Southampton Immigration Procedures

[2552phxcrzr]

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.

[kctwinmommy]

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.

[TheOldBear]

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.]

[LHT28]

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

[2552phxcrzr]

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.

[GastroGnome]

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.

[Globaliser]

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.

[2552phxcrzr]

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.

[Globaliser]

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.

[LHT28]

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