Canada Customs Twice?

[Maplemoose]

We are Canadians sailing form San Diego to Vancouver with a stop at Victoria included. Has anybody out there experienced this? How do they handle Customs checks. Obviously, if you are allowed to disembark in Victoria then you must report to Customs. What then happens in Vancouver? I've thought through the scenarios and can't come up with anything logical unless you go through 100% checks twice.

[Bramcruiser]

Not 100% sure since we did the same cruise but in the other direction in 2005. At Victoria all we had to do is show our passport going off the ship and heading back on we needed our card/key. That was all. I suspect that you'll probably have to bend over and get the full exam after the ship pulls into Vancouver. However, I could be wrong on that. :) To tell you the truth, when we arrived in San Diego all we did was show our passports to the US immigration officer and walked off to get our luggage. Very surreal on that trip!

 

David

[Allis154]

I had also wondered about this. Except, through in the White Pass Railway (cross into Yukon) and you have three trips 'home'. What happens to our duty-free limits then? Customs matters if you are leaving something in Canada, such as when we come home. By just passing though, it doesn't matter. Immigration has to be done everywhere though.

[jerhardt]

I had also wondered about this. Except, through in the White Pass Railway (cross into Yukon) and you have three trips 'home'. What happens to our duty-free limits then? Customs matters if you are leaving something in Canada, such as when we come home. By just passing though, it doesn't matter. Immigration has to be done everywhere though.

 

From what I know, you are still considered "in transit" with Canada Customs. You won't clear Canadian Customs until your trip ends and all your duty free entitlements will be the same. Because you clear US customs prior to boarding the ship in Canada, you are in essense, on US soil. Same holds true for a Pacific Coastal voyage that originated in LA or SF - you are on US soil still. Only when the trip ends and you "officially" return to Canada does the lovely Canada Customs get involved again.

[LeftcoastBC]

I haven't done north bound which the OP is doing..

 

Southbound there are several senerio's and it applys to Ak. as well.

 

When you leave Canada Place/Ballantyne and your first stop is USA you will clear USA customs and immigration in Vancouver as you board.

 

If your first stop is Canada you just go through the normal ship security and board.

 

South bound for example we did Two stops in Canada and then cleared US Customs and immigration in Astoria on the ship before we could go ashore. (This was a mess)

 

There should be some sort of proceedure to Clear Canadian customs & immigration if you depart USA eg. as the Op states he is doing and landing in Victoria and not just wait until Vancouver.