Customs on a B2B

[Clay Clayton]

Hi all! Hope you help out some experienced cruisers but inexperienced HAL ones. After our Hong Kong to Bangkok cruise (on Viking) got canceled two weeks ago, we are considering joining some close friends who have been booked for several months on Kongisdam’s last Alaska cruise in October.  While they will only be aboard for the Alaska cruise, we are thinking we may stay aboard for the Hawaii roundtrip that follows also.  Do any of you who’ve done back to backs from Canada to the US returning to Canada going to the US and finally returning to Canada as B2Bers know (presuming we can book the same stateroom) if you have to pack and disembark between the two cruises to go through Canadian immigration and customs and then presumably through US immigration and customs when re-embarking for the Hawaii segment?  
 

TIA!

[CruiserBruce]

You will receive detailed directions what you have to do. I have never heard anywhere in the world you have pack and take your stuff off during a B2B. Yes, you may have some immigration procedures,  but never doing any packing,  unless you need to move to another cabin, which your cabin staff will help with.

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

You will receive detailed directions what you have to do. I have never heard anywhere in the world you have pack and take your stuff off during a B2B. Yes, you may have some immigration procedures,  but never doing any packing,  unless you need to move to another cabin, which your cabin staff will help with.

Agreed on other cruises where we have done B2B we have only had to be processed through immigration BUT in those cases we weren’t having to do two sets at the same port (my presumption which could be wrong is that we will have to “exit US” and the ship, “enter” Canada, then “leave” Canada, “enter” US and then re-embark.  
 

Only reason I am concerned is that w e may not be able to get the same stateroom for both legs.  If we have to deal with luggage, will consider paying for a more expensive stateroom. 

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Agreed on other cruises where we have done B2B we have only had to be processed through immigration BUT in those cases we weren’t having to do two sets at the same port (my presumption which could be wrong is that we will have to “exit US” and the ship, “enter” Canada, then “leave” Canada, “enter” US and then re-embark.  
 

Only reason I am concerned is that w e may not be able to get the same stateroom for both legs.  If we have to deal with luggage, will consider paying for a more expensive stateroom. 

You will clear Canadian Immigration when you dock at Vancouver, probably off the ship, and then clear US Immigration upon boarding. Customs is really not a "thing" much anymore. We just entered the US at Boston on a cruise ship earlier this month, on a cruise from Europe. Nobody even said the word Customs. Literally, our Immigration process was a 20 second comparison of my passport picture to my face.

 

If you don't get the same cabin, your cabin steward will arrive at your old cabin with a luggage cart and help you move to the new cabin. The staff know how to do this very efficiently.

 

The absolute last thing to worry about here is taking your stuff off the ship. I have NEVER heard about that happening.

[SilvertoGold]

We are Canadians and have done this a lot out of Vancouver  Never had to pack up and disembark.  Just go into Canada Place terminal with your "intransit" card, do US customs and zip back onto the ship.  Never go off the ship before noon as it can be a mess in the terminal.  You can also walk off the ship, see Vancouver.  In that case you would also have to go through the X-ray security line before US Customs. Note that we did this 5 times in a row and they changed the procedure in small ways each time. Welcome Onboard!

Edited August 25, 2022 by SilvertoGold

[CruiserBruce]

6 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

We are Canadians and have done this a lot out of Vancouver  Never had to pack up and disembark.  Just go into Canada Place terminal with your "intransit" card, do US customs and zip back onto the ship.  Never go off the ship before noon as it can be a mess in the terminal.  You can also walk off the ship. see Vancouver.  In that case you would have to go through the X-ray security line before US Customs. Note that we did this 5 times in a row and they changed the procedure in small ways each time. Welcome Onboard!

Just to not confuse the OP, you did US and Canadian Immigration, not Customs.

[SilvertoGold]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

Just to not confuse the OP, you did US and Canadian Immigration, not Customs.

We did US immigration, indeed.  Not Canadian unless the US guys were doing both.  They certainly were Americans.

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, SilvertoGold said:

We are Canadians and have done this a lot out of Vancouver  Never had to pack up and disembark.  Just go into Canada Place terminal with your "intransit" card, do US customs and zip back onto the ship.  Never go off the ship before noon as it can be a mess in the terminal.  You can also walk off the ship, see Vancouver.  In that case you would also have to go through the X-ray security line before US Customs. Note that we did this 5 times in a row and they changed the procedure in small ways each time. Welcome Onboard!

Thanks!

 

1 hour ago, SilvertoGold said:

We did US immigration, indeed.  Not Canadian unless the US guys were doing both.  They certainly were Americans.

So Canada doesn’t make you go through immigration to return into Canada?

[*Miss G*]

23 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

So Canada doesn’t make you go through immigration to return into Canada?

 

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reviews you and your documents electronically (through passport & ArriveCAN) when the ship sends its manifest.  If they want to speak with you they will let you know before you disembark.  Other than that, you’re good to go.  Welcome to HAL!

[SilvertoGold]

9 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks!

 

So Canada doesn’t make you go through immigration to return into Canada?

 We did this 5 times at Canada Place this spring.  We walked off the ship, when we wanted to, went into Canada Place terminal, were  directed as INTRANSIT PAX to the right area, which was US Immigration. (1) Used kiosk to enter passport and photo, get receipt from the machine, walk to end where Immigration person takes the receipt OR (2) short line to desk to hand over passport to US Immigration person.  Back to ship.

 

Notes: 

Your HAL Intransit card is GOLD.  Use it to pass through without lining up for anything else.  Wave it around, along with your room card, make sure the people directing traffic ALL through the terminal see these cards.  Otherwise, you might be directed first to the long X-ray line or to sit and wait with the new boarding pax instead of going straight back to the ship! This should take 10 minutes. Walk fast like you own the place :)

We went at 11 am the first time, big mistake.  Let them get thing set up.  Suggest noon to 1 pm when new pax will have been boarding since 11:30 am, the place will have calmed down and a few Intransits will have gone through.  Never want to be the first ones.

If you want to leave the terminal, on return it will be some of the regular lines as when boarding, Nevertheless, wave the Intransit cards and your room cards around so they don`t send you to check-in, etc.

Thing change, nothing is engraved in stone. I think they should have this completely figured out by now.

Make sure you get the Arrivecan app filled out.  Easy, for EACH ARRIVAL in Canada, and for when you board the ship

 

Any other questions, please ask.  We check-in at 10 am, after a month cruising Alaska - can`t wait!!

 

[CruiserBruce]

@SilvertoGold, thanks for the detailed description,  which covers the "InTransit" mode also used at airports,  which we experienced at Toronto in July.

 

So your Canadian Immigration is done, just by machine. But you actually do clear Canadian Immigration. And NO Customs. 

[SilvertoGold]

24 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

@SilvertoGold, thanks for the detailed description,  which covers the "InTransit" mode also used at airports,  which we experienced at Toronto in July.

 

So your Canadian Immigration is done, just by machine. But you actually do clear Canadian Immigration. And NO Customs. 

I think post 9 by Miss G explains it.  Not sure about your angle but in my description in post 10 of what we actually did,  it is (1) OR (2), not both.  Hope this makes sense.

Edited August 25, 2022 by SilvertoGold

[*Miss G*]

Are they still providing the paper Customs form to be handed in onboard the ship?  Maybe that’s where the confusion is coming from.

[SilvertoGold]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Are they still providing the paper Customs form to be handed in onboard the ship?  Maybe that’s where the confusion is coming from.

Right, Miss G.  HAL was giving out the paper Canadian Customs forms for disembarkation at Canada Place in Vancouver.  However, in April and May at least, these were not given out to Intransit pax on a regular basis. I think we got one or two out of five and we handed them in to the Front Desk on the ship.

 

Things change, so I am careful to assume much :)

[Clay Clayton]

Thanks to everyone for relieving one concern. Now the other….what about testing between cruises?

[SilvertoGold]

43 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks to everyone for relieving one concern. Now the other….what about testing between cruises?

April and May: no testing for Intransits.  

[Clay Clayton]

50 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

April and May: no testing for Intransits.  

But what about the final disembarkation? When we will be heading to the airport?

[*Miss G*]

1 minute ago, Clay Clayton said:

But what about the final disembarkation? When we will be heading to the airport?

 

Testing is no longer required to return to the US, nor is it required to disembark in Canada.  You are good to go.  👍

[Clay Clayton]

1 minute ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Testing is no longer required to return to the US, nor is it required to disembark in Canada.  You are good to go.  👍

Thanks.  I thought it still was for Canada.

[*Miss G*]

45 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks.  I thought it still was for Canada.

 

No.  They eliminated that on April 1st, thank goodness.

[SilvertoGold]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks.  I thought it still was for Canada.

Yep, we are making progress here in Canada.  Next to go might be the pre-embarkation testing, but don't hold your breath for that.