Holland America Lines Disasterdam

[shsdawg]

is that now you pretty much have to have a passport to get back into the US from anything that stops out of country, closed loop or not. The first time I went to the Carribbian (Grenada) all you needed was a birth certificate. I wouldn't dream of trying it without a passport now.

[Cruzin Terri]

Cruise stopped at two US territories (Puerto Rico and USVI), Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk.

I realize HMC and Grand Turk are not in US but Puerto Rico and St. Thomas do not require a passport or any proof of US citizenship to travel there.

 

The other two are out of US but only require Birth Certificate and photo ID for travel. When was the last time you had to show a passport at Half Moon Cay or Grand Turk--two made for cruise ship ports!!!!!

 

Somebody dropped the ball here.

 

Terri

Edited February 17, 2013 by tbrein

[NMLady]

Cruise stopped at two US territories (Puerto Rico and USVI), Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk.

I realize HMC and Grand Turk are not in US but Puerto Rico and St. Thomas do not require a passport or any proof of US citizenship to travel there.

 

The other two are out of US but only require Birth Certificate and photo ID for travel. When was the last time you had to show a passport at Half Moon Cay or Grand Turk--two made for cruise ship ports!!!!!

 

Somebody dropped the ball here.

 

Terri

 

It was his Birth Certificate that was questioned.

[ejammer]

The birth records and certificate of Birth from Germany are not valid for use as anything other than proof of where you were born and to apply for a German Passport. You must have the first one to apply for US Citizenship and/or a Passport.

 

This is the same paperwork, with the Seal of the State in which we lived at the time of our daughters birth in Herbornseelbach, Hesse, FRG.

 

As I stated before, but apparently it was not noticed by you, THIS IS NOT PROOF OF US CITIZENSHIP!!!

 

All it is is a German Birth Certificate, which is valid to provide you proof of German Citizenship.

 

You have to do what my daughter/we had to do and APPLY for US Citizenship and officially revoke your German Citizenship and then apply for US Citizenship, via the US State Department and then you might consider a US Passport.

 

2. A German Birth Certificate even with Translation, is not US Citizenship... I cannot stress this enough.

If the German Birth Certificate is all that you have, then you are still a German Citizen because you do not have the American Birth Certificate. Until you renounce your German Birth Rights/Citizenship OFFICIALLY you are German and not an American Citizen until you have that proof in English.

 

Oh, I read it before, and realized you were WRONG, and didn't feel it justified a response. However, at the risk of starting an entirely new thread here, some misleading rants (not calling you a misleading ranter), devoid of any obvious research, require correction. Otherwise, some folks here may think Obama, McCain, or myself may not be eligible to run for the U.S. Presidency. We are! (Fortunately, or unfortunately, as that may be.) Because we are all what is known as natural born or naturalized U.S. Citizens, who "derived" our U.S. citizenship at birth by being born of at least one U.S. Citizen parent. No non-U.S. country citizenship revoking required.

 

Anyone heard of Google? No, it's not a German bagel. Ten minutes surfing around on there BEFORE one starts typing and hits Submit could prevent a lot of misinformation from being spread. Unless that is one's intent.

 

Please allow me to save you the 5 or 6 minutes it could take. Start here at the official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services government site: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=32dffe9dd4aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextoid=32dffe9dd4aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

Find on the first page under "A Child Born Outside the U.S. is a Citizen at Birth IF"...One parent is a U.S. citizen at the time of birth and the birthdate is before November 14, 1986 but after October 10, 1952 The parents are married at the time of birth and the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. or its territories for a period of at least ten years at some time in his or her life prior to the birth, at least five of which

were after his or her 14th birthday.

If the U.S. citizen parent spent time abroad in any of the following three capacities, this can also be counted towards the physical presence requirement:

 

• Serving honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces;
  
• Employed with the U.S. Government; or
  
• Employed with certain international organizations
  

 

Gosh, that's me! :cool:

Here's another one: http://mediamatters.org/blog/2011/05/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-being-a-natur/179567 This one is from MediaMatters website, where you will find: "Under the English common law, from which the constitutional Framers apparently derived the words "natural-born citizen," at least some foreign born children of American citizen parents are "natural-born." Included are children born within the allegiance or jurisdiction of the United States. Children born to citizen parents who are in a foreign land as a result of United States government employment undoubtedly fall within the allegiance of the United States, and, therefore, are eligible for the Office of the Presidency."

 

Yay! Me again! Relax, I'm not gonna run for President. But, I could if I wanted to! :p I know. I know. But I probably still couldn't leave from, and return to, Fort Lauderdale without a passport. I got that. Wait. Do Presidents have to have passports? Oh no, I smell another thread derailing.

[ejammer]

Posted on their Facebook page 2 weeks ago. That's been long buried under the outnumbered pile of happy cruisers by now. Gonna try the suggestions on here about the ombudsmen, and writing the nice civil snail mail letter next. The media and the rest of the world wide web, etc. on back burner for now. This is only my new part-time job. I actually have a real one too. Heck, just this forum alone has worn me out today.

 

Again, not looking for a refund, or demanding any extra's. We only want to take the cruise we paid for already, and were assured by HAL we would be able to take with no problem.

[cherylandtk]

One small piece of advice: Read Clause 11 of the cruise contract before composing the nice civil snail mail. You may not want to spend too much time focusing on their bad advice since the contract absolves them of providing you any advice in immigration or documentation matters. Say you erred, throw yourself on their mercy, etc. etc.

[ejammer]

Thank all of you who took the time to share your empathetic words of encouragement and support. Many of you had some very helpful tips and advice here. Some of you told me things I didn't already know. I sincerely appreciated that. The rest of you told me to GET A PASSPORT! Duh.

Edited February 17, 2013 by ejammer
Duplicate

[English_in_Spain]

One thing that I have been thinking while reading this thread.

 

Understandably, the OP and his wife were very upset and disappointed by what he calls "the 4 hour roller coaster".

 

Can I ask the OP - What were you saying or doing to the staff at this time? Were you getting a bit 'hot under the collar'? Did you argue? Did you show any aggression?

 

I am wondering this as I know if a passenger becomes threatening or aggressive the Captain will refuse boarding. I didn't think a Captain would overrule an immigration supervisor's decision on a documentation issue.

 

[kazu]

Posted on their Facebook page 2 weeks ago. That's been long buried under the outnumbered pile of happy cruisers by now. Gonna try the suggestions on here about the ombudsmen, and writing the nice civil snail mail letter next. The media and the rest of the world wide web, etc. on back burner for now. This is only my new part-time job. I actually have a real one too. Heck, just this forum alone has worn me out today.

 

Again, not looking for a refund, or demanding any extra's. We only want to take the cruise we paid for already, and were assured by HAL we would be able to take with no problem.

 

Good luck - I hope the letter and/or the ombudsman get you what you want:D

[hrhdhd]

is that now you pretty much have to have a passport to get back into the US from anything that stops out of country, closed loop or not. The first time I went to the Carribbian (Grenada) all you needed was a birth certificate. I wouldn't dream of trying it without a passport now.

 

Your understanding is incorrect.

 

From state.gov (my bold):

 

All U.S. citizens traveling outside of the United States are required to present a passport or other valid travel document to enter the United States. This extended to all sea travel (except closed-loop cruises), including ferry service on June 1, 2009.

[Jazmyn49]

By now you have heard WAY too many times that you should have had a passport. Now for the gouging that got you on the other aspects of your trip. One way to keep costs down is to check often for rental car rates as they vary tremendously for the same date. Reserve the smallest possible vehicle that will hold you and your luggage. We pay a maximum of $30 but it does take persistence. If you use a taxi, Google what the rates should be such as from the airport to the port and ask on Cruise Critic for suggestions of other means of transport. For hotels/motels, you can bid on Priceline and score some real bargains. We bid on 3 * and above and have always gotten excellent rooms for super prices. Once again, you can inquire on Cruise Critic for suggestions of affordable hotels near the port. Many offer shuttle service and free breakfast. Unfortunately there aren't many ways to avoid the change fee with airlines except to book a reservation that can be modified. Spirit has some great deals but only if you travel light and don't need to change anything. One last thing: The representatives who answer phones at 800 numbers cannot be relied on to know everything. Get it in writing and double, triple check the fine print on any contract. I hope this rotten experience won't sour you on travel in the future. Seeing and experiencing foreign lands changes who you are for the better and leaves you with forever memories.

[RuthC]

Ruth

From one former Fed to another. What agency did you work for? I worked for SSA.

Terri

I worked for the Department of Human Services in my state. Over the years my job included establishing citizenship (later, supervising those who did that job, then teaching the new hires who would do that) or alien status for hundreds (thousands?) of people requesting public assistance.

 

The process was usually quite simple, but could get very complex, with an incredible variety of documents that needed examination.

When I applied for Social Security I was surprised how little documentation I needed to show.

[cmdchiefthom]

My wife and I were so excited to be headed to Florida for our first cruise ever. After months of planning and preparation we headed from Tennessee to Florida eager to sail on Holland America Lines Eurodam for a much anticipated 7 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise. We had contacted HAL a month earlier to make sure our documentation would be adequate, and took a copy of our conversation with us. Unfortunately, after 4 grueling hours of waiting at the Holland America port in Fort Lauderdale, we were informed that we would not be able to board the ship because my birth certificate was not sufficient documentation for travel. :eek:

 

My father was a U.S. Army soldier married to my German mother, when I was born at a U.S. Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, making me an automatic natural born U.S. Citizen. Even though, I had contacted the cruise line prior to our departure to inform them of the exact details of my documentation, and their representative assured me I would have no problems going on the cruise with my original birth certificate, we were denied boarding and left abandoned on the dock like discarded garbage as the ship sailed away. It was a very disappointing and traumatic experience.

On top of the humiliation and disappointment this unanticipated change of plans in our first "dream" cruise vacation also resulted in many other hardships; like being gouged by taxi drivers, car rental companies, motels, and Spirit Airlines [NEVER AGAIN!] for changing our flight schedule, and spending over an additional $1,500 more than we had budgeted for this "vacation". :(

 

It amazed, shocked, and highly offended me that we could not be allowed to go on a cruise, and to be treated with such inconsiderate disrespect. HAL has thus far denied a make-over cruise, only offering to give us a few upgrades and complimentary meals if we would pay for another cruise. This only adds insult to injury! Since we confirmed in explicit detail with two HAL representatives several weeks prior to our departure the exact nature of my documentation, and where adamantly reassured by both of them that it would be sufficient for this cruise, and we would have no problem with boarding, shouldn't they be accountable for their own "expert" management's erroneous promises? :confused::(:mad:

 

As a military guy myself, neither I, nor any member of my family would ever travel outside the United States without our passport! Sorry about your trouble, but I would have thought as a dependent daughter, you would have certainly had a passport sometime in your life.:rolleyes:

[3rdGenCunarder]

By now you have heard WAY too many times that you should have had a passport. Now for the gouging that got you on the other aspects of your trip. One way to keep costs down is to check often for rental car rates as they vary tremendously for the same date. Reserve the smallest possible vehicle that will hold you and your luggage. We pay a maximum of $30 but it does take persistence. If you use a taxi, Google what the rates should be such as from the airport to the port and ask on Cruise Critic for suggestions of other means of transport. For hotels/motels, you can bid on Priceline and score some real bargains. We bid on 3 * and above and have always gotten excellent rooms for super prices. Once again, you can inquire on Cruise Critic for suggestions of affordable hotels near the port. Many offer shuttle service and free breakfast. Unfortunately there aren't many ways to avoid the change fee with airlines except to book a reservation that can be modified. Spirit has some great deals but only if you travel light and don't need to change anything. One last thing: The representatives who answer phones at 800 numbers cannot be relied on to know everything. Get it in writing and double, triple check the fine print on any contract. I hope this rotten experience won't sour you on travel in the future. Seeing and experiencing foreign lands changes who you are for the better and leaves you with forever memories.

 

All of this advice about google and priceline is good if you're planning in advance. But OP was standing at the pier, and may not have had any internet access. Plus, after 4 hours of trying to convince HAL/checkin agents/captain to let them board, I doubt the OP had energy left to deal with that kind of detail. I doubt I would.

Edited February 17, 2013 by 3rdGenCunarder

[sail7seas]

All of this advice about google and priceline is good if you're planning in advance. But OP was standing at the pier, and may not have had any internet access. Plus, after 4 hours of trying to convince HAL/checkin agents/captain to let them board, I doubt the OP had energy left to deal with that kind of detail. I doubt I would.

 

 

I agree.

Most of us would be drained, exhausted, frustrated and angry .....for starters, at that point.

[ejammer]

One thing that I have been thinking while reading this thread.

 

Understandably, the OP and his wife were very upset and disappointed by what he calls "the 4 hour roller coaster".

 

Can I ask the OP - What were you saying or doing to the staff at this time? Were you getting a bit 'hot under the collar'? Did you argue? Did you show any aggression?

 

I am wondering this as I know if a passenger becomes threatening or aggressive the Captain will refuse boarding. I didn't think a Captain would overrule an immigration supervisor's decision on a documentation issue.

 

 

Sorry mam, you've been thinking wrong. My career for all of my adult life (over 35 years) has been in sales, marketing, and public relations. I have been very successful, professional, and quite good at it. My interests include acting at our local community theater, and teaching an evangelism class at our church. When I mention things like I am an Eagle Scout, and was in the Presidential Honor Guard, it was not to brag, but to help give you some insight into my personality. That is who I am, a person committed to living a life of honor, quality, and integrity. Those things are important to me, and it is an understatement when I say I certainly understand the benefits of knowing how to act, and treating other people respectfully. I live and breath the attitudes and behavior of my hero's like Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, Earl Nightingale, Tony Robbins, Tommy Hopkins, and Dr. Charles Stanley, to name a few.

 

No mam, our 4 hour roller coaster ride of emotions consisted of: sitting patiently in the waiting area, consoling my heart-broken sobbing wife as she calmly sat there endeavoring to block out the traumatic frustration by playing games on her iPhone; diplomatically checking with the manager once every hour or so; watching everyone else in the boarding line pass us by; and looking out the window at the Eurodam. The exasperation was intermingled by moments of hope like when others waiting there with us with similar issues were finally permitted to board; like several non-English speaking Chinese exchange students one of who's visa had expired; then another couple from Zimbabwe with questionable documentation; and a few others, until finally we were the only one's remaining there alone. Another moment of false encouragement and temporary anxiety reliever moment was when the custom's officer finally actually showed up, looked at my documentation, called his supervisor, and optimistically told us everything would be ok, and we were "going to enjoy our cruise". He just needed to get the final OK from the ship personnel.

 

Now that was almost a fun 30 minutes or so as I attempted to wipe my wife's tears, reassuring her, and discussing our dream adventure plans again. Boom. Captain wouldn't authorize it because he was "fearful of possible fines from custom's upon our return departure for letting us on board without proper documentation". Then, the manager realized all our luggage was already on board the ship, which led to another very stressful 30ish minutes, during which they weren't sure they would even be able to find it in the great big pile I had been watching them load. (On an almost-humorous-under-any-other-circumstances side note, when they finally found and returned our luggage, it included the luggage of another passenger. Which, of course we politely told the embarrassed manager about, and gave back to her.)

 

No mam. During all of this excruciating roller coaster wait, I remained the calm, cool, collected, optimistic, highly trained, people-skilled-professional, that is my typical nature. One of the most hurtful shock and awe moments was what happened next. All of a sudden, after giving us our luggage, and a quick apology, everyone in the boarding area, except for a couple security guards, just disappeared. It was kinda like a Twilight Zone moment. They just left us standing there, without even any taxi cab, or hotel info, suggestions, or any concern for what was going to happen to us next. Again, no anger still at this point. Just shock and awe, devastating disappointment, and major frustration. My wife, however, was a complete emotional wreck by now. She too, however, showed no anger, or contempt, at this time, remaining the gentle, sweet, artist, writer, creative-spirit person that she always is. We don't do anger well. Not our thing.

 

Fast forward a couple of months of more roller coaster emotions from optimistic to pessimistic emails, and phone calls between our travel agent, and HAL Customer Relations. Yes, since then I confess to moments of anger. However, I have also not directed that, orally, written, or otherwise, toward any individual. I even hesitated to use the anger Icon for this original post. It was just the closest, most appropriate one available, since they didn't have an option for a broken heart.:(:confused::rolleyes::o:eek::mad:

[mamaofami]

OP, I'm wondering if the decision to deny boarding was made by the HAL reps at the pier in conjunction with someone from Homeland Security and or the captain, or was this just a decision made by the HAL reps at the pier.

[kazu]

Sorry mam, you've been thinking wrong. My career for all of my adult life (over 35 years) has been in sales, marketing, and public relations. I have been very successful, professional, and quite good at it. My interests include acting at our local community theater, and teaching an evangelism class at our church. When I mention things like I am an Eagle Scout, and was in the Presidential Honor Guard, it was not to brag, but to help give you some insight into my personality. That is who I am, a person committed to living a life of honor, quality, and integrity. Those things are important to me, and it is an understatement when I say I certainly understand the benefits of knowing how to act, and treating other people respectfully. I live and breath the attitudes and behavior of my hero's like Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, Earl Nightingale, Tony Robbins, Tommy Hopkins, and Dr. Charles Stanley, to name a few.

 

No mam, our 4 hour roller coaster ride of emotions consisted of: sitting patiently in the waiting area, consoling my heart-broken sobbing wife as she calmly sat there endeavoring to block out the traumatic frustration by playing games on her iPhone; diplomatically checking with the manager once every hour or so; watching everyone else in the boarding line pass us by; and looking out the window at the Eurodam. The exasperation was intermingled by moments of hope like when others waiting there with us with similar issues were finally permitted to board; like several non-English speaking Chinese exchange students one of who's visa had expired; then another couple from Zimbabwe with questionable documentation; and a few others, until finally we were the only one's remaining there alone. Another moment of false encouragement and temporary anxiety reliever moment was when the custom's officer finally actually showed up, looked at my documentation, called his supervisor, and optimistically told us everything would be ok, and we were "going to enjoy our cruise". He just needed to get the final OK from the ship personnel.

 

Now that was almost a fun 30 minutes or so as I attempted to wipe my wife's tears, reassuring her, and discussing our dream adventure plans again. Boom. Captain wouldn't authorize it because he was "fearful of possible fines from custom's upon our return departure for letting us on board without proper documentation". Then, the manager realized all our luggage was already on board the ship, which led to another very stressful 30ish minutes, during which they weren't sure they would even be able to find it in the great big pile I had been watching them load. (On an almost-humorous-under-any-other-circumstances side note, when they finally found and returned our luggage, it included the luggage of another passenger. Which, of course we politely told the embarrassed manager about, and gave back to her.)

 

No mam. During all of this excruciating roller coaster wait, I remained the calm, cool, collected, optimistic, highly trained, people-skilled-professional, that is my typical nature. One of the most hurtful shock and awe moments was what happened next. All of a sudden, after giving us our luggage, and a quick apology, everyone in the boarding area, except for a couple security guards, just disappeared. It was kinda like a Twilight Zone moment. They just left us standing there, without even any taxi cab, or hotel info, suggestions, or any concern for what was going to happen to us next. Again, no anger still at this point. Just shock and awe, devastating disappointment, and major frustration. My wife, however, was a complete emotional wreck by now. She too, however, showed no anger, or contempt, at this time, remaining the gentle, sweet, artist, writer, creative-spirit person that she always is. We don't do anger well. Not our thing.

 

Fast forward a couple of months of more roller coaster emotions from optimistic to pessimistic emails, and phone calls between our travel agent, and HAL Customer Relations. Yes, since then I confess to moments of anger. However, I have also not directed that, orally, written, or otherwise, toward any individual. I even hesitated to use the anger Icon for this original post. It was just the closest, most appropriate one available, since they didn't have an option for a broken heart.:(:confused::rolleyes:eek:

 

WOW:eek: what a good post - broken heart - I really feel for you and your wife. If I was denied boarding on our cruise coming up, I would be heartbroken too. You really made a succinct case here - I would put this in your letter and to the ombudsman. I wish there was a 'feel for you' icon but there isn't so let me just wish you good luck one more time with a smiley icon:)

[ejammer]

Spirit has some great deals but only if you travel light and don't need to change anything. One last thing: The representatives who answer phones at 800 numbers cannot be relied on to know everything. Get it in writing and double, triple check the fine print on any contract. .

 

We were flying on Spirit. It seemed like the best deal at first, but never again! The "need to change anything", is the hidden secret expensive lesson. They charged us nearly $500 simply because we had to change our return flight schedule. Our entire round trip flights started out at approximately only $700. That $700 turned into $1,200 real quick due to a simple schedule change.

 

The convo with the HAL rep and her supervisor was not on an 800#. It was from the HAL website online chat line. They give you an option at the end to save and print the convo, which I did, and posted here previously. Therefore, it was in writing.

[ejammer]

OP, I'm wondering if the decision to deny boarding was made by the HAL reps at the pier in conjunction with someone from Homeland Security and or the captain, or was this just a decision made by the HAL reps at the pier.

No idea about the decision making details, or procedure. We remained then, and now, clueless, and in the dark about all that. Pretty much all I know about what transpired, I have already posted here.

[jlrob]

On the HAL website under online check in, HAL states that it is our responsibility to have the correct documentation. See attached.

 

 

Do I Need A Passport?

 

Holland America Line highly recommends that all guests carry a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond the completion date of your travel. Having a passport will enable you to fly from the U.S. to a foreign port in the event you miss your scheduled embarkation or to fly back to the U.S. if you need to disembark the ship mid-cruise due to an emergency.

PLEASE NOTE: It is your sole responsibility to obtain and have available the proper travel documents that are necessary for your travel, including all costs related to arrangements to obtain entry to countries you visit and re-entry to your destination country. Boarding may be denied or fines may be levied against those guests without proper documentation. Payment of any fines levied is the responsibility of the individual guest.

For U.S. and Canadian Citizens:

Travel by Land or Sea :

Travel document requirements vary based on cruise itinerary and whether international flights are required. For voyages that are scheduled to end outside the U.S., a passport that is valid for six months beyond the completion date of your travel is required. Passports or Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) compliant documents are required for cruises to Alaska, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico and the Panama Canal. U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 16 and above may present one of the following valid WHTI-compliant documents:

Passport (recommended travel document) (valid for travel by air, land and sea)

Passport Card (valid for land and sea border crossings only)

State Issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) – (valid for land and sea border crossings only)*

Other documents approved by the Department of Homeland Security

 

For a list of approved documents visit: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_2223.html

*The EDL driver's license, or non-driver photo identification, is offered in the U.S. states of Michigan, New York, Vermont and Washington and in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, to applicants that can prove identity and citizenship. Please note the EDL is not the same as an Enhanced (or Endorsed) Commercial Driver's License.

U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises: U.S. citizens on cruises in the Western Hemisphere that originate and terminate in the same U.S. port are required to have proof of citizenship such as a valid US passport or a government issued birth certificate combined with a government issued photo I.D. Other approved proof of citizenship documents such as a passport card, an enhanced driver’s license (EDL) or certificate of naturalization along with a government-issued photo ID are also acceptable. A passport is still the preferred document. PLEASE NOTE –WHTI-compliant documents are acceptable for entry or re-entry into the United States. You may be required to present additional or different travel documents when entering foreign countries, including some countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Birth certificates from Puerto Rico issued prior to July 1, 2010 are not valid forms of proof of citizenship that is accepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Guests from Puerto Rico either need to present a WHTI-compliant document or a government-issued photo identification with a validated birth certificate issued after July 1, 2010.

Children: U.S. citizen children under the age of 16 traveling on a closed-loop cruise (a cruise in the Western Hemisphere which originates and ends in the same U.S. port) will be able to present their government issued birth certificate or other proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a naturalization certificate or citizenship card to sail. Birth certificates can be an original, photocopy or certified original.

For more information regarding passports and WHTI-compliant documents, please visit http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_2223.html or call the National Passport Information Center toll free at 1-877-487-2778 or TDD/TYY at 1-888-874-7793.

Travel by Air : Passports are required for all international air travel to and from the United States, regardless of age or citizenship. This includes air travel to and from Canada, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Mexico.

FOR NON-U.S./NON-CANADIAN CITIZENS: You must have and carry a passport valid for six months beyond the duration of your travel. Please carefully verify the existing identification requirements for your particular travel situation. In addition, non-U.S. citizens who have previously been admitted to the United States for permanent residence must carry their Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), commonly known as a Green Card. Resident aliens not in possession of this must obtain one at the nearest office of the U.S. Immigration Service.

VISAS

Some countries require that you obtain official authorization (called a visa) before entering the country. Usually a fee is required. You are responsible for obtaining any necessary visas. If you do not hold proper visa documents, you could be denied boarding without compensation. Guests who do not have the proper legal identification, visas and other required documents, will be denied boarding. Each guest’s nationality and status is unique. It is the guest’s responsibility to obtain any necessary legal documents for entry and exit to the countries visited.

For U.S. or Canadian citizens, if you have questions about visa requirements, you may call VisaCentral (a CIBT Company) at 1-866-788-1100 or send an email message to: customerservice@visacentral.com or visit their website: http://www.visacentral.com/hollandamerica

Non-U.S./non-Canadian citizens may be required to hold a Canadian visa when traveling to Alaska or Canada. Please visit the Canadian government website at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp to verify your nationality’s requirements.

For more information regarding Visas, click here.

08/30/12

[jtl513]

They give you an option at the end to save and print the convo, which I did, and posted here previously. Therefore, it was in writing.

Unfortunately I can not read that, even if I save the image and zoom in. (the text gets too pixilated) Can you enlarge the jpg and re-post or cut-and-paste the text directly into the body of a post? Thanks. Edited February 17, 2013 by jtl513

[Carolin]

I was born in Germany off base so I was naturalized. It's for this very reason I keep a current valid passport... always. I live in Detroit and go to Canada often.

 

I'm sorry you missed your cruise because of your documentation. I hope you had insurance and were able to get some money back.

[Travelbug 2]

I can not fot the life of me understand why anyone would try to travel out of country without a current passport. It is one of the basic rules of travelling and anyone not using one runs the risk of being stranded either at the point of departure or (heaven forbid) in a foriegn country. :eek:

 

The answer is simple --- Get a passport and save the headache. :)

[ejammer]

Unfortunately I can not read that, even if I save the image and zoom in. (the text gets too pixilated) Can you enlarge the jpg and re-post or cut-and-paste the text directly into the body of a post? Thanks.

No problem. When I checked the jpg it was already pretty large. I will try uploading it again here now. Also, as an additional backup, I made a screen shot copy of the convo, and saved that too (I'm overly cautious that way, and consequent have way too many saved files. My wife calls me a "file hoarder", but one never knows when you may need something. :)). So, I will attach that version in a pdf here now too in case it may be more readable.

Holland America Documentation CHAT CONVO.pdf