stereo Posted December 27, 2013 #1 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Hi All--We are considering taking the Millie from Vancouver BC to seward AK--Since Vancouver is a foreign port do passengers go through US customs etc. as they board the ship or at the first Ak. port??? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted December 27, 2013 #2 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Hi All--We are considering taking the Millie from Vancouver BC to seward AK--Since Vancouver is a foreign port do passengers go through US customs etc. as they board the ship or at the first Ak. port??? Thanks No, Vancouver is a domestic port. Seward is the foreign one! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinfool Posted December 27, 2013 #3 Share Posted December 27, 2013 No, Vancouver is a domestic port. Seward is the foreign one! :) Silly rabbit!! LOL OP....yes, you clear US customs in Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisestitch Posted December 27, 2013 #4 Share Posted December 27, 2013 You first must enter Canada, either by air, rail or highway or ferry. Then, at Canada Place terminal, you leave Canada AND then clear US Customs/Immigration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jborosara Posted December 27, 2013 #5 Share Posted December 27, 2013 It's a nightmare...just know that going in Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Aurora Posted December 27, 2013 #6 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Even though we live in Alaska we've done three Alaska cruises. On the northbound runs from Vancouver to Seward we have gone through US customs in Canada Place before boarding the ship, and so once we reached the first Alaskan port passengers just walked off to enjoy their day. Didn't find it a nightmare at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freedom750 Posted December 27, 2013 #7 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Its a very easy process. When you arrive in Vancouver you will follow the signs and get in a line to clear Canadian customs (it is almost exactly the same set up as in any airport in the USA). You will declare your destination (i.e. one/two days in Vancouver at the _______ Hotel or where ever it is) or if not staying in Canada, then you will declare that you are going to the ship terminal. When you arrive at Canada Place (most ships go out of there now) you will take your bags to the drop off place for the ship (unless you are travelling light and want to take them with you through customs and on to the ship), then go into the building and go through US customs, then get your cruise ship documents and room card and then board the ship. Very smooth. You will love the Alaska cruise - just bring layers for clothes as it could be warm (don't worry about it being hot - hot is not a term used for Alaska), cool or down right cold with wind. On our last Alaska cruise there were 34 of us and we documented the number of whales we saw at 127. A cow and calf swam right beside the ship in a channel, some were fairly close but most were further away and unless you had binoculars, you would only see their dark shape and the steam from their blow holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Cruiser 6143 Posted December 27, 2013 #8 Share Posted December 27, 2013 It's a nightmare...just know that going in Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app I agree. Canada Place cannot handle more than one ship at a time. There were 3 ships in the day I had to clear US immigration. I stood in line for FOUR HOURS. It was ugly. Will never sail from Vancouver again. Sorry Vancouver, you are a lovely city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwp1127 Posted December 28, 2013 #9 Share Posted December 28, 2013 It must depend on when you get there. We did the Century in July, there were 2 other ships in the same day (Disney, and I can't remember the other), and we were through Customs in about (no exaggeration) 5 minutes. Granted, we got there early, but it was hands-down the smoothest embarkation we've ever had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freedom750 Posted December 28, 2013 #10 Share Posted December 28, 2013 It's all about timing. On almost every cruise we've been on I hear the same comments. One person says that they waited for hours to get through the lines and another person says that they went through without any lines at all. Same thing for disembarkation. I got off the Caribbean Princess on Dec. 21 in Houston in 20 minutes but I read the blogs about others standing in the same line for over 4 hours and having the staff bring them sandwiches because they didn't want to step out of line to eat. In the end it all balances itself out. Like life, you win some and lose some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig103 Posted December 29, 2013 #11 Share Posted December 29, 2013 It's a nightmare...just know that going in Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app I thought it was a piece of cake last year. Maybe because I got there early, but the lines weren't long for anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted December 29, 2013 #12 Share Posted December 29, 2013 This should be interesting for us. We are UK citizens arriving from Hawaii on the Solstice to do b2b to Alaska. Will we still have to go to US immigration in Alaska as we will have technically left the US in Vancouver and then re-entered in Alaska? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middlehaitch Posted December 29, 2013 #13 Share Posted December 29, 2013 (edited) Hi sanddancer, you will be popping in and out of both customs and immigration quite a few times on your trip. Each time you enter either Canada (Vancouver x 2) or the US (Hawaii & Alaska) it will happen. The US quite often has immigration at the point of departure. Have you got your ESTA? Cheers, h. Oh I have just re read your post and I thought you were doing an Alaska back to back after the Hawaii cruise. Now I read it different; still in and out of US so customs and immigration x 2. Edited December 29, 2013 by middlehaitch adding info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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