It was a bit grey and over cast when we arrived at the pilot station a 5 am. but there were no dark clouds gathering on the horizon and that meant a dry day. And indeed it was. The sun even came through the clouds on occasion and that meant very good weather for Ketchikan. We sailed into port following the Celebrity Infinity who had been with us in Vancouver. They had sailed another route, as for some reason they do not like to sail past Alert Bay. But here at the pilot station we caught up again and as they were assigned to dock 2 in front of us, we followed them in.

This was an early day for all the crew as we had our 90 day Custom and Border Inspection. We call this the US immigration Full Crew Inspection. Every 90 days we all have to go and see the Inspectors to verify that we have the correct visa and that we really are who we are. The ships crew purser, who we call Human Resources Officer or HRO, makes a schedule for all departments to attend at a certain time and normally, with 4 inspectors, the 580 crew are seen within 2.5 hours. It also pertains to any American crew that we have on board. They have to show their passport and or Green Card.

Non American crew are considered visitors and have to have passports with visa. In the old days we were called Aliens but after years of protest, that description was changed, including the signs at the airports. When you enter the USA as visitors, there are several categories. If you are coming in as a tourist, you can come in on a “Green Waiver” form. Citizens of certain countries, such as The Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany etc. qualify for this. If you are from a non-waiver country, or if you are a crewman, or a businessman, or an immigrant, you all require a visa.

As a crewman, I have to have a C1/D1 visa. These two visa’s cover the movement of a crewman in and out the USA both by airplane and ship. Every crew man has to obtain such a visa, which is a cumbersome process and can quite often delay the timely arrival of a crew member from his/her home country onboard. Nowadays you have to present yourself in person and go through an interview and that means traveling to a USA consulate. That consulate might not be near to where you live. As I live in England, it means traveling to London and as your appointment is at a certain time, it means most of the time an overnight stay as well. My wife and I combine this five year exercise with a visit to the London theatre’s.

Once you arrive on the ship with the required visa in your passport, the CBP will see you at you first call in the USA with a ship. Then you get issued an I-95 in exchange for an I- 94 that was given to you at an American airport if applicable. This I-95 has your basic details and you have to carry that with you when you go ashore in the USA as a crew member. It provides the proof that you are not illegally in the USA. Every 90 days the CBP checks if you have your I-95 and endorses it. If you loose it, there might be a $ 70 fine to get a new one.

Today we had this 90 day check. Everything ran well. The HRO had lined up the cruise staff to help with giving out the passports and with a well organized setup in the crew mess; all crew marched through very quickly.

All our guests where back on time, and I managed to pull out 20 minutes before the Infinity who still had to move its gangways. It is a tight run to Haines, hence our 10 am arrival, so every minute that I can save helps with making it more certain that I get there on time. Haines looks good for tomorrow. No wind and a dry day. Out in the Pacific a depression is brewing which might intensify or might dissipate. We will find out in the coming days.