Cruising to Alaska w/ Foreign Friends or Family? Do they need/have a Canadian Visa ?

[Ferry_Watcher]

As Americans resume cruising to Alaska, so resumes the heartbreak of some foreign friends and family members who are surprised at the pier to find out that they need a Canadian Visa in order to be allowed to board the cruise ship.  The majority of the foreign guests don't need the Canadian Visa.  These folks have passports from countries like: Great Britain; the EU; Australia; New Zealand; Japan: South Korea and Mexico.  

Other visitors, from South America (with one exception), Africa, and most of Asia will need a Canadian Visa in order to board the ship from a US port.  While these visitors would have a US Visa, the US Visa does not equate with a Canadian Visa.

 

Example: you have relatives visiting from Brazil (on a US Visa) and you decide to take them to Alaska.  Unless they have a Canadian Visa in their passport, they will be denied boarding.  Or, your son's girlfriend is visiting from South Africa and you decide to include her in your family vacation.  Without a Canadian Visa, she will be denied boarding.  Same with relatives visiting from India - their US Visa allowed them to travel to the US, but if you want to take them on a cruise to Alaska, they would also need a Canadian Visa.

 

To get a Canadian Visa for your foreign friend or family member, they should really apply in their home countries.  It is a matter of submitting their passports, which when the Visa application is approved, the passport is returned with the visa attached.

 

Folks who are denied boarding due to not having the correct travel documents should not expect a refund.  While the cruise line may issue a refund, they are under no legal obligation to do so, as stated under the cruise contract that we all sign (and probably not read).

 

Please research and do your due diligence if you are planning to take a foreign friend or family member on a cruise. 

 

Visa-required travellers

The following travellers need a visa to come to Canada by any method of travel – plane, car, bus, train, or cruise ship.

Note: Holders of Alien’s passport and Stateless individuals need a visa to visit or transit Canada.

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Algeria
• Angola
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Belarus
• Belize
• Benin
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Botswana
• Brazil (note: some Brazilian citizens may be eligible for an eTA if they meet certain requirements)
• Burkina Faso
• Burma (Myanmar)
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon, Republic of
• Cape Verde
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• China, People's Republic of
• Colombia
• Comoros
• Congo, Democratic Republic of
• Congo, Republic of
• Costa Rica, Republic of
• Cuba
• Djibouti
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• East Timor
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Fiji
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Georgia
• Ghana
• Grenada
• Guatemala
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Honduras
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Israel, must have a valid Israeli “Travel Document in lieu of National Passport”
• Ivory Coast
• Jamaica
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Korea, North
• Kosovo
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Macao Special Administrative Region
• Macedonia
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives Islands
• Mali
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Micronesia, Fed. States
• Moldova
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Palau
• Palestinian Authority
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Qatar
• Romania (holder of a non-electronic passport, such as a temporary passport)
• Russia
• Rwanda
• Sao Tomé e Principe
• Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Somalia
• South Africa
• South Sudan
• Sri Lanka
• St. Kitts and Nevis
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines (St. Vincent)
• Sudan
• Surinam
• Swaziland
• Syria
• Taiwan, must have a passports other than ordinary passports issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that include their personal identification number
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Togo
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Tuvalu
• Uganda
• Ukraine
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Yemen
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

[martincath]

Another tremendous post @Ferry_Watcher, which hopefully is seen early enough to avoid financial loss and familial problems (do those who have all the paperwork board and 'abandon' their fam...?)

[Ferry_Watcher]

Thank you @martincath for your kind words - I am honored .

 

I do hope that folks read about the potential need for a Canadian Visa if they plan to travel with visiting foreign friends and family.  It is so easy to get swept up in the excitement of booking a cruise to Alaska (especially with some of the great fares), to share the wonderful experience of seeing Alaska with visiting friends and relatives, that the idea of a Canadian Visa being needed doesn't enter the considerations.  It's not surprising, since Americans really aren't use to needing visas to travel to many countries.    And sadly, the travel agents aren't catching that not all the travelers in the group are American.

I do hope this thread will save at least one person, or one family group disappointment and heartbreak.

[weloverunning]

What a kind service to post this.  I made the mistake of asking on FB cruise pages and no one answered. Hopefully, you saved someone the heartbreak.

We are a family of 8 going to Alaska on June 10th. Our son's fiance is on a visitors US visa from Brazil.  We knew nothing about this until of PCP mentioned it in passing.  I had said "Oh, Amanda is from Brazil". PCP asked if she's an american citizen. Well, no. She's on a visitor's visa. She point out said, "She will not be able to cruise with you" What??? She said she has had people turned away at the port without a Canadian Visitor's Visa EVEN if you have no intentions of getting off the ship in Canada.

Amanda was in Brazil at the time and after jumping through all the hoops (paperwork, finger printing, etc.)I believe everything is in order.  We will all hold our breaths until she is able to board.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Thank you @weloverunning, for sharing your first hand story.  Thank goodness you mentioned that Miss Amanda was visiting from Brazil.  As long as Miss Amanda has the Canadian Visa in her Brazilian passport she will be good to go. (It looks very similar to the full passport page US Visa).  She should not be surprised if her passport is collected at check-in and returned once the ship arrives in Victoria.  This practice gives the Canadians easy and quick access to all the passports they need to inspect without disrupting the passengers.  And you are correct that it doesn't matter if the guest didn't plan of getting off the ship in Canada (Victoria), the visa is needed regardless.

 

Thanks again for sharing your story!

[Gunther1]

I used to work at pier 91 and can personally vouch re this warning.  
 

During almost every embarkation, we would see people in what we called the “pit of despair”….the unfortunate holding area on the first floor  for people that were in this situation.

[weloverunning]

post deleted

Edited May 18, 2022 by weloverunning
incorrect info