the delay was so long that passengers simply did not get off the ship or their visit was curtailed by 4 hours of passport checking and also 1 hour of checking the night before landing. If you are only in port for 8 hours that it is a significant loss of visit time.

 

Your example in St Petersburg is probably a good example of the extra delay time to be expected in a country that is well prepared to handle large numbers of tourists at the ports, ie 1 hour to check arrival , plus presumably more queues for departure.  How about a Greek island for example? Poor resources, lack of man power, already over-whelmed with cruise ships? Who knows what might happen?

 

And there is also the political will of the EU country involved to consider. Portugal is sending out warm messages that it will assist UK passengers as best it can after Brexit, even offering reciprocal Health Care and bespoke UK arrival lines at airports. Some countries who do not rely so much on tourism might not be so obliging and simply will not bother.

 

Well I'm booked. The die is cast. I will be on one of the first week cruises into the post-Brexit era. I have no intention of standing in a queue for an hour every day, life is too short. Could it be why P&O are asking survey questions about new cruise itineraries' overnight stays in ports? That would reduce the impact of extended immigration scrutiny and could be the way forward in a post-Brexit era.

[Harry Peterson]

You're right, Apial - but there's still a blind refusal to face facts. 

 

And it will stay that way, with the old lags still trying to explain away every new piece of information put out by the government and the cruise companies as 'old news - nothing's changing'.

 

Then, suddenly, the penny will drop and all hell will break loose.  'Why weren't we warned before we booked?'  'Why weren't we warned before we sailed?'

 

If there's a deal in time for 29 March, or if Brexit's postponed (cancellation would be too much to hope for) the situation will be saved because of the transitional arrangements.  If not............there's the potential for chaos, and a lot of damage to the UK cruise industry.  Good job it's American-owned!

[Presto2]

I may be wrong, but I do think that, in the main, how full or empty your glass is re the Brexit debate depends very much on how you voted in the referendum. Let's just accept that and get on and 'Carry on Cruising' for want of a better term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Harry Peterson]

3 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

I may be wrong, but I do think that, in the main, how full or empty your glass is re the Brexit debate depends very much on how you voted in the referendum. Let's just accept that and get on and 'Carry on Cruising' for want of a better term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly what we all want to do. The concern is though that a no deal Brexit may put an end to it because of long delays at ports visited. 

[Presto2]

Just now, docco said:

Exactly what we all want to do. The concern is though that a no deal Brexit may put an end to it because of long delays at ports visited. 

 

Did cruising not exist before we were part of the EU ? Do we not cruise to other countries in the EU and survive?

We sail on American cruise lines and our American and Canadian cousins manage to get on and off the ship ok and the many ports in Europe.

 

There just seems to be a lot of scare mongering going on at the minute. It would not benefit anyone if cruise ships did not call in at EU countries. I really don't think that other EU countries would want to miss out on the money they make out of UK tourism !

[Presto2]

Have just had a notification that MajorTom has replied to this twice and for some reason I can't find the post.

Please tell me it is not me ??!!!!!

Presto2

Confused.com

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

 

Did cruising not exist before we were part of the EU ? Do we not cruise to other countries in the EU and survive?

We sail on American cruise lines and our American and Canadian cousins manage to get on and off the ship ok and the many ports in Europe.

 

There just seems to be a lot of scare mongering going on at the minute. It would not benefit anyone if cruise ships did not call in at EU countries. I really don't think that other EU countries would want to miss out on the money they make out of UK tourism !

Just a matter of legalities I’m afraid. Before we joined the EU we had our own treaties with pretty much every country in the world.  Within the EU we had exactly the same thing by virtue of our EU membership.

 

If we leave without an agreement we won’t  have our own agreements or those we had via the EU.  We’ll have nothing in place.

 

It’s likely to be passports only, and in the slow lane because we’ll be non-EU at that point, replacing the current simple card system.

 

That’s what thinking people are concerned about. Not scaremongering, just facing a situation which we have never before faced - no international agreements to cope for an entirely new set of facts. And I speak as a lawyer, not some fanatic.

[Presto2]

6 minutes ago, docco said:

Just a matter of legalities I’m afraid. Before we joined the EU we had our own treaties with pretty much every country in the world.  Within the EU we had exactly the same thing by virtue of our EU membership.

 

If we leave without an agreement we won’t  have our own agreements or those we had via the EU.  We’ll have nothing in place.

 

It’s likely to be passports only, and in the slow lane because we’ll be non-EU at that point, replacing the current simple card system.

 

That’s what thinking people are concerned about. Not scaremongering, just facing a situation which we have never before faced - no international agreements to cope for an entirely new set of facts. And I speak as a lawyer, not some fanatic.

 

Hi, thanks for the clarification (genuinely). I hadn't looked at it that way before I will admit.

 

Apologies (honestly) if I used the word 'scaremongering' but you have to admit, there is a lot of that going on at the minute from people in power who should know better and are just being manipulative. Me, I am just cynical about any views at the minute --- there are so many agendas out there that it is like knitting fog ! 

 

Re the 'thinking people' term --- ouch. There are thinkers on all sides of this debate and I like to think I am one of them ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[daiB]

12 minutes ago, docco said:

Just a matter of legalities I’m afraid. Before we joined the EU we had our own treaties with pretty much every country in the world.  Within the EU we had exactly the same thing by virtue of our EU membership.

 

If we leave without an agreement we won’t  have our own agreements or those we had via the EU.  We’ll have nothing in place.

 

It’s likely to be passports only, and in the slow lane because we’ll be non-EU at that point, replacing the current simple card system.

 

That’s what thinking people are concerned about. Not scaremongering, just facing a situation which we have never before faced - no international agreements to cope for an entirely new set of facts. And I speak as a lawyer, not some fanatic.

 

No once again you are scaremongering. It has been made quite clear that there will be little change.

 

What cruisers do is not trading, just visiting. Passports will be checked but most of the details can be checked on line before the ship gets to the port. 

 

Once again you show show your lack of understanding of cruising. There are no fast lines or slow lines you are confused with flying.

[daiB]

22 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Have just had a notification that MajorTom has replied to this twice and for some reason I can't find the post.

Please tell me it is not me ??!!!!!

Presto2

Confused.com

He has commented on this topic but possibly on another thread.

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, daiB said:

He has commented on this topic but possibly on another thread.

 

Thanks Dai --- like many of us I have now lost the plot -------------- I am confused and will look again

 

;-)

 

[majortom10]

28 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Have just had a notification that MajorTom has replied to this twice and for some reason I can't find the post.

Please tell me it is not me ??!!!!!

Presto2

Confused.com

My 2 notifications that you have received are not on another thread just"likes" of your 2 posts 68 and 71.

Edited January 27, 2019 by majortom10