Immigration Procedure in Bar Harbor

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I have read that in some cases cruisers have to go through a somewhat lengthy passport clearance in Bar Harbor on the ship before anyone is tendered ashore. I'm trying to determine if this is done in any instance when the ship is coming from a destination in Canada or just in certain instances. We will be flying to Canada, boarding a ship there, and cruising around Atlantic Canada and New England and disembarking in New York. Our first stop in the U.S. is Bar Harbor. Is there a special procedure used, or is the ship likely to be cleared as it usually is - i.e., U.S. officials either coming on the ship and looking at the passenger manifest, doing clearance online, or whatever they do? For us, it's been pretty rare that officials of any country have come on the ship and required every passenger to present his or her passport in person.

 

We are scheduled to arrive Bar Harbor at 8, and I've set up a tour. The tour company asked when the ship was due in and then came back with a 9 AM starting. I'm assuming that will be fine, even with tendering, but was curious after reading a couple older posts about the process taking a long time. I know I need to allow time for clearance and tendering, but am trying to figure out just how much time it's likely to take!http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/confused.gif

[1025cruise]

Yes, if Bar Harbor is your first stop, you will need to clear immigration. They will come on the first tender and need to see every passenger. In some cases, you will be allowed off after you are cleared, in other cases, you will need to wait until the entire ship is cleared.

[3dogmom]

If your cruise embarks and disembarks from a US port but has stops in Canada do you have to go through immigration at your first Canadian port?

[1025cruise]

Canadian immigration isn't as "specific" as US. The ship will be cleared as a whole. The US does require a personal touch with all passengers.

 

Hence the reason for Alaskan cruises leaving Vancouver, you clear US immigration/customs prior to boarding, as the rest of the cruise is in US waters.

[smslms]

I have read that in some cases cruisers have to go through a somewhat lengthy passport clearance in Bar Harbor on the ship before anyone is tendered ashore. I'm trying to determine if this is done in any instance when the ship is coming from a destination in Canada or just in certain instances. We will be flying to Canada, boarding a ship there, and cruising around Atlantic Canada and New England and disembarking in New York. Our first stop in the U.S. is Bar Harbor. Is there a special procedure used, or is the ship likely to be cleared as it usually is - i.e., U.S. officials either coming on the ship and looking at the passenger manifest, doing clearance online, or whatever they do? For us, it's been pretty rare that officials of any country have come on the ship and required every passenger to present his or her passport in person.

 

We are scheduled to arrive Bar Harbor at 8, and I've set up a tour. The tour company asked when the ship was due in and then came back with a 9 AM starting. I'm assuming that will be fine, even with tendering, but was curious after reading a couple older posts about the process taking a long time. I know I need to allow time for clearance and tendering, but am trying to figure out just how much time it's likely to take!http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/confused.gif

 

If the decision is made to have passengers clear US Customs in Quebec as part of the boarding process then you will not repeat the process in Bar Harbor. We've seen it happen both ways. If you clear Customs on the ship the length of time is determined by how many Customs officers are on board, how much time they spend with each passenger and the number of passengers on the ship. The process can easily take a couple of hours.

 

If you don't clear in Quebec advise your tour operator of the situation so that they know what to expect.

[Jolie_Cruiser]

Unless things have changed, ships do not clear US customs in Quebec City or Montreal.

 

Here is how border control functioned on my Canada N/E cruises:

 

If you are coming from the US: about 2 nights before getting to your first Canadian port, you will get a declaration card to be filled out in your stateroom. This filled card is checked by Canadian customs agents. Select passengers are called for an individual interview before getting off at the first Canadian port. In my case it was Halifax.

 

If you are coming from Canada: everybody has to pass an individual inspection with USA border agents who come on board in Bar Harbor. There is one line for American passengers and one line for all the others. The line for American passengers goes fast. The other line well it depends...

[martincath]

If the ship begins in a Canadian port that has US CBP staff stationed, and the first stop after leaving that port is in the USA, you'll be precleared as you embark the vessel - you effectively enter the USA while still physically in Canada. This is cheaper for your government and more efficient than having enough agents at every possible first port of call in the US!

 

OTOH, if the first stop is another Canadian port, you'll be cleared when you actually enter the USA at the first port of call - here in Vancouver, this happens on repo cruises which go Vancouver-Victoria then on down the Cali Coast.

 

Since it looks like OP is on the Regatta cruise 30 Sep that hits several consecutive Canadian ports before Bar Harbor, immigration WILL happen there even if US CBP agents could have pre-cleared it in Montreal if it were heading direct to the USA. Hopefully since it's a comparatively small cruise ship the delays won't be too bad for OP...

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Thanks for the help. I'm just going to assume things will be relatively easy for us, and if not, we and the tour operator will just have to wait a bit.

[geomarc]

Here is how border control functioned on my Canada N/E cruises:

 

If you are coming from Canada: everybody has to pass an individual inspection with USA border agents who come on board in Bar Harbor. There is one line for American passengers and one line for all the others. The line for American passengers goes fast. The other line well it depends...

 

How long do you think this will take? Since it's a tender port besides, we are trying to figure private tour times? :confused:

[Jolie_Cruiser]

Unfortunately, I cannot answer that. There are too many factors involved such as how well your cruise line is organized, how many non-US passengers there are, size of ship, possible fog problems for tendering etc.

 

On my last cruise, clearing the line-up for no-US guests took longer because there was a language barrier between the couple in front of me and the border agent.

 

So it can be fast or not. Some NCL passengers had problems last year. See this thread

 

"Bar Harbor Immigration?":

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2258882

 

If you are sailing on a ship with over 1000 passengers, just to be on the safe side, I would calculate 2 hours between docking time and the start of your private excursion. But that is just my opinion...

[Lucy Jane]

Could depend on how many ships are in port that day.

 

 

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