Cruise Happy87 Posted August 25, 2019 #1 Share Posted August 25, 2019 So is there a difference with the passport book or card.....What is the difference ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d9704011 Posted August 25, 2019 #2 Share Posted August 25, 2019 https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-renew-passport/card.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted August 25, 2019 #3 Share Posted August 25, 2019 5 hours ago, Cruise Happy87 said: So is there a difference with the passport book or card.....What is the difference ? Card is insufficient for international air travel and for cruises that require a passport. Card is useful for land crossing at North American borders and will suffice for domestic flights (if you don't have your state's "real ID" or "enhanced DL" once that new requirement is enforced). BTW, note that pretty much every premium/luxury cruise line requires all passengers on all itineraries to present a passport (book) and often surrender them to the purser at embarkation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted August 26, 2019 #4 Share Posted August 26, 2019 If you live near the Canadian or Mexican border, and ONLY do international across those borders, the passport card is good enough. Most everything else requires the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhorseman Posted August 26, 2019 #5 Share Posted August 26, 2019 10 hours ago, SRF said: If you live near the Canadian or Mexican border, and ONLY do international across those borders, the passport card is good enough. Most everything else requires the book. There's lot for cruisers that doesn't require the book, and Cruise Critic is a website whose members are overwhelming cruisers, so saying "most everything else" isn't accurate in the context of this forum. Since the passport card is a WHTI-compliant document and is valid at sea-ports-of-entry from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean it can be used as a single identity and proof of citizenship document for closed loop Western Hemisphere cruises originating in the US as well as many open jaw repositioning cruises as long as the cruise line is not one of those (generally luxury lines) that requires a passport book of all passengers regardless of what the laws and regulations permit. The passport card is also good as ID for domestic air travel and admittance to federal government facilities, something that will be of increasing importance as we approach full implementation of the REAL ID requirements in October, 2020. Those who may live in states that are not issuing REAL ID drivers licenses, or who would prefer not to go through the trouble of obtaining a REAL ID license can use a passport card instead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted August 27, 2019 #6 Share Posted August 27, 2019 MOST, not ALL. Closed loop cruises are a special circumstance. And while a lot of people cruise, more people make other trips. And many cruises are not closed loop, or not from US ports. MOST is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted August 27, 2019 #7 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Try typing "passport book vs card" into Google. You will get detailed information about the differences. DON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhorseman Posted August 27, 2019 #8 Share Posted August 27, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, SRF said: MOST, not ALL. Closed loop cruises are a special circumstance. And while a lot of people cruise, more people make other trips. And many cruises are not closed loop, or not from US ports. MOST is correct. Closed loop cruises are anything but a special circumstance. The overwhelming majority of cruises from US ports are closed loop on mass market lines that permit use of the card. The card will also be good on many repositioning cruises on those same mass market lines. So for cruising from the US, your version of MOST is wrong because MOST passengers on cruises departing the US actually can use the passport card. It's simple arithmetic. Edited August 27, 2019 by njhorseman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted August 31, 2019 #9 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Did I limit my response to cruises? No. Cruises are a small subset of international travel. But yes, for US cruisers, closed loop cruises are more common. But then again, you don't even need a passport card for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now