Question on clearing customs in San Juan

[Arizona Travelers]

This question is for anyone who has sailed on two cruises with San Juan being the mid-point between the cruises.  

 

We are booked on Explora II leaving Miami on Nov 22nd, returning on Dec 6th.  We have received differing answers from Explora and our TA each time we ask about what happens in San Juan.  Ordinarily this would not be important but the day we are in San Juan happens to be my milestone birthday and I have booked a flying dress photo shoot with a meeting time of 8am (we dock at 7am).  

 

So the question is, do we need to wait until those who are disembarking leave the ship and they process those who are staying on for the next segment?  We've done this earlier this year when doing a B2B in Miami.  But we booked a 14 day cruise here, not a B2B so is San Juan a normal port day for us or do we need to process through customs as if it's a B2B?  Which will likely mean I will need to move my photo shoot time.  

 

Thanks in advance for your experience in this situation!

 

 

[Jim Avery]

Hi guys 

we are on the same cruise. We should be in transit passengers and it should be no problem going ashore. Did this on Viking WC that had a port call in San Juan as well as some other ships too.

[Hlitner]

I can just tell you how it has worked on other cruise lines.  Since you are not disembarking, in San Juan, you would not normally need to deal with any "customs" formalities.  You will need to clear immigration (essentially a Passport/document check).  Whether you physically need to deal with the CBP folks, or whether the EJ Pursers staff will handle it, we are not sure.  But either way, it should not be a big hassle.  

 

Hank

[happy cruzin]

2 hours ago, Arizona Travelers said:

This question is for anyone who has sailed on two cruises with San Juan being the mid-point between the cruises.  

 

We are booked on Explora II leaving Miami on Nov 22nd, returning on Dec 6th.  We have received differing answers from Explora and our TA each time we ask about what happens in San Juan.  Ordinarily this would not be important but the day we are in San Juan happens to be my milestone birthday and I have booked a flying dress photo shoot with a meeting time of 8am (we dock at 7am).  

 

So the question is, do we need to wait until those who are disembarking leave the ship and they process those who are staying on for the next segment?  We've done this earlier this year when doing a B2B in Miami.  But we booked a 14 day cruise here, not a B2B so is San Juan a normal port day for us or do we need to process through customs as if it's a B2B?  Which will likely mean I will need to move my photo shoot time.  

 

Thanks in advance for your experience in this situation!

 

 

We did a 14-day on Explora last November - with San Juan as the disembarkation day for those who only did 7 days. 
 

For us it was a regular cruise day. Not one that we had get off go through customs. 
 

They gave a special ticket to return to the ship without going throght embarkation. 

 

 

Edited August 3 by happy cruzin

[CruiseCrew123]

Would it not be safer just to change the time of the photo shoot as the ship needs to be custom cleared even if you don’t 

[Sololux]

We did a B2b a decade ago with San Juan as the mid point.   We had to go reception for the passport check and then returned to our cabin, I think it was around 7am.

[Sololux]

2 hours ago, CruiseCrew123 said:

Would it not be safer just to change the time of the photo shoot as the ship needs to be custom cleared even if you don’t 

I would recommend this as well.  You have no ability to control the third parties.

[happy cruzin]

11 hours ago, Sololux said:

We did a B2b a decade ago with San Juan as the mid point.   We had to go reception for the passport check and then returned to our cabin, I think it was around 7am.

But that is because you did a B2B – two separate cruises.  The OP state that they have booked a 14 day cruise so that process is not necessary. 

[PaulMCO]

Since its a US port of entry you will have to clear and likely there will be a zero count immigration, meaning everyone has to leave the ship and clear before the B2B group can reboard. Last time we did this we had some jerks that did not comply and we could not reboard until almost noon.

 

It is irrelevant that you are booked on a 14 day cruise.  It is the first US port of entry.  Everyone clears immigration and you are on two 7 day segments.

[happy cruzin]

57 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

Since its a US port of entry you will have to clear and likely there will be a zero count immigration, meaning everyone has to leave the ship and clear before the B2B group can reboard. Last time we did this we had some jerks that did not comply and we could not reboard until almost noon.

 

It is irrelevant that you are booked on a 14 day cruise.  It is the first US port of entry.  Everyone clears immigration and you are on two 7 day segments.

Not true!! Explora offers both 7 and 14 day itineraries all the time.
 

7 days is different that 14 days….IF you book it as the 14 day and not two 7’s. If you book it as two sevens, then you are correct, It’s two separate cruises and you would have to disembark and go through customs and re-embark.
 

Please see my previous post. We were NOT required to go through customs when we sailed last year, because we were on the 14 day itinerary. 

Edited August 4 by happy cruzin

[Arizona Travelers]

2 hours ago, happy cruzin said:

Not true!! Explora offers both 7 and 14 day itineraries all the time.
 

7 days is different that 14 days….IF you book it as the 14 day and not two 7’s. If you book it as two sevens, then you are correct, It’s two separate cruises and you would have to disembark and go through customs and re-embark.
 

Please see my previous post. We were NOT required to go through customs when we sailed last year, because we were on the 14 day itinerary. 

This is exactly why this issue came up.  We booked an 18 day MSC cruise recently (for Dec 2025) and our TA priced it as the 18 day vs. the 10 day and 8 day.  We chose the 18 day even though the cost was slightly less and there was slightly more OBC for doing separate cruises.  To us, it was worth it to NOT have to do the B2B customs thing.  But now she tells us we still have to do it (Miami is the port for that one) which is what prompted us to ask her about this one.  Explora told her we did have to do this in San Juan but it didn't make sense to me.    

 

To those who suggested changing the photo shoot, the appointment was set by the flying dress company based on lighting and weather, not sure I want to make it a later time.  She knows I am on a cruise.    

[happy cruzin]

33 minutes ago, Arizona Travelers said:

This is exactly why this issue came up.  We booked an 18 day MSC cruise recently (for Dec 2025) and our TA priced it as the 18 day vs. the 10 day and 8 day.  We chose the 18 day even though the cost was slightly less and there was slightly more OBC for doing separate cruises.  To us, it was worth it to NOT have to do the B2B customs thing.  But now she tells us we still have to do it (Miami is the port for that one) which is what prompted us to ask her about this one.  Explora told her we did have to do this in San Juan but it didn't make sense to me.    

 

To those who suggested changing the photo shoot, the appointment was set by the flying dress company based on lighting and weather, not sure I want to make it a later time.  She knows I am on a cruise.    

Well…I suppose things could have changed since we sailed last November. But I really doubt it.
 

Think about how many people on the 14 day itinerary - will be ticked off if they have to disembark to get the ship to a zero count and lose that as a “cruise day”. 😬

 

Besides the fact that any communication from Explora is usually mixed up and the phone reps are often wrong. Sadly, if you call them 10 times you’re likely get 10 different answers. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Edited August 4 by happy cruzin