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US Inmigration @ Vancouver?


gerelmx
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Bruce is correct (barring a change of policy from US gov't about preclearance in Canada or a change of route before your cruise), as this cruise goes straight from Vancouver to Hawaii - the only US-bound cruises which skip preclearance are the ones with a second Canadian port after Vancouver (a few coastals visit Victoria or Nanaimo before heading into US waters). Immigration happens at first US port in those circumstances.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks for your answers, We will do a B2B2B on board the Eclipse. Vancouver-Hawaii, Hawaii-Vancouver and Vancouver-Los Angeles, the third leg will have a one day stop at Victoria. 28 Nights Cruising in the Pacific. :)

 

580 days to sail the first leg

Gerardo

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Cruising from Vancouver to Alaska on RCL, so assume the same would hold true as the first stop is US, true? Any idea how much time going through US customers at the Vancouver port adds to the check in process?

Since CBP is the tightest bottleneck when embarking at Canada Place, arguably it can cause any amount of delay from the literal time of fiddling with the kiosk/speaking to the agent up to 2+ hours because you are forced to wait once they hit capacity - you may be held in the first room or after security, but the reason for the wait is still CBP who process people slower than any other element in the process.

 

Biggest factor is how many ships in port with you - on a 3 ship day, planning for a total boarding time of 3 hours means you should usually be pleasantly surprised... unless it's one of the first few early in the season (when new staff needing trained and even old staff needing to refamiliarise themselves as we are not a year-round cruise port, so the speed of doing everything is slow enough that queues just keep building until 3pm) coming as late as possible usually means no waiting.

 

 

If you're cruising June or later, aim to be at the pier for 2-3pm (NB: at least 90mins before ship departs!) and you can end up literally not even stopping except when you actually need to actually interact with someone (and even then it's quicker - easier for staff to find your paperwork among a dozen people than 2,000+!)

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Since CBP is the tightest bottleneck when embarking at Canada Place, arguably it can cause any amount of delay from the literal time of fiddling with the kiosk/speaking to the agent up to 2+ hours because you are forced to wait once they hit capacity - you may be held in the first room or after security, but the reason for the wait is still CBP who process people slower than any other element in the process.

 

 

 

Biggest factor is how many ships in port with you - on a 3 ship day, planning for a total boarding time of 3 hours means you should usually be pleasantly surprised... unless it's one of the first few early in the season (when new staff needing trained and even old staff needing to refamiliarise themselves as we are not a year-round cruise port, so the speed of doing everything is slow enough that queues just keep building until 3pm) coming as late as possible usually means no waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

If you're cruising June or later, aim to be at the pier for 2-3pm (NB: at least 90mins before ship departs!) and you can end up literally not even stopping except when you actually need to actually interact with someone (and even then it's quicker - easier for staff to find your paperwork among a dozen people than 2,000+!)

 

 

 

This sounds a lot uglier than I expected. Happy for the heads up!

[emoji3]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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  • 1 month later...
Ship Disembark in Vancouver.

Is the same true for CBP when you return to US. At the airport is there US Customs before boarding plane for US?

Yes, you will clear US customs before getting on your plane. This is the reason most flights from Canada land at domestic terminals in US airports.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just got my passport for the first time (US Citizen). We are cruising in two weeks out of Los Angeles and arriving in Vancouver BC. Do I need just my passport and a driver's license to do this?

 

And moreover:

Do I need something from Canada BEFORE making this trip, or can I just show up in Canada?

We are NOT flying straight out of Vancouver, but rather taking an Amtrak to Seattle after a couple days. Is this ok? Will they be ok if I stay in Canada after just showing up for a few days?

Do I need a VISA? Not exactly sure what this is, except the passport has places for this?

 

Anything else I should know? Thank you!

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I just got my passport for the first time (US Citizen). We are cruising in two weeks out of Los Angeles and arriving in Vancouver BC. Do I need just my passport and a driver's license to do this?

 

And moreover:

Do I need something from Canada BEFORE making this trip, or can I just show up in Canada?

We are NOT flying straight out of Vancouver, but rather taking an Amtrak to Seattle after a couple days. Is this ok? Will they be ok if I stay in Canada after just showing up for a few days?

Do I need a VISA? Not exactly sure what this is, except the passport has places for this?

 

Anything else I should know? Thank you!

Your new passport will be fine. You will not actually need your DL but I would leave it in your wallet if you decide to rent a car or just because I don’t like to thin my wallet that much. No Visa is required. The only hooker for travel to Canada would be any prior felony conviction, including a DUI. That is one thing they frown upon.

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Cruising from Vancouver to Alaska on RCL, so assume the same would hold true as the first stop is US, true? Any idea how much time going through US customers at the Vancouver port adds to the check in process?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The terminal in Vancouver can handle up to 3 cruise ships at once.

 

The time you spend with a US customs office will be very short (one to two minutes). Especially if you are a US or Canadian national. The lines are a bit more difficult to predict, it comes down to how many ships are departing that day, the size of the ships and volume at the time.

 

Given it is just is another step in a multi-step process I don't think on its own it adds significantly.

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I just got my passport for the first time (US Citizen). We are cruising in two weeks out of Los Angeles and arriving in Vancouver BC. Do I need just my passport and a driver's license to do this?

 

And moreover:

Do I need something from Canada BEFORE making this trip, or can I just show up in Canada?

We are NOT flying straight out of Vancouver, but rather taking an Amtrak to Seattle after a couple days. Is this ok? Will they be ok if I stay in Canada after just showing up for a few days?

Do I need a VISA? Not exactly sure what this is, except the passport has places for this?

 

Anything else I should know? Thank you!

 

American Nationals do not require a visa to enter Canada. All you need is the passport. Depending on how they handle the ship they may clear the entire ship into Canada or they may want to clear each person individually as you depart the ship.

 

You can stay up to 30 days without obtaining a special visa.

 

If you want to stay longer in Canada or you wanted to work in Canada, then you would need a visa or permit that would be glued or stamped into your passport.

 

Canada and the US have fairly free movement of people between the two countries. That is not the case for other contries, e.g. China or Russia.

 

When you get to the train station in Vancouver, you will clear US customs as you board the train.

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Ship Disembark in Vancouver.

Is the same true for CBP when you return to US. At the airport is there US Customs before boarding plane for US?

 

Yes for the majority of flights. There is a small number of red-eye flights that depart after US customs closes (8:30 pm) in Vancouver. These flights go out of the international concourse and you clear US customs when you arrive the next morning in the US. I know there are red-eyes to JFK and Atlanta that fall into this category.

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