Cruising to Alaska/Canada with DUI - 2022

[imobannon]

There are several old, and a few newer, threads regarding cruising through Canada if you are a U.S. citizen on an Alaska cruise, and you maybe had a DUI or other arrest when you were younger. The following is my experience from 3 days ago (Aug 5-12, 2022) on Royal Caribbean.

For people not aware that this might be an issue, Canada has the right to establish their own laws and requirements for entry. Don't try to argue this. Yes, an old DUI might be considered a reason for Canada to deny entry. If you're searching this topic and found this thread here as a result, you probably have already seen all of the scary and "don't even book" or "they won't let you board" websites. Here's my story from 3 days ago.

I was worried about being admitted or denied, because of the posts on those scary websites and blogs. We had this cruise booked before covid, and rescheduled a couple times when the restart happened. We are experienced cruisers, but first time to Alaska or through Canada. This cruise was Royal from Seattle, returning to Seattle. A closed-loop cruise. Ports visited included Juneau, Skagway and Sitka (in Alaska), with a final port visit to Victoria, BC, Canada.

My legal history:
I am a Navy Vet, have a couple of college degrees, etc. I am 52. When I was 18, in 1988, I was arrested for DUI in Oklahoma. I deserved it. DUI is a crime and for a good reason. It was my first offense and I received a deferred sentence, which means no conviction. For those unfamiliar with legal issues, you can be found guilty and sentenced to probation or jail (that's called a conviction), -- or you can be found not guilty. Or... you can plead guilty, with conditions, and they set the charges on the shelf for 6 months to a year. If you don't get in any more trouble, they dismiss the charges. No conviction. That is what I got. But... Canada can see the arrest in most cases, and also often can see that you plead guilty, even if you were never convicted.

There's more to my legal history:
In 1997, after I returned from the Navy, I was arrested for what was apparently an old warrant from before I joined the Navy. Fingerprints/handcuffs/night in jail. At first, they charged me with felony embezzlement of rental property. Sounds horrible. It was a rental video game I hadn't returned, and the old felony limit in Oklahoma had still been $50 at the time. The charge was dropped to misdemeanor and eventually dropped, after I paid fines, court costs, etc. No convictions.

AND:
In 2008, 20 years after my first DUI, I drove drunk again. And got caught. And spent a night in jail. And deserved it. Honestly, I think DUI laws in the U.S. need to be harsher. Anyways, that one really did set me straight and I haven't driven under the influence of anything since. Since it had been so long since the prior arrest, I once again did not get convicted of DUI. I had to pay some serious court costs and fines, etc. And lawyer costs.

CANADA:
And then, in 2015 with my girlfriend and her kids (14 and 16 at the time), we decided to drive up into Canada when we were visiting a border state. And we got stopped at the border, questioned, and triggered enough checklist items that they asked us inside. (Oklahoma license plates, girls have diff last names than mom, etc). Good stop, but the result was they said no entry. (That was fun to tell the U.S. border agents when they asked how long we were in Canada... "about 1 hour."

YES, I GOT INTO CANADA:
No problems booking. No problems on board. Once the ship set sail, I knew that the worst they would do (which you might have seen on other post threads) is maybe ask me a few questions before the Victoria, Canada port and maybe not let me get off. But nothing happened. I listed to the announcements, and nobody's name was asked to go to a pre-screening room/event. We got off the ship, and went through the port visitor entrance, and it was actually less staffed than most Caribbean countries' ports. I think I saw 2 Canadian border officials, mostly gazing into the clear blue Canadian skies. Within my own view, not a single person was checked/stopped/anything. We spent about 5 hours in Victoria- a really beautiful city, but as far as cruise ports go is kinda meh, lol. I do like Canada though.

So- when you read the posts here where people wonder if they will get stopped trying to board a cruise that visits a Canadian port, most of those people have far fewer legal problems than I've listed above. Or they are only admitting some of their history.

Before the cruise, I did a background check on myself, and the legal issues I mentioned above are listed on my FBI background check. You can order one for yourself from the FBI, and supposedly the Canadians have access to the same thing (or more). The FBI "Identity History Summary Check" costs about $18 for the FBI to run the report, but then you have to go to a local major post office and pay $50 to have your fingerprints taken. The report is then sent to you via email and mail. I got my email within 30 minutes. https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks

I also searched the state bureau of investigation and state court network, since all of my offenses happened in Oklahoma. They showed the same things. So, with a long-standing cruise booking, and old crimes that are still on my record, Canada had no problem with me visiting.

A point to note for others, however, is that Canada's DUI laws changed in 2018. If you have a DUI in the U.S. after that, your experience could be much worse for a couple of reasons. Before that, they considered a DUI forgivable (for entry into their nation) if it was more than 10 years old. That might have been why I was denied at the border- the 2008 one wasn't 10 years old yet. They don't have to forgive it, but they can. But any DUIs after 2018 can be considered a "forever-ban" from Canada.

There will be the usual people who say "don't even try to visit Canada" if you have an old DUI. My advice if you haven't booked yet, would be to try to clean up your record via expungement (that will clean your FBI check). To do so, you have to use a lawyer. I did not do this. I had serious stress issues, but ended up having no problems at all- zero.

If you've already booked, I would recommend not asking the cruise line. If you make them worry, they might bump you. And don't ask the Canadian border agency, since that will put you on their radar. I think the best thing would be to order your FBI background check, just so you know. If you had one single legal issue 20 years ago, don't stress too much.

A BIG DIFFERENCE THOUGH: If you are flying or driving into Canada to take a cruise from a Canadian port, like Vancouver, you might have a very different result. Entry into Canada by car or airplane goes through (I think) more substantial scrutiny.

I am happy to answer any questions.
 

[Ferry_Watcher]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[imobannon]

This is why I was following the topic closely over the past few months.

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

And just a reminder for anyone reading about this - no one is denied boarding at Seattle's Pier 91 for these types of past incidents (there was some speculation that that might happen).

Denials at Pier 91 are only for travel documents issues, and while we have covid protocols: vaccination status, positive covid tests and other related covid health issues.

The cruise lines, Pier 91 have no access/knowledge of past incidents in passengers' lives that might concern Canadian officials.

 

[jsn55]

It's extremely good for you to share your story ... you bad boy!  I grew up in northern Minnesota, where drinking is the state sport, so 'everyone and their brother' has a DUI, but I got lucky.  Totally stopped drinking when driving about 20 years ago when I was on a 6-mile ruler-straight freeway at midnight after a Christmas party.  "Suddenly" two CPH cruisers with flashing light bars on passed me.  And I had never seen them coming.  So THAT was the end of any alcohol before driving. 

[Heidi13]

18 hours ago, imobannon said:

There are several old, and a few newer, threads regarding cruising through Canada if you are a U.S. citizen on an Alaska cruise, and you maybe had a DUI or other arrest when you were younger. The following is my experience from 3 days ago (Aug 5-12, 2022) on Royal Caribbean.

For people not aware that this might be an issue, Canada has the right to establish their own laws and requirements for entry. Don't try to argue this. Yes, an old DUI might be considered a reason for Canada to deny entry. If you're searching this topic and found this thread here as a result, you probably have already seen all of the scary and "don't even book" or "they won't let you board" websites. Here's my story from 3 days ago.

I was worried about being admitted or denied, because of the posts on those scary websites and blogs. We had this cruise booked before covid, and rescheduled a couple times when the restart happened. We are experienced cruisers, but first time to Alaska or through Canada. This cruise was Royal from Seattle, returning to Seattle. A closed-loop cruise. Ports visited included Juneau, Skagway and Sitka (in Alaska), with a final port visit to Victoria, BC, Canada.

My legal history:
I am a Navy Vet, have a couple of college degrees, etc. I am 52. When I was 18, in 1988, I was arrested for DUI in Oklahoma. I deserved it. DUI is a crime and for a good reason. It was my first offense and I received a deferred sentence, which means no conviction. For those unfamiliar with legal issues, you can be found guilty and sentenced to probation or jail (that's called a conviction), -- or you can be found not guilty. Or... you can plead guilty, with conditions, and they set the charges on the shelf for 6 months to a year. If you don't get in any more trouble, they dismiss the charges. No conviction. That is what I got. But... Canada can see the arrest in most cases, and also often can see that you plead guilty, even if you were never convicted.

There's more to my legal history:
In 1997, after I returned from the Navy, I was arrested for what was apparently an old warrant from before I joined the Navy. Fingerprints/handcuffs/night in jail. At first, they charged me with felony embezzlement of rental property. Sounds horrible. It was a rental video game I hadn't returned, and the old felony limit in Oklahoma had still been $50 at the time. The charge was dropped to misdemeanor and eventually dropped, after I paid fines, court costs, etc. No convictions.

AND:
In 2008, 20 years after my first DUI, I drove drunk again. And got caught. And spent a night in jail. And deserved it. Honestly, I think DUI laws in the U.S. need to be harsher. Anyways, that one really did set me straight and I haven't driven under the influence of anything since. Since it had been so long since the prior arrest, I once again did not get convicted of DUI. I had to pay some serious court costs and fines, etc. And lawyer costs.

CANADA:
And then, in 2015 with my girlfriend and her kids (14 and 16 at the time), we decided to drive up into Canada when we were visiting a border state. And we got stopped at the border, questioned, and triggered enough checklist items that they asked us inside. (Oklahoma license plates, girls have diff last names than mom, etc). Good stop, but the result was they said no entry. (That was fun to tell the U.S. border agents when they asked how long we were in Canada... "about 1 hour."

YES, I GOT INTO CANADA:
No problems booking. No problems on board. Once the ship set sail, I knew that the worst they would do (which you might have seen on other post threads) is maybe ask me a few questions before the Victoria, Canada port and maybe not let me get off. But nothing happened. I listed to the announcements, and nobody's name was asked to go to a pre-screening room/event. We got off the ship, and went through the port visitor entrance, and it was actually less staffed than most Caribbean countries' ports. I think I saw 2 Canadian border officials, mostly gazing into the clear blue Canadian skies. Within my own view, not a single person was checked/stopped/anything. We spent about 5 hours in Victoria- a really beautiful city, but as far as cruise ports go is kinda meh, lol. I do like Canada though.

So- when you read the posts here where people wonder if they will get stopped trying to board a cruise that visits a Canadian port, most of those people have far fewer legal problems than I've listed above. Or they are only admitting some of their history.

Before the cruise, I did a background check on myself, and the legal issues I mentioned above are listed on my FBI background check. You can order one for yourself from the FBI, and supposedly the Canadians have access to the same thing (or more). The FBI "Identity History Summary Check" costs about $18 for the FBI to run the report, but then you have to go to a local major post office and pay $50 to have your fingerprints taken. The report is then sent to you via email and mail. I got my email within 30 minutes. https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks

I also searched the state bureau of investigation and state court network, since all of my offenses happened in Oklahoma. They showed the same things. So, with a long-standing cruise booking, and old crimes that are still on my record, Canada had no problem with me visiting.

A point to note for others, however, is that Canada's DUI laws changed in 2018. If you have a DUI in the U.S. after that, your experience could be much worse for a couple of reasons. Before that, they considered a DUI forgivable (for entry into their nation) if it was more than 10 years old. That might have been why I was denied at the border- the 2008 one wasn't 10 years old yet. They don't have to forgive it, but they can. But any DUIs after 2018 can be considered a "forever-ban" from Canada.

There will be the usual people who say "don't even try to visit Canada" if you have an old DUI. My advice if you haven't booked yet, would be to try to clean up your record via expungement (that will clean your FBI check). To do so, you have to use a lawyer. I did not do this. I had serious stress issues, but ended up having no problems at all- zero.

If you've already booked, I would recommend not asking the cruise line. If you make them worry, they might bump you. And don't ask the Canadian border agency, since that will put you on their radar. I think the best thing would be to order your FBI background check, just so you know. If you had one single legal issue 20 years ago, don't stress too much.

A BIG DIFFERENCE THOUGH: If you are flying or driving into Canada to take a cruise from a Canadian port, like Vancouver, you might have a very different result. Entry into Canada by car or airplane goes through (I think) more substantial scrutiny.

I am happy to answer any questions.
 

 

An excellent summary, thanks for posting.

 

Another consideration for anyone in a similar situation - you have 2 potential issues:

 - Canada's border security laws, and

 - The Officer(s) that interpret them.

 

Based on your post, you probably didn't meet the requirements to enter the country. When the ship's manifest is sent ashore, it is reviewed and all the US information is available to the Border Services Officers.

 

I'll suggest that the officer that reviewed your history decided that you were a low risk and didn't flag you for further inspections. Others in similar circumstances may not have the manifest reviewed by such an accommodating officer.

[imobannon]

15 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

And just a reminder for anyone reading about this - no one is denied boarding at Seattle's Pier 91 for these types of past incidents (there was some speculation that that might happen).

Denials at Pier 91 are only for travel documents issues, and while we have covid protocols: vaccination status, positive covid tests and other related covid health issues.

The cruise lines, Pier 91 have no access/knowledge of past incidents in passengers' lives that might concern Canadian officials.

 

And while I cruised on Royal for this trip, the primary social media voice of Carnival answered several questions about denial of boarding earlier this season (on Facebook), stating point blank that the cruise line does not, and never has, denied boarding based on such old histories. That said, U.S. customs and law enforcement will likely have access to your information, so if you have *active* warrants in either the U.S. or Canada, don't be an idiot.

 

[imobannon]

On a non-related note, but one people wonder about: The ArriveCAN app: Royal did not require it to be completed before cruising. I did not submit the app until the 3rd day of cruising, and we visited Victoria, Canada on the last full day.

[Ferry_Watcher]

8 hours ago, imobannon said:

On a non-related note, but one people wonder about: The ArriveCAN app: Royal did not require it to be completed before cruising. I did not submit the app until the 3rd day of cruising, and we visited Victoria, Canada on the last full day.

Each cruise line has its own rules for enforcing ArriveCan registration.  For example, Carnival is the most strict by not allowing passengers to enter the terminal building at Seattle's Pier 91 until ArriveCan is complete and the QR code can be shown.

 

[Aquahound]

11 hours ago, imobannon said:

On a non-related note, but one people wonder about: The ArriveCAN app: Royal did not require it to be completed before cruising. I did not submit the app until the 3rd day of cruising, and we visited Victoria, Canada on the last full day.

 

That was not my experience.  In Seattle, I had to show my ArriveCan at the door of the terminal building.  They were tuning away people who did not have it and making them download it before they could ride the escalator up to the check-in area.  

[Melanie4848]

On 8/15/2022 at 6:15 AM, Ferry_Watcher said:

And just a reminder for anyone reading about this - no one is denied boarding at Seattle's Pier 91 for these types of past incidents (there was some speculation that that might happen).

Denials at Pier 91 are only for travel documents issues, and while we have covid protocols: vaccination status, positive covid tests and other related covid health issues.

The cruise lines, Pier 91 have no access/knowledge of past incidents in passengers' lives that might concern Canadian officials.

 

What about at the Seward port? 

[Ferry_Watcher]

Seward would be the same as Seattle - you would be embarked.

[Melanie4848]

Thank you. I had seen some conflicting info on this and saw a few people state they were prevented from boarding an NCL cruise and one person mentioned this happened on Royal. I was immediately anxious as the cruise doesnt state anything about this in their fine print. I assume if I was boarding in Vancouver this would be a bigger issue.

7 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Seward would be the same as Seattle - you would be embarked.

 

[Heidi13]

27 minutes ago, Melanie4848 said:

Thank you. I had seen some conflicting info on this and saw a few people state they were prevented from boarding an NCL cruise and one person mentioned this happened on Royal. I was immediately anxious as the cruise doesnt state anything about this in their fine print. I assume if I was boarding in Vancouver this would be a bigger issue.

 

 

If embarking in Vancouver, it could be an issue, as you could be refused entry to Canada, at the Canadian port of entry.