Sotermarler

3 hours ago, Wisteria13 said:

We're supposed to be going in a couple months on the Gem. Bummed that it looks like this won't be happening. Maybe NCL will give us another day in Bermuda or a different port (Portland? Nova Scotia?). I just hope it's not another day at sea. And I hope they let us know sooner rather than later.

I agree,  I hope we get another port. Crossing my fingers!

I’m curious what NCL will do with our June Gem cruise now. It looks like the Gem holds 2300 passengers.

After taking a break from NCL and sailing 4xs with Carnival, the Bliss in October felt like a major upgrade.

The food was miles better the entertainment was better and the service about the same. I really don’t want to sail Carnival anymore but they always seem to have the best dates for the itinerary we want. 

We had no issues thankfully. Thank you all for your help! 

3 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Your US born son can travel with his US government issued birth certificate along with a government issued photo ID like a driver license on this 'closed loop' cruise.

I do check in at Pier 91 in Seattle (although you will be sailing from Pier 66 with NCL).

Thank you, I swear the letter was just to scare me. 

2 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

Birth certificate and ID are fine.  You do have to fill out a visitor form for Canada, but they will give you that on the ship.  Everyone must fill it out and return it to guest services before anyone is allowed to get off the ship in Canada

Thank you! 

3 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

Here is a link directly from US Customs and Border Protection dated 6/20/23 that addresses this question and seems to indicate that a birth certificate and driver's license are still acceptable for closed loop cruises.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-74?language=en_US

Thank you! 

3 hours ago, richart said:

Sorry, I meant NCL and not Princess in my response. Wow! I am quite surprised that NCL would not answer your specific question! 

The NCL website does specifically address Alaska cruises: https://www.ncl.com/faqs/what-about-documentation-visas-and-passports

Since you are sailing from and returning to Seattle, this portion seems to apply:
 

Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, Alaska, Mexican Riviera, Or Canada & New England Cruises

For round-trip sailings (cruises that depart from and return to the same U.S. port), you may sail with either a valid passport, proof of citizenship and a valid government-issued photo I.D. (driver’s license with a photo), or any other WHTI compliant document.

Proof of Citizenship examples include:

• State certified U.S. birth certificate
• Original certificate of U.S. naturalization
• Original certificate of U.S. citizenship
• U.S. Consular report of your birth abroad.
• Baptismal paper, hospital certificates of birth and Puerto Rico birth certificates issued prior to 7/1/10 are not acceptable.
• A U.S. citizen under the age of 16 do not require a government-issued photo ID.

 

To me, that seems to indicate that someone with a) a government issued photo ID and b) a state certified U. S. birth certificate (usually has a raised seal) would be OK, but not having been there I am only guessing. Hopefully someone who has taken this cruise recently can answer your question for sure. 

Thank you for your response. Yes we tried calling again and got told the same thing word for word, go to the website. 

When we booked I saw that part about ID and birth certificate too and figured he would be ok. However if you scroll further down on the page it gets more confusing when talking about going through CA via plane or cruise ship. Wording is similar to the letter below.
 

The letter instructs you to go to the website but never calls out what nationalities need a visa. It asks you if you have a green card, alien ID but doesn't address a birth certificate and ID. 
 

Here is the letter;

September 24, 2023
Dear Valued Guest,
On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), we thank you for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice. We have important information regarding your upcoming voyage.
In advance of your cruise vacation, we want to ensure that you are fully aware of the local travel requirements for entry into Canada.
If arriving to, or transiting through, Canada by plane many nationalities need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) or Visitor Visa that must be applied for in advance of arrival.

For guests arriving to Canada by cruise ship, only a Visitor Visa is required of many nationalities.

To check requirements for individual nationalities, and for further information, we strongly recommend all guests visit
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp as soon as possible, in order to allow enough time for any required applications.
Failure to provide the required visas and documentation will result in denial of boarding for your cruise and the inability to extend
any refund of your cruise fare.
For more information on the required documentation to sail, please visit www.ncl.com/traveldocs. As a reminder it is your responsibility to ensure you have the necessary documentation and/or visas for your itinerary.
Thank you again for choosing Norwegian Cruise Line, and we look forward to welcoming you aboard very soon.
Sincerely,
Norwegian Cruise Line

2 minutes ago, richart said:

I'm sure someone on here most likely knows the answer, but since this is so important for your trip, I don't think I would rely solely on a message board post. Since your cruise is only a week away I suggest you call and talk to someone at Princess and get an answer straight from them. Be sure to document when you call and who you speak to. If he does not have the required paperwork then he would not be allowed to board the ship.

Oh I agree, thanks for your comment.
I called NCL and they said they are not allowed to give out that information and directed me back to the website and a 3rd party who can expedite Visas but they are closed today. My guess is someone has sailed to Alaska recently and might have first hand experience. 

26 minutes ago, richart said:

It would be helpful if you provide more details about the cruise. Which ship? Embarkation port and debarkation port? Ports of call?

I forgot to add the ports a call are the typical Alaska cruise ports Ketchikan Juno, glacier Bay. But it does stop for a few hours in. Victoria weren't even planning to get off but I know they have to stop there.

To and from Seattle NCL encore, we are US residents. 
 

The website says for cruises, leaving from a US port to Canada on cruises that begin and end in US ports and do not sail through panama canal you are required to carry one of the below documents, proof of citizenship, US birth certificate, and a government photo ID.

then down below, it says important information for gas, cruising and or flying through Canada applicable for Alaska departing from a Canadian port new entry requirements, but we are not departing from a new Canadian port.

The letter I got today says for guests arriving to Canada by cruise ship only a visitor visa is required of many nationalities, and then it sent me to a Canadian website. From there I can't make heads of tails what we need. Any help would be great. Thank you.

I have an adult son who is supposed to cruise with us who does not have a passport. We got a letter today (cruise is next week) he may need other documents such as a visa (eTA) for Canada.
 

The NCL rules said a birth certificate was all that was required for the closed loop and now I'm panicking. Anyone travel there recently with a birth certificate? 

We were only able to use one 15% cruise fare discount for our Alaska cruise. I was happy with that because I didn’t even know it existed. So glad I booked through my consultant. 

The melting cake is way better on NCL. We order the cake most nights and sometimes it was over cooked and others runny like pudding. NCL’ s was always perfect. 

On 1/28/2023 at 2:22 PM, Eli_6 said:

Wow. Re-read this post and I must give off a "non-alcohol sneaker" vibe because I have never once had my Dr Pepper cartons opened or inspected and have never had my wine inspected.  

Same! We have done 4 Carnival cruises out of Long Beach and never had our soda opened. Must be random.

We each carry a tote bag, but I buy the mini cans of our favorite soda. It’s so much easier and fits perfectly in the room fridge in the case.

Wr cruised on the Panorama last week for fall break and were told we were close to capacity. 
 

1 hour ago, SeaPink0409 said:

Just off the Magic..check in was literally a breeze.  The lady at check in looked at our pictures of negative tests and made sure our names matched with our documents. Checked us in, gave us our boarding passes and we walked on the ship. 🛳️🥳😍 It was a great cruise and we are so grateful to be able to cruise again! 

Yes us too! Super happy to be cruising once again.

I was on the Panorama last week and we went to Guys Pig and Anchor which was good. I went to JiJi’s on a sea day for Mongolian, and I have to say it was the worst meal of the week. By far the worst Mongolian I’ve ever had, had zero flavor. 

On 10/11/2022 at 6:48 PM, pirate4me2 said:

Thank you! Hard to believe it’s that easy. 

I know, I was worried and ready to bring up the policy, but no need. He just looked and let me pass through. Woot, woot.
As HardEight mentioned it really is just a dog and pony show at this point. 

21 hours ago, Sotermarler said:

We just got off Saturday. They announced that CA normally releases the ship at 9:15 but we were able to start the debark process early  at 8:30. 
We did early walk off and were out by 9:15 ish.

I'd also like to add, when we got to port those who didn't do the easy walk off, we're still getting off at 10:45 ish.  

8 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Anyone have any recent experience with this? We cruise next month to the Western Caribbean (Roatan, Cozumel, Costa Maya) and wondering how the process out of Port Canaveral is. 

We just got back Saturday on the Panorama.  All I did was take the free tests we had on hand. Wrote out names and dates on a piece of paper, held them up and we each took a picture of us with the negative test results and the paper.
 

The person checking us in was confused but he went over to chat with his supervisor and came back and said" ok let me look one more time". He did and that was it and on we went! Easy peasy. 

We just got off Saturday. They announced that CA normally releases the ship at 9:15 but we were able to start the debark process early  at 8:30. 
We did early walk off and were out by 9:15 ish.

1 hour ago, kelkel2 said:

It doesn’t show on mine either. If you go to your booking, if you’re on a mobile site, click the box with the 3 lines at the top right then click on booking and order details and it will show there, along with anything else you’ve purchased like the internet package. 

Great, I do see it there. Thank you.