Immigration in St. Thomas?

[mikeandbecky5]

Can someone advise me on the whole immigration procedures when you get off the ship in St. Thomas?:eek:

Do you have to carry all your important documents with you off the ship? Or can you place them back in your room before exiting the ship?

[CRAZYBOUTCRUZIN]

You actually go through Immigration in line on the Ship. They check off your documents and put a sticker on you to show you've been cleared then you SHOULD take everything back to your cabin for safekeeping, in my opinoin...Warning ,have all you need and try to get in line early- it is a long, nervewracking experience with everyone complaining about the process....

[Shogun]

Was there couple of years ago , 5 ships were in port, customs send one guy to our ship by 3.00pm people were still getting checked we sailed at 5.00pm

 

Was there a year ago had about 5 guys doing the checking went very well Princess called us in groups so was not to much waiting about, I think we had to be up by 7.00am for the first group getting checked.

 

yours Shogun

[GCBCKat57]

You actually go through Immigration in line on the Ship. They check off your documents and put a sticker on you to show you've been cleared then you SHOULD take everything back to your cabin for safekeeping, in my opinoin...Warning ,have all you need and try to get in line early- it is a long, nervewracking experience with everyone complaining about the process....

 

Agree about taking your important docs back to the room for safekeeping. Found the process to be fast and efficient the two times I did it in '04 and '05. We were in and out of the dining room in minutes. Pretty much figured it was like that all the time. I'll be curious to see how it goes this time.

[etoile]

United States residents don't have to go through immigration in St. Thomas, as it is a U.S. territory. ;)

[Cruisin' Patty]

Agree about taking your important docs back to the room for safekeeping. Found the process to be fast and efficient the two times I did it in '04 and '05. We were in and out of the dining room in minutes. Pretty much figured it was like that all the time. I'll be curious to see how it goes this time.

 

Let us know when you get back how it went.

[Bigerr19]

United States residents don't have to go through immigration in St. Thomas, as it is a U.S. territory. ;)

 

You do if you stop in a foreign port prior to St. Thomas.

[earlethepearl]

So this is only for non-US residents right? I have been to St. Thomas on 4 previous cruises and never had to do this. However my last one to stop there was 10 years ago. Been doing other ports since then.

 

I will be stopping there on the Elation in September and was wondering about this.

 

Thanks

[etoile]

You do if you stop in a foreign port prior to St. Thomas.

Good point. Well, I guess that just speaks to how streamlined the immigration process is! We stopped in St. Maarten before St. Thomas and I didn't notice immigration at all when we got to St. Thomas. So if it was so fast I didn't even notice it, then it's pretty darn easy. ;)

[zqvol]

United States residents don't have to go through immigration in St. Thomas, as it is a U.S. territory. ;)

Sorry but it depends on where your ship has been just prior to arriving in St. Thomas. If it has come directly from the US then no immigration, if not everyone clears in St. Thomas.

 

Also as St. Thomas is US territory there is no need to take your passport off the ship, as you are on US soil.

[etoile]

Yep, Bigerr19 set me right on that. :)

[RLP817]

Good point. Well, I guess that just speaks to how streamlined the immigration process is! We stopped in St. Maarten before St. Thomas and I didn't notice immigration at all when we got to St. Thomas. So if it was so fast I didn't even notice it, then it's pretty darn easy. ;)

 

Well, your ship must have been extremely well organized!! We just travelled NCL Jewel a few weeks ago and the process was crazy. You have over 2000 people trying to get off the ship at the same time and despite the fact that they broke down the passengers by deck location to report in different areas at different time intervals we still had to wait in a very long line!! Then of course you have the passengers who had organized excursions, who were supposed to be the very first ones in line, who waited until the last minute cutting in front of everyone so they would miss their excursion. Can you tell I thought it was nuts, LOL!! Needless to say it left us very aggravated.

[Hootsie]

We were on the Valor last week and it was crazy too. We arrived an hour and a half late due to some problem with the ship so people were in a panic to get off for their tours. We stood in line an hour to get our sticker. The line literally wrapped around the entire ship.

 

If you aren't in a hurry, just have breakfast or something. Our cabin neighbors did that and it took them 15 minutes to get off and they got to the port soon after we did.

 

Also, you will need a photo ID to get back on the ship along with your sail & sign. We always take our passports off the ship with us. Why wouldn't you? They are useless in your cabin safe.

[mikeandbecky5]

Thank you, everyone for your helpful replies. Yes, we will be in the bahamas before St. Thomas, so I asume we will have to go through immigration.I don't want to take are documents off the ship, because we will be taking a snorkel and dive trip. I don't want to have to worry about something happening to them.

[Hootsie]

I don't want to take are documents off the ship, because we will be taking a snorkel and dive trip. I don't want to have to worry about something happening to them.

 

You will need a photo ID and your S&S to get back on the ship.

[etoile]

You will need a photo ID and your S&S to get back on the ship.

Right, but a driver's license and S&S are plastic and easily zipped into a pocket or something and it's okay if they get wet. Passports, being paper, are more delicate. Also, if you lose your S&S and/or DL it is not a big deal, it is just a pain...but if you lose your passport that is a much bigger hassle. If you leave your passport in your cabin and lose all your other ID's, and they won't let you on the ship, you can always tell them your cabin and where to find the passport and they can bring it to you to confirm your identity.

[marsuzter]

Hi, I am going on my first cruise in July to the Southern Caribbean, and I wanted to know the immigration process. In regards to your US Passport, do they stamp your passport, etc? Thanks :)

[JCLNJ]

Just returned today off of the constellation. We had to go down to the theater for immigration. The line is long but moves very quickly. Scanned our s&s card and then an officer checked our passports. It took about less than 10 minutes. We were given a card that they took when we left the ship.

[kendon]

I'm in St. Thomas right now. You must go through immigration here if you stopped in a foreign port prior to St. Thomas. The immigration process takes place on the ship early in the morning. St. Thomas requires photo ID before embarking. The cruiseline only looks for the cruise card, while St. Thomas security guards will check your photo ID. Carry your pasport or drivers license with you when out and about.

[cleophus12]

We received word a few weeks that our itinerary on AoS has been reversed in order to "smooth the immigration process". Any idea what this means? Will it alleviate the waiting in line on the a.m. of arriving in STT?

[Aquarian]

I was on the Caribbean Princess last week and St. Thomas was our first port on Tuesday after two days at sea. We only had to carry our photo ID license in addition to our cruisecard and show someone both as we re-entered the gate going back to the ship.

[etoile]

I guess that depends on where you are the day before? If you are in San Juan the day before, and you are coming from the U.S., then you won't have to go through immigration until your next stop AFTER St. Thomas. (I think.)

[cleophus12]

St Thomas is our last stop, so I take it we will still have to do the stand in line thing on the morning of arrival. Do you think?

[98Charlie]

Don't get all bound up over this immigration process. Time it takes depends on how soon immigration personnel get onboard to start the process after the ship docks. Sometimes it's quick, sometimes it's not.

 

As said before, the lines do move quickly and officials just need to see your identification papers.

 

Even though St. Thomas is a U.S. port, DH & I always take our passports on shore with us. Passport identification speeds up airline boarding as well as cruise line boarding. Have always felt that a passport in hand is better than a driver's license for identification. If we lose our passports, we still have a copy of the passport in our cabin and can get a replacement when we return home. If we lose our driver's license, we can't legally drive home from the cruise. :)

 

Dianne

[Hootsie]

St Thomas is our last stop, so I take it we will still have to do the stand in line thing on the morning of arrival. Do you think?

 

Of course.