Clearing Customs Mid-Cruise?

[alwalaska]

I have read that if you are sailing from Auckland to Sydney, that every passenger must clear Australian customs before going about their day.

 

Does anyone know if the reverse is true when you sail from Sydney to Auckland?  If yes, I am sure that experiences vary, but how much extra time should we allow before our private tour start time?

[Northern Aurora]

We jus returned home from a B2B2B2B set of cruises which included two turnaround days and one disembarkation day in Sydney.  On both the turnaround days and the disembarkation after the final leg the  cruise series the ship Documentation Officer had Australian Incoming Passenger cards delivered to staterooms.  If you use google you should be able to find a copy of the form.  These cards were to be completed prior to going ashore, and were simply handed to Australian Border Force personnel.  For those who had completed their cards beforehand there was barely a pause in leaving the ship.  

 

Two of the itineraries were essentially New Zealand cruises which originated and ended in Sydney.  We did not have to complete any paperwork at all.

[possum52]

On 4/23/2023 at 8:52 AM, alwalaska said:

I have read that if you are sailing from Auckland to Sydney, that every passenger must clear Australian customs before going about their day.

 

Does anyone know if the reverse is true when you sail from Sydney to Auckland?  If yes, I am sure that experiences vary, but how much extra time should we allow before our private tour start time?

If Auckland is your last port of call for your cruise, yes, you will have to clear customs. Usually it is straight forward and may depend on whether you are declaring anything. You will be given a NZ passenger arrival card probably the night before arriving in Auckland which you must complete accurately and hand in to the NZ customs officer. 

 

I assume you have to clear customs in the USA when completing a cruise, so it would be very simlar to that.

 

On Your Arrival in NZ

[alwalaska]

Thank you both.  I understand clearing customs at the end of the cruise, but from what I heard, the cruises from New Zealand to Australia, all passengers have to show their passports and customs cards on the first port day in Australia, before they can do their excursions.   I haven't heard the same things about New Zealand.

 

The US is like Austalia where if the cruise originates in another country or you visit another country and then make a port of call in the US, the customs officers come onto the ship and everyone has to show their passports before going ashore.  

 

I'm trying to decide if we need to schedule in extra time before our private tour in our first New Zealand port.

[lisabucsfan1]

On 4/23/2023 at 10:04 PM, alwalaska said:

I understand clearing customs at the end of the cruise, but from what I heard, the cruises from New Zealand to Australia, all passengers have to show their passports and customs cards on the first port day in Australia, before they can do their excursions. 

 

I am not sure on this ... however, I can say that we booked a shore excursion through our ship for Eden, AUS (we depart from Auckland and end in Sydney).. we are docked from 8am-4:30pm and our excursion says it starts at 8:31am.

[alwalaska]

27 minutes ago, lisabucsfan1 said:

 

I am not sure on this ... however, I can say that we booked a shore excursion through our ship for Eden, AUS (we depart from Auckland and end in Sydney).. we are docked from 8am-4:30pm and our excursion says it starts at 8:31am.

Thank you for your information.  We are doing the opposite direction.  If you haven't heard already, I've read several reviews where you pass through a mini-customs experience at your first stop in Australia. I've ready reviews that said it was quick and easy and others that said it could take up to an hour because they do ship excursions first, then by deck # of your cabin.  I hope you have a great cruise.

[possum52]

Is your cruise a round trip from Sydney to Auckland with multiple ports visited?  Or a cruise from Sydney  with multiple ports visited before finishing in Auckland? 

 

On our last cruise from Melbourne to NZ and return, we did not have to present for customs clearance in any NZ port. We were asked to have our passports in Dunedin/Port Chalmers but I don't recall having to do so in other ports, including Auckland. Our passports were not checked in Port Chalmers but there was a delay in the ship being cleared by customs before disembarking began. Our privately organised tour waited for all the passengers going on it. From reading the information in the link I have icluded below, it appears that when the ship arrives at the first port - in our case Port Chalmers/Dunedin, it is cleared by customs from the documentation of passengers and crew provided by the ship/agent prior to arrival. 

 

This link may help - there is information for individual passengers as well as ship operators.

Customs Information For NZ

[alwalaska]

On 4/27/2023 at 8:20 PM, possum52 said:

Is your cruise a round trip from Sydney to Auckland with multiple ports visited?  Or a cruise from Sydney  with multiple ports visited before finishing in Auckland? 

 

On our last cruise from Melbourne to NZ and return, we did not have to present for customs clearance in any NZ port. We were asked to have our passports in Dunedin/Port Chalmers but I don't recall having to do so in other ports, including Auckland. Our passports were not checked in Port Chalmers but there was a delay in the ship being cleared by customs before disembarking began. Our privately organised tour waited for all the passengers going on it. From reading the information in the link I have icluded below, it appears that when the ship arrives at the first port - in our case Port Chalmers/Dunedin, it is cleared by customs from the documentation of passengers and crew provided by the ship/agent prior to arrival. 

 

This link may help - there is information for individual passengers as well as ship operators.

Customs Information For NZ

Thank you.  That link was very helpful. As I clicked through different articles I also saw that nothing except for commercially bottled water is allowed to be taken off of the ship.  I was hoping that I would be able to take commercially packaged cookies or something for if we have a long bus ride so that we don't get motion sick. 

 

We are doing one way, Sydney to Auckland with stops in Eden, Melbourne, and Burnie before our first stop in NZ.

Edited April 29, 2023 by alwalaska

[possum52]

16 hours ago, alwalaska said:

Thank you.  That link was very helpful. As I clicked through different articles I also saw that nothing except for commercially bottled water is allowed to be taken off of the ship.  I was hoping that I would be able to take commercially packaged cookies or something for if we have a long bus ride so that we don't get motion sick. 

 

We are doing one way, Sydney to Auckland with stops in Eden, Melbourne, and Burnie before our first stop in NZ.

Rather than rely on snacks, if you are prone to motion sickness, it may be more beneficial to take/use a preventative either an over the counter medication, sea bands which I find help or perhaps ginger which many swear by. Perhaps speak to your doctor.

 

I am prone to most forms of motion sickness and by taking medication each night, I am fine whether at sea, or doing excursions travelling by both buses or trains. I do usually wear sea bands too.