sparks1093

Definitely something to do first thing.

Yep, you'll get a much faster (and accurate) answer from the excursion desk.

And once they have it they won't ask for it again, so if you aren't aware that you are ordering something with an extra fee you might be surprised since they didn't ask for your card.

This has been my experience as well. While the rules may say no I'm sure that many couples do this so it's easier for them to just fill the order. One time I walked up to the bar with just DW's card to get her a drink and when the bartender looked at me with a quizzical look I pointed to her sitting at a nearby table.

To me the best lesson is to know exactly what you need for documentation and make sure that you have it. Before I ponied up $850 for passports for a 4 day cruise I made darn sure that we had acceptable alternatives and since we did we didn't see the need to spend that kind of money.

Thanks for the review. We'll be on Glory in 83 days or so. Sailed her once 5 years or so ago and can't wait.

That is correct, anything that incurs a fee you would sign for.

Even though I have a passport and an EDL I still have a picture of my birth certificate on my phone. It doesn't make the phone heavier. 🙂 (I also have pictures of the passport and the EDL, but mostly so I can access them when making reservations, etc.)

I was going to suggest something like this. I don't think it's prohibited. I would chose one that doesn't require refrigeration if possible.

Hopefully they have someone at home that has access to their birth certificate, otherwise it's bye bye cruise. I did read a thread started by a gentleman from Texas who brought only his REAL ID license to the port. Fortunately he had someone who could send a copy of the birth certificate along. Thing is, in his thread he kind of made it clear that he still thought that the port personnel were wrong and he was right. We did try to tell him otherwise but I'm not sure the message took. It's easy enough to see why people confuse the two, and the term EDL has been used for some time and is not likely to change but a new name might help avoid confusion. Problem is coming up with something that is short enough. Passport Card Drivers License? Proof of Citizenship Drivers License? Glad it's not my problem. I suspect that the name will remain the same and the confusion will reign for many years.

I'm not sure if early saver is indicated in cruise manager, but you could always request the price adjustment anyway. The worse they can do is say no. They didn't change our cabin, but they did change our itinerary from Bermuda to the Bahamas. All we received was a small OBC (and the ability to cancel without penalty, which we didn't want to do). You don't say how many are in your party but if it's only two sometimes they will do this so a party of 3 can book the cabin, since that's what it's designed for. Per the contract they can change your cabin and as long as it's the same type there is little that can be done.

Doesn't Celebrity offer it as part of the fare at a discounted rate? I seem to recall that being the case the last couple of times I did a faux booking.

True enough.🤣

It's been answered but yes, the EDL can be used to cross the border by any means, driving, walking, as a passenger in a bus or train. And yes, people do need to be aware of the difference between an EDL and a REAL ID compliant license.

Every cruise that we've been on (three cruise lines) have had lines at guest services throughout, particularly heavy when first boarding and the last day. I've been to Guest Services several times- twice for lost and found, a couple of times for charges on a bill that I didn't recognize or to find out about OBC that wasn't posted, once to find out what to do about a piece of luggage that was broken at embarkation (they just gave me a replacement bag, when I was expecting a form). I always try to time my visits for when no one is there, which is easy to do because they are open 24 hours and I wake up early.

Sure, but he'll need the documents that I mentioned to return to the US at the land border.

I don't believe this changes onboard practice at all.

If you board in the US and debark in Vancouver you would need an EDL (which Michigan issues), a passport card or a passport, unless the cruise line requires the passport.

It might be $1k to $2k more, but if they include the drinks package, the wifi, and gratuities than for some itineraries the overall price between the two will be much closer, so if one routinely gets those items it is worth looking at (provided of course one wants to try new things, our personal goal is to sail all of the mainstream and as many of the next tier cruise lines as we can. If we can do that for about what we spend on Carnival then that's icing on the cake.).

They were piloting that, have they made it a permanent thing? I hope that they do.

Yes, they see a lot of situations but it must remembered that these situations represent a small percentage of cruisers, especially those on closed loop cruises. You can do all of the math tricks you want to, but the fact is passports costs are due and payable up front, they can't be paid over the course of their validity. When my family started cruising it would have cost around $850 for passports for the 7 of us for a 4 day cruise that cost around $1800. I didn't even get to affordability in the decision making process. DW and I both knew that we wanted to travel internationally by air one day and decided to wait to get passports until that day came. We started cruising in 2009 and our first international air trip was in 2015 and that is when we got our passports. If we had gotten them when we first started cruising they would have been over halfway to expiration before we used them for a trip that we actually needed them for. That, to me, would have been wasteful. Every traveler's travel needs are different and many of them have choices that they can make for travel documentation. The passport is of course king, but some travelers can get by with a queen or a jack. I personally don't need to spend extra money for peace of mind, but again, everyone is different. Cruising with something other than a passport is a viable option for some and what you decide to do doesn't affect them just as what they decide to do doesn't affect you.

I'm not one to let all of that research go to waste.🙂

If her last name is different on the drivers license then it is on the birth certificate then it is recommended. Some people do get asked to show it but I've never heard of anyone being denied boarding for not having it. Bon voyage!

There is a bit of delay while things are worked out but the delay is typically measured in hours from what I've read. There are people on duty all of the time that handle this type of thing and as I said in my last post the arrangements are made between the cruise line port agent and the authorities.

In instances that I've read about the passengers aren't the ones making the call. The cruise line port agent notifies the authorities and they issue the authorization for the passenger to fly home on the first direct flight to the US. When the passenger lands they are sent to secondary inspection where they are cleared to continue their journey. The one drawback to all of this is that if one were to miss the ship then their cruise would be over since they would not be able to fly to the next port. Yes, everyone that works in the business recommends a passport, it does make their job easier but to me that is a poor reason for me to spend my money. People have a choice when it comes to travel documentation for closed loop cruises and as long as they are comfortable assuming the small risk involved that's all that matters.