Disembark in Victoria instead of Vancouver on Tokyo to Vancouver Cruise

[Starboard Forty]

Travelling Tokyo to Vancouver aboard Queen Elizabeth in May/Jun.  Would like to disembark in Victoria (home) rather than travel to Vancouver and return by ferry the next day.

Has anyone been able to disembark in Victoria with similar circumstances?  If so, which cruise line and what was required?

[ski ww]

Ask your TA or call HAL. We have gotten off in Vancouver instead of getting off in Seattle.

[*Miss G*]

One caveat:  We weren’t able to get into the outer harbour, to dock, due to marine conditions.  The wind and the waves kept preventing us, even though we tried a number of times throughout the day.  Next stop:  Vancouver.

 

You’ll need to get permission and make the arrangements with Cunard.  Don’t call HAL!  😂

[bookbabe]

My mom was able to get off in Victoria (she lives in Comox) rather than in Seattle on an NCL Alaskan cruise in May 2022, but the cruise line wouldn’t confirm that she could ahead of time, we had to wait and talk to the Security Officer onboard to get the final approval.

 

Once arranged, it was easy to do.  They had her wait until the rush was over, then we took her and her luggage down to the gangway area where we were met by the Security Officer.  Took a bit longer than the usual to scan her card and such, but then we just walked her and her luggage out to the parking lot where my brother was picking her up.  Very easy process.  
 

The tense part was having to wait until we boarded to get the final approval, since if they’d said no we would have had to scramble for last minute flights for her.  If your plan is to ferry home if you have to go all the way to Vancouver, then it’s easier to arrange that last minute than to try to find decently-priced flights.

[Heidi13]

Since you will embark in Tokyo, you have no Cabotage issues with early disembarkation. As others suggested, contact Cunard and advise of your desire to disembark early. They can make the necessary changes to the ship's manifest. Once onboard, I would also advise the Purser's Office of your intent to disembark in Victoria.

 

I assume this will be the ship's first Canadian port of call, so shouldn't be an issue having Border Services available.

[Fairgarth]

10 hours ago, Starboard Forty said:

Travelling Tokyo to Vancouver aboard Queen Elizabeth in May/Jun.  Would like to disembark in Victoria (home) rather than travel to Vancouver and return by ferry the next day.

 

I can't iamgine that Cunard could detain you on board against your will.  What if there was some major health emergency and you needed a hospital?  They would get you off PDQ.  I speak from experience.  We were on a ten day cruise from Venice to Athens last October and had to jump ship after four days and fly home to Vancouver.  No problem.  And, since you ask, everything is fine now, thank you.

 

[mom says]

21 minutes ago, Fairgarth said:

I can't iamgine that Cunard could detain you on board against your will.

Of course not. However the ship needs to be aware of this in advance to have the correct passenger manifest, and to ensure that Customs and Immigration is in position to clear them on arrival. Your case was different, and would not have involved Passport Control when you left the ship (Schengen protocols)

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, mom says said:

Of course not. However the ship needs to be aware of this in advance to have the correct passenger manifest, and to ensure that Customs and Immigration is in position to clear them on arrival. Your case was different, and would not have involved Passport Control when you left the ship (Schengen protocols)

Exactly. Emergency disembarkations are a completely different issue. And while a cruise line might not prevent you from disembarking, immigration officials can deny entry and return you to the ship. Neither scenario is applicable in the OP's case.

[Starboard Forty]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Exactly. Emergency disembarkations are a completely different issue. And while a cruise line might not prevent you from disembarking, immigration officials can deny entry and return you to the ship. Neither scenario is applicable in the OP's case.

I contacted CBSA, the reply said that it was up to the cruise line.

 

I do know of people that have disembarked in Victoria. In one case the cruise line (not Cunard), charged them a fee.  On a Cunard trip last year people from Victoria were allowed to off load their luggage in Victoria.  I would not want to be the one to test jumping ship to find out the consequence from either CBSA (entering Canada without clearing customs) or the cruise line.

 

I asked the question in this forum to see if other passengers had managed to "legally" disembark and how they managed the request to so such.

 

 

Their full reply:

Canadian citizens re-enter Canada by right.

For re-entry into Canada as a citizen of Canada, we recommend you carry proof of your Canadian citizenship such as a Canadian passport, a Canadian birth certificate along with valid government issued photo identification such as a driver’s license, a citizenship card, or a Certificate of Indian Status, to assist the border services officer in confirming your citizenship.

Land and sea entrance into Canada by a Canadian citizen seventeen (17) years of age and under can be completed with an original birth certificate alone. Photo identification is not required until the age of eighteen (18).

The Government of Canada recommends that Canadian citizens travel with a valid Canadian passport because it is the only reliable and universally-accepted travel and identification document available to Canadians for the purpose of international travel.

Please note that international transportation companies such as cruise lines, may have specific onboard regulations and restrictions. For additional information please contact your private carrier.

Thank you,

 

Canada Border Services Agency / Agence des services frontaliers du Canada
Ottawa, Ontario

[broberts]

It only makes sense to contact the cruise line before the cruise to establish its procedures. The onboard account has to be settled and the ship manifest adjusted. I expect there will be a bit of paperwork to be completed onboard before debarking.

 

[tanyacork]

13 hours ago, Starboard Forty said:

Travelling Tokyo to Vancouver aboard Queen Elizabeth in May/Jun.  Would like to disembark in Victoria (home) rather than travel to Vancouver and return by ferry the next day.

Has anyone been able to disembark in Victoria with similar circumstances?  If so, which cruise line and what was required?

We do that quite often with celebrity Cruises. Prior to embarking we ask for a permission in writing and have the letter confirming we can do that. There is a little fee with celebrity, I am not sure about other cruise lines.  

[Starboard Forty]

3 minutes ago, tanyacork said:

We do that quite often with celebrity Cruises. Prior to embarking we ask for a permission in writing and have the letter confirming we can do that. There is a little fee with celebrity, I am not sure about other cruise lines.  

Thank you for this information.

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, Starboard Forty said:

I contacted CBSA, the reply said that it was up to the cruise line.

 

I do know of people that have disembarked in Victoria. In one case the cruise line (not Cunard), charged them a fee.  On a Cunard trip last year people from Victoria were allowed to off load their luggage in Victoria.  I would not want to be the one to test jumping ship to find out the consequence from either CBSA (entering Canada without clearing customs) or the cruise line.

 

I asked the question in this forum to see if other passengers had managed to "legally" disembark and how they managed the request to so such.

 

 

Their full reply:

Canadian citizens re-enter Canada by right.

For re-entry into Canada as a citizen of Canada, we recommend you carry proof of your Canadian citizenship such as a Canadian passport, a Canadian birth certificate along with valid government issued photo identification such as a driver’s license, a citizenship card, or a Certificate of Indian Status, to assist the border services officer in confirming your citizenship.

Land and sea entrance into Canada by a Canadian citizen seventeen (17) years of age and under can be completed with an original birth certificate alone. Photo identification is not required until the age of eighteen (18).

The Government of Canada recommends that Canadian citizens travel with a valid Canadian passport because it is the only reliable and universally-accepted travel and identification document available to Canadians for the purpose of international travel.

Please note that international transportation companies such as cruise lines, may have specific onboard regulations and restrictions. For additional information please contact your private carrier.

Thank you,

 

Canada Border Services Agency / Agence des services frontaliers du Canada
Ottawa, Ontario

I would think that this is completely irrelevant to the question. The ship arrives in Victoria before Vancouver. Assuming that it is the first Canadian port, all passengers are cleared to enter Canada at that point. (If there were another Canadian port before that, then they would have been cleared to enter Canada at that port.) If you are allowed off the ship for an excursion, you are cleared to enter Canada. So disembarking in Victoria is only a question for the cruise line.

[BTV]

A few years ago on the Queen Mary we were able to disembark in Halifax. It was a transatlantic crossing and we had permission to disembark before arriving in New York . It was dealt with prior to the cruise and immigration came on the ship. We only missed a sea day .I believe there were other passengers who did this. It was great for us as a short taxi ride home instead of a flight from New York.

[bookbabe]

21 hours ago, Starboard Forty said:

I contacted CBSA, the reply said that it was up to the cruise line.

…

I asked the question in this forum to see if other passengers had managed to "legally" disembark and how they managed the request to so such.

Seriously, you just have to contact the cruise line, and then possibly talk to the Security Officer on board to confirm and make final arrangements.  It’s very easy.
 

When my mom did this, the CBSA folks at the Victoria terminal were completely nonchalant about it, I actually even had to wave one of them over to collect her customs form, which they took but didn’t even glance at.  The CBSA does all of the arrivals paperwork before the ship lets anyone off, so as long as the onboard security officer has done their correct paperwork, CBSA doesn’t care about a Canadian getting off one port early.  It’s the ship that cares the most, since they have to do that paperwork and figure out about any “missing” passengers at all aboard time.

[Starboard Forty]

31 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Seriously, you just have to contact the cruise line, and then possibly talk to the Security Officer on board to confirm and make final arrangements.  It’s very easy.
 

When my mom did this, the CBSA folks at the Victoria terminal were completely nonchalant about it, I actually even had to wave one of them over to collect her customs form, which they took but didn’t even glance at.  The CBSA does all of the arrivals paperwork before the ship lets anyone off, so as long as the onboard security officer has done their correct paperwork, CBSA doesn’t care about a Canadian getting off one port early.  It’s the ship that cares the most, since they have to do that paperwork and figure out about any “missing” passengers at all aboard time.

By chance do you recall the cruise line?  I am looking for examples such as this that involve a Cunard ship.  When I have contacted Cunard via email their response is that it is not done ... on their ships.

[bookbabe]

13 minutes ago, Starboard Forty said:

By chance do you recall the cruise line?  I am looking for examples such as this that involve a Cunard ship.  When I have contacted Cunard via email their response is that it is not done ... on their ships.

We were on NCL in May 2022

[david,Mississauga]

22 hours ago, BTV said:

A few years ago on the Queen Mary we were able to disembark in Halifax. It was a transatlantic crossing and we had permission to disembark before arriving in New York . It was dealt with prior to the cruise and immigration came on the ship. We only missed a sea day .I believe there were other passengers who did this. It was great for us as a short taxi ride home instead of a flight from New York.

 

We did the same on a Queen Mary 2 crossing. At first, Cunard said no to our travel agent. I contacted the Canadian immigration service and was put through to a senior consultant in Ottawa. He said if we had Canadian passports no cruise line can prevent us from disembarking at any Canadian port - as long as no law is being broken. (I'm not going to look it up but on another thread I quoted a law restricting passengers from being carried between two Canadian ports on non-Canadian registered vessels.) Obviously that doesn't apply to trans-oceanic voyages.  At the same time our agent got through to someone at Cunard's head office in Southampton who said it was wrong to tell us no.

 

We have taken three Vancouver-based Alaska cruises on the Queen Elizabeth which have called in Victoria the day prior to Vancouver. On the first two (2019 and 2022) Cunard allowed - even encouraged - passengers to disembark in Victoria if they wished.  I don't know exactly how many did so, but from my observations it was perhaps one or two dozen on those two cruises.

 

But last year Cunard referred to the legislation that prevented this.  It is similar to the laws in the U.S.  It appears Cunard didn't know about this on the previous two voyages that we took. On our June 2023 cruise some passengers left the ship and didn't return.  Their names were called on the tannoy just before departure, asking them to report to the purser's office immediately. 

[lots-of-km2]

On 2/17/2024 at 12:39 PM, Starboard Forty said:

I am looking for examples such as this that involve a Cunard ship.  When I have contacted Cunard via email their response is that it is not done ... on their ships.

 

Have you tried posting your question on the Cunard board? Worth a try.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/32-cunard-line/ 

 

[Starboard Forty]

7 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

We did the same on a Queen Mary 2 crossing. At first, Cunard said no to our travel agent. I contacted the Canadian immigration service and was put through to a senior consultant in Ottawa. He said if we had Canadian passports no cruise line can prevent us from disembarking at any Canadian port - as long as no law is being broken. (I'm not going to look it up but on another thread I quoted a law restricting passengers from being carried between two Canadian ports on non-Canadian registered vessels.) Obviously that doesn't apply to trans-oceanic voyages.  At the same time our agent got through to someone at Cunard's head office in Southampton who said it was wrong to tell us no.

 

We have taken three Vancouver-based Alaska cruises on the Queen Elizabeth which have called in Victoria the day prior to Vancouver. On the first two (2019 and 2022) Cunard allowed - even encouraged - passengers to disembark in Victoria if they wished.  I don't know exactly how many did so, but from my observations it was perhaps one or two dozen on those two cruises.

 

But last year Cunard referred to the legislation that prevented this.  It is similar to the laws in the U.S.  It appears Cunard didn't know about this on the previous two voyages that we took. On our June 2023 cruise some passengers left the ship and didn't return.  Their names were called on the tannoy just before departure, asking them to report to the purser's office immediately. 

Thanks very much for this.  Last year Cunard quoted the Canadian regulation as you mentioned and that was applicable because the trip started in Vancouver.  This time it starts in Japan and Victoria is the first stop. Would sooner disembark in Victoria than having to return to Victoria from Vancouver.

[david,Mississauga]

I will add that the man I spoke to in Ottawa agreed with me when I asked if Cunard continued to be difficult and said this couldn't be done we could simply get off in Halifax and not return. He did suggest it would be better if it was done officially. If not we would have to speak with an official on the pier.  Eventually there were 30 people who disembarked in Halifax. It was the easiest arrival in Canada we have ever had. We were told to gather in a small lounge and a purser's staff collected our passports and spoke with the border officials. Our luggage was then taken off the ship for us and we left at our convenience.

 

We found it amusing that a Halifax couple we met at tea on board the QM2 had been told by Cunard they had to stay on until New York and make their way home. Prior to boarding in Southampton  my travel agent had gotten permission and we received a document called "Deviation of Itinerary." Our cruise cards were marked destination "YHZ". I told this couple that what they were told was nonsense and they should go to the purser and say they were going to leave the ship in their home city. Permission was granted without further fuss.

 

In Victoria I noticed the disembarking passengers were directed to a desk in a small structure and they spoke briefly with a border official and went on their way.  Arriving in Canada by ship is so much more civilised than arriving by air.

 

[Starboard Forty]

18 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

I will add that the man I spoke to in Ottawa agreed with me when I asked if Cunard continued to be difficult and said this couldn't be done we could simply get off in Halifax and not return. He did suggest it would be better if it was done officially. If not we would have to speak with an official on the pier.  Eventually there were 30 people who disembarked in Halifax. It was the easiest arrival in Canada we have ever had. We were told to gather in a small lounge and a purser's staff collected our passports and spoke with the border officials. Our luggage was then taken off the ship for us and we left at our convenience.

 

We found it amusing that a Halifax couple we met at tea on board the QM2 had been told by Cunard they had to stay on until New York and make their way home. Prior to boarding in Southampton  my travel agent had gotten permission and we received a document called "Deviation of Itinerary." Our cruise cards were marked destination "YHZ". I told this couple that what they were told was nonsense and they should go to the purser and say they were going to leave the ship in their home city. Permission was granted without further fuss.

 

In Victoria I noticed the disembarking passengers were directed to a desk in a small structure and they spoke briefly with a border official and went on their way.  Arriving in Canada by ship is so much more civilised than arriving by air.

 

Tks ever so much for this information.

[Heidi13]

On 2/16/2024 at 8:48 AM, Fairgarth said:

 

I can't iamgine that Cunard could detain you on board against your will.  What if there was some major health emergency and you needed a hospital?  They would get you off PDQ.  I speak from experience.  We were on a ten day cruise from Venice to Athens last October and had to jump ship after four days and fly home to Vancouver.  No problem.  And, since you ask, everything is fine now, thank you.

 

 

No cruise line can legally detain you from disembarking, but in some ports the consequences can be considerable.

 

The situation you described bears little resemblance to the OP's request, as your cruise was most likely within the Schengen Zone/EU zone, so possibly no passport or customs formalities required upon disembarkation. Emergency medical evacuations, are handled differently than requests to disembark early, due to residence. However, with emergency medical disembarkation, if Cabotage Laws are involved, the cruise line can still be fined and pass those cost onto the pax.

 

When a vessel docks, the Master provides the information on the manifest, as known to the ship, to the local authorities. If the ship advises pax will be spending the night aboard (overnight calls) or departing the port with the ship, any changes may invoke penalties in some ports.

 

In addition, the ship requires notification so they can prepare the final pax statement.

[Auralee]

We did this kinda with carnival. (We dropped most of our luggage but opted to stay for the night as if you wanted to disembark in Victoria it was EARLY. I had hoped we could disembark later in the day since the ship was in Victoria til 11pm or something but they wanted us off as soon as we docked. ) We ended up dropping our luggage at home and returned to the ship with one carryon to relax and it made a light trip back the next day. (Food in mdr and the last shows made it worth the ferry to me - and my kiddo loves riding skytrain). 

[em-sk]

On 2/15/2024 at 10:24 PM, Starboard Forty said:

Travelling Tokyo to Vancouver aboard Queen Elizabeth in May/Jun.  Would like to disembark in Victoria (home) rather than travel to Vancouver and return by ferry the next day.

Has anyone been able to disembark in Victoria with similar circumstances?  If so, which cruise line and what was required?

 

Done this with NCL. 

 

The problem you have is the cruise line head-office tends to not get into these details.  It is typically something sorted out between the purser on the ship, the port agent.   If you ask the cruise line they will either say no or say they need to contact the ship.

 

I would ask at the purser desk once your on the ship.