visa required if not desembarking?

[michaelbr]

If I board an Alaska cruise from Vancouver, but do no desembark in Alaska, do I still need an US visa for this cruise (even if the ship dock at US soil but I do not desembark)? 

[cruiseryyc]

YES - you will technically be in US territory while docked, so even if not getting off the ship you will need any documentation required to gain access to the US.

[klfrodo]

To be honest, if you don't have the proper documentation, then they probably won't even let you on the ship.

[VMax1700]

If you are a Spanish Citizen/Spanish Passport holder then you do not need a visa, but you need to apply online for ESTA (Visa Waiver)

https://es.usembassy.gov/es/esta-programa-de-exencion-de-visado/

 

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/esta

 

Make sure you apply through the official website.

[martincath]

Depends on your citizenship what you actually need @michaelbr - but all cruises headed straight to Alaska from Vancouver see US CBP at the port for immigration purposes, so if you need a Visa and don't have it you will 100% not be allowed to board. As noted above already, if you're Spanish it's not actually a Visa you need, and the cost is minimal - but if you're a citizen of a country that does need a Visa to enter the USA just residing in Spain, you need to comply with the appropriate rules for your country of citizenship.

 

Even in the much rarer circumstances of a cruise which visits a second Canadian port after Vancouver, when prescreening would not happen, all pax details are sent to CBP by the ship before arriving at the first US port - if you're not allowed entry then the best case is your cruise card is flagged so security will not let you off the ship, but the worst case (assuming there's no issue of criminality that the US would want to actually arrest you!) is that you are forced to disembark and escorted to the nearest airport/border and made to leave the US right away at your own expense...

 

In short - you are 100% going to be processed by CBP for immigration purposes on any cruise to Alaska, regardless of where it begins, so get your paperwork in order!

 

 

[1025cruise]

It doesn't matter if you get off or not, you need proper documentation to enter the country.

[michaelbr]

14 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

If you are a Spanish Citizen/Spanish Passport holder then you do not need a visa, but you need to apply online for ESTA (Visa Waiver)

https://es.usembassy.gov/es/esta-programa-de-exencion-de-visado/

 

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/esta

 

Make sure you apply through the official website.

thanks for this tip, will keep it in mind.

[michaelbr]

13 hours ago, martincath said:

Depends on your citizenship what you actually need @michaelbr - but all cruises headed straight to Alaska from Vancouver see US CBP at the port for immigration purposes, so if you need a Visa and don't have it you will 100% not be allowed to board. As noted above already, if you're Spanish it's not actually a Visa you need, and the cost is minimal - but if you're a citizen of a country that does need a Visa to enter the USA just residing in Spain, you need to comply with the appropriate rules for your country of citizenship.

 

Even in the much rarer circumstances of a cruise which visits a second Canadian port after Vancouver, when prescreening would not happen, all pax details are sent to CBP by the ship before arriving at the first US port - if you're not allowed entry then the best case is your cruise card is flagged so security will not let you off the ship, but the worst case (assuming there's no issue of criminality that the US would want to actually arrest you!) is that you are forced to disembark and escorted to the nearest airport/border and made to leave the US right away at your own expense...

 

In short - you are 100% going to be processed by CBP for immigration purposes on any cruise to Alaska, regardless of where it begins, so get your paperwork in order!

 

 

thanks for this detailed explanation, will keep it in mind.

[edinburgher]

On 1/10/2024 at 12:43 PM, michaelbr said:

board an Alaska cruise from Vancouver, but do no desembark in Alaska, do I still need an US visa for this cruise (even if the ship dock at US soil but I do not desembark)?

michaelbr, you may be confusing an ESTA requirement with a visa. Post #4 is correct in that if you hold a passport for a  country whose nationals can travel visa free, as long as you personally qualify (which usually but not always means that you do not have a cirminal record) you can travel visa free, but everyone needs an ESTA.  Non EU citizens will also require the EU equivalent called an ETIAS when it s fully implemented later this year or next if they want to travel to the EU

 

Even if you hold an EU passport for a visa free visit, you must check that you personally are not disqualified for any of the reasons which would disqualify you..

Edited January 11 by edinburgher

[Ferry_Watcher]

As a holder of a passport from Spain/EU and if you were boarding the ship in Seattle, you would not need a Canadian Visa for your port-of-call in Victoria, BC.  Your B1/B2 US tourist visa stamp would be all you needed.

 

Also, as others have stated,  if you did not have the required visa for a particular cruise, you would not be allowed to board.  It would not matter that you intended to remain on the ship while in port (a common response when faced with denial). 

 

I do check-in in Seattle, and we deal with folks arriving with passports from some foreign countries which require a Canadian Visa   The most problematic countries tend to be passport holders from: India, China, Indonesia, South Africa, and most South American countries   These folks are usually visiting friends/family in the US, and their US hosts suggest a reasonably priced cruise to 'see Alaska', but sadly don't realize that a Canadian Visa is required for passport holders from some countries.  Without the required Canadian Visa, these foreign passport holders are denied boarding, and the cruise lines do not have to issue a refund, as it is the passenger's responsibility to know whether a visa is needed.  It can be a very expensive mistake.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

As a holder of a passport from Spain/EU and if you were boarding the ship in Seattle, you would not need a Canadian Visa for your port-of-call in Victoria, BC.  Your B1/B2 US tourist visa stamp would be all you needed.

 

Also, as others have stated,  if you did not have the required visa for a particular cruise, you would not be allowed to board.  It would not matter that you intended to remain on the ship while in port (a common response when faced with denial). 

 

I do check-in in Seattle, and we deal with folks arriving with passports from some foreign countries which require a Canadian Visa   The most problematic countries tend to be passport holders from: India, China, Indonesia, South Africa, and most South American countries   These folks are usually visiting friends/family in the US, and their US hosts suggest a reasonably priced cruise to 'see Alaska', but sadly don't realize that a Canadian Visa is required for passport holders from some countries.  Without the required Canadian Visa, these foreign passport holders are denied boarding, and the cruise lines do not have to issue a refund, as it is the passenger's responsibility to know whether a visa is needed.  It can be a very expensive mistake.

Is there any way at that point that a passenger can be helped out to get that requited Canadian visa, or is it too late?

[Ferry_Watcher]

51 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Is there any way at that point that a passenger can be helped out to get that requited Canadian visa, or is it too late?

 

Unfortunately, it would be a full stop denial. 

We have had to deny a bridal couple; members of a 'high roller' casino group - and the group organizer threaten that none of the group would sail; various nannies (and had to listen to the very angry US mom employer); newly introduced girlfriend/boyfriend who can't join the significant other's US family on the cruise; and other similar situations.

 

The Canadian Visa is similar to the US visa in that after you are approved you need to send in your passport and then the full page visa is attached to your passport.  We even had a passenger who received their approval letter days before the cruise, but since they didn't actually have the Canadian visa in their passport, they were denied.

 

What happens is a lot of these folks are travelling with Americans, and Americans never think about foreign friends/family needing a Canadian Visa, especially since they already received an American visa, but it is two different countries, with different requirements.  The visas are not interchangeable.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Unfortunately, it would be a full stop denial. 

We have had to deny a bridal couple; members of a 'high roller' casino group - and the group organizer threaten that none of the group would sail; various nannies (and had to listen to the very angry US mom employer); newly introduced girlfriend/boyfriend who can't join the significant other's US family on the cruise; and other similar situations.

 

The Canadian Visa is similar to the US visa in that after you are approved you need to send in your passport and then the full page visa is attached to your passport.  We even had a passenger who received their approval letter days before the cruise, but since they didn't actually have the Canadian visa in their passport, they were denied.

 

What happens is a lot of these folks are travelling with Americans, and Americans never think about foreign friends/family needing a Canadian Visa, especially since they already received an American visa, but it is two different countries, with different requirements.  The visas are not interchangeable.

When they start screaming at you, is the next step to get a supervisor?

[Mum2Mercury]

On 1/10/2024 at 9:31 AM, klfrodo said:

To be honest, if you don't have the proper documentation, then they probably won't even let you on the ship.

This.  I think the point is that if you're on the ship, you COULD decide to disembark once you've arrived. 

And, honestly, why would you go to Alaska and not leave the ship?  How often are you going to have that opportunity?  

[Ferry_Watcher]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

When they start screaming at you, is the next step to get a supervisor?

 

Generally speaking, check-in agents usually are not the folks breaking the bad news to passengers. 

 

It's either a supervisor, or we walk them over to our Document Recovery Team (the staff who help US born folks who didn't bring the needed travel documents, get a copy of their US birth certificate).  This allows the check-in agent to return to embarking other passengers (and keeping that line moving).  It also helps the just denied passenger to have a staff member to vent to, and who will help them get their checked luggage back off the ship.

[Zach1213]

On 1/11/2024 at 8:12 AM, edinburgher said:

Even if you hold an EU passport for a visa free visit, you must check that you personally are not disqualified for any of the reasons which would disqualify you..

 

Yep, there are several reasons that a visa-exempt passport holder would be ineligible for ESTA. One of the ones I frequently encounter is previous travel to certain countries. Even legitimate visits to places like Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, and some others can put an immediate stop to ESTA eligibility. Not sure if Cuba is included in that list, but it might be. 

[michaelbr]

16 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Unfortunately, it would be a full stop denial. 

We have had to deny a bridal couple; members of a 'high roller' casino group - and the group organizer threaten that none of the group would sail; various nannies (and had to listen to the very angry US mom employer); newly introduced girlfriend/boyfriend who can't join the significant other's US family on the cruise; and other similar situations.

 

The Canadian Visa is similar to the US visa in that after you are approved you need to send in your passport and then the full page visa is attached to your passport.  We even had a passenger who received their approval letter days before the cruise, but since they didn't actually have the Canadian visa in their passport, they were denied.

 

What happens is a lot of these folks are travelling with Americans, and Americans never think about foreign friends/family needing a Canadian Visa, especially since they already received an American visa, but it is two different countries, with different requirements.  The visas are not interchangeable.

Just curious, I have a Spanish passport, can I get e-visa (not sending in my passport to get full page visa, and I had not travelled previously to countries such as Yemen, Iraq, Iran, etc.)?  

[Ferry_Watcher]

I can only speak if you were boarding in Seattle to cruise to Alaska.  As an EU country citizen, you would have received an B1/B2 tourist visa stamp upon arrival at a US airport.  With your Spanish/EU passport, we would not be looking for any other visa in order for you to be embarked in Seattle.

 

Most ordinary tourists are issued the B1/B2 visa stamp.  EU folks (other than tourists) who plan to study, work, etc would apply for one of the many specific visas and that would be a full page attached visa.

 

Tourist from countries other than EU, Britain, AUS, NZ, Japan, South Korea (basically our friends & allies from WWII, and our post war friends & allies), would need a full page attached B1/B2 visa. 

 

Cruise passengers from countries like India, China, the Philippines, etc,  all the African countries, most of the South American countries, would arrive with a full page US visa attached to their passport, and they would also need the full page Canadian Visa.  (Exceptions would be if they were US or Canadian Permanent residents).

 

Regarding whether or not having visited a sanctioned country question - that would be looked at and dealt with at the airport by our Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers.  If you have been cleared by them, then we just take a look at the passport and the US visa (and the Canadian visa if needed).  Generally speaking, passengers who are traveling on an EU country or British passport, as well as Australia, NZ, Japan, South Korea, are embarked as quicky as passport holders from the US or Canada.  It's pretty straightforward. 

 

Also, folks from those sanctioned countries (Cuba, Iran, Russia, etc) would only be embarked if they were Permanent US Citizens (Green Card holder), or a Canadian Permanent Citizen.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Generally speaking, check-in agents usually are not the folks breaking the bad news to passengers. 

 

It's either a supervisor, or we walk them over to our Document Recovery Team (the staff who help US born folks who didn't bring the needed travel documents, get a copy of their US birth certificate).  This allows the check-in agent to return to embarking other passengers (and keeping that line moving).  It also helps the just denied passenger to have a staff member to vent to, and who will help them get their checked luggage back off the ship.

That makes sense to keep the line moving. But, I would think the potential passenger would realize something is not right when you move him or her to another place instead of getting them onboard the ship. Are you sometimes asked what is wrong?

[Ferry_Watcher]

3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

That makes sense to keep the line moving. But, I would think the potential passenger would realize something is not right when you move him or her to another place instead of getting them onboard the ship. Are you sometimes asked what is wrong?

 

They may know that there is a problem, but typically their first reaction is that it is a simple fix like offering to remain on the ship, or maybe they can apply for an electronic visa (not an option).  The possibility of not getting on the ship at all usually doesn't occur to them (at least initially).

 

Now that our Document Team is adjacent to the check-in counter, it's a quick walk over, we quietly let the staff know what the issue is:

• South African passport but no Canadian Visa (Denied)
• US citizen, but just has a Driver's License /no passport or birth certificate;  (may be able to sail)*
• or Naturalized US citizen, expired US passport, but only a copy of their Naturalization certificate - not the original.  (Denied)

 

These are some of the scenarios we deal with.

  *The US born citizen, if they can get a copy of their US gov't issued birth certificate, they will be able to sail. The other two scenarios - denied.

[1025cruise]

In the OP's case, since they are getting on in Vancouver, they will be going through US immigration before even getting to the check in counter. Well, getting stopped by US immigration before even getting to the check in counter....

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, 1025cruise said:

In the OP's case, since they are getting on in Vancouver, they will be going through US immigration before even getting to the check in counter. Well, getting stopped by US immigration before even getting to the check in counter....

 

?

At Vancouver, check-in comes first;

then Security;

then US CBP.

[michaelbr]

12 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

They may know that there is a problem, but typically their first reaction is that it is a simple fix like offering to remain on the ship, or maybe they can apply for an electronic visa (not an option). 

e-visa is not an option is because in the dock, the cruise line staff does not have ways (access) to e-visa's database, that's why they require a B1/B2 (this visa is lenghy and expensive).

[Ferry_Watcher]

6 hours ago, michaelbr said:

e-visa is not an option is because in the dock, the cruise line staff does not have ways (access) to e-visa's database, that's why they require a B1/B2 (this visa is lenghy and expensive).

 

My friend, you have a passport from Spain/EU - you have no worries.

 

Here is a list of countries that need a full page Canadian visa, and a list of countries that are Visa Exempt (eTA) eligible.  Hope this helps.

 

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/entry-requirements-country.html

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

My friend, you have a passport from Spain/EU - you have no worries.

 

Here is a list of countries that need a full page Canadian visa, and a list of countries that are Visa Exempt (eTA) eligible.  Hope this helps.

 

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/entry-requirements-country.html

Always good to hear from someone who actually knows as opposed to most of us who just often give opinions.