Cruise Port Pick Up Information
What time should I schedule my pick
up at the Cruise Terminal?
Disembarking a cruise liner is different than deplaning. Please
review the information below and plan accordingly!
Getting Off the Ship
On most ships, you'll know it's disembarkation day because public
address systems start bellowing the news rather early in the
morning. But don't hurry. The ship has to be cleared by Customs and
port authorities before you can actually leave. If you have a
particularly early flight home, alert the purser's office at least a
day in advance and they will give you priority disembarkation, as
designated by the same color-coded tags on your luggage. If you have
a later flight, kick back and enjoy another cup of coffee. This is
not a process that goes particularly fast. Remember, you aren't
allowed to get off earlier than the time designated by your luggage
tags, but you can get off later.
Immigration
Immigration authorities used to do a blanket clearance of the whole
ship when the time came to disembark at a U.S. port. Only non-U.S.
citizens or green card holders needed to meet with authorities. But
in recent times, with concern over terrorists entering the U.S. and
what not, everyone may be required to appear before authorities at
some point during the cruise. If that's the case, listen to the
public address announcements for details about the clearance
meeting: You usually meet in some sort of lounge, all family members
must attend, and you need to bring your passport or ID (details will
be given on the ship).
Customs
For cruises disembarking in the U.S., you will have to fill out a
Customs Declaration form (one per family), which you'll receive on
the ship -- if you get off the ship in Canada, you clear customs
when you get to the airport; and for Europe cruises you clear
Customs when you return to the U.S. Customs inspectors don't check
each and every bag, but you don't want to get caught breaking the
rules. There are stiff fines, for instance, for bringing back Cuban
cigars. The standard allowance for a U.S. citizen is $800 per
traveler (kids count too) in duty-free goods. That can include 1
carton of cigarettes or 100 cigars and 1 liter of alcohol if you are
over 21. If you go over the limits you may have to pay a 10% tax
Interesting Fact
Here's a fact for you...the average cruise port receives 4 to 6
scheduled cruise ships daily and they all arrive around the same
time. Passengers must disembark, claim their luggage, then go
through US Customs and Immigration before actually being allowed to
leave the terminal building. All of Florida's Cruise Ports have one
road in and one road out to exit the Cruise Port. Let's do some
math...each cruise ship carries on the average of 2000 guests and
when you multiply that by an average of 5 ships per port, that is
10,000 people all trying to leave the port at the same time. Setting
aside the newly arriving 10,000 guests whom are leaving on their
cruise that same day. So now there is 20,000 people coming in and
going out of a cruise terminal. It can be quite the nightmare! Book
your flights accordingly!
What if we are delayed getting through Customs and
Immigration?
If you are delayed going through US Customs and Immigration, you
MUST contact your driver as soon as possible to notify them of the
delay. There is NO additional charge for customers who are delayed
in Customs and Immigration IF they call the driver before their
scheduled pick up time.
How will I find my driver?
It is important that you have contact with your driver. Cruise Ports
are very busy with hundreds of shuttle coming in and out.
1. We ask that you provide us with your Cell Phone number when you
make your reservation. It is our policy that our driver calls you 15
minutes before your scheduled pick up time to coordinate the exact
pick up location.
2. If you do not have a cell phone, it will be your responsibility
to contact your driver
Note: If you have a cell phone number OUTSIDE the USA, our driver
will NOT be able to call you. You will need to call the driver.