Fouremco

Your original post attributes billions of dollars flowing into the island economies because the WHTI enables Americans to cruise without a passport. My contention is that the contribution made by cruisers who don't hold have passports comprises a minor portion of these billions of dollars, with the majority contributed by passport holders, whether on a cruise or staying for a land holiday.

There's no question that port fees make a healthy contribution, but going back to the original point, those port fees are paid whether or not you travel with a passport. And while there's a very small number of cruise ships that boast a maximum capacity approaching 7,000, the vast majority carry far fewer passengers. At the same time, airlines are charged landing fees. The amount per landing will be less than a day's port fees for a Behemoth of the Seas, but there are many more daily flights than there are cruise ship arrivals. And all of those passengers are travelling on a passport.

Yes, that's exactly my point, in most cases passengers are only there for a few hours and contribute very little to the local economy. I agree, some people do buy meals or purchase duty free items, and port fees definitely go to the local government. On the other hand, airport landing fees also go to the local government, the resort or hotel customer also buys meals and duty free, and many long time cruisers don't even bother to get off the ship anymore. At the time that DW and I switched from all inclusive resorts to cruising ffor our winter getaway, a week or two cruise or land holiday cost about the same, but there was no comparison between the money entering the island economies versus US and Canadian economies.

I agree with you, the routine procedure is not foolproof, but not noticing that you were using your husband's card is quite different than a scenario where his card was flagged and alarms set off when the card was scanned.

I would be interested in knowing how many of those billions of dollars are spent in the Caribbean by US cruise passengers who don't carry a passport versus US passport holders who fly to the Caribbean for a holiday (and do need a passport), plus those US passport holders who take them when they cruise the islands. I'd be surprised if the average passenger spent more than $200 there, if that, versus the thousands of dollars spent staying at a Caribbean resort or hotel for a week.

If you are concerned about timing, you might want to consider booking through companies such as Viator (https://www.viator.com) or Shore Excursions Group (https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com). They are highly professional, offer a variety of excursions of different lengths that include Mt. Teide, and the Shore Excursions Group even guarantees that you'll get back to your ship in time: Guaranteed Return to Ship We have never had a customer miss their ship. Our team possesses over 80 years of combined cruise line experience and we are not aware of a single case in which a customer on an independent tour missed a ship. In the extremely unlikely event that you miss your ship due to the late arrival of one of our tours, we will arrange and pay for your accommodations, meals, and transportation to the next port of call, and we will pay you an additional $1,000 USD per customer for the inconvenience. Their prices tend to be lower than those of the cruise lines, but more than private excursion providers. If you aren't comfortable with private tours, Viator or Shore Excursions Group would be a choice well worth considering.

Maybe not blast-proof, but probably leak-proof. Besides, CATSA employees are trained to go by the book, not use their judgement. The rules say that you have to place your single 60ml bottle of sanitizer in a bag, so end of story, in it goes!

Under the PVSA, a cruise to nowhere that starts and finishes at the same US port without stopping elsewhere is permitted, and this type of cruise ran until 2015. At that point, based on its interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, US CBP implemented a new ruling prohibiting such cruises by foreign flagged ship unless all crew members were American citizens or lawful permanent residents. Cruises to nowhere are deemed as never leaving the US, and as foreign crew members' visas do not allow them to work in the US, they can't work on cruises to nowhere. Foreign crew members are only permitted to land in the US temporarily prior to departing from the US with their ship.

Transport Canada has just released a new Ship Safety Bulletin providing recommendations with respect to COVID 19. Mandatory requirements for cruise ships operating in Canadian waters have been removed, but to maintain the safety of passengers and crew onboard cruise ships, SSB 10/2023 strongly recommends that the industry continue to follow the guidance in Transport Canada’s public health framework, outlined within the bulletin. These include vaccinations and pre-cruise testing, measures that cruise lines are unlikely to implement on a voluntary basis IMO. https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/ship-safety-bulletins/guidance-cruise-operators-mitigate-risks-associated-covid-19-ssb-no-10-2023

The simplified version is that the US Passenger Vessel Services Act prohibits foreign ships from transporting passengers directly between two US ports. The cruise ships that sail to Alaska are all foreign-flagged and make a stop in Canada in order to meet the requirements of the law.

The "official" CATSA bags are available for travel agents, to give to their clients. Take a peek here: https://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/en/travel-agent-resources If your TA (if you have one) doesn't give you an "official" CATSA bag, I've no idea where you'd get one. The only regulated requirement is that the bag be resealable, made of clear plastic, and be no more than 1 Litre in capacity. It can be smaller, just no larger than 1 L, but only one bag per passenger, so you can't use two 1/2 litre bags instead of a single 1 litre bag. I've often used smaller Ziploc sandwich bags as I don't travel with much in the way of liquids, aerosols and gels.

Ottawa area residents are somewhat miffed over the decision not to include YOW in this new program. Particularly as the GOC gave no indication as to why.

I'm not surprised that they'd be happy to sell you the cruise and then leave it up to you to determine whether or not you could actually go. A few years ago, pre-pandemic, a foreign national attending college in the US on a student visa had no problem booking an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle that stopped in Victoria. When he went to board, he was refused because he had no visa for entry to Canada. He came to CC complaining about the cruise line not telling him he wouldn't be admitted when he first booked the cruise. As @broberts noted previously, however, "the cruise contract is quite clear that it is the responsibility of the passenger [to verify admissibility]." Good on you for looking into it beforehand. Another avenue to explore in trying to determine your admissibility would be to reach out to the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles: 550 South Hope Street, 9th Floor, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., 90071-2327 Phone: 1-844-880-6519 Email: ccs.scc@international.gc.ca They may or may not be able to provide a direct response, but if not, should be able to direct you to someone who can. No, I'm not an attorney.

Cruise lines are required to submit passenger manifests a minimum of 96 hours in advance of the ship’s arrival at a Canadian port, or when the vessel departs the last foreign port. The indices checks, including US criminal records, are conducted on all passengers. If a passenger is deemed inadmissible prior to initial embarkation, the ship will be advised and the passenger refused boarding. If the determination of the passenger's inadmissibility is made after the ship has sailed, CBSA officers would interview the passenger aboard ship at the first Canadian port. In the latter case, upon confirmation of inadmissibility and following a review of the situation, the passenger might well be escorted from the ship and returned to the US. In a case such as the OP's, the fact that he attempted to enter Canada knowing that he was inadmissible (should that be the case) would probably result in his removal in my estimation.

A NEXUS line serves exactly the same purpose in all outbound situations: saving time. It doesn't matter whether it's a line into security or US pre-clearance.

NEXUS lines exist for all departing flights, to the US, other international destinations, and even domestic flights.

We typically book cruises well in advance, often when they are first released, and we pay in CAD. By doing so, we know exactly what our final payment will be two or more years down the road. If we were to book in USD, we would have no idea what the final payment might be due to fluctuating exchange rates. If you have a source of USD (other than currency exchange), then paying in USD would not pose the same potential risk. Similarly, if you are making a last minute booking and are paying in full right away, you can go with whichever currency will cost you less and not worry about future changes in the exchange rate.

I couldn't agree more. An oft-used app in my travel toolbox.

Here's a link: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-3-1-eng.html A direct link to this document hasn't been provided in previous posts, but the link can be found in one of the earlier mentioned documents.

Your choice, whichever best suits your weight and space distribution requirements.

It's bad enough that the spam is filling up my CC screen, but as I "follow" this forum, my email is inundated with these messages. Until they find a solution, I've stopped "following". I'm at a loss as to where that thread disappeared to. There was another thread that disappeared for a while then reappeared today. Maybe with all of the spam deletions, the bubble colour thread was inadvertently trashed as well. As to the blue and green bubbles, @*Miss G*'s post covered it nicely. But if you want to change the colours, this article may be of assistance: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2021/09/27/how-to-change-imessage-bubble-colors-iphone-ipad/

As long as you declare it, duties and taxes for small amounts above your exemption will often be waved. Current duty rates are here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/edrates/excise-duty-rates.html#_Toc527013621

Once upon a time, some mobile service providers considered service outside of your home city to be roaming. Fortunately, those days are gone. While I'm not familiar with every provider providing service in Florida, I'd be shocked to learn that travelling to a different city within the state would incur roaming charges. However, while the ship is underway and well beyond range of cell towers on shore, you would incur charges from the cruise line as you would be accessing their system.

New requirement publish by Transport Canada: https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/ship-safety-bulletins/enhanced-environmental-measures-2023-cruise-season-ssb-no-08-2023 Many would like to see stronger measures, but these requirements are a step in the right direction.

Ah, of course Wendy. I knew that "mexico8" rang a bell, but I didn't make the connection.