Any tidbit of knowledge or experience would be appreciated.
I will be moving to Australia (for good) in June, from Canada. I have three urns to bring in. My father, and paternal grandparents. In case it matters, dates of death are 04/93, 03/94, and 09/99.
Already having assumed that a big canister of powder crossing the American and Australian borders won't be a piece of cake (especially, pardon the pun, that the American border is now refusing fruitcake to be brought onboard), I called Qantas.
Keep in mind that I REFUSE to pack them onto my checked luggage. I can deal with the airlines losing my luggage, not my family. I will ONLY pack these in my carry-on luggage. Failing that, I would pack them on the ship (door to door service). However, I fear that the manifest I will have to fill out will retard if not completely stop the shipping of my other goods.
They said I needed to carry a certificate of death and a certificate of cremation. Fine. I can get those. I'm still wondering who to call about bringing these 'canisters of powder' into the USA. My flight would be leaving Montreal to Los Angeles (not sure what airline yet), then connecting onto Qantas to Melbourne.
Given the new security measures (which I'm very happy about), I'm aware of the fact that I will probably be pulled aside and interrogated. I have no problem with them opening the urns and sticking their hands in (who could blame them).
My WORSE CASE SCENARIO here is that I'm booked for an (expensive) flight on Qantas, to Melbourne, and I'm stuck at Dorval (Montreal) or LAX (Los Angeles).
Of course, I don't want to put the urns into my checked baggage. I can deal with them losing my baggage. I can't deal with them losing my paternal family.
Has anyone ever gone through this? What can I expect? What steps can I take to make sure all goes smoothly? If there was ever a time, I'm praying for the "Teeming Millions" to come through for me on this one.
Thanks in advance,
Cheeky