Passport Card

[buglver066]

I know this has been asked more times than anyone would like to count but to honest I don't have time to search right now. You can use the passport card to get on the ship right---just not to fly home in an emergency? Can you also use it for flights in the U.S.? Sorry for asking the same type of question again ;).

[crewsweeper]

Yes. Passport cards are offical passports. You can get the old kind or a card when you apply, jsut the card costs more, I believe.

[2thesea]

You can use the passport card for the cruise. You can NOT use it for any type of International Air travel and this includes having to return home from a port of call that you arrived at via the cruise.

 

You can use it as "proper" ID for domestic flights within the US. :D

[AWCHIEF]

GOOGLE is your friend:

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3921.html

[pyrateslife4me84]

Also, despite what some would lead you to believe, if you miss your ship and are left behind in a foreign port, you will not be stuck there indefinitely, living in a hut, and forced to take on a permanent job offering parasailing tours. You will still be able to get home. It will just be a bit more complex (and stressful) of a process. The USA will work to get you back home, paying property-, sales-, and income taxes as quickly as possible.

[ROPD184]

Yes. Passport cards are offical passports. You can get the old kind or a card when you apply, jsut the card costs more, I believe.

 

Actually...cards cost a lot less....but cant use em for interNational flights

[SadieN]

Yes. Passport cards are offical passports. You can get the old kind or a card when you apply, jsut the card costs more, I believe.

 

The Passport card is good for closed loop cruises, land border crossings and as ID for domestic flights.

 

A Passport Book is needed to fly out of or into the country and for cruises that start in one port and end in another.

 

The card costs less but does less.

[Tannison]

Technically, you don't need the card or the passport book on a closed loop cruise....your birth certificate and state issued ID are sufficient. However, with that being said, the passport card is so inexpensive that that's we are doing for our 3 young children on our upcoming cruise. We figured the card is a lot more convienent then carrying around their official birth certificates, so we applied for them.

 

DH and I applied for regular passports as they are good for 10 years and we felt there is a strong possibility that we will fly out of the country in the next ten years. We didn't want to spend the money on regular passports for the kids since they are only good for 5 years and we dont foresee them flying out of the country in the next 5 years. If that changes, then we will get them when they are needed.

[cruisinfanatic]

Technically, you don't need the card or the passport book on a closed loop cruise....your birth certificate and state issued ID are sufficient. However, with that being said, the passport card is so inexpensive that that's we are doing for our 3 young children on our upcoming cruise. We figured the card is a lot more convienent then carrying around their official birth certificates, so we applied for them.

 

I sure don't know how you figure the difference in carrying a passport card vs a BC is more convenient

$55 pp x 3 is a waste of money IMO

[Tannison]

I sure don't know how you figure the difference in carrying a passport card vs a BC is more convenient

$55 pp x 3 is a waste of money IMO

 

Well, actually it's $40x3 since they are under 16 years old. And yes, I agree, I paid for something I didn't need, but I just liked the idea of being able to put the card in a wallet rather than carrying 3 official BC's around that are larger, can be ripped, etc, and they now have an official form of ID should they ever need one. That's just me though...as stated, you can definitely do without.

[ROPD184]

I must say that i can understand wanting to carry cards versus birth certs.

[Brighton Line]

I actually got both, frequent trips to relatives in upstate NY with border crossing to Canada I got the card so I just had to carry my wallet and not worry about the book.

Got the book for flights and repo cruises.

[buglver066]

Thank you everyone for the responses. That is what I gathered from reading the passport website but I just wanted to make sure I was understanding it properly. I know you can use BC and ID's but for the first time (in 5 cruises) that is just freaking me out. I have pictures in my head of getting all the way to the desk and forgetting something. I am thinking that I may get the cards for DH and me and just use the kids BC's. They are 1 and 3 so really---even though they are only good for 5 years---I think that's a bit of a waste of money. They are going to change so much in 5 years (especially the one year old) that I'm going to have to get them updated well before they expire.

[mrmrs2]

We're app:plying for passport books, just because we don't want to carry our birth certificates with us either. Too cumbersome.

[cruzeluver]

If you are going on a closed-loop cruise (departing and returning to the same US Port) and have a birth certificate and photo ID, you gain nothing by getting a passport card, except one less item to keep up with (which is not worth any money to me). If you are going to head to the post office with a picture of yourself, get a full passport book.

[misguidedangel]

Passport cards were designed to make travel between US and Canada and US and Mexico easier. The only two countries that would accept a passport card would be if you were returning to the US from Canada or Mexico. Any other country it would not be accepted.

 

The passport card is supposed to be less expensive and ideally meant for business travellers or for those who do considerable cross-border travelling each year.

 

I am Canadian, so your gov't says I need a passport, but you can still come to Canada via land/sea with a BC/DL, air is passport......but then again who really knows the rules because I have heard one and then read something opposite.....good god, just make everything passport no matter where you are going/coming...

[cherylandtk]

Passport cards were designed to make travel between US and Canada and US and Mexico easier. The only two countries that would accept a passport card would be if you were returning to the US from Canada or Mexico. Any other country it would not be accepted. ...

Passport card is good for Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the 14 Caribbean nations (all known as adjacent islands and contiguous countries) by land or sea crossing.

[zqvol]

Yes. Passport cards are offical passports. You can get the old kind or a card when you apply, jsut the card costs more, I believe.

 

 

This is simply untrue. Passport cards are NOT official passports. they are a device that the US government has created to allow easy entry into the US from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. they are no to be confused with a passport. they are more like an enhanced drivers license.

 

They cannot be used to fly into the US or for travel outside the US except to Canada, Mexico and for certain cruises.

 

OP: your statement and understanding is completely correct.

[zqvol]

Technically, you don't need the card or the passport book on a closed loop cruise....your birth certificate and state issued ID are sufficient. However, with that being said, the passport card is so inexpensive that that's we are doing for our 3 young children on our upcoming cruise. We figured the card is a lot more convienent then carrying around their official birth certificates, so we applied for them.

 

DH and I applied for regular passports as they are good for 10 years and we felt there is a strong possibility that we will fly out of the country in the next ten years. We didn't want to spend the money on regular passports for the kids since they are only good for 5 years and we dont foresee them flying out of the country in the next 5 years. If that changes, then we will get them when they are needed.

 

 

Your statement about why you got it for your children is the most persuasive reason that I have ever seen for getting the card. Since children do not have other ID it will work as a substitute, though they do not need ID until they are over 16 anyway.

[ManyMore]

Passport card don't get you anything more when cruising then an ID and BC so for cruising, they are a waste of money. Either use ID and BC or get the full passportm unless you drive to Canada or Mexico often.

[debee1015]

I have both a passport & a passport card I take both with me Just In Case. I lock the passport in the safe for the duration of the cruise (which seems silly since if I need the book to fly anywhere).

 

The passport card is kind of scary with it transmitting radio frequencies which may contain your personal information which is why it needs to be housed in the envelope they mail it to you that contains lead or something.

 

I have found though coming back from the port onto the ship that my Florida driver's license is sufficient, no matter what port we have sailed in/out of with the exception of our "home port" for that cruise they have never asked for my passport card, I have it on me just in case. Last year coming back into Miami they (Homeland Security or Immigration or whatever they are called) didn't even check my ID to make sure I should be here legally.

 

I would never bring my birth certificate, what happens if I lost it and then ran for president, there would be this big bru-ha-ha over the fact I couldn't present my BC. (I kid I kid) :D

[Pee-ah]

Passport cards were designed to make travel between US and Canada and US and Mexico easier. The only two countries that would accept a passport card would be if you were returning to the US from Canada or Mexico. Any other country it would not be accepted.

 

The passport card is supposed to be less expensive and ideally meant for business travellers or for those who do considerable cross-border travelling each year.

 

I am Canadian, so your gov't says I need a passport, but you can still come to Canada via land/sea with a BC/DL, air is passport......but then again who really knows the rules because I have heard one and then read something opposite.....good god, just make everything passport no matter where you are going/coming...

 

Living so close to the border i also have a Nexus Pass (lets us by pass the long line ups while driving at the border) and into the USA. On my last HAL cruise a man had forgotten his passport at home.. but had his Nexus so he was able to board the ship

 

(mind you to get the pass you are finger printed :p)

[Chigirlcruzin]

Yes. Passport cards are offical passports. You can get the old kind or a card when you apply, jsut the card costs more, I believe.

 

This is not correct. It is an official document, but it's not an official passport. The card is cheaper than then book, and you can only use it for land crossings. It's great if you live near the Canadian or Mexican borders and cross into the other county frequently. If you plan to fly anywhere internationally, you need the book.

[Brighton Line]

The passport card is kind of scary with it transmitting radio frequencies which may contain your personal information

 

I hate to point out that the new Passport Book also contain a chip with your personal information on them and can be read by wireless sensores as you pass thru Customs and Imigration.

[Raylynn]

Well, actually it's $40x3 since they are under 16 years old. And yes, I agree, I paid for something I didn't need, but I just liked the idea of being able to put the card in a wallet rather than carrying 3 official BC's around that are larger, can be ripped, etc, and they now have an official form of ID should they ever need one. That's just me though...as stated, you can definitely do without.

 

Where we live you can get a laminated, wallet sized copy of your birth certificate. It has the raised seal and all other info that is on the larger size. It cost a few dollars more than the paper copy but will not rip or tear. It has been accepted everywhere we've tried to use it so far. We even used it to get our passports with no trouble. It's not listed online in our county but if you ask you can get one. Maybe your area has something similar?