F1 - Travelling to Canada before School Starts

[aha999]

Hi,

My cousin has an F1 visa. He is going to travel to the US at the end of August. The school won't start until mid September. We'd like to take him to an Alaska cruise which will stop at Victoria in Canada.

My questions are:

1) Is this considered leaving the US?

2) If yes, can he get back in to the US?

3) Does he need any document from the school to go to Canada?

Thank you,

Charlie