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Recent Vancouver to LA Customs and Immigration Process?


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I am a US citizen flying to Vancouver to board the Coral Princess to LA. The first stop after Vancouver is Victoria, BC. At what points on the trip do Customs & Immigration/Passport Control come into play? Trying to determine where delays will/might occur when leaving/returning to the ship.

 

 

Vancouver Airport – C&I on entering Canada, that’s a given

 

Vancouver Canada Place to board ship – ? only passport check to ensure can enter US ?

 

Victoria, BC – ?? passport check ?

 

Astoria, OR – ?? old threads say US Customs check occurs here, is this still the case?

 

San Francisco, CA – ??

 

Santa Barbara, CA – ??

 

LA/SanPedro, CA – ?? is there only a passport check here for US citizens if Customs done in Astoria?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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Unfortunately these southbound repos have not happened this year, and will not until Sep/Oct, so it's impossible for anyone to give you a current report. Therefore I'll give you the legal options, and comment on most likely...

 

Legally, preclearance can only happen when the vessel immediately heads for the US - so no US immigration in Vancouver for a trip which visits another Canadian port before going to the US. Theoretically preclearance could happen in Victoria, but given the logistics (not enough CBP stationed there, they only have to handle a very small number of US-bound flights & a couple of ferries a day so far fewer staff than Vancouver) it has never been done there to my knowledge. No Canadian immigration either, since you already got cleared at YVR and have never left Canada until you head for Astoria.

 

First US port almost always does immigration when preclearance does not happen in Vancouver, although in theory this can be done onboard the vessel. Given the relatively high frequency of missing Astoria, I doubt that CBP will send officers on the ship from Victoria - if missed they'd be unavailable until San Francisco, another days lost work...

 

Lastly, you will get a final customs check on disembarkation in LA on any mainstream line since you could have been shopping Duty Free onboard for the entire cruise, making it pointless to check customs in any prior US port - since you could declare nothing and then go buy a rolex or buckets of diamonds - unless the ship guarantees they will keep all stores closed and not leave US waters. Since going outside territorial waters also allows Casino opening (profits!) and burning cheap nasty diesel instead of expensive low-sulfur (reduced expenses!) I very much doubt any cruiseline except the teeny-tiny specialist US lines will hug the coast.

 

TL;DR - I wouldn't bet my life, but I'd wager a hefty sum that you'll do US immigration in Astoria (unless the port is missed, in which case SF), and Customs in LA. You will only see CBSA at YVR.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Last year we did Vancouver to LA & since our first stop was Nanaimo, our custom stop was in Seattle. It was no problem for myself & kids we just went off to explore. Hubby had a spa appointment & there was a huge delay in getting everyone back on ship. He said there were numerous elderly passengers upset, as they hadn't taken extra medication with them. Expecting it to be a quick process. Ended up being nearly 5 hours.

 

Sent from my SM-T377W using Forums mobile app

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