Denied Boarding

Oh well, it happened again! We had to put an entire family in the "crying" room, so sad. We had a ship sailing from New York City to Canada today and Canada is very strick as to whom they allow into their country. Certain countries MUST have a Canadian Visa in order to sail. If you are from another country traveling through the US to sail to Canada, PLEASE, PLEASE check and make sure you do not need this Visa. We had to deny an entire family from boarding the ship because they did not have a Canadian Visa. Although New York is a great place to visit, it can be sad if you planned to be aboard a beautiful ship sailing the ocean blue.

Stella

So sad, but so preventable.

So sad, but so preventable.

Yep. I wonder why they never follow up this visa requirement with their travel agency or the cruise line. I guess some people will never learn, or understand that they need to be prepared

Oh well' date=' it happened again! We had to put an entire family in the "crying" room, so sad. We had a ship sailing from New York City to Canada today and Canada is [b']very strick[/b] as to whom they allow into their country. Certain countries MUST have a Canadian Visa in order to sail. If you are from another country traveling through the US to sail to Canada, PLEASE, PLEASE check and make sure you do not need this Visa. We had to deny an entire family from boarding the ship because they did not have a Canadian Visa. Although New York is a great place to visit, it can be sad if you planned to be aboard a beautiful ship sailing the ocean blue.

 

Stella

Do cruisers from Wales need a visa to enter Canada??

Do cruisers from Wales need a visa to enter Canada??

Depends on your passport - see the following link...

www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/visas/passports_brit_passeports.aspx

Depends on your passport - see the following link...

 

www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/visas/passports_brit_passeports.aspx

Thank you. I have friends from UK(living in Wales)who will be cruising from New Jersey next month and a couple of the stops are in Canada. I was going to alert them, if needed.:)

So sad for the family.

Hope they have learned from their costly mistake for the future.

My guess is that the family in question held Mexican citizenship and assumed that reciprocity still existed. Here is a list of countries for which Canadian visas are required.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

That is so sad. I can't imagine how hard it must be to have to tell the family, "Sorry, you aren't cruising,."

it is SAD, but all the cruiselines tell you to make sure you have the PROPER DOCUMENTATION and if you dont understand be sure to ask and make sure you have the RIGHT documents with you--

i cant believe how many come on CC at the last minute and have know for months and ask is this OK to cruise with!

So sad for this family. A lesson to the rest of us to remember to check and double-check what documents we need for each trip. :(

A good reference site to start is visahq.com. They let you select country of origin and see at a glance what visas you need.

it is SAD, but all the cruiselines tell you to make sure you have the PROPER DOCUMENTATION and if you dont understand be sure to ask and make sure you have the RIGHT documents with you--

 

i cant believe how many come on CC at the last minute and have know for months and ask is this OK to cruise with!

Yes, that's true.

Experienced travelers know better but often those who are new to travel don't understand. They sometimes (like here) learn the hard way.

Reminds me of a few years ago when the Mariner of the Seas and the Carnival Splendor were repositioning to the west coast, via South America. Some people posted that many people weren't allowed on in Ft. Lauderdale because they never got a visa for Brazil. Doesn't matter whether you intend to go into port in that country or stay onboard the ship, you need that visa to even be on the ship. And that was something you can research ahead of time and something that any TA should be telling any clients booking that cruise.

My guess is that the family in question held Mexican citizenship and assumed that reciprocity still existed. Here is a list of countries for which Canadian visas are required.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

Hi, nope, not Mexican, but people do need to check first and make sure all documents are in order.

Stella

Reminds me of a few years ago when the Mariner of the Seas and the Carnival Splendor were repositioning to the west coast' date=' via South America. Some people posted that many people weren't allowed on in Ft. Lauderdale because they never got a visa for Brazil. Doesn't matter whether you intend to go into port in that country or stay onboard the ship, you need that visa to even be on the ship. And that was something you can research ahead of time and something that any TA should be telling any clients booking that cruise.[/quote']

Agreed! You go girl!

 

Stella

Stella, do you work at the Manhattan piers, or in Red Hook? Or do they move you around? EM

We have this same drama nearly every week on my ship.

The "victims" always have the same story: "Nobody told us".

Once again Charles Darwin's theories are confirmed.

I would expect a TA to know the rules regarding Visa's and to inform clients when they are required.

It's such a sad story. Imagine the look on their faces when told you cannot cruise due to not having proper documents. :(

I would expect a TA to know the rules regarding Visa's and to inform clients when they are required.

Not everyone uses a TA.

We had a great one for years and her brick and mortar agency could not survive the competition of on line bookings etc and went out of business. We live in a very metropolitan area and there are very few brick and mortars TA's left. None that I want to use.

In the end, it is the guest's responsibility to be certain they have the proper travel documents. It's that whole 'personal responsibility' concept that seems to be slipping away.

I would expect a TA to know the rules regarding Visa's and to inform clients when they are required.

The TA may not know the citizenship of the clients.

I doubt there are too many TA's that are aware of the visa requirements for every combination of citizenship and destination.

We have this same drama nearly every week on my ship.

 

The "victims" always have the same story: "Nobody told us".

 

Once again Charles Darwin's theories are confirmed.

Yes, and everyday I realize just what a genius he was.

Actually that's part of their job. Our TA insists on having Passport Issue details on file for anyone she books. When we booked our Canal cruise, we received a sheet with every country we will be visiting along with Visa and Vaccination requirements and suggestions.

The TA may not know the citizenship of the clients.

 

I doubt there are too many TA's that are aware of the visa requirements for every combination of citizenship and destination.

Oh well' date=' it happened again! We had to put an entire family in the "crying" room, so sad. We had a ship sailing from New York City to Canada today and Canada is [b']very strick[/b] as to whom they allow into their country. Certain countries MUST have a Canadian Visa in order to sail. If you are from another country traveling through the US to sail to Canada, PLEASE, PLEASE check and make sure you do not need this Visa. We had to deny an entire family from boarding the ship because they did not have a Canadian Visa. Although New York is a great place to visit, it can be sad if you planned to be aboard a beautiful ship sailing the ocean blue.

 

Stella

Hi Stella,

I do not know how 'very strict' is Canada when allowing or not allowing people ( with 'criminal inadmissibility' - DUI) boarding the cruise ship. Perhaps you can share some of your observations on this subject.

I have 'witnessed' / have seen one of my coworkers ( US citizen) being questioned by immigration officials ( at the airport in Toronto) about his past 'criminal record'. I believe it was DUI but not sure about that. He was first denied entry but ended up paying a fine and was allowed to enter with a warning 'not to come back'.

Do you have any knowledge of something like that happenning - it might save some cruisers from being disappointed.

their is a link below that some might find interesting;

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/402/~/entering-the-u.s.-and-canada-with-dui-offenses

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/faq-inadmissibility.asp

Wes