Clearing Customs: Trials Of The Weary Traveler

We're constantly amazed at how compliant people are. 
Having seen quite a few sheep amidst the hills and valleys of Alaska, we're now beginning to wonder if humans are as compliant and dutiful as sheep.
Why do we say this?
Well, yesterday morning we spent more than four hours going through a process that merely took us from our cruise ship to the airplane that would carry us home.
That's right, four hours! Why the ordeal? We 're not quite sure.
We followed all the directions. Yes, we were technically involved in "international" travel since we were journeying from Vancouver, Canada (our ship's disembarkation point) to the US. But we were simply passing through Canada on the way home. Still, we had to pack our bags and put them outside our cabin doors the night before and then follow a series of procedures beginning early this morning. This entailed passing through Canadian checkpoints, into the Vancouver airport and then passing through US customs as we prepared to board the plane for the US.
On top of that we also had to pass through the typical airport security and we had to fill out several forms. As we proceeded through the process we waited in lines: a line to receive credentials and prepare to get off the ship; a line to get on the bus to the airport; a line to get off the bus at the airport; a line to get our baggage; a line to check into the flight and have our baggage weighed and tagged; a line to put our own baggage onto conveyer belts; a line to pass through a Canadian checkpoint and Vancouver airport security and then, finally -- a line to pass through US customs.
And we were told that this was the expedited process. Can you imagine?
And everyone in our group (and in other groups) dutifully complied with this cumbersome, tedious, time-consuming and just-this-side-of demeaning process.
Now, wouldn't you know that a lot of this had to do with government rules and regulations?
Well, it seems that there is something called the Jones Act, a US law passed many, many decades ago that all but requires vessels not flying the American flag but transporting US goods or passengers to make at least one stop in a foreign port. Otherwise, such vessels are subject to American law.
 Here's how it all plays out: Since most cruise ships are not registered in the US, it's in their interest to stop at a foreign port and thus skirt the myriad of US laws and stipulations (labor and employment laws, etc.) that would make it far more expensive for them to stay in business.
So, to keep cruise fares competitive and avoid skyrocketing prices and US regulations, we had to stop in Vancouver and go through all this rigmarole.
That was cost-effective for Holland America cruise lines but it was incredibly cumbersome and burdensome for us.
If you're planning a cruise this summer, be forewarned: one way or another the Jones act will impact you. And you will comply!