As a a young, know-it-all University student I started my summer job as a tour guide; reporting to Victoria Coach Station I was met by Bert, the Station Manager. A real Cockney (born within the sound of Bow Bells), Bert was a real down-to-earth character with little patience for young upstarts like me. However he gave me the best advice which still holds true: When you go through Immigration/Customs, he said, “Smile Nicely and Just Answer the Questions”.
With one notable exception (which cost me 6 hours at JFK and a sore arm) I have remembered that advice.
It’s a pity that some of the passengers on P&O’s Arcadia did not take Bert’s advice - a problem with the official’s computer system and some smart remarks from a few passengers resulted in some 2000 cruise passengers, many elderly, being forced to wait this week for seven hours for immigration checks at a port stop in Los Angeles in 80F temperatures.
The sad part is that this will be the “highlight” of a 10-week, $17,000 cruise which passengers will remember and talk to their friends about!