Weather and circumstance conspired to return to the US earlier than expected, but we weren’t allowed to enter our own country.
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Dodging Bad Weather
My family and I were recently on a cruise evaluating the world’s only six star luxury cruise. I will cover this 250 passenger mega yacht in another post, but for the time being, I’ll just say that we had the most amazing service on the most unfortunate sailing. A hurricane was building in the Bahamas, where we were intended to spend three of our four days onboard. Rather than travel at our intended pace to a destination which had bad weather (even though the hurricane had not yet fully formed) the ship slowed to an average of 10 knots per hour and slowly inched toward the islands while we waited for developments.
From another traveler on a different sailing in the Bahamas at the time, I can be sure that the experience would have been miserable. Cold, driving rain, rocky seas, and high winds made it unpleasant for our friends and we had no interest in sailing into the same situation. Still, it made it hard at sea for several days in a row not knowing if we would reach our ports or when we would see land again.
Separate from this issue was a medical issue with our son while onboard. It was one time where we really wished that we could shorten the cruise despite the incredible time we had onboard.
Home Sweet – Not Quite – Home
After stopping in Freeport, Bahamas for two days and one night, we moved back out to sea to explore a shipwreck and nearby island. The expedition team deployed to the shore of this island that was less than a quarter mile long but could not find a suitable entry point for guests. They deployed the helicopter for some sightseers, returned it to the helipad after a few runs and that evening we headed back to Miami early in the evening. We were not due to arrive until the early morning. This is an important detail.
We had family arriving the same day we would return and after the issue with our son and the slow trek south we were ready to go home. I booked some award flights for later that night but didn’t cancel my flights for the following day. We packed our things and collected our passports ready to disembark. But then the captain came on the speaker and indicated that we would not be disembarking in Miami upon arrival.
Confused, I went down to the service desk to clarify. Though we would be back in the United States, Customs & Border Protection would not allow us to re-enter the country. They confirmed this ludicrous stance and said that the CBP didn’t provide further information. The thought was that they might not have staff available to process those there for a night out in Miami but continuing on and those fully disembarking and entering the United States.
As we came into the Port of Miami and sidled along the terminal it was a strange terminal to be captive in your own country.
A Gut Punch From CBP
Later in the evening, after I had cancelled my award flights home that would have put us in our beds some 18 hours ahead of schedule and given us some much needed time to prepare for our family, I was walking through the lounge. As I live and breathe, the gangway door was open, stairs were extended to the dock, and I confirmed we could not exit.
As if that wasn’t close, but not quite close enough, two CBP officials in uniform were onboard chatting with the staff and guests casually but not processing anyone.
Had we not dodged the weather at sea for days, and if our son had not been ill, we wouldn’t have been in any rush to depart. But given those circumstances it was a little tough to understand how CBP had staffed the port, they literally had nothing going on so they just came onboard to chat, and yet we couldn’t re-enter our own country.
I’m not suggesting that CBP should have called in additional staff and disembarked the ship on our account, but there was a strange feeling of captivity on our front door that’s hard to describe. For what it’s worth, Global Entry kiosks are not widely available at cruise ports but if they were, the two officials onboard would have been more than sufficient to process us in just a few minutes.
Though we were already docked, in port, and CBP officials had been onboard, we still didn’t get an “all clear” to disembark until after 8:30 AM. When we did so, a team of CBP staff were on hand to process our very small ship.
Conclusion
While we were happy to be in port, it was a strange feeling to not be able to get off the ship in our own home country. For us, personally, it it would have been tremendously helpful, and while I understand they cannot adjust for just us, we felt unwelcome in our own country.
What do you think?
Another one I don’t get is CBP opens at 6 AM (?) at SFO. Several times I’ve arrive early and we had to wait on the plane. SFO is a major entry port into the US. They can’t staff it starting at 5 for those flights that arrive early, which isn’t all that unusual.
Well , you are safe and sound on the plane , no ? Time to thank your blessings and ask for another breakfast from the airline .
I have been kept on planes for quite some time when arriving back in the US from Latin America. At JFK, MIA, IAH and some other US airports of entry, it has been something like “we have to wait until CBP opens” when my flights from some Mercosur countries have come in early early in the morning.
América doesn’t open up until 6am. Same thing at FLL Fort Lauderdale.
Think of it as two 8-hour shifts, 6-2 and 2-10. The other side is 9-5, 5-1.
So if you’re CBP and you want to open at 5, do you close an hour early? Do you add a half-shift? Do you take that money out of your peak hour to make it happen? And ultimately, how early is early enough? Does a flight get scheduled to arrive at 5 but actually arrives at 4:30?
Not saying you’re wrong by any means, just that it’s not all that easy.
Hey Kyle … I doubt the CBP pre-planned to upset you . They awoke like normal people and went to their job on time.
If you think about it for a moment , other people had far worse experiences . Around 1940 , a ship carrying refugees from Europe was denied entry , and went back to Europe where the passenger’s lives were endangered .
Kyle is very fortunate being a U.S. citizen , who was admitted after an early arrival .
Welcome home. The nicest words after a trip when things have been difficult. Hoping Frankie is doing better.
I’ll look forward to your super yacht review.
That’s what the government does. The police state treats citizens worse than illegals who run across the border. Citizens are subjected to abuse with TSA and Customs and are hassled about ID yet everyone else is given phones, housing, food, and internet service. It’s a backwards world.
The narrative is getting boring and tiresome. Yawn
Oh stop this crap and grow up. It’s becoming tiresome that people keep complaining about the government for everything. I know that it is political season but stop making an elephant out of a fly just so that it fits your political narrative.
The government knows what is best for you (and the rest of us too). You may still have this quaint notion that they are public servants, but the reality today is that that has been turned on its head, and the average citizen must cater to them whims of every government employee. I anyone doubts me, try going into the DMV with the same expectation and demands for service that you expect from the first class check in at the airport.
They’re understaffed and are humans too. And yes, they are allowed to chat. I have a rule never to go to that region during hurricane season for vacation.
@Joey … +1 . Bingo .
Rich people complaining about an issue the general public deals everyday. Instead to make the best of a bad situation and realize the luxury afforded – let’s publish an article to complain. First world problems…
Absolutely first world problems on a site dedicated to first world products. We do, however, also cover the strengths and importance of ULCC carriers like Spirit but that gets met with the same vitriol. I wonder if it’s that you just can’t please everyone with every post. No, no, it’s probably us.
Hey Kyle … Calm down , buddy .
Your headline , in bold letters , wrote : “US CBP Didn’t Allow US To Enter Our Own Country” .
And , again , “A Gut Punch From CBP” .
You must admit it reads rather over-excited and unfair to the CBP . Take it easy , friend . Count your blessings .
Just like any other agency or business they have a budget and have a set number of staff, and hours to work within.
There are programs to fund overtime and ad hoc staffing. That would mean that the airline/cruise line/port/airport has to agree to that reimbursement. I’ve dealt with this at airports where CBP is already running its maximum scheduled hours for the employees allocated and an airline comes in an hour early. Sure, with advanced notice and an agreement in place CBP could open. But know the airline filed landing rights for the schedule to arrive at a certain time (which CBP had to approve) and the airline would have to pay. They don’t usually want to.
Two agents at a port doesn’t mean they can clear a cruise ship even with 250 passengers and bags. They have procedures and minimum staff requirements in case things don’t go 100% as planned.
You’re such a whiner about everything. The CBP has reasons why not to let you off so get over it. More American entitlement! So old news.
Your every comment is a whine. Talk about getting old…
If you don’t like the content, no one is forcing you to read it. Maybe you could come up with a list of topics that won’t upset you and I will write only that content.
@Kyle, I don’t have an issue with the topics or content. IMHO, your posts have peaks and valleys. While you have some great ones, you also have a lot that… aren’t. They’re more pronounced because you only post on Sundays. I think Matthew can get away with clickbait articles because they’re among dozens of other posts.
Your recent one criticizing the AC MLL is one example. A luxury TA who writes for a prominent travel blog but doesn’t research lounge options? Cruising on an ultra-luxury private yacht with this exaggerated headline? Neither’s a good look. The tone of your posts is often a bit much, so if you can soften it, I think they’d be more enjoyable and less annoying.
I wouldn’t let you in either, if I could keep you out.
We have enough knuckle-dragging Trumpist morons already. Go back to Russia and lick Putin’s boot.
I’ve never been to Russia, is it everything Tucker said it is?
Trumpistas or not, all US citizens have a legal entitlement to enter the US. And at some point a right delayed is a right denied, just like justice delayed is justice denied.
I’m sorry to hear about you and your family being stuck on board a six star cruise line mega yacht. You saw two(!) CBP officers on board and they did not immediately start processing everyone to get them off the ship? How many passengers were on board? And how many crew members? And you wanted two officers to do all the work for a ship that arrived early? Passenger processing, inspecting the ship which can include rooms of passengers and crew members, possible baggage exams, agriculture exams, etc.? What if one passenger or crew member had an issue getting in? Then one officer has to take care of it and that leaves one officer to process everyone else. And how many more cruise ships were docked at the port of Miami? One of the busiest ports in the world? Believe it or not, CBP has to go through the manifests of all the arriving passengers and crew members on all of these vessels. The vessel arriving early would make it difficult to have this be done correctly. Like others have said, staffing and budgeting is limited.
I said like three times in the post I didn’t expect them to open up processing just for us. I also said that it just kind of sucked to be captive. Others have expressed the same.
Hey Kyle … Count your blessings .
You wrote : “A Gut Punch From CBP” , and “US CBP Didn’t Allow Us to Enter Our Own Country” , both in bold letters.
Both are unsupported by your story .
Calm down and take it easy .
If anyone else “expressed the same” , you could have calmed them down .
This is far beyond clickbait, how far are you going?
Did you take a gut punch from you wife and complain that she didn’t allow you to use your own bathroom when she’s using it in private?
Did Disneyland gut punch you for not allowing you to enter (at 2am)?
Did Spirit gut punch you for charging checked bags?
Did airlines gut punch you when they ran out of meal choices?
Did the government gut punch you because you got stuck in a red traffic light?
Maybe what you deserve is a sucker punch.
My understanding is that cruise ships are afforded a specific time slot for CBP processing. Thus, if you show up early, you may or may not be afforded the opportunity to disembark early. Sucks, but is what it is unfortunately.
Unfortunate and an odd feeling to be looking at an open door home but unable to step through.
Typical government employees. They are union employees. Within the union contracts one employee cannot preform the duties of another. If it’s not in their job description then they cannot do anything because it is a violation of the union contract. This applies to other union facilities not just government.
Bill so true! Kyle hope all is well with your son and that you are home again and resting for your next adventure.
Too bad the ship didnt dock in Eagle Pass, TX or Nogales, AZ. No need for CBP there. (unitl next year! )