Registration of Canadians Abroad

[cruiseamm]

FYI:  For people who do not know of this service or a reminder for people who do.

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/registration

 

Registration of Canadians Abroad is a free service that allows the Government of Canada to notify you in case of an emergency abroad or a personal emergency at home. The service also enables you to receive important information before or during a natural disaster or civil unrest.

 

 

[broberts]

Too bad one cannot use the Travel Smart app to register.

 

I noticed in the FAQ details for cruise ship passengers. While I've known about registration while abroad, I've always thought cruise travel was too short a duration to bother.

 

[dolfan1980]

7 hours ago, broberts said:

Too bad one cannot use the Travel Smart app to register.

 

I noticed in the FAQ details for cruise ship passengers. While I've known about registration while abroad, I've always thought cruise travel was too short a duration to bother.

 

I've used it for overseas trips to second/third world countries, but never bother for US or north american cruises.  Guess you can run into trouble anywhere and need consular assistance.

[Been There, Planning That]

We used it frequently when travelling independently, but not in recent years when cruising.

[Magicat]

I use this service currently and it works well.  I get updates on potential issues with weather and other natural disasters.  Also any potential political or social problems.  When the current president in Mexico was elected, GOC thought there might be a risk of social unrest.  I was given the phone number and address of a local contact whom I could reach out to if I needed to be evacuated from the country.  Luckily I did not need that service.

 

[Magicat]

Oh, another thing to keep in mind.  Although you hold a Canadian passport, if you travel to another country with another country's passport, this may cause issues getting assistance from the GOC.  At least that is what I understand from a CBSA friend.

[iancal]

50 years of international travel.  We have never used the service.

[cruiseamm]

2 hours ago, iancal said:

50 years of international travel.  We have never used the service.

Like insurance. You hope never to need it.

Edited April 3, 2022 by cruiseamm

[iancal]

The last two times we read Gov't travel advisories were for Thailand and Mexico.  Several years ago.

 

We went to both at the time for  extended land trips.   Both times our experiences were the issues were blown out of proportion.  Most especially Thailand.

 

We depended more on information from expats who were actually in the respective country and provided first hand accounts.

 

Internet allow us to stay in touch with relatives and provides us with updated info on countries we happen to be traveling in.

Edited April 3, 2022 by iancal

[cruiseamm]

A lost/stolen passport and personal belongings could necessitate the use of this service.

Weather/disaster related evacuation ...

Legal advice or intervention...

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by cruiseamm

[WESTEAST]

We have always registered and the few minutes it takes to do so is part of our pre-trip documentation process. Also jot down the contact info for embassies/consular offices as best to be prepared rather than frantically trying to look up in a strange country. Like the analogy to insurance, you hope you never need it. 

[iancal]

Frantically looking???  Just a quick search on our ipad.  Strange country or otherwise.

 

https://travel.gc.ca/assistance/embassies-consulates

 

This site also lists the consulates of other counties that can service Canadians.

As an example, in Phuket, Thailand Canadians can use the Australian Consulate for emergency assistance.

Edited April 5, 2022 by iancal

[KeroTravel]

On 3/26/2022 at 12:16 PM, cruiseamm said:

FYI:  For people who do not know of this service or a reminder for people who do.

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/registration

 

Registration of Canadians Abroad is a free service that allows the Government of Canada to notify you in case of an emergency abroad or a personal emergency at home. The service also enables you to receive important information before or during a natural disaster or civil unrest.

 

 

We always register on this site, even if we're only crossing the border by car for a few hours.  Never hurts to be cautious.  Surprisingly not many people even know that this exists.  

[dawnvip]

Did anyone else receive this email from travel.gc.ca.

 

You are receiving this email because you are registered with the Government of Canada's Registration of Canadians Abroad Service.

The hurricane season extends from May 15 to November 30. Please share the following important information with all the Canadian citizens in your area.

 

This year again, we anticipate an above normal season and some storms may even form before the official start of the season. This new season will still take place in a context of COVID-19 and precautions are still in order, including for cruises.

 

•         The 2022 Pacific Hurricane Season forecast is for a total of 14 to 18 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes and 2-4 major hurricanes.
   
•          The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecast is for a total of 19 named storms, 9 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes

[KeroTravel]

On 5/15/2022 at 12:22 AM, dawnvip said:

Did anyone else receive this email from travel.gc.ca.

 

You are receiving this email because you are registered with the Government of Canada's Registration of Canadians Abroad Service.

The hurricane season extends from May 15 to November 30. Please share the following important information with all the Canadian citizens in your area.

 

This year again, we anticipate an above normal season and some storms may even form before the official start of the season. This new season will still take place in a context of COVID-19 and precautions are still in order, including for cruises.

 

•         The 2022 Pacific Hurricane Season forecast is for a total of 14 to 18 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes and 2-4 major hurricanes.
   
•          The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecast is for a total of 19 named storms, 9 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes

This is generally hurricane season for the Caribbean.  We have a trip, not  a cruise, booked in September, but haven't registered yet.  Was the only time we could go this year, so we're taking out chances, have been caught places before in hurricane weather, and its definitely not an enjoyable season.  Hard to plan when hurricane season is so long.  

[Magicat]

3 hours ago, KeroTravel said:

This is generally hurricane season for the Caribbean.  We have a trip, not  a cruise, booked in September, but haven't registered yet.  Was the only time we could go this year, so we're taking out chances, have been caught places before in hurricane weather, and its definitely not an enjoyable season.  Hard to plan when hurricane season is so long.  

Kind of hard to plan to fly out of Toronto with winter being so long and unpredictable. 

[KeroTravel]

Also true.  Have suffered through many delays getting in and out of Toronto due to wintery weather. 

[3Shelaghs]

Have travelled extensively and never used this except for Australia/NZ. When rumours were erupting re a strange pneumonia in China back in 2019, I registered us for a B2B Caribbean cruise in 2020. We received early warning notices to book a flight to return to Canada asap due to Covid (before pandemic was declared, and then again when declaration was made).

I don't buy into giving the govt anymore ability then they already have with our passports, to watch our movements, but for once, I was glad I did. It gave us a heads up on securing a flight before the rush... and the rest is history.

Doubt I will use it this fall, but if news looks a little shaky, then I wouldn't hesitate again.

[Heidi13]

We also had never used this service until we docked in Bali back in Feb/Mar 2020. Since cruises were shutting down at this time, we were fortunate that we got 2 of 3 days in Bali.

 

Both the Canadian & US Consulates had set up information tables in the arrivals building, with the Canadians providing the website address to sign up for the service, which we did. Received regular updates for the remainder of the cruise.