Passport

[Charles4515]

 
Has Amtrak asked you for ID? I know the website says to be prepared to show ID, but it's years since I've had to show anything more than my ticket, even on the train NY to FL, and a photo driver license was enough to satisfy the conductor. 
 

Amtrak does random ID checks. Odds are one in ten that the conductor will ask for ID when they scan a ticket. The scanner device randomly tells the conductor to check. A drivers license or other any other government issued photo ID is sufficient. It is no big deal.

[TAD2005]

4 hours ago, slimknyzer said:

I spoke with two PCC's today.  They both said a DL and BC WILL get you onboard at embarkation.  Not arguing, but just saying what they said.  

Even if the statement you got from your PCC was sent to you in writing, it means nothing if the agent at the pier has different instructions.   Do you really want to spend hours arguing with a boarding agent saying that "my PCC told me a birth certificate and DL was OK".   The agent will repeat the requirements that they think are correct, and you and the agent will watch your cruise leave without you.   Get a passport and cruise with peace of mind that there will be no issues.  I just don't understand why people who cruise regularly continue to object to spending $110 (or $135) for a passport and travel with the confidence of never having a problem.

[Charles4515]

26 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

Even if the statement you got from your PCC was sent to you in writing, it means nothing if the agent at the pier has different instructions.   Do you really want to spend hours arguing with a boarding agent saying that "my PCC told me a birth certificate and DL was OK".   The agent will repeat the requirements that they think are correct, and you and the agent will watch your cruise leave without you.   Get a passport and cruise with peace of mind that there will be no issues.  I just don't understand why people who cruise regularly continue to object to spending $110 (or $135) for a passport and travel with the confidence of never having a problem.

 

That is pious claptrap. A birth certificate and DL will get US citizens onboard a closed loop cruise out of a US port and the agents at the dock know the requirements and have the instructions that the Birth Certificate and DL meet the requirements. They don't make up their own requirements. The cruise is not going to leave without them. 

[Despegue]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

That is pious claptrap. A birth certificate and DL will get US citizens onboard a closed loop cruise out of a US port and the agents at the dock know the requirements and have the instructions that the Birth Certificate and DL meet the requirements. They don't make up their own requirements. The cruise is not going to leave without them. 

It is SOLELY the Cruise line who decides on the documentation requirements to board.

If you do not have the required documents, no cruise. Simple.

If HAL requires a passport for your INTERNATIONAL voyage, than get a bloody passport.

If you are unwilling to get a passport to travel outside your country, stay home. Again, simple.

“Closed loop” or not, you are leaving your home country. Get a bloody passport!

 

 

[delphis98]

On 4/14/2019 at 6:15 PM, slimknyzer said:

According to our PCC, friends traveling with us RT Seattle to Alaska who do not have a Passport will be allowed boarding with a valid DL and a Birth Certificate.  They may however, be denied to get off the ship in Victoria during the last stop of the cruise.  I sure hope this is correct info.

what's a PCC?  Personal Cruise Consultant ?

 

[Shmoo here]

50 minutes ago, delphis98 said:

what's a PCC?  Personal Cruise Consultant ?

 

You got it.

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, Despegue said:

It is SOLELY the Cruise line who decides on the documentation requirements to board.

If you do not have the required documents, no cruise. Simple.

If HAL requires a passport for your INTERNATIONAL voyage, than get a bloody passport.

If you are unwilling to get a passport to travel outside your country, stay home. Again, simple.

“Closed loop” or not, you are leaving your home country. Get a bloody passport!

 

 

 

 

Tell us how you really feel about it, Commandant! 😉

[Charles4515]

It is SOLELY the Cruise line who decides on the documentation requirements to board. If you do not have the required documents, no cruise. Simple. If HAL requires a passport for your INTERNATIONAL voyage, than get a bloody passport. If you are unwilling to get a passport to travel outside your country, stay home. Again, simple.

“Closed loop” or not, you are leaving your home country. Get a bloody passport!

 

 

 

 

 

 HAL does not require a passport for closed loop cruises from US ports. Seems bloody hard for some of you to understand that fact. HAL recommends a passport and so do I.....but don’t tell people something about what is required by HAL that is not true because it is what you want them to do or think they should do.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[Despegue]

4 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

HAL does not require a passport for closed loop cruises from US ports. Seems bloody hard for some of you to understand that fact. HAL recommends a passport and so do I.....but don’t LIE to people about what is required by HAL.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Read my post instead of making nonsense remarks please.

[Charles4515]

Read my post instead of making nonsense remarks please.

 I read your post and stand by my remarks about it.

 

 

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[slimknyzer]

4 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 I read your post and stand by my remarks about it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Clearly! 

 

[bEwAbG]

I'm not sure why this is such a contentious subject for some?  HAL follows what the State Department allows for closed-loop cruises for US citizens.  If they didn't, you can bet that there would be people on here ranting about it.  Not everyone has the time, money, ability, or desire to secure a passport before the ship leaves, especially if the trip was planned at the last minute.  In my earlier personal example, it's not that I didn't want to renew my passport before my trip, but, by the time I figured out that it would expire less than six months beyond the end of my scheduled cruise, I would have had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get it renewed in time & at extra cost to boot.  And for what?  The off chance that I'd get a check-in agent who would have to talk to a supervisor to make sure it was okay?

 

This is in the current Know Before You Go, by the way:

 

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 U.S. 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.

 

The important thing is to check out if any of the countries to which you are going require a passport for entry and, if they do, what are the rules related to how long the passport must be valid upon entry.  Beyond that, any agent who says you must have a passport would be overruled pretty easily by their boss. 

Edited April 16, 2019 by bEwAbG

[jakkojakko]

1 hour ago, bEwAbG said:

I'm not sure why this is such a contentious subject for some?  HAL follows what the State Department allows for closed-loop cruises for US citizens.  If they didn't, you can bet that there would be people on here ranting about it.  Not everyone has the time, (it doesn take you that much time surely) money, (if you have money to cruise you can buy a passport) ability, (no specisl skills requiered) or desire (exactly what I don't understand)  to secure a passport before the ship leaves, especially if the trip was planned at the last minute. (if you're the type that usually takes last minutes,  it is sensible to keep you're passport updated)  In my earlier personal example, it's not that I didn't want to renew my passport before my trip, but, by the time I figured out that it would expire less than six months beyond the end of my scheduled cruise, I would have had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get it renewed in time & at extra cost to boot.  And for what?  The off chance that I'd get a check-in agent who would have to talk to a supervisor to make sure it was okay?

 

Answers in coulour.

[bEwAbG]

14 minutes ago, jakkojakko said:

Answers in coulour.

 

None of your opinions matter in the context of a closed loop cruise from the U.S. for U.S. citizens who are following the rules allowed by the government. 

 

There are plenty of reasons why I said what I said.  You don't know anyone's life circumstances just because you see them on a cruise ship.  People's rationales can also change based on the particular trip at hand.

Edited April 16, 2019 by bEwAbG

[jakkojakko]

28 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

 

None of your opinions matter in the context of a closed loop cruise from the U.S. for U.S. citizens who are following the rules allowed by the government. 

 

There are plenty of reasons why I said what I said.  You don't know anyone's life circumstances just because you see them on a cruise ship.  People's rationales can also change based on the particular trip at hand.

 

It is not that my opinion matters, it does'nt, and I get the closed loop rules.  What I don't understand is the the using of an exceptional clause and subsequent possible troubles enroute, when there is a solution that tops everything: the passport.

And I stand by my saying, if you can afford a cruise, you can afford a passport.

[*Miss G*]

2 hours ago, bEwAbG said:

for U.S. citizens who are following the rules allowed by the government. 

 

Just wanted to add a qualifier:

 

 “Following the rules allowed by the government”... of the country the US citizen is entering.

[Copper10-8]

It appears we have a new "hot one," besides dress code and chair hogging 😃

[Despegue]

1 hour ago, jakkojakko said:

 

It is not that my opinion matters, it does'nt, and I get the closed loop rules.  What I don't understand is the the using of an exceptional clause and subsequent possible troubles enroute, when there is a solution that tops everything: the passport.

And I stand by my saying, if you can afford a cruise, you can afford a passport.

Exactly!

It just beggars belief that people travel abroad without documents necessary to return home in case of an emergency.

I simply can not understand what is the problem of obtaining a passport if you want to leave your home country. 

Money? Oh come on! You just bought a cruise for  Goodness sake.

Desire? Once again, you wanna travel, get a passport, but please read on below...

 

then again, both jakkojakko and myself are from Europe, where foreign travel is as normal as taking a bus, and all of us have ID cards , and often an International Passport since we were 12. We probably do not see the issue at hand and simply have to accept difference in mentality.

 

[TAD2005]

On a recent "closed loop" cruise, a woman was coming down the stairs on a HAL ship, missed a step and fell.  She unfortunately broke her fall with her hand, which broke her wrist.  She was a healthy 41 year old, and stone sober.  The ship did not have the facilities to properly treat her broken wrist, so she was taken off the ship in the port and she and her travelling partner went to a local hospital.   They both missed the ship and had to fly home.   They were smart travelers and had insurance and passports.   Yes, their cruise was ruined, but they were made whole by their insurance and flying home was as simple as buying a one-way ticket.   If they had no passport, but only birth certificates and DL's, they would have been stuck there until the US consulate could generate passports.   With a medical emergency to deal with, do you really want to also deal with more days in a local hotel waiting for a passport to show up ?   Sure, you're healthy and nothing like that will happen to you !!  Famous last words !!

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

Sure, you're healthy and nothing like that will happen to you !!  Famous last words !!

It already has. DW suffered a medical problem mid-way through a two week Caribbean cruise that necessitated us flying home from St. Lucia, our next port of call. As we would never travel outside the country without our passports, there were no related issues or delays. Upon arrival back in Canada, we went directly from the airport to the hospital. Had we been Americans travelling on birth certificates and DL's, it would have been a very different story. 

[Charles4515]

Exactly!
It just beggars belief that people travel abroad without documents necessary to return home in case of an emergency.
I simply can not understand what is the problem of obtaining a passport if you want to leave your home country. 
Money? Oh come on! You just bought a cruise for  Goodness sake.
Desire? Once again, you wanna travel, get a passport, but please read on below...
 
then again, both jakkojakko and myself are from Europe, where foreign travel is as normal as taking a bus, and all of us have ID cards , and often an International Passport since we were 12. We probably do not see the issue at hand and simply have to accept difference in mentality.
 

We have a different situation in North America than you have. There are a lot fewer borders. Foreign travel is less normal and there is a great deal of travel that can be done without crossing any borders.

Also on the closed loop round trip Alaska cruise out of Seattle some have been asking about.....the port stop in Victoria is the only foreign port and is mainly to have a foreign port so the cruise itinerary does not violate the cabotage laws. All the other ports are in the US. A typical stop in Victoria on those closed loop cruises is 7:00 PM to 11:59 PM the last evening of the cruise. Then the next day the ship arrives at Seattle at 7:00 AM. So having documents to return to home in case of an emergency is not particularly relevant for those sailings when all except five hours the last evening of the seven day cruise are within the US.

[slimknyzer]

16 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

It appears we have a new "hot one," besides dress code and chair hogging 😃

Right On!

[mudscraper]

18 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

It appears we have a new "hot one," besides dress code and chair hogging 😃

Let's not forget "Man Boobs."

[bEwAbG]

21 hours ago, jakkojakko said:

And I stand by my saying, if you can afford a cruise, you can afford a passport.

 

Not everyone you see on a cruise paid for the cruise with their own money.  How is that hard to fathom?

 

Suppose a large family group has decided they want to have a reunion and Cousin Cooter who has never left his local county, let alone the country, jumps in on a "3rd and 4th guests sail free" promo or his parents otherwise decide to pay for him to come along in their cabin so he doesn't miss out.  Maybe they're feeling generous and even buy him his own cabin.  He has no idea when or whether he will be able to travel out of the country in the future.

 

What makes the most economic sense to Cousin Cooter based on the situation? 

 

a) Paying $145 (minimum) to $222 (to expedite shipping & handling) for a brand new passport? 

b) Taking the drivers license that is in his wallet and the birth certificate that is sitting in a drawer? 

 

Even if you have to get a birth certificate, that's typically less than $50 (most states charge under $30).  Being on the cruise is not a sign that you personally have the financial resources.

[bEwAbG]

14 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

We have a different situation in North America than you have. There are a lot fewer borders. Foreign travel is less normal and there is a great deal of travel that can be done without crossing any borders.

 

Exactly.  A guy I went to high school with had never been out of that local area until he had to go to the state capital for his daughter's championship tournament.  He wrote about his adventures on Facebook.  This was just a couple of months ago, and we graduated from high school a few decades ago.  I'm sure there are many Europeans who never venture outside their local area, too.  Not everyone has the resources or desire (yes, desire) to do so.  Very myopic to think otherwise.