Why you can't board late - CBP eNOD Rules

Many cruise lines now close embarkation 90 minutes prior to the ship's published sailing time. If you arrive late, you will likely be denied boarding. This is not arbitrary - it is because US Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP) requires a final report of passengers and crew 60 minutes prior to sailing, a report called the electronic Notice of Departure (eNOD).

The electronic Notice of Arrival/Departure (eNOA/D) is a report that each ship must submit to the US Coast Guard's National Vessel Movement Center (NVMC) to "clear" passengers and crew on outgoing vessels in US Ports (and territories).

The eNOD report contains all Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) data. APIS Data includes: Surname, First Name, Date of Birth, Document Type (Passport, etc), Document Type Number, Passport Country of Issuance, Document Expiration Date, Gender, Country of Residence, Nationality, and finally in some specific cases the temporary US Address for non-US citizens/residents.

US Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) has made a ruling effective February 19, 2008 cruise line operators must submit the eNOD 60 minutes prior to sailing time (19 CFR Parts 4 and 122 in the Federal Register), and that there will be no chance to send an amended eNOD file without resetting the 60 minute clock for departure time. (This is in addition to the existing 33 CFR 160 which requires a 24-96 hour Notice of Arrival or eNOA, effective since April 1, 2003)

On February 14, 2008 US CBP relaxed this requirement for a period of 180 days to allow for cruise operators to submit amended eNODs up to 15 minutes prior to departure time - so long as the initial report is submitted at 60 minutes prior to departure.

The 180 day grace period ends on August 17, 2008. Once the grace period is over cruise operators must submit the report 60 minutes prior to departure. So if the departure time is 5:00PM, the report must be submitted at 4:00PM. If the eNOD isn't submitted until 4:30PM, then the ship must delay departure time to 5:30PM.

As port congestion, costs (fuel, port rent, landside labor, etc), and itinerary restrictions in many cases demand complete adherence to the scheduled itinerary it will be very unlikely for a cruise operator to decide to submit the eNOD report less than 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

Many lines are utilizing new technology that will allow them to submit APIS data obtained even before the guest's arrival to the ship. The data can be collected at the time of the reservation, or even via the online check-in system.

CruiseSavvy highly recommends pre-registering online, if only because it may allow you to board if you arrive prior to the ship's departure but after the submission of the eNOD.

All the major lines have sent out notifications to both guests and travel professionals that all sailing passengers must be onboard 90 minutes prior to published departure time, failure to board at this time may result in denied boarding and no refund will be given. The line may allow you to board at the next port of call, but any expenses incurred are the passenger's responsibility.