I've tried looking this up on a search but can't seem to find the information I'm looking for.This question is for anyone who can answer but I'm also interested in what anyone from the UK who has cruised Alaska has to say.

As I'm from the UK...what happens when I do a Vancouver to Vancouver cruise, regarding entry to the USA via an Alaskan port. When I arrive in Vancouver I will be in Canada and getting on board the cruise ship will still be Canada.

So for us UK citizens normally when we enter the United States we have a green visa waiver form to fill in & pass through customs & immigration and get a stamp on our passports.

Does this happen at the first Alaskan port we get to ? Does the cruise line have to hold UK passports for the immigration process.
Then just before we dock back at Vancouver at the end of the cruise...how do we exit the USA ?
Normally when we leave the USA, immigration take back the green bit of the visa waiver they have clipped on our passport (to prove we have left the USA )

I'm a little confused about the procedures...can anyone help ?

Jack,

I don't know the answer, but perhaps you can glean something in this link.

Hi Jack 2007,

I don't have all the answers to your questions, but having gone on an Alaskan cruise from Vancouver I can tell you this:

You actually enter the U.S. in the terminal as you're boarding the ship. U.S. customs will go over your passport/entry documents at that time. You will not have to show documents at the Alaskan ports.

Then, upon return, you actually enter Canada at the terminal as well and the Canadian customs officials look at your documents there and then.

I am Canadian, so all I needed was a passport, but there are different lines for Americans, Canadians and "others" I think.

I hope this helps.
Judy

In Vancouver they will call you to clear INS. It is done at the Vancouver terminal. Quick and painless.

quote:

Originally posted by gdjoslin:
In Vancouver they will call you to clear INS.

Sorry, I don't get this, what does INS stand for .....what does it mean ?

.

It stands for Immigration and Naturalization Service. It no longer exists though. I don't know the answer either. It would be best to call the particular cruise line you are sailing on for the requirements.

Dwayne

Thanks Dwayne, actually I am only looking at cruises to Alaska along with other choices, so I haven't actually chosen a cruise line yet. I just want to be clear in my head about what the procedures for uk citizens are.At least I have a bit more of an idea now that Kraftsinc has told me USA immigration & customs are at the cruise terminal in Vancouver.
But I'm still wondering who gets to remove the green visa waiver receipt they attach to your passport.
Because if it does not get back to USA immigration then re-entry to the USA at a later date may be awkward as you have to prove when you left the country.
Hope I'm not confusing you too much.

I thought INS was the name of it. However I know that you will be asked to report to another section with your passports. We will in the Waiting area with people from Europe, and Ireland last year. That is what happened to them.

For those interested, here is the story of what became of INS.

As a civil servant I think I can safely say that I hate it when they change the name of a department to something that says the exact same thing as original one.

I know what you mean, and I don't work for the Government.

Dwayne

Any US Customs/INS/DHS/whatever office is considered "no-man's land"... sounds ominous, but it really just means you're standing on US soil, even though you got off a plane in Canada. Above posts have hinted at the answer here... you do all of your US entry and exit "stuff" at the cruise terminal in Vancouver. It's a big, and relatively new facility, and usually goes quite quickly and smoothly. You'll carry your UK passport with the US (and presumably Canadian) immigration marks, visas, etc. with you while you're cruising. If you need ID for anything in US ports, just use your passport.
When you disembark in Vancouver, you'll go through a similar (reverse) process to officially "leave" the US and re-enter Canada, at which point I run out of answers... presumably you'll re-enter the UK when you leave Canada and return home, but I've never undergone that particular phase.
(My horror story is getting through Ukraine on my way back to the US from Russia... Russia was fine letting me in and out, US was fine letting me out and back home again, but Ukraine had big problems with my laminated reproduction of a US confederate bill from the Civil War as a bookmark in my Tolstoy!)

I will pay my first visit to Vancouver when I leave the Celebrity Mellenium after a 7 day southward cruise form Seward. From what I am reading I assume the the US Border Protection Agents pre-clear all cruise passengers boarding vessels heading for US ports in Alaska and I assume a simular process will happen to me at Vancouver International Airport when I fly from Vancouver to Anchorage to begin my cruise.
Upon arrival in Vancouver, you now have to make your declaration to the Canada Border Service Agency to seek permission to enter Canada. I know that Canadian Offices will stamp a UK or EEC passport and should be willing to take a green US Immigration document and return it to US authorites for processing. I would doubt that a UK citizen who was cleared by US Customs prior to boarding a vessel in Vancouver and as long as the ship is not visiting any other Canadian ports will be required to produce their passport again at US ports. However, if the traveller is taking the White Horse Train excursion, a passport will be needed as I assume Canada Border Services Agents will be meeting you at the Canada/US border when you enter the Yukon and they will be verifying ID's.

quote:

Originally posted by tekdiva:
As a civil servant I think I can safely say that I hate it when they change the name of a department to something that says the exact same thing as original one.

But thats such a useful thing. That way they can spend more tax money on all the building signs, letterhead and everything thing else that had the old name an now needs to be changed. That way they can claim they over spent on their budget this year and need an increase for next year. If they don't spend more than they take in they might be targeted for budget cuts. It would be a real tragedy if that happened and they couldn't continue to grow the size of Government each year!

Cheers, Neil