Clearing Customs - Pearl Boston to Quebec City sailing

[CruisnDeb]

We are on the Norwegian Pearl September 1st sailing Boston to Quebec City.  For those who have cruised the Boston to Quebec City (one way) itinerary, how did customs work?  I read on the Port of Quebec website that we will clear customs at our first Canadian port which is Halifax for us.  Just wondering how long this took?  We are scheduled for 9:00 am arrival and I guess I'm trying to figure out if some of our port time will be used to clear customs.  TIA for any information and/or helpful tips.

[DCGuy64]

50 minutes ago, CruisnDeb said:

We are on the Norwegian Pearl September 1st sailing Boston to Quebec City.  For those who have cruised the Boston to Quebec City (one way) itinerary, how did customs work?  I read on the Port of Quebec website that we will clear customs at our first Canadian port which is Halifax for us.  Just wondering how long this took?  We are scheduled for 9:00 am arrival and I guess I'm trying to figure out if some of our port time will be used to clear customs.  TIA for any information and/or helpful tips.

If you have nothing to declare, clearing customs is a breeze, it won't take you any time at all.

[CruisnDeb]

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

If you have nothing to declare, clearing customs is a breeze, it won't take you any time at all.

Will everyone have to clear customs before they let anyone exit the ship?  Do you have to signup for a customs appointment?  I read how on a recent Pearl Bermuda sailing, there were long lines to turn your customs form in (I think they had to signup for a time) and cruisers were held up from exiting the ship at Bar Harbor and a lot of port time was missed.  With Bar Harbor being a tender port, this made the tender process a royal mess.  I'm hoping since Halifax is a docking port, it won't be as much of an issue.  Just trying to get the process down in my head so I can make a plan and be mentally prepared lol.

[DCGuy64]

Here's a fairly recent thread I found on CC about this. It sounds like it's very quick and everyone is cleared at the same time.

Incidentally, we were booked on the same Boston > Quebec City cruise last September on the Pearl, too. Sadly, we had to cancel because my wife caught Covid in Spain in May '22, I had to burn through another week of vacation due to that, so I didn't have enough vacation time for the cruise. Hoping you have a great time!

Edited August 17, 2023 by DCGuy64

[genealogyfan]

1 hour ago, CruisnDeb said:

We are on the Norwegian Pearl September 1st sailing Boston to Quebec City.  For those who have cruised the Boston to Quebec City (one way) itinerary, how did customs work?  I read on the Port of Quebec website that we will clear customs at our first Canadian port which is Halifax for us.  Just wondering how long this took?  We are scheduled for 9:00 am arrival and I guess I'm trying to figure out if some of our port time will be used to clear customs.  TIA for any information and/or helpful tips.

I took that exact same cruise in Sept 2022 and I don't remember any wait, lines or anything regarding customs. I just remember waiting to be cleared to get off the ship and the lines weren't that bad. We were both US citizens. 

[CruisnDeb]

17 minutes ago, genealogyfan said:

I took that exact same cruise in Sept 2022 and I don't remember any wait, lines or anything regarding customs. I just remember waiting to be cleared to get off the ship and the lines weren't that bad. We were both US citizens. 

Excellent.  Thanks for sharing your experience.  I'm anticipating this will be our experience too.

[njhorseman]

You'll  be clearing immigration, not customs, in Halifax. In my experience that's a quick process that is done from the manifest information for the ship as a whole with the exception of individual passengers that CBSA may need to interview because of questions about their admissibility to Canada, often due to having a DUI or other criminal conviction.

You'll go through customs clearance when you disembark in Quebec City, and even that is normally perfunctory unless CBSA wants to inspect what you're bringing ashore.

[CruisnDeb]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

You'll  be clearing immigration, not customs, in Halifax. In my experience that's a quick process that is done from the manifest information for the ship as a whole with the exception of individual passengers that CBSA may need to interview because of questions about their admissibility to Canada, often due to having a DUI or other criminal conviction.

You'll go through customs clearance when you disembark in Quebec City, and even that is normally perfunctory unless CBSA wants to inspect what you're bringing ashore.

That sounds logical to me.  And I hadn't even given it a thought until came across this information I read on the Port of Quebec website (https://www.portquebec.ca/en/cruises/information-for-cruise-ship-passengers/boarding) so it got me wondering lol.

 

ARRIVAL IN QUEBEC CITY
(DISEMBARKING TIPS) 

• Most passengers leave the ship between 6:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
• Customs control is carried out at the first Canadian port the cruise ship reaches. Your cruise line will provide more information depending on your itinerary. 
• Luggage porters are available to help transfer your bags to the bus, limousine, taxi, or personal vehicle. 
• Tipping is optional.
• For relatives and friends picking up passengers, there are several parking lots in the sector. Go to parkindigo.ca and ville.quebec.qc.ca for options in the area. 
• Explore beautiful Quebec City while you’re here! Go to quebecregion.com.

[bonvoyagie]

we did a Boston to Quebec and back in 2016. Going to Canada was no problem the ship was fully cleared in Halifax and there was nothing in Quebec. Now when we cruised this year from Seward to Vancouver they simply collected the papers we filled out and let us off the ship. Now getting back to the USA was a different story. On the New England cruise we had to go through Immigration at Bar Harbor - being in a suite they did all of us as a single group - very painless - just show our passport and they put a green dot on our keycard. At Vancouver we had to go through customs at the airport which was hit and miss but we got through just fine others were questioned more.