USA/Canada immigration/border control

[steve333]

Hi all,I read on here somewhere that when cruising to the US it's best to book a shore excursion with the ship at the first port so as to get through border control quickest,does the same apply to Canadian ports as we are doing a 30 night round trip from Southampton on Aurora taking in both USA/Canada-thanks for any help,Steve.

 

[annieuk]

Hi Steve, we are on this cruise too.  I've not heard of any problem with the Canadian Immigration - we haven't booked any trips at  St. John's in Newfoundland, but we have in Boston.  It will be interesting to see if anyone comments about the Canadian Immigration.  I don't think we'd be inclined to book a trip in St. John's just because of Immigration concerns.  We don't need any sort of visa for Canada so hopefully it will all be straightforward.

[jeanlyon]

We had no problem either in the US or Canada.  We did the local excursions in each port and avoided P&O ones.  I think we were through Customs at NY in about 40 minutes because we got off early.  You only need to go through the border once for the US and once for Canada.

[jeanlyon]

I believe you need an ETA for Canada  https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/eta.html

 

My husband went last year and needed both the ESTA and ETA.

 

annie, why would you worry about Immigration in St Johns?

[jeanlyon]

We DIYd in every port.  As soon as we got off, there were tents on the quay selling all types of excursions, much cheaper than P&O.  Also HOHO buses in a lot of places.

 

I;m wrong, you don't need an ETA if you are travelling in by ship.  Only aircraft.  Sorry.

Edited July 28, 2019 by jeanlyon

[steve333]

3 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

We had no problem either in the US or Canada.  We did the local excursions in each port and avoided P&O ones.  I think we were through Customs at NY in about 40 minutes because we got off early.  You only need to go through the border once for the US and once for Canada.

Hi Jean,thank you for clarifying,Steve.

[steve333]

4 hours ago, annieuk said:

Hi Steve, we are on this cruise too.  I've not heard of any problem with the Canadian Immigration - we haven't booked any trips at  St. John's in Newfoundland, but we have in Boston.  It will be interesting to see if anyone comments about the Canadian Immigration.  I don't think we'd be inclined to book a trip in St. John's just because of Immigration concerns.  We don't need any sort of visa for Canada so hopefully it will all be straightforward.

Hi Annie,thanks for the reply,only 5 weeks today

[yorkshirephil]

You need an ESTA for the USA but do not need an ETA for Canada as you are not arriving by air. 

[jeanlyon]

I remember the HOHO bus in Boston was very good value and also in Newport, if you are going there, there are the old trams and they take you to see an old 1820 house.  Everywhere we went, there were excursions to be had as you got off the ship.

[steve333]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

I remember the HOHO bus in Boston was very good value and also in Newport, if you are going there, there are the old trams and they take you to see an old 1820 house.  Everywhere we went, there were excursions to be had as you got off the ship.

Thanks again for the information Jean,good to know independent excursions are easy to do on this itinerary,Steve.

[Captain_Morgan]

In our experience of taking cruises from Europe to NA with a stop in Canada, the Canadian process was seamless and very non intrusive which can't always be said for the US.  During one of the more recent cruises we took, our first call was into a tiny port in Newfoundland and from what we understand, the Canadian Customs agents boarded and went through the process (paperwork) with only a couple people called into see them, but the process was nowhere near as bad as entering the US where every non-US passenger has to be seen.

[jeanlyon]

I also remember the HOHO bus in New York had at least 2 different routes and was worth every penny.  Less than a third of a P&O excursion.

[steve333]

11 hours ago, Captain_Morgan said:

In our experience of taking cruises from Europe to NA with a stop in Canada, the Canadian process was seamless and very non intrusive which can't always be said for the US.  During one of the more recent cruises we took, our first call was into a tiny port in Newfoundland and from what we understand, the Canadian Customs agents boarded and went through the process (paperwork) with only a couple people called into see them, but the process was nowhere near as bad as entering the US where every non-US passenger has to be seen.

Hi and thanks for the information,Steve.

[steve333]

10 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

I also remember the HOHO bus in New York had at least 2 different routes and was worth every penny.  Less than a third of a P&O excursion.

Hi Jean,that’s handy to know,we have been  to New York before so that could be a different way to see the city and have always done HO/HO open top buses in other cruise ports,thanks again,Steve.

[Selbourne]

Our first USA stop was New York at midday and we booked the first excursion, which happened to be at 12.30pm to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum (where we wanted to go anyway) and it proved to be an excellent plan, as we were fast tracked and first off the ship. When the tour dropped us back at the berth we didn’t get back on the ship but spent the next day and a half doing our own thing. At dinner the next day we shared a table with a couple who said that it had taken them two and a half hours to get off the ship (so Jean was lucky), which was about the time we were concluding our tour! So, whilst I would concur with the view that DIY is perfectly possible, our cunning plan paid dividends. It’s also worth noting that there isn’t much to see in some of the ports on these USA & Canada Cruises. After New York, the place we enjoyed most was Kennebunkport, which we did  on a P&O tour from Portland. Not sure how easy that is to DIY but we wouldn’t have wanted to have missed it. 

[tartanexile81]

I did this cruise last year and did 2 P&O tours. The one from Sydney to the cabot trail was a full day and far too much time spend on a coach. Like Melbourne we did the Kennebunkport tour. It was just an afternoon and we loved it. It included a sail along the cast, a guided tour of the area  then free time in this lovely little town. 

 

Otherwise, we did pretty much every port on our own.  We used Uber in New York and that was fantastic to get around  and also did lots of research before we went. If you'd like more info, I also did a blog about the whole trip, and it's mentioned in my profile.

Edited July 29, 2019 by tartanexile81

[annieuk]

Can you tell me how to locate your blog of the Canada/USA trip from last year please.  I did look on your profile but can't see it.  We are doing the Aurora trip next month and would be very interested to read it.  Many thanks.

[Nic6318]

On 7/29/2019 at 2:56 AM, steve333 said:

Hi Jean,that’s handy to know,we have been  to New York before so that could be a different way to see the city and have always done HO/HO open top buses in other cruise ports,thanks again,Steve.

 

Hi

They are a great way to get around and see the sites. Just to warn you on nice days you may not be able be able to go to the top deck right away, because there are very many people. So depending on the stop you get on at and the number of people already on the bus, you may have to wait before going upstairs. Also, I didn't do it, but if it is raining, I can't imagine it being fun up there. I saw people doing that (they do give you ponchos), but not for me. 

 

I was there just a few weeks ago. Not on a cruise, just went for a 3 day tourist visit.

 

There are a few different HOHO bus companies. If you look online you can find them and purchase your passes beforehand. You will see some of these companies will offer bundles of the bus as well as other major city attractions. It was convenient for me. It would depend on your available time and what you wanted to do. In the three days, I only managed to see a small part of Manhattan.

 

[BrianI]

They say that the USA is the land of the free but most things you have to pay for.  However the Staten Island ferry is totally free and sails close to the Statue of Liberty. You have to get off at the Staten Island end but you can get straight back on the same ferry if you want.

Brian

 

[tartanexile81]

2 hours ago, BrianI said:

They say that the USA is the land of the free but most things you have to pay for.  However the Staten Island ferry is totally free and sails close to the Statue of Liberty. You have to get off at the Staten Island end but you can get straight back on the same ferry if you want.

Brian

 

 

We did it last year Brian and the only problem is getting to Whitehall Ferry Terminal as it's some distance from the cruise terminal. That's the kind of thing we found Uber very useful for

 

6 hours ago, annieuk said:

Can you tell me how to locate your blog of the Canada/USA trip from last year please.  I did look on your profile but can't see it.  We are doing the Aurora trip next month and would be very interested to read it.  Many thanks.

 

It's called Rhona's Travels and it's on the social media site that I can't name here sorry. In my profile, it's part of the section that says If you have a personal or hobby CRUISE or TRAVEL BLOG, include the url here: XXXXXXXXXX

Edited July 30, 2019 by tartanexile81

[BrianI]

4 minutes ago, tartanexile81 said:

 

We did it last year Brian and the only problem is getting to Whitehall Ferry Terminal as it's some distance from the cruise terminal. That's the kind of thing we found Uber very useful for

 

We walked up towards Times Square and took the subway. About a 20min walk, maybe less if you are fitter than me.

Brian

[tartanexile81]

We walked to Times Square to get to Broadway etc and have used the subway on previous visits to New York but didn't find it very easy to get to the Staaten island ferry  by subway when we did it from the UWS.  Nobody we met on the cruise used the subway but lots walked round NY.  I was glad we used Uber and we used it to get around the whole time. It was fab and so cheap

[steve333]

The only 2 excursions that really interest us and would be hard to do independently are Cape cod from Boston and Philadelphia from New York so will book those through P and  O,after researching the other ports and lots of help on this forum we will do independent excursions at other ports and hop on hop off buses/trans-thanks again for every one s feedback/help,Steve.

 

[caber]

On 7/28/2019 at 9:42 PM, jeanlyon said:

I also remember the HOHO bus in New York had at least 2 different routes and was worth every penny.  Less than a third of a P&O excursion.

I agree. We took the ships tour and only got off once. It was all "look left, look right". Friends did the HOHO and saw much more. 

[Danamis]

On 7/30/2019 at 4:58 PM, tartanexile81 said:

 

We did it last year Brian and the only problem is getting to Whitehall Ferry Terminal as it's some distance from the cruise terminal. That's the kind of thing we found Uber very useful for

 

 

It's called Rhona's Travels and it's on the social media site that I can't name here sorry. In my profile, it's part of the section that says If you have a personal or hobby CRUISE or TRAVEL BLOG, include the url here: XXXXXXX

 

I would be really intersted in reading this Rhona but cannot find a link under your profile.

 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Danamis
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