Hypothetical passport question

[warmwinds]

Doesn't apply to us, since we have them...but let's say you were taking a r/t cruise out of Seattle to Alaska, and your only non-US stop was Victoria. Would they let you on the ship without a passport, but you just couldn't get off the ship in Victoria, or would they not let you on the ship at all?

[beisenj@aol.com]

Doesn't apply to us, since we have them...but let's say you were taking a r/t cruise out of Seattle to Alaska, and your only non-US stop was Victoria. Would they let you on the ship without a passport, but you just couldn't get off the ship in Victoria, or would they not let you on the ship at all?

 

I do not believe getting off of the ship has anything to do with it. By being docked at Vancouver, the ship and all aboard are "visitors" to Canada. The immigration officials check the documentation of everyone on board, not everyone going ashore. Therefore, I would assume that the cruiseline would not let you board the ship for the cruise without a passport.

 

JB

[kitty9]

I've taken a cruise to Alaska that stopped in Victoria and didn't need a passport. And I did get off the ship to tour Victoria. If you Google "passport needed for Alaska/Canada cruises", you'll see that according to the US State Department, the only time a passport is required is if the cruise starts or ends in a Canadian city. So, if the cruise starts and ends in the same US port, all you need is your birth certificate and photo ID.

 

If you google Canada Border Services Agency you will see that they will accept a passport, certified birth certificate, passport card, US Naturalization Certificate for water vessel travel, as long as that vessel does not begin or end it's voyage in a Canadian port. But, a passport is the best form of ID.

[jcrandle]

Kittty's answer is correct, but there needs to be an additional caveat added. While the cruise line will allow you to board a closed loop cruise (for example,

Seattle/Victoria/Alaska/Seattle, and Canada will welcome you into Victoria (for example), in the unlikely event that you broke your leg on a shore excursion in Canada, and chose to be air-evaced to the US, you would need a passport.

 

Admittedly, unless you are elderly, clumsy, over imbibe, or or just unlucky, it is unlikey that you would fall into (pun intended) this category, but you should be forewarned that air transport into the USA REQUIRES a passport, not a passport card, enhanced drivers license, birth certificate, etc.

[texast518]

Kittty's answer is correct, but there needs to be an additional caveat added. While the cruise line will allow you to board a closed loop cruise (for example,

Seattle/Victoria/Alaska/Seattle, and Canada will welcome you into Victoria (for example), in the unlikely event that you broke your leg on a shore excursion in Canada, and chose to be air-evaced to the US, you would need a passport.

 

Admittedly, unless you are elderly, clumsy, over imbibe, or or just unlucky, it is unlikey that you would fall into (pun intended) this category, but you should be forewarned that air transport into the USA REQUIRES a passport, not a passport card, enhanced drivers license, birth certificate, etc.

 

Nice point!

[cherylandtk]

This question of 'not getting off the ship' seems to be a recurring concept that just will not go away. :) The rule is, if you cannot get off the ship in a port, you don't get on the ship in the first place. Period. There is no such thing as "Oh, I don't have the right visa/passport/whatever for country XXX, so I will just stay on the ship".

 

That said, the documentary requirement for a US citizen visiting a Canadian port on a RT from the US cruise is a Birth Certificate and ID, or passport, passport card or a few other less used US-Canadian border crossing documents.

 

There was a recent post in the last month or so about two Mexican citizens, who were unable to board their cruise ship in San Francisco because they did not have the needed visas in the passport to visit Canada. So the entire cruise was lost.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1432257

 

Something similar happend a few days earlier out of Seattle:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1430895

[RMSeadog]

This question of 'not getting off the ship' seems to be a recurring concept that just will not go away. :) The rule is, if you cannot get off the ship in a port, you don't get on the ship in the first place. Period. There is no such thing as "Oh, I don't have the right visa/passport/whatever for country XXX, so I will just stay on the ship".

 

That said, the documentary requirement for a US citizen visiting a Canadian port on a RT from the US cruise is a Birth Certificate and ID, or passport, passport card or a few other less used US-Canadian border crossing documents.

 

There was a recent post in the last month or so about two Mexican citizens, who were unable to board their cruise ship in San Francisco because they did not have the needed visas in the passport to visit Canada. So the entire cruise was lost.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1432257

 

Something similar happend a few days earlier out of Seattle:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1430895

 

Friends of ours had friends from Isreal that were denied boarding in San Francisco because they failed to aquired a Canadian visa. No recourse but to fly home. ~ Ric

[johnb0529]

Flame Suit On - check

 

Why is it that the passport question comes up so often...it takes only an hour of your time and a few $$ to get a passport! Problem solved for 10 years! Yet everyone seems to want to find 100 reason why they don't need to get one or should not have to get one?

 

It's quick, easy and painless! Just do it and your worries are over for 10 years of fun-filled travel! US Citizens seem to be the only country so adverse to getting their passports....

[Vegas Vic]

Flame Suit On - check

 

Why is it that the passport question comes up so often...it takes only an hour of your time and a few $$ to get a passport! Problem solved for 10 years! Yet everyone seems to want to find 100 reason why they don't need to get one or should not have to get one?

 

It's quick, easy and painless! Just do it and your worries are over for 10 years of fun-filled travel! US Citizens seem to be the only country so adverse to getting their passports....

 

Too many people think that rules (like when a passport is required) are meant for everyone else and not for them. It's a common malady these days.

[johnb0529]

Too many people think that rules (like when a passport is required) are meant for everyone else and not for them. It's a common malady these days.

 

And a sad statement on American Society!

[Sloop-JohnB]

Flame Suit On - check

 

Why is it that the passport question comes up so often...it takes only an hour of your time and a few $$ to get a passport! Problem solved for 10 years! Yet everyone seems to want to find 100 reason why they don't need to get one or should not have to get one?

 

It's quick, easy and painless! Just do it and your worries are over for 10 years of fun-filled travel! US Citizens seem to be the only country so adverse to getting their passports....

 

Count me as another one who doesn't understand this "aversion".

 

A Passport is such a normal part of the rest of the world... it is the one piece of ID that can stand on its own around the globe (and at home in so many situations).

 

"Once upon a time" those of us in the Western Hemisphere didn't need Passports, we could travel freely from country to country without a worry... that all changed on 9/11 (10 Years ago now).

 

:(:eek::(

 

 

Most think of a Passport as a document that will garner one entry to another country... BUT it really is so much more than this...

 

Since 2001, times have changed... a Passport now is a very important part of North America's Security (including the USA & Canada) that can be used to prove to Authorities that you are who you say you are... in its simplest form a Passport can ensure you won't sit at the US Border waiting to re-enter your OWN COUNTRY for hours on end if all you have is a Drivers License with you and a bunch of plastic... a Passport means that most Americans gain entry with an Interview that will last under 5 Minutes.

 

BUT more importantly than this...

 

When travelling a Passport ensures your rights as a American Citizen... not only to gain access to other friendly countries (which is the aspect that most Travellers are ONLY aware of) ... BUT it also means you can get Emergency Services and Advice from your own country (an Embassy or Consulate) if you should happen to need it... Loss of Money / ID, Accident, Death, Arrest, Civil Unrest or Natual Disaster... a Passport "could" very well be your ticket home... if American Citizens need to be evacuated from an area.

 

As JOHNB0529 has said so eloquently...

 

Spend the money... and lol, you might just discover that besides all the conveniences of having a Passport it also means you'll find even more excuses to travel, explore the world, and expand your horizons.

 

And those are all things worth smiling about,

 

:):)

 

Cheers!

[cruisestitch]

I think that part of the problem is that people might have head information like "Aunt Sally didn't need a passport when she and Uncle Fred went on their honeymoon cruise so I guess I won't get one" forgetting that this might have been many years ago and things have changed. Also, we see that there are potential cruisers who are on very tight budgets. They are worried about the price of every soft drink they might order, the cost of getting a shirt pressed, the price of everything on board. They might be getting a special price on an inside cabin, don't think they will ever cruise again, and wonder about the need to spend the money for a passport. A US passport costs $135. You can get an inside stateroom on Summit for a 7 day cruise on November 5, 2011 for $499 plus taxes and fees, or four nights on Connie for $349. The cost of a passport is significant when you think that you might not ever use it again.

[celle]

Flame Suit On - check

 

Why is it that the passport question comes up so often...it takes only an hour of your time and a few $$ to get a passport! Problem solved for 10 years! Yet everyone seems to want to find 100 reason why they don't need to get one or should not have to get one?

 

It's quick, easy and painless! Just do it and your worries are over for 10 years of fun-filled travel! US Citizens seem to be the only country so adverse to getting their passports....

 

No flaming from me!

 

As a non-US citizen, I am constantly amazed at the multiple passport questions posted on Cruise Critic, and by the confusion caused by the different rules for US travelers, depending on where/how they travel. Book passports, card passports, birth certificates, driving licenses/alternative photo ID, marriage certificates - no wonder people get confused!

 

Me, I'd take the simplest option - the passport. Not the passport card, which, IMHO, is just a confusing red herring, and pretty useless in an emergency.

 

When you live in the rest of the world, it is simple - travel outside your own country, and you will need a passport. (OK. I know that citizens of the EU - especially Schengen countries - don't always need a passport to travel to different countries within the EU.) There's no confusion - if you want to travel overseas, you need a passport.

[jakeil7]

The aversion with regards to a passport is the time and cost of getting one, especially if you have a fair sized family and/or need additional documents. Since you loose your birth certificate during the process, if they loose your application or the government shuts down you could be totally out of luck.

 

Of course, I have mine so that is just a guess.

[We're The Groupnors]

My husband is American, but we live in Canada. A number of his relatives will not (and cannot) visit us because they refuse to get passports. Why? Because they don't want to give "Big Brother" all the personal information needed to get a passport.

 

I've had a passport since I was in my teens. I got it so I could go to the Caribbean with my girlfriends on March Break and have always had one since. Big Brother can have whatever information he wants as long as I can keep travelling to new, beautiful, exotic and culturally enlightening places!

[Sloop-JohnB]

My husband is American' date=' but we live in Canada. A number of his relatives will not (and cannot) visit us because they refuse to get passports. Why? Because they don't want to give "Big Brother" all the personal information needed to get a passport.

 

I've had a passport since I was in my teens. I got it so I could go to the Caribbean with my girlfriends on March Break and have always had one since. Big Brother can have whatever information he wants as long as I can keep travelling to new, beautiful, exotic and culturally enlightening places![/quote]

 

TO THE GROUPNORS,

 

Big Brother Paranoia...

 

:eek:

 

That is a new one for me.

 

Lol, these relatives I assume do know that the Government has all this info already right??

 

:confused:

 

A Passport just confirms that you've provided it in detail by amalgamating a bunch of other documents into one convenient piece... (Birth Certificate - Marriage Certificate etc) and that someone has come forward on record to also vouch that you are who you say you are (and that info never shows up anywhere else than in the Application Process).

 

My current Canadian Passport is really simplistic... just lists my...

 

Name - Sex - Date of Birth - Place of Birth - and Citizenship.

 

It no longer states my home address anymore... and it isn't a required element within the document elsewhere (optional in the IF LOST SECTION)

 

--- --- ---

 

Sure one has to fill out a bunch of forms to get a Passport... but the process isn't really that complicated... and it is valid for a good amount of time (10 Years in the USA, 5 in Canada)

 

And the turn around time is pretty quick... I took my forms into a Passport Office in person, and had my NEW Passport delivered by Canada Post (had to sign for it) in about 10 Days. If I had just sent in the paperwork it would have taken 21 to 28 Days.

 

I hear the US turn around is similar.

 

As for Paragraph 2... Same here... had a Passport since I was a kid... I see it as my "key" to the rest of the world... LOVE how it has opened so many doors to so many new places and adventures... lol, I'd be "lost" without.

 

Cheers!

[PS90]

Too many people think that rules (like when a passport is required) are meant for everyone else and not for them. It's a common malady these days.

 

This doesn't make any sense at all. I have yet to read a post on CC in which someone is actually insinuating that they are trying to sneak onto a ship without any documentation. There are, however, many posts in which people debate whether a passport is "worth it" or not. Using another form of legal documentation has absolutely nothing to do with skirting the rules.

 

If people are unwilling to get a passport because they are willing to take the risk that they will not have to be flown home, and therefore only take a Birth Certificate and Driver's license, then I don't understand how that is a problem for anyone else. It's merely a personal decision.