Need an expert on the new passport rules please!

[denneym1]

If you are entering Canada at all through your trip you MUST have a passport, these rules were set up by the US Government that requires US as well as Canadians or any other country for that matter to carry passports.

 

Wrong. You only need a passport if coming from Canada by air. As far as whats required to enter Canada, thats up to the Canadians, not the US Government.

 

If you are embarking and disembarking at Seattle, and you are a US Citizen, you do not need a passport. Birth certificate and Govt. issued photo ID, ie drivers license, are all you need.

MD

 

PS, yes, just fill out the rest of the PIF and leave the passport number blank, it will still accept it fine.

[Mrs Lewdawg]

Thanks, denney... I will do that! I feel a lot better about this.

 

Meanwhile, I have gathered state issued photo i.d., university photo i.d, social security card, daughter's birth certificate and a marriage license. These were 5 of the many documents listed on the recommended list for this identity verification thing. Now I have to fill out 2 pages of questions: I have to list relatives, references, schools I have attended, and where I have lived and worked for the past 10 years. Then maybe they will issue this dang passport for next year!

[jckvpa0]

Not flying to Canada. Flying to Seattle and SAILING to Alaska plus a day in BC.

 

 

I don't think you need a passport for this, It should be on your booking statement if you need one.

[63musicgirl]

Thanks. I guess I'll have to cancel my trip. I cannot be sure I'll have my passport in time. It was supposed to be here this week but instead I received a letter that said they needed 5 more documents and all this other info. I doubt I will get it in time to sail. Darn!

 

Did you check your cruise personalizer? Their is a section with special notes for your cruise that will tell you if you need it.

[Mrs Lewdawg]

Yeah, I have looked at all the pertinent web sites. Thanks for the anecdotal info on this. Have a great Sunday!

[UK family]

As was stated, persons under 16 get a passport good for 5 years, so if you get it at 16 its good til you are 21. Everyone else gets 10 years. I have never heard of a Cruise line enforcing the 6 mos past end of voyage rule, but freighter cruises and expedition ships do. And it is a requirement to get a Visa for some countries. And, yes, we can apply at the Post Office, but getting competent help there is another question. lol

All this talk about passports in the US is a result of new laws requiring them for travel to Mexico, Canada, and the Caribean. Previously, passports were not required for US citizens traveling back to the US from those areas.

So the process isnt all that different, it is just new to a lot of people.

 

 

Thanks for that - it's interesting seeing the comparisons. Sounds like there is a lot of confusion going on!!

Although it may seem strange for a TA to ask your passport number/expiry date - I suppose we get used to it, and of course it does act as a reminder that if we have less than 6 months left on it, the shipping line will not take us, so it makes us get on and renew it fast!! - so odd, I know, but it does seem to work in our favour in the end!

[Colo Cruiser]

. I think it is racial profiling: I have a hispanic last name. I'm not happy.

 

 

Give me a break. :rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

I have never heard of a Cruise line enforcing the 6 mos past end of voyage rule, but freighter cruises and expedition ships do.

 

Princess does, 2 people that were with a large group getting on with us last year were denied boarding due to the 6 month rule.

 

Why take the chance??

[Pam in CA]

I have never heard of a Cruise line enforcing the 6 mos past end of voyage rule, but freighter cruises and expedition ships do.

I have been on a number of cruises and other international trips and every single one of them had a notation in bold that your passport had to be valid for at least six months past your return date. They can and do check the expiration date. The reason is that if you are delayed for any reason, you'll have a valid passport to return to the U.S. And yes, sometimes people are delayed, even during a cruise if someone gets sick and has to remain in a country, someone does something stupid and is arrested while on a trip or cruise (and yes, I saw this during my Med cruise last summer), etc.

[Mrs Lewdawg]

Give me a break. :rolleyes:

 

I'm betting you already get all kinds of breaks and don't need one from me. I'm certain my last name and geographic location flagged the passport office to check me thoroughly. My husband (different last name) applied with same documentation I sent in and has not been bothered. I, on the other hand, as far as they are concerned, could very well be an illegal from Mexico trying to get a US passport. That would be racial profiling. It ain't rocket science to figure that out.