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vancouver to alaska boarding process.


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what is the boarding and customs process to get on the boat to alaska from vancouver. if you can walk me through it. i have alot of anxiety around border checks etc. i know what to expect at airports but this is my first cruise. How many different lines are there in the whole process? what do they check? do you get a body scan or a pat down? or just metal detector? is it like the airport?

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Boarding a cruise ship will require a trip through a security checkpoint but it is much less cumbersome compared to an airport checkpoint.  You will walk through a metal detector and carry on bags will go through x ray machines.  If you don't set off the metal detector there should be no pat down but that will be at the discretion of security.  

Luggage drop occurs in the Canada Place parking garage so that will be the first queue.  From there you walk inside Canada Place.  Within Canada Place the rest of the process can vary depending how they have it set up but it typically involves going up and down levels to complete the rest of the check in process until you reach the waiting area if the ship hasn't started boarding already.   

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8 hours ago, twangster said:

Boarding a cruise ship will require a trip through a security checkpoint but it is much less cumbersome compared to an airport checkpoint.  You will walk through a metal detector and carry on bags will go through x ray machines.  If you don't set off the metal detector there should be no pat down but that will be at the discretion of security.  

Luggage drop occurs in the Canada Place parking garage so that will be the first queue.  From there you walk inside Canada Place.  Within Canada Place the rest of the process can vary depending how they have it set up but it typically involves going up and down levels to complete the rest of the check in process until you reach the waiting area if the ship hasn't started boarding already.   

Thank you for this detailed answer. We have purchased the key to get priority boarding to ease my worries a bit. So it wont be as busy and lined up. Maybe there is a youtube i could watch about the canada place cruise terminal. 
thanks! 

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Apparently the key doesnt offer priority boarding in vancouver or australia. So anxiety now induced... cant believe for the price it doesnt include this as it was on the higher end of key pricing.

i guess i will call and talk to RC about this, either to find a solution or cancel the key package. 

any advice from anyone who was ever in a similar situation please let me know.

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On 4/21/2022 at 2:34 AM, twangster said:

I’m boarding in Vancouver in another week or so.  I’ll keep an eye open for Key signs.  When do you board?

I’ve boarded in Vancouver before.  It never stood out as being very different compared to other ports.  

i didnt see this until now. thanks so much. please keep me updated. 

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On 4/21/2022 at 2:34 AM, twangster said:

I’m boarding in Vancouver in another week or so.  I’ll keep an eye open for Key signs.  When do you board?

I’ve boarded in Vancouver before.  It never stood out as being very different compared to other ports.  

and anything else you can tell me about the process would be great. if you can, i would love a literal walkthrough of all of the steps. thanks so much.

 

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45 minutes ago, anxiouscruiser said:

and anything else you can tell me about the process would be great. if you can, i would love a literal walkthrough of all of the steps. thanks so much.

 

Follow my live blog here:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/31210-seeking-nanook-serenade-of-the-seas-double-glacier-may-1-may-8-2022/

 

 

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31 minutes ago, steverk said:

Don't we have to go through US customs before boarding the ship? 

I haven't been through Vancouver since 2006, but that's what we did then.

Yes.  Upon boarding a cruise ship in Vancouver guests will be precleared by US CBP officials.

In the past I have been sent up one escalator to reach the cruise line check in area then after getting checked in by the cruise line I was directed down an escalator and followed a path to reach US CBP.   There I presented my travel documents and went through the normal CBP process just like when flying from Vancouver airport to the US.  

Once through customs and immigration there was a waiting area that eventually led us onto the ship once the ship was ready.

That was in 2019.  My plan was to validate that is still the same here in 2022 on Sunday when I embark Serenade.  

However, keep in mind US CBP has nothing to do with Canada's or the CDC's requirement to have a negative test or the ArriveCAN app which should not be in play for a cruise that home ports in Vancouver.  The US does not require a negative test for presentation at CBP when you are not flying on a airplane into the US. So in this case, US CBP is not expected to ask about a COVID test.  That should occur at cruise line check in upstairs before getting to CBP.  

i didn't want to assume everything is like it was years ago, I will be posting more on this once I see for myself how it is in 2022.

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So am I understanding correctly that for a 1 way cruise from Vancouver to Seward since we have already cleared US customs when boarding, we will not have to deal with any of it at any of the Alaska port of calls or when disembarking in Seward?  We can just put away passports for the rest of the trip once boarded?  (unless we do an excursion into the Yukon, will have 2 land border crossings to negotiate)

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8 hours ago, Ken Edgar said:

So am I understanding correctly that for a 1 way cruise from Vancouver to Seward since we have already cleared US customs when boarding, we will not have to deal with any of it at any of the Alaska port of calls or when disembarking in Seward?  We can just put away passports for the rest of the trip once boarded?  (unless we do an excursion into the Yukon, will have 2 land border crossings to negotiate)

You will have to clear through US CBP at Canada Place when boarding the ship.  

You will need a negative test result taken with 2 days to board the ship just like you would when boarding a cruise in the US.

Once on the ship you can put your passport away for the rest of the trip except if you plan to cross back into Canada while stopped in Skagway.

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Looks like there were headaches in trying to board Radiance with needing a different ArriveCan submission than the one you entered the country with.

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/04/30/radiance-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-1-vancouver-canada

 

Seaborn's website has this info:

 

 Passengers flying or driving to Canada to board their cruise will be required to complete an ArriveCAN submission before arriving to Canada via the air or land mode. Subsequently, passengers embarking on a cruise in Canada will have to create another ArriveCAN submission shortly after arrival. 

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  • 9 months later...

I am a first time cruiser with a question I have had conflicting answers to. Booking an RC cruise from Vancouver to Alaska for my Dad, my wife and myself. 30 years ago I received a criminal record here in Canada which has not prevented me from traveling to a variety of Asian countries, or establishing a second home in Philippines.
My intention is to stay on the ship for the duration of the back and forth cruise but after reading other posts in this thread, I do understand I have to pass through U.S. Customs at the Vancouver Cruise Ship terminal. 
I do not want to break the hearts of my family if I am refused entry but I am not sure where to get a qualified answer to this issue.

Has anyone here been through this?

Thanks in advance. 
 

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2 hours ago, deraildave said:

I am a first time cruiser with a question I have had conflicting answers to. Booking an RC cruise from Vancouver to Alaska for my Dad, my wife and myself. 30 years ago I received a criminal record here in Canada which has not prevented me from traveling to a variety of Asian countries, or establishing a second home in Philippines.
My intention is to stay on the ship for the duration of the back and forth cruise but after reading other posts in this thread, I do understand I have to pass through U.S. Customs at the Vancouver Cruise Ship terminal. 
I do not want to break the hearts of my family if I am refused entry but I am not sure where to get a qualified answer to this issue.

Has anyone here been through this?

Thanks in advance. 
 

Meeting US CBP while boarding a ship in Vancouver is much like going across any border crossing into the US.  All the same checks will be performed.  They are actual CBP agents with the full computer systems available and the regular kiosks and stuff used at all border entry points into the US.  

If you can't drive to the US or fly to the US because of your past record then the same will apply boarding the ship in Vancouver.  

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