Alaskan cruise with a stop Canada with 10 year old misdemeanor (non DUI)

[Jacouser18]

Hello all, I seen other topics on this post but I see a lot of mixed answers. From my understanding if you have a any type of criminal record at all I know entering Canada on a cruise is a tricky topic. I was wondering if you can board a Cruise from Seattle that has Canada as one of its ports if you have a misdemeanor in the US. I see some posts saying you can but you will have an interview with a Canadian immigration officer upon arrival in Canada to determine if you can embark or not with the worst case scenario being stuck on the ship for that one specific port. Other posts saying you cant even get on the ship in Seattle but how would the cruise line know you have something on your record since they are private company and not a government entity like Canadian immigration officials. My cruise is in July so its a little late to get special permission at this point. I don’t mind being stuck on the ship for the last port worst case scenario because my main goal is Alaska and I couldnt find any cruises with Royal caribbean that didnt have the Canada stop.

[1025cruise]

Is the misdemeanor considered a misdemeanor in Canada?

 

There are no Alaska cruises that either don't start/end in Canada or stop in Canada due to PVSA.

[Jacouser18]

6 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Is the misdemeanor considered a misdemeanor in Canada?

 

There are no Alaska cruises that either don't start/end in Canada or stop in Canada due to PVSA.

I looked online and saw that Canada doesnt clasifiy misdemeanor and felonies so not sure. Its a minor petty theft charge for under 100 back during stupid teen years.

[mom says]

Unfortunately for the OP, Canada classes any theft conviction as a felony. Without legal mitigation, you would be unlikely to be allowed to enter Canada. And this conviction shows up on immigration records. Whether the cruise line would allow you to embark and just remain on board in the Canadian port- that's a question you need to ask them.

[Flatbush Flyer]

48 minutes ago, Jacouser18 said:

Hello all, I seen other topics on this post but I see a lot of mixed answers. From my understanding if you have a any type of criminal record at all I know entering Canada on a cruise is a tricky topic. I was wondering if you can board a Cruise from Seattle that has Canada as one of its ports if you have a misdemeanor in the US. I see some posts saying you can but you will have an interview with a Canadian immigration officer upon arrival in Canada to determine if you can embark or not with the worst case scenario being stuck on the ship for that one specific port. Other posts saying you cant even get on the ship in Seattle but how would the cruise line know you have something on your record since they are private company and not a government entity like Canadian immigration officials. My cruise is in July so its a little late to get special permission at this point. I don’t mind being stuck on the ship for the last port worst case scenario because my main goal is Alaska and I couldnt find any cruises with Royal caribbean that didnt have the Canada stop.

The cruise line must submit a passenger manifest to US CBP days prior to embarkation. For Alaska, it is shared with the Canadian equivalent authority. If you have any prior arrest with/without court disposition in the federal database, it will not escape the authorities’ scrutiny. Here, it is important to note that when charges are dismissed by a local court, there are occasions when that info doesn’t make it to the US database. When Global Entry started up, The NY Times did an article on how many errors reside in that US data base.
In any case, for future reference, you want that record expunged if possible and that will take a lot of significant personal effort and/or lawyer’s expensive effort with no guarantees. And throughout that process, the most important thing to remember is to not f**k with the US government since it will only dig you a deeper hole.

Also realize that you enter a country (any country) when you cross its ocean border. Staying on the ship is irrelevant. That’s why folks are denied boarding at embarkation.

At the bottom line, you may want to rethink Alaska. There are far more interesting global locations to see glaciers, eagles, bears et al. From a land trip to Northern California’s Sierras to Chile’s Patagonia, you’ll find far more interesting places than tourist heavy Alaskan cruise towns overrun by thousands of mass market cruisers.

Don’t screw up here!

[martincath]

2 hours ago, Jacouser18 said:

I looked online and saw that Canada doesnt clasifiy misdemeanor and felonies so not sure. Its a minor petty theft charge for under 100 back during stupid teen years.

If those 'stupid teen years' were when you were under 18, and you were tried and convicted as a juvenile rather than as an adult, you might not be 'deemed inadmissible' (the official fancy terminology for not being allowed into Canada).

 

For this and MANY other reasons, there are really only two paths I would recommend - the first is to try and cross the border and see what happens, so definitely do NOT do this as part of a cruise or any other expensive package. Take a special trip to the nearest border ASAP so all you waste is time & transportation costs - assuming that your sentence (including probation, suspended periods, fines etc.) was COMPLETED at least 10 years before, on paper it does look like you have a good chance to qualify as 'Deemed Rehabilitated' and be allowed in after an interview with CBSA, but they absolutely will NOT answer this kind of thing by phone or email, you need to present yourself to CBSA in person. If they turn you away, get busy on changing your cruise to Not Canada!

 

You could also pay a lawyer who specializes in Canadian Criminal Inadmissibility cases - who should have a lot better idea than me about whether your precise circumstances meet the criteria for 'deemed rehabilitated' at the border (basically plead your case with CBSA and if they agree that it was a minor enough offence, long enough ago they will mark your file as DR and you can both enter now and come back in the future, assuming you keep your nose clean); would qualify for a one-shot Temporary Resident Permit ($200, same deal as DR except the assessment of risk is based on one specific trip so it's a lower bar, e.g. only 5 years need to have passed since your sentence was completed rather than 10 for DR); or would need to go whole-hog for a 'pardon' of the offence (we use the term 'record suspension' rather than 'pardon' and this involves hefty fees and a delay that could run well over a year for processing).

 

It's definitely too late if you need to do the last of these with a cruise in July, so basically you'll pay someone lots of money to give you an estimate of your chances at getting in - but you'll still have to front up at the border to find out if they were right...

 

Best of luck!

 

Edit - totally missed that your cruise was an RT Seattle, so likely just a stop in Victoria unless you wanted to do e.g. railway excursion in Skagway into Canada. You might be allowed to board but forced to stay on the ship on one of these, but there's no way to be certain - so you can either cruise with a question mark or try the 'cross border now' thing!

Edited April 2, 2022 by martincath

[Jacouser18]

I cant because I already paid for it and am past the refund date. I saw a post on here from someone who said he worked for Alaskan cruises for 20 years and that they dont send over the manifest with Canada until 72 hours prior to arrival? I also seen stories of many people that have taken Alaskan cruises no problem but cant find an example of someone turned away at Seattle.

[martincath]

1 minute ago, Jacouser18 said:

I cant because I already paid for it and am past the refund date. I saw a post on here from someone who said he worked for Alaskan cruises for 20 years and that they dont send over the manifest with Canada until 72 hours prior to arrival? I also seen stories of many people that have taken Alaskan cruises no problem but cant find an example of someone turned away at Seattle.

Swapping to a Not Canadian cruise does mean a Not Alaskan cruise - but with 3+ months to go your cruise line should let you swap itineraries even if they won't refund...

[navybankerteacher]

You have received some great suggestions here — from people you do not know and who may or may not have ANY idea of what they are talking about.

 

I suggest you get formal records of everything: covering the offense and the disposition, and then raise the issue with the nearest Canadian consulate - who should be able to give you informed advice.

 

p.s. I am not sure if Canada’s definition of “stupid teen years” (and possible free passes in connection therewith) are in synch with yours.

[Ferry_Watcher]

As someone who has checked in passengers for Alaska cruises, I have never heard of any passengers being denied boarding for any reason other than lack of required documentation, or maybe illness.  It is possible that a person could be contacted prior to embarkation day and told that there is a problem, but I have never heard of it happening at check-in.  Also, none of the training we receive covers that particular denied boarding situation (past misdemeanor).  

 

One possibility is that once the Canadians receive the manifest, they no doubt have the ability to deny a passenger entry to the Canadian port-of-call (not the cruise itself, but just the Canadian port-of-call).  While you could visit all the Alaskan ports, the Canadian authorities could inform the ship to stop you from getting off in Victoria.  The ship could/would put an alert on your SeaPass card, and if you tried to leave the ship in Victoria, the card would alert and you would be asked to step aside and the crew member would explain that you can't get off the ship in Victoria. 

 

If you still plan to take the cruise to Alaska, I would I would suggest just staying on the ship while in Victoria.

 

Disclaimer - this is a (somewhat) educated guess on my part.  

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

As someone who has checked in passengers for Alaska cruises, I have never heard of any passengers being denied boarding for any reason other than lack of required documentation, or maybe illness.  It is possible that a person could be contacted prior to embarkation day and told that there is a problem, but I have never heard of it happening at check-in.  Also, none of the training we receive covers that particular denied boarding situation (past misdemeanor).  

 

One possibility is that once the Canadians receive the manifest, they no doubt have the ability to deny a passenger entry to the Canadian port-of-call (not the cruise itself, but just the Canadian port-of-call).  While you could visit all the Alaskan ports, the Canadian authorities could inform the ship to stop you from getting off in Victoria.  The ship could/would put an alert on your SeaPass card, and if you tried to leave the ship in Victoria, the card would alert and you would be asked to step aside and the crew member would explain that you can't get off the ship in Victoria. 

 

If you still plan to take the cruise to Alaska, I would I would suggest just staying on the ship while in Victoria.

 

Disclaimer - this is a (somewhat) educated guess on my part.  

 

 

I have heard that Canadian authorities request passenger manifests for all ships calling at Canadian ports - but given the fact that people can book a cruise just a couple of days before sailing, it seems unlikely that problematic criminal records could rise to the surface quickly enough for Canadian authorities to force cruise lines to take action denying anyone boarding.

 

Also an educated speculation on my part.

[Aquahound]

On 4/1/2022 at 4:02 PM, 1025cruise said:

There are no Alaska cruises that either don't start/end in Canada or stop in Canada due to PVSA.

 

Not true.  There are American flagged lines that do not stop in Canada.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

As someone who has checked in passengers for Alaska cruises, I have never heard of any passengers being denied boarding for any reason other than lack of required documentation, or maybe illness.  It is possible that a person could be contacted prior to embarkation day and told that there is a problem, but I have never heard of it happening at check-in.  Also, none of the training we receive covers that particular denied boarding situation (past misdemeanor).  

 

One possibility is that once the Canadians receive the manifest, they no doubt have the ability to deny a passenger entry to the Canadian port-of-call (not the cruise itself, but just the Canadian port-of-call).  While you could visit all the Alaskan ports, the Canadian authorities could inform the ship to stop you from getting off in Victoria.  The ship could/would put an alert on your SeaPass card, and if you tried to leave the ship in Victoria, the card would alert and you would be asked to step aside and the crew member would explain that you can't get off the ship in Victoria. 

 

If you still plan to take the cruise to Alaska, I would I would suggest just staying on the ship while in Victoria.

 

Disclaimer - this is a (somewhat) educated guess on my part.  

 

 

And a “guess” it is. You do not need to get off a ship to have already entered Canada (or any country). Once the ship has crossed into a country’s territorial waters, you have entered that country. 

[navybankerteacher]

8 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

And a “guess” it is. You do not need to get off a ship to have already entered Canada (or any country). Once the ship has crossed into a country’s territorial waters, you have entered that country. 

Doesn’t address the question of whether boarding might be impacted.

[6rugrats]

No one here can really give you a definitive answer.  

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, 6rugrats said:

No one here can really give you a definitive answer.  

But quite a few will pretend to be able to do it.

[Jacouser18]

Thank you for the input. This is my grandmas 90 birthday cruise so I am going to take my chances and hope that worse case i just cant enter Canada.

[Ferry_Watcher]

@Jacouser18, please give us an update after your cruise.  Thanks!

[Flatbush Flyer]

14 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Doesn’t address the question of whether boarding might be impacted.

Oh, but it does. If the Canadian border folks comment negatively on the manifest provided by O to CBP and shared with them and the passenger is then allowed to board the ship and  “enter” Canada (solely by means of being on the ship), there will be follow-up. 
This is no different than an airline not imposing a Covid testing requirement of a destination country for boarding.

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 hours ago, Jacouser18 said:

Thank you for the input. This is my grandmas 90 birthday cruise so I am going to take my chances and hope that worse case i just cant enter Canada.

“....take my chances....”

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

8 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Oh, but it does. If the Canadian border folks comment negatively on the manifest provided by O to CBP and shared with them and the passenger is then allowed to board the ship and  “enter” Canada (solely by means of being on the ship), there will be follow-up. 
This is no different than an airline not imposing a Covid testing requirement of a destination country for boarding.

Oh, come on... Do you really think that if there was an American on a cruise ship to Alaska with a 5 hour port-of-call in Victoria who it turns out has a decades old misdemeanor, that they will call out their Coast Guard, board the ship and then what...?   

 

Let the OP enjoy his Grandmother's 90 birthday in peace.  He has no plans to get off the ship in Victoria.  Just chill.

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

46 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Oh, come on... Do you really think that if there was an American on a cruise ship to Alaska with a 5 hour port-of-call in Victoria who it turns out has a decades old misdemeanor, that they will call out their Coast Guard, board the ship and then what...?   

 

Let the OP enjoy his Grandmother's 90 birthday in peace.  He has no plans to get off the ship in Victoria.  Just chill.

 

Perhaps you misread my post or just don’t understand the nature of international penalties in the world of transportation. For sure, your Coast Guard comment shows that you don’t know much about who’s responsible for what. 
 

Though everything is always open to the interpretation of some authority in the mix, note that a cruise line (like an airline) might be the entity ultimately fined for violating/disregarding Canada or US (or any country’s) border and/or immigration laws/requirements (particularly if they make a habit of it).

 

Want to know just how picky can be a government? Have you applied for Global Entry? You’d be amazed at what garners an initial denial of something that only lets you get on a shorter line.

Most troubling in this scenario  is the overarching unlearned lesson regarding “take my chances.” I’m not Canadian but, their comparatively strict requirements around past criminal offenses speaks volumes to that statement.

 

 

[chengkp75]

11 hours ago, Jacouser18 said:

Thank you for the input. This is my grandmas 90 birthday cruise so I am going to take my chances and hope that worse case i just cant enter Canada.

Just so you know, there is no "petty theft" in Canada, only "theft under $5000" and "theft over $5000".  Both are considered to be "serious crime", which is what puts you afoul of CBPS and entering Canada.  Now, from the CBPS website, the best case is that you would be restricted to the ship while in Canada, they could do other things up to deportation.

[MBP&O2/O]

Not Canada but USA .... we had a crew member who fell foul of the immigration authorities and they just slapped him in handcuffs and kept him in custody until we were ready to sail and then delivered him back. From what I have seen, and what little I know I believe the Canadian immigration staff can be as brutal .... especially if someone tries it on! 

[sparks1093]

I have a friend who used to cross the border frequently (as many of us do, considering it's proximity) and he never had any problems. Then one day the border agent performed a check of the US database (possibly NCIC). It is my understanding that they don't do this for every traveler, but it is a random check. He had an old issue of some sort and now his Canadian record is flagged and he can no longer enter. If the Canadian officials select your record as one to check then you would be denied disembarkation. 

 

There is a procedure to follow and it is outlined here https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1403/. Of course there may not be time to get this done before July but the link says "several weeks" so it is a possibility. It is possible to take your chances, but if your name is on the manifest given to the Canadian officials and they have your record already flagged, or if they run your record prior to cruise departure then this might result in your booking being cancelled. If they do this after the cruise has departed then you will not be permitted to go ashore. And there is always the chance that your record won't be checked. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by sparks1093