jabby826 Posted July 3, 2015 #1 Share Posted July 3, 2015 We are leaving for our cruise August 15th from Seattle and returning to Seattle. I just realized we are 6 weeks out and did not apply for our passport cards. We are not planning any excursions that would take us into Canada by land. Only Victoria as our cruise stops here. Is it required to have a passport? I really hate to pay over $100 for the card if we only will need our birth certificates. Can anyone help? Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putterdude Posted July 3, 2015 #2 Share Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) Check with your cruise line re their requirements. Technically you don't need one as you are doing a "closed loop" cruise from/to Seattle. You will have to have some form of WHTI compliant document to take the WP&YRR or drive beyond the summit as you will be entering Canada. Canada does not require a passport from a US citizen but you need it to get back into Alaska....so the railway does require a passport. http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/whti-program-background Edited July 3, 2015 by Putterdude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabby826 Posted July 3, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted July 3, 2015 NCL website mentions that we would need a drivers license and state issued birth certificate. I'm hoping that is all we would need, we checked in online for our cruise docs and they accepted those two items. Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putterdude Posted July 3, 2015 #4 Share Posted July 3, 2015 That's great, various posters in the past have said that other cruise lines do require a passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistycruiser Posted July 3, 2015 #5 Share Posted July 3, 2015 You can still do the train in Skagway without a passport as long as you do the Roundtrip train that turns around at the Canadian border because no passengers are allowed to get off. You only need the passport if you do the train trip that goes further into Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putterdude Posted July 4, 2015 #6 Share Posted July 4, 2015 You can still do the train in Skagway without a passport as long as you do the Roundtrip train that turns around at the Canadian border because no passengers are allowed to get off. You only need the passport if you do the train trip that goes further into Canada. That is exactly what was pointed out to the OP in the 2nd post. However, one thing the OP needs to realize that if one of their party got ill on the cruise and had to fly home through Canada to the U.S. without a passport that would be difficult and time consuming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gluecksbaer Posted July 4, 2015 #7 Share Posted July 4, 2015 That is exactly what was pointed out to the OP in the 2nd post. However, one thing the OP needs to realize that if one of their party got ill on the cruise and had to fly home through Canada to the U.S. without a passport that would be difficult and time consuming. Re-reading the 2nd post I could see that you were talking about beyond the summit but on a first reading it sounded like you were saying no white pass railroad excursions at all so I think the poster you responded to was trying to clarify that. For the OP: We applied for 2 passports and 2 passport cards in the middle of May and had them all in less than a month. So if you think you may want to do an excursion that crosses the border or want the piece of mind of having a passport, you could try applying as soon as possible and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budget Queen Posted July 4, 2015 #8 Share Posted July 4, 2015 A passport is such a valuable document, I find it difficult to understand those not having one. You never know what the future will offer, and as already mentioned, especially for those unexpected rapid changes to travel plans. With a 10 year life span, it's a cheap part of travel, in my opinion. I'm getting toward the end of my 4th passport, and never would be without a valid one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlando Vic Posted July 5, 2015 #9 Share Posted July 5, 2015 If you wish to renew your passports, there are companies that offer expedited services. Here is one http://www.uspassportnow.com/services/PassportRenewal To find others, just Google "expedited passport" or something similar. [url=http://www.uspassportnow.com/services/PassportRenewal][/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdisney Posted July 6, 2015 #10 Share Posted July 6, 2015 (edited) You do need either a passport card OR a passport to go to Victoria. We have gone to Victoria by ship 3 times and did use a passport card rather than a passport which was fine but we had to have the card. My kids only needed the birth certificate but they were both under 16. It was definitely checked for us in both directions. I have no idea how the cruise line would handle it like if you don;t have it will they not let you board or would they just not let you off in Victoria? We were on smaller ships for the day or weekend so it would not have been tragic if we were denied boarding. Edited July 6, 2015 by dcdisney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gluecksbaer Posted July 6, 2015 #11 Share Posted July 6, 2015 You do need either a passport card OR a passport to go to Victoria. We have gone to Victoria by ship 3 times and did use a passport card rather than a passport which was fine but we had to have the card. My kids only needed the birth certificate but they were both under 16. It was definitely checked for us in both directions. I have no idea how the cruise line would handle it like if you don;t have it will they not let you board or would they just not let you off in Victoria? We were on smaller ships for the day or weekend so it would not have been tragic if we were denied boarding. If you are on a closed loop cruise (leaving from and returning to the same US port) you only need a birth certificate (to prove citizenship) and a government issued photo ID. Those smaller ships you were on don't sound like they would qualify under the closed-loop cruise exemption. In which case you would need a WHTI compliant travel document. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherryf Posted July 6, 2015 #12 Share Posted July 6, 2015 If you are on a closed loop cruise (leaving from and returning to the same US port) you only need a birth certificate (to prove citizenship) and a government issued photo ID. Those smaller ships you were on don't sound like they would qualify under the closed-loop cruise exemption. In which case you would need a WHTI compliant travel document. I agree. If you are on a closed-loop cruise, you do NOT need a passport or passport card in Victoria. Last year we took my son's friend with us, and he used just birth certificate and drivers license for the cruise, and his ID was never checked in Victoria, other than his cruise card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Dave Posted July 6, 2015 #13 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I have sailed several times without a passport. If sailing to Seattle to Seattle you would only need Drivers License and Birth Certificate. Im assuming your a US Citizen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabby826 Posted July 8, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Thanks everyone! We are going to expedite passport cards. We know we won't be able to fly home out of Victoria but only have one non US port. So incase of an emergency at least I know we won't be landlocked (just won't be able to fly). I appreciate everyone's help! Was just super bummed I missed the 6 week cut off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted July 8, 2015 #15 Share Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) A passport is such a valuable document, I find it difficult to understand those not having one. You never know what the future will offer, and as already mentioned, especially for those unexpected rapid changes to travel plans. With a 10 year life span, it's a cheap part of travel, in my opinion. I'm getting toward the end of my 4th passport, and never would be without a valid one. My daughter has 2 young kids now aged 3 and 6. She got them passports shortly after they were born and they used them when the family traveled overseas. I can't imagine why anyone who does any traveling does not have a passport. BTW - I believe that as of 2020, you will not be able to board an airplane unless you have an enhanced drivers license. At least that is what the folks on the Nevada DMV told us when we recently renewed our drivers licence. How many people have enhanced drivers licences? So even if you are doing a closed loop cruise which does not require a passport which is an absurd exception to passport requirements, you will not be able to get on the plane to get to the cruise without a passport or an enhanced drivers licence. DON Edited July 8, 2015 by donaldsc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mek Posted July 9, 2015 #16 Share Posted July 9, 2015 My daughter has 2 young kids now aged 3 and 6. She got them passports shortly after they were born and they used them when the family traveled overseas. I can't imagine why anyone who does any traveling does not have a passport. BTW - I believe that as of 2020, you will not be able to board an airplane unless you have an enhanced drivers license. At least that is what the folks on the Nevada DMV told us when we recently renewed our drivers licence. How many people have enhanced drivers licences? So even if you are doing a closed loop cruise which does not require a passport which is an absurd exception to passport requirements, you will not be able to get on the plane to get to the cruise without a passport or an enhanced drivers licence. DON I totally agree with you. I think any travel that involves a visit outside of the US with reentry into the US should require a passport. Although I've heard of them, I'm not sure exactly what an enhanced DL is - I don't believe we have them in Ohio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gluecksbaer Posted July 10, 2015 #17 Share Posted July 10, 2015 <CC required judgemental part snipped> BTW - I believe that as of 2020, you will not be able to board an airplane unless you have an enhanced drivers license. At least that is what the folks on the Nevada DMV told us when we recently renewed our drivers licence. How many people have enhanced drivers licences? So even if you are doing a closed loop cruise which does not require a passport which is an absurd exception to passport requirements, you will not be able to get on the plane to get to the cruise without a passport or an enhanced drivers licence. DON Either you or the nice folks at the Nevada DMV were confused. The RealID has been extended several times and currently doesn't even have a set implementation date according to homeland security ("not before 2016": http://www.dhs.gov/real-id-public-faqs). It is not the same as an enhanced driver's license. The RealID is a federal standard for state-issued ID's that will be required by federal agencies (including the TSA) whenever it is actually implemented. The Enhanced Drivers License is a citizenship document that is WHTI compliant. (According to the CA DMV the main difference appears to be whether or not the card contains an RFID chip: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/realid/faq. I don't know what other differences there are.) I think it would be possible for a state to simply issue EDLs to everyone, but since very few border states have started offering the option of an EDL I can't imagine the expense will suddenly become popular for ID in landlocked states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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