Is Passport Needed for stops in Canada?

[Ombud]

21 minutes ago, Ombud said:

@Calif Explorer I'm not reading the interim posts (so if someone else reported this, apologies). This post is just for @Calif Explorer. I just got an email from my Congressman DeSaulnier's office that their office is now set up to help secure pending passports if within 14 days of international travel or same day processing appointments if within 5 days!!

 

(They have a request for assistance in replacing my daughter's lost naturalization papers.  Once I get her papers then I'll get her passport. Stuck at square 1)

 

Adding: @tbarton i applied for my renewal when I had exactly 365 days left. Yep. 9 yr mark. At that time expediting with express mail took supposedly 3-5 weeks. Took 9 weeks. 

Correction to previous posts: 9 weeks ugh

[TN-Mountains]

19 hours ago, JRork2001 said:

I have a little different take on this as my Wife and I live in Washington State and have booked a cruise that starts and ends in Vancouver on Holland America.    We both have Enhanced Drivers Licenses from Washington State BUT were told we should go ahead and get passport books.     We paid for Expedited and at the time (Feb 8, 2023) we were told 5 to 7 weeks.   When I go online and check status it now says 8 to 11 weeks AND that they didn't receive our applications until March 3rd.     Since we're driving to Canada on May 5th (6 weeks) we're getting super nervous.   Will there be any challenges with getting across the boarder with our EDL's and a copy of our birth certificates (the originals went with our passport applications).    Thanks for any tips or tricks you might have.....john

@JRork2001 I'm curious.  Did you check to see what day your check cleared the bank?  I submitted my application 2 days before you.  The system shows they received mine 2 days after yours. My check cleared the bank 3 weeks before they "received" my application!?!  I didn't expedite my application.  The guy at the passport office told me to save my money...processing time was 6-9 weeks....plenty of time even with mail.  😨  In hindsight, I wish I paid for expedited service, but I'm not sure that would help.  

[Oceansaway17]

On 3/24/2023 at 3:58 PM, DallasGuy75219 said:

A snarky response still doesn't make your response correct.  Passports are not required for US citizens on a closed loop cruise from the US where the only foreign port stops are in Canada.

and usually this is fine but for say Caribbean islands, if you get left behind it can be an issues and take longer to get clearance.

But at least Canada is right next door and so that would be the one time just having a passport I would be comfortable with.  But I do have a passport and I take it along.

[Traveller94]

I did online passport renewal on 1/5/23. My application showed received on the same day. At that time it said 8 weeks, so I figured plenty of time before my April cruise. It didn’t expire until September, but because I had what I thought was a big gap between trips (December to April), I applied thinking I would have no problem. Two weeks ago, I tried calling and they wouldn’t even put you on hold. Last week I researched online and saw people on the west coast were being sent to the Puerto Rico office because it was the only place with appointments. Today, after 12 weeks, I got an email that my passport is now “in process” and processing time may take 10 - 13 weeks. I sure hope all that time in “received” status counts and we’re not talking an additional 10 -13 weeks. Please give yourself a lot of time for renewals.

[FastShip24]

On 3/24/2023 at 10:07 AM, Charles4515 said:

For that itinerary, it is closed loop, an official birth certificate ( not a hospital certificate) and a Drivers License will be sufficient. (It does not have to be Real ID)

But you need a passport and arrive can app to enter Canada 

[jeromep]

On 3/27/2023 at 1:45 PM, JRork2001 said:

I have a little different take on this as my Wife and I live in Washington State and have booked a cruise that starts and ends in Vancouver on Holland America.    We both have Enhanced Drivers Licenses from Washington State BUT were told we should go ahead and get passport books.     We paid for Expedited and at the time (Feb 8, 2023) we were told 5 to 7 weeks.   When I go online and check status it now says 8 to 11 weeks AND that they didn't receive our applications until March 3rd.     Since we're driving to Canada on May 5th (6 weeks) we're getting super nervous.   Will there be any challenges with getting across the boarder with our EDL's and a copy of our birth certificates (the originals went with our passport applications).    Thanks for any tips or tricks you might have.....john

Hello fellow Washingtonian.  Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

My post that was a few above yours on page 2 gave a synopsis of my most recent passport renewal experience.  Not exactly stellar, but not a disaster, either.

 

Did you apply at a Post Office or with a county clerk?  To be honest, my experience with getting passports through county clerks is more positive than with the post office.  I've applied for passports from both organizations and much prefer county clerks.  The Kittitas County clerk indicated that they packaged up all the passport applications they take in a day and send it out Priority Mail, which is also traceable, each night when the business day is over with.  They also indicated that they send the passport applications to a processing center in TX.  The last time I got my passport renewed I did it with a different county clerk and they sent the applications to the passport center in Seattle, and the turnaround was like 2-4 weeks.  That has been a number of years ago.

 

From the time we visited the county clerk until the online system at the State Department indicated the passport application was in process was 8 days.  That makes sense considering priority mail, about 3 days to TX and then internal mail handling.  But for a whole month to pass with the application in limbo calls into question the promptness of the office you visited in getting applications out the door or the capabilities of the processing center in handling their mail and getting applications into the system.

 

I don't know about HAL's online systems for collecting your identification document information, however Princess will offer government issued ID and birth certificate as an option when filling out their passenger information if the itinerary supports that kind of documentation.  If the itinerary doesn't support that kind of documentation it will not be offered and their systems are specifically looking for passport information.  If their web site doesn't ask for this information pre-cruise, you will have to consult with HAL, or your travel agent.

 

The Washington State EDL has been around for a long time, and I'm pretty sure it was around before the Federal Real ID law.  It is my understanding that the purpose of the EDL was so that Washingtonians could pass through land border checkpoints between the U.S. and Canada (and I'm pretty sure Mexico), without having a passport or passport card.  I believe that still is the case.

 

As for your birth certificates, check with your county health department.  They can provide a certified birth certificate for a fee in a matter of a few days, maybe even a few hours.  Any state issued, certified, birth certificate is an original and you can have as many in your possession as you want so long as you are willing to pay for them.  If you were born out of state you'll have to check with that state, but the same basically applies.  My wife was born on the east coast and she has two original birth certificates from that state.  One she ordered when she moved to the area because she needed it for something, and a few years later her parents sent her a box of personal documents and a similar, but much older version of the same certificate was in those documents.  Both are originals from the state.  Both valid for ID purposes.

 

Happy cruising.

[Charles4515]

7 hours ago, FastShip24 said:

But you need a passport and arrive can app to enter Canada 

This thread is not about what you need if you enter Canada by air. 

[FastShip24]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

This thread is not about what you need if you enter Canada by air. 

When you step off the port in Canada to visit Victoris 

[Charles4515]

28 minutes ago, FastShip24 said:

When you step off the port in Canada to visit Victoris 

You don’t need a passport to visit Victoria if you are on a closed loop cruise out of a US port.  You are misinformed. The other misinformation you posted is that you need the arrive can app. The app is not required for a cruise. It is recommended if flying into Canada but optional for flying into Canada. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Charles4515

[FastShip24]

10 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

You don’t need a passport if you are on a closed loop cruise out of a US port.  The other misinformation you posted is that you need the arrive can app. The app is not required for a cruise. It is recommended if flying into Canada but optional for flying in. 

I just cruised Alaska. If a foreign registered ship, which almost all cruise lines are, starts in the USA, it must, by law stop in a foreign country, before returning to the USA. It's the law.

[Charles4515]

1 minute ago, FastShip24 said:

I just cruised Alaska. If a foreign registered ship, which almost all cruise lines are, starts in the USA, it must, by law stop in a foreign country, before returning to the USA. It's the law.

That has nothing to do with required travel documents. 
 

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-74?language=en_US