Looking for ESTA-users on the EBTA or Alaska cruises 2023

[Karin1984]

So very interesting I check ours and we were on the hawaii sailing last year. We flew into Vancouver, boarded the Wonder sailed to HNL and flew back to Europe via San Fransico.. It shows we entered the US in Vancouver and left SFO.. So it could be that it does show.

True, with the Alaska sailings it also says that you entered the US in Vancouver, as if Vancouver is a US port. But unfortunately it's not on the way back ;-)

A bit OT but if your ESTA is about to expire get a new one weeks before your next trip. I know too many who booked a fight and did ESTA 5 days out and were declined/referred for Visas for stupid reasons and had to deal with embassies.. in most cases will not happen, but if you are the one what cant fly and are out a paid ticket it sucks. So dont wait until last minute.

It's terrible for someone who used to work in the airline industry for a long time, but I had more than once there were issues with my ESTA. Years of warning and instructing passengers on how to take care of your ESTA and I mess it up myself!

The stupid thing with an ESTA is, I almost get an instant reply back saying it's approved. But this is regardless of checking my details. Last year I filled in my home city where I had to put my place of birth. These kind of things are not notified till you arrive at check in! Those were some very stressful hours before boarding my flight

 

[SirDuff]

True, with the Alaska sailings it also says that you entered the US in Vancouver, as if Vancouver is a US port. But unfortunately it's not on the way back ;-)

It's the same with most flights from Canada to the US - the i94 notes that you "entered" the US in the Canadian airport. It's because you pre-clear US customs/immigration in Canada. So, I entered the US from Toronto an awful lot in my i94 list

 

[PlutoDisney]

Thanks for posting this information. Does anyone know if there is a delay with Disney passing over departure information to CBP? How long should you wait for the departure information to appear before you contact anyone regarding this?

 

[Karin1984]

Thanks for posting this information. Does anyone know if there is a delay with Disney passing over departure information to CBP? How long should you wait for the departure information to appear before you contact anyone regarding this?

I waited a week before I started writing.

 

[EVMac7]

UK passport holder here.
I also have this issue - I94 history shows arrival in Miami but no departure

 

[McFlame]

I waited a week before I started writing.

Thank you for bringing this issue to light, such a shame that they haven’t fixed it from when it affected many people back in 2019. We are due to go on one of the Alaska cruises later this year so we will keep an eye on our I-94 history.

Have you had a response from the CBP yet?

 

[Karin1984]

Thank you for bringing this issue to light, such a shame that they haven’t fixed it from when it affected many people back in 2019. We are due to go on one of the Alaska cruises later this year so we will keep an eye on our I-94 history.

Have you had a response from the CBP yet?

Only a standard reply with the information on the website. So, back to both CBP and DCL.

I'm inclined to believe the CBP. My suspicion is that somewhere around 2018/2019 the CBP has updated their system to something new, and Disney indeed didn't updated theirs to make it compatible. We all know Disney ICT. Disney probably thought in 2019, 'we will fix it in the next season'. And then the next seasons were cancelled due to the pandemic, they forgot about it.

 

[holula]

It’ll be interesting to see if I get checked out of my Alaska cruise (end date, September 19) as I then fly back to the US on October 21. Wonder what will happen if I’m technically still in the country

 

[Karin1984]

Emily from DCL replied to my message (more people dealing with these issues have Emily handling it).

All she says is sorry they cannot help, they did all they had to, and quoting the CBP page that the i94 page doesn't always display the right information.

I hear you, Emily, but it is a big coincidence that all guests using Esta on these cruises report back the same thing.

This is so annoying.

 

[Flossbolna]

Emily from DCL replied to my message (more people dealing with these issues have Emily handling it).

All she says is sorry they cannot help, they did all they had to, and quoting the CBP page that the i94 page doesn't always display the right information.

I hear you, Emily, but it is a big coincidence that all guests using Esta on these cruises report back the same thing.

This is so annoying.

I am sorry you have to deal with this!

 

[EVMac7]

Karin1984: i also received a ‘template’ reply from Emily (Executive Guest Correspondent no less @ DCL today !!! Suffice to say my response back to her earlier this evening was NOT the best… In my case, they couldn’t even get the correct spelling of my surname right in the bog standard .pdf they attached confirming I had departed Miami on the Disney Dream - literally 5 days after I had arrived in Miami.
This is not just annoying - it’s extremely frustrating & shows how absolutely no organisation nowadays seems to want to take responsibility for issues caused by their own incompetence, caring nothing for how it affects the ‘customer’ they are meant to be serving.
Why should I be classed as an ‘overstay‘ after 90 days when I was only i the US 5 days ?

 

[DisneyBelle_x]

Seems I’ve just had the same standard response from DCL about the issue - CBP have verified all guests on the EBTA have the departure notification and if we receive an email stating we have 10 days left on our admission that its just automated and not to worry (easy for them to say when it’s not their ability to enter the US again on an ESTA at risk), they also attached the PDF confirming took the cruise and debarked in Barcelona but it doesn’t even mention our names so don’t see how that would be much proof at all

 

[cowgrass]

I might give this a try when debarking the Wonder in Vancouver in July. I will visit the CBSA or CBP and ask them if they can register our departure date before heading to Vancouver airport.
---

How do I report my departure if I have an electronic I-94 and depart via land?​

If you have a paper Form I-94 and depart by land, you can turn the form into the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) upon entry into Canada or to CBP at the port of entry prior to entering Mexico. If you received an electronic I-94 upon arrival, a departure will be recorded if you depart via land and re-enter the United States prior to the expiration date of your I-94. If you are not a resident of Canada or Mexico and you receive an electronic I-94 and depart via land but do not re-enter the United States prior to the expiration date stamped on your passport, you may want to travel with evidence of your departure into Canada or Mexico. Evidence of departure can include, but is not limited to, entry stamps in a passport, transportation tickets, pay stubs or other receipts. A traveler can request an entry stamp from the CBSA when entering Canada or from the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) when entering Mexico.
---

 

[Karin1984]

Saw this thread on Cruisecritic of someone with the same issue on a P&O cruise. I do not know if I find it comforting that other cruiselines have this as well.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/t...iance-us-customs-and-border/#comment-65522753

 

[EnchantedWishes]

Saw this thread on Cruisecritic of someone with the same issue on a P&O cruise. I do not know if I find it comforting that other cruiselines have this as well.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/t...iance-us-customs-and-border/#comment-65522753

Not at all comforting to be honest, I think we can all agree that the ESTA is really important to us all and none of us want to end up in a quarrel with HBP or the US.

I am curious to see how it works out for cowgrass, if they have success we will attempt the same in September.
Not at all helpful for those of you already in the trenches

 

[Karin1984]

So, I emailed Emily yesterday back saying DCL and CBP are pointing at each other, and if they can please work on it among themselves.

She gave me a call and told me that according to the CBP there is no problem... and there is nothing more they can do.

So... back to the CBP it is!

 

[McFlame]

So, I emailed Emily yesterday back saying DCL and CBP are pointing at each other, and if they can please work on it among themselves.

She gave me a call and told me that according to the CBP there is no problem... and there is nothing more they can do.

So... back to the CBP it is!

Thanks for the update!

Hopefully the CBP get back to you with some positive news. Unfortunately I too don’t trust DCL just saying that it’s all fine when it comes to an issue that could affect the ability to enter the USA in the future.

We’ve got our fingers crossed for you, please keep us updated!

 

[Kez250]

So, I emailed Emily yesterday back saying DCL and CBP are pointing at each other, and if they can please work on it among themselves.

She gave me a call and told me that according to the CBP there is no problem... and there is nothing more they can do.

So... back to the CBP it is!

My daughters boyfriend is facing a similar issue, we were on the June 5th sailing, his I94 history shows arriving, but not leaving, it seems that I got the same email from Emily that everyone else did. Unfortunately he threw his boarding pass away showing that he left Canada.

 

[Karin1984]

I thought today was a good day to call the CBP, as I hadn't heard after my e-mail from last week.
After being on hold for 25 minutes and about 20 minutes during the call, the agent told me she would send me an e-mail (a reply to my last e-mail), with a request for some data.

SURNAME:
GIVEN NAME:
DOB:
PASSPORT:
ARRIVAL DATE:
DEPARTURE DATE:
DEPARTURE PORT:
FLIGHT NUMBER/VESSEL NUMBER:

End of May I had already sent in a letter from Disney Cruise Line stating that I had left the US, including a copy of my boarding pass. According to the agent I can fill this in for both me and my friend (we are not related, on different airline bookings, living in different countries, different nationalities etc, all not a problem), together with a copy of our passports.

The agent didn't want to speculate how this happened. In the Facebook group one is very brave and decided to book the WBTA for September to see if she can solve this issue. Another one is flying to New York and apparently the CBP told her that he could see in the system that everything was alright and she shouldn't encounter any issues.

So hopefully, this will solve the issue.

Fingers crossed and to be continued!

 

[EnchantedWishes]

Has anyone applied for an ESTA while this has been going on?
Our EBTA is September, we need to renew our ESTAs when we get back for a trip in January (they run out in December) so would like to know if this issue has caused problems with the esta process as well.
I hope that makes sense