Early wake-up in St. Thomas.... WHY?

[nedleycan]

I read that everyone has to go to immigration at 6:30 a.m. on the St. Thomas morning, because if you have left the U.S., and then come back, they need to see everyone.
What I don't understand is, WHY 6:30 IN THE MORNING! It will be horrible waking the kids up if they are actually sleeping. It could ruin the day if they are grumpy. : (
I know that nobody is allowed off the ship until everyone clears customs, but there is no way they can do everyone at 6:30. Is it acceptable to go at 7:00 or 7:15? I don't want to hold things up, but there is no use in everyone lining up for an hour, when we could be snuggling with our pillows instead. :O (big yawn!)
Also, I heard that Canadians (or anyone international) have to get up early on the final morning as well, for another immigration. Anyone know about that?
..... I like my sleep!

 

[Michelle]

Yep, you have to do both, sorry.

They will give you a sheet with the time you are assigned to show up for the St. Thomas morning immigration check; they stagger it so not everyone is there at 6:30.

It's not fun to be up that early, I know, but that's the rules, unfortunately.

 

[mikeymars]

Just came back from the 3/23 cruise. Personally discussed the immigration timing with Jackie (cruise director). She said that DCL intentionally gets the INS on board as early as possibly so they can clear the ship as early as possible. Given you have a short day in St. Thomas, that is a intelligent strategy.

Why? Well, we went to the theater at 7:15 and were through immigration in 15 minutes. Then had breakfast, and were off the ship within 15 minutes of it clearing for dembarkation, which was at 7:40. That allowed us to comfortably get to the Red Hook ferry in time for the 9am run (forget trying for the 8am, cab driver from pier to Red Hook told us nobody from the Magic ever gets off early enough for that), which got us onto beautiful UNCROWDED Hawksnest beach (forget the cram-the-water mob scene at Trunk) in St. John by 9:35. That allowed over 3 hours at the beach (which is MUCH better than the 1.5 hours you get on ANY of the St. John excursions) with time to still get back to the Magic by 3:00pm which allowed us to still have time for some shopping ashore.

So, the tradeoff is simple: earlier immigration means more time ashore. Jackie said some other cruise ships in St. Thomas that dau didn't clear immigration until 10am. What a waste of valuable port time!!!!!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

We were on the 3/23 cruise too. We had to report to the Walt Disney Theater at 7:10 a.m on St. Thomas day.

We went a few minutes early. As we entered the theater, we gave our cabin number to a DCL employee. We were then directed to a row in the theater. We sat down for a few minutes, after which time we were directed to line to show our identification to an Immigration Officer. The Officer glanced at our passports. We exited the theater through a crew door which led to the Off Beat lounge.

DCL and US Immigration did their best to make the process as quick and painless as possible.

I just don't understand what this process accomplishes.

At Port Canaveral, there's a careful boarding process that assures that everyone boarding has proper identification. DCL and US Immigration know exactly who is on the ship. Sure, we left the USA when we went to St. Maarten, but the reboarding process only allow the same people who were onboard originally to reboard.

In comparison, the process on Wednesday morning in St. Thomas does not involve card swipes. In the extremely unlikely case that unauthorized persons boarded in St. Maarten, those persons could potentially exit in St. Thomas without ever presenting themselves to the US Immigration Officer (although leaving the ship requires a GTTW card and, for adults, a picture ID).

Can anyone explain to me what this process in St. Thomas accomplishes? All I can think of is that it satisifies some sort of rule, not that it contributes to the security of the United States or that it keeps unauthorized people from entering the the country. Am I wrong? Am I missing something?

 

[ffnole]

I to was on the 3/23 cruise and found the 6:30 am visit with immigration irratating...the reason for the exercise is because we are coming from a foreign port. Why not go to St Thomas first, then St Maarten and avoid this issue altogether. The last port is still Castaway Cay so nothing changes there. Am I missing something...the solution sounds so simple. Comments?

 

[nedleycan]

When we were on a Windstar cruise last year, we started in St. Thomas, then St. John, then St. Barts, St. Maarten, Tortola, Jost Van ****, Virgin Gorda and back to St. Thomas. We showed our passports (and went through customs) on the first day of the cruise. They kept our passports the entire cruise, and I guess they took care of everything for us. There was no big deal, and no going through customs again and again.
Very strange!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

ffnole,

While I agree in principal with your idea, I think that there are a couple of reasons why the Magic could not switch the order in which they visit these ports. First, the arrangements for docking are made somewhat in advance, and there may be space considerations at the ports. Second, and most importantly, the trip from St. Maarten to Castaway Cay is substantially longer than from St. Thomas. I was told that the reason the departure from St. Thomas is at 4:45pm is so the ship can make it to Castaway Cay in time for a full day on the island. Adding the extra distance would cut several hours off of the day at Castaway Cay. I'm guessing it's at least 100 miles from Charlotte Amalie to Philipsburg, which would mean a minimum of 4 extra hours getting to Castaway Cay, assuming the ship makes 25 knots, which it doesn't always do.

nedleycan,

If your trip last year was prior to 9/11, then this immigration requirement was not in place then. Anyway, looking at your itinerary, you only entered a US port after visiting a foreign port once, when you returned to St. Thomas, so even if your trip was after 9/11, you wouldn't have had the extra immigration check.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by ffnole
the reason for the exercise is because we are coming from a foreign port.

That's the reason for the rule, but that doesn't explain what the exercise accomplishes.

Originally posted by ffnole
Why not go to St Thomas first, then St Maarten and avoid this issue altogether. The last port is still Castaway Cay so nothing changes there. Am I missing something...the solution sounds so simple. Comments?

It has to do with distance. There are two days at sea scheduled to get to St. Maarten, which is the most distant point on the cruise. The cruise continues to St. Thomas the next day. Then there's just one day at sea to get to Castaway Cay -- and that's with the Magic leaving St. Thomas at 4:45 p.m. and not reaching Castaway Cay until around 9:00 a.m.

 

[Ashkins]

Either way since we go to a different country.. St Martin we will have to go through the immigration process regardless if it is St Martine or St Thomas first.

I don't think I will like it but then it will be good to get up and going so we can get on with the excursions rather than sleeping in.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by Ashkins
Either way since we go to a different country.. St Martin we will have to go through the immigration process regardless if it is St Martine or St Thomas first.

Not really. If the Disney Magic could go from Port Canaveral to St. Thomas without a stop at a foreign port in-between, you wouldn't need to go through US Immigartion in St. Thomas. You'd then have two foreign ports in a row (St. Maarten and Castaway Cay, Bahamas), so the only US Immigartion would occur when you return to Port Canaveral.

But, as already established, distance is an issue, so St. Maarten and St. Thomas can't be swapped on the itinerary.

 

[aalan]

horace, i agree with you: we were on the cruise too, and it seemed like a pointless exercise. i read some posts a few months ago where folks did not have to do the immigration thing, might have been prior to 9/11. people have also posted that some other cruise lines do not do this. i dunno... with the cards and photo i.d. disney knows exactly whos there and who isnt. perhaps disney just wants to be sure their butts are covered in case of something bad happening.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by aalan
perhaps disney just wants to be sure their butts are covered in case of something bad happening.

I don't think this procedure is Disney's choice. I think that the US government imposes the rule on the cruise lines. As cruise director Jacqui said last week, the Disney Magic cleared by 8:00 a.m., but another cruise ship in St. Thomas didn't clear until 10:00 a.m.

I wish I understood the logic behind this rule. There must be some reason. I wish the reason were explained to the passengers.

 

[papa]

This is a US Government rule that was put in place after 9/11. We were on the first cruise(9/22)last year after the wtc bombing. I do not mind a little bit of extra security every now and then. They seem to have streamlined the process quite a bit since then.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by papa
I do not mind a little bit of extra security every now and then.

I don't mind a little extra security either. But the question is how does this particular process contribute toward security? So far, nobody on this thread has been able to describe the reason -- only that it's a rule.

 

[lhurley]

I hear alot of people saying they showed their passports, I am bringing my birth Cert. I thought that was OK, anybody know different?

 

[Señor Ferrari]

lhurley,

What Immigration is checking for is proof of citizenship. You can use your birth certificate with a photo ID, such as a driver's license, if you're a US citizen.

Werner,

I agree with you that this seems to be a pointless exercise. On a similar thread a few months ago, someone described it as a "knee-jerk reaction so that the government (and possibly the citizens) feel like something is being done to increase security." I think that about sums it up. I've given this issue a lot of thought, and I can't really rationalize how this qualifies as increased security. I'd be interested to see statistics on how many people have been "caught" by these immigration checks. I'd be willing to bet that there are easier ways into St. Thomas (or San Juan or any other US port) than on a cruise ship.

As you said, I don't mind the extra security, i.e. the longer waits at the airport (assuming that the security screeners there are doing their jobs, which is another issue), but this seems to me to be change for change's sake, and not really very useful.

 

[Dodie]

I thougth I read some (excited) posts a few months ago that they had stopped doing this mandatory immigration thing for U.S. citizens. Did they stop and then start it back up again?

 

[northsouth]

Yes, dodie, we were on the 2-2-2002 Magic and did NOT have to go through this process (as US citizens; non US citizens still had to show up). I heard later on these boards that it was only a temporary "trial" and evidently they went back to the dreaded early morning immigration check in St Thomas now. We just lucked out I guess. Anyone have any details on why they stopped this for a few weeks and then started it again??

 

[Lisa L from MI]

We were on the 3-16 Magic and had to do the immigration thing. They didn't even look at our birth certificates......and just "glanced" at our picture id's. The process went fairly quick. But it was a pain getting the kids up at that time. I carried my 6 yo in her blanket down to the theatre. They stamped our hands too, but for what, I have no idea because nobody checked the stamps leaving or returning to the ship.

Funny side note though, I was "wanded" at EVERY security check point from the airports to boarding the ship!! At MCO on our way home, they even "patted" me down!!!

I noticed while leaving the ship in St Maarten, I believe, that the ship was on "level 3" security. I asked about it, and they said it was the highest level. I kinda got worried thinking something "happened" again in the "real world". Even called home to see, but they said everything was fine.

One thing that really "freaked" me out was the US Coastguards escorting us out of the ports. They had machine guns drawn and ready.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Lisa L from MI
They stamped our hands too, but for what, I have no idea because nobody checked the stamps leaving or returning to the ship.

I had forgotten about the hand stamp. They did that on the 3/23 cruise too. It was an "invisible" hand stamp -- the kind you view under a black light -- such as when you get a hand stamped so that you can return to a Disney theme park. But we never had to put our hands under any black light. So why the hand stamp?