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Visit castles, take a ride on a horse-drawn trolley, stroll through beautiful Butchart Gardens or get your fill of shopping and dining downtown. When you arrive back in Seattle or San Francisco, take time to explore those cities for even more vacation fun. It can take eight to 11 weeks (expedited wait times are five to seven weeks) for a routine passport to be issued, so you always want to plan ahead.
What's the Difference Between a Passport Book and Card?
If you are cruising with kids under age 16 on a closed-loop cruise, you'll need to bring a certified copy of their original birth certificate for identification. To make things even more confusing, you can get off the ship in port in Vancouver, British Columbia during an Alaska cruise without a passport, but to cross over into the Canadian province by rail, you'll need one. You can visit Alaska on a round-trip Seattle cruise without a passport.
A Passport Can Make the Situation Easier in an Emergency
Since the bridge crosses into Canada, you will need a passport or passport ID card. Nestled right in the heart of Alaska’s breathtaking landscapes and coastlines is Skagway Cruise Port. The cruise port’s ideal location along Alaska’s Inside Passage makes it one of the primary gateways to Alaskan adventure, history, and natural beauty.
The Caribbean Islands
Closed loop cruises are similar to domestic ones, but the voyage will always start and finish in the same port. If you book a closed loop cruise in your home country, you will not need a passport. If your cruise is listed as domestic, you will not need a passport, as you will not be disembarking into a foreign country during the voyage. Instead, you will be boarding the ship in a domestic port and returning to a domestic port, even if they are not the same.
Most Caribbean islands participate in the WHTI, but it's always best to check the details specific to the ports of call included in your itinerary. Don't forget that islands such as Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix are U.S. territories, so visits never require passports for U.S. citizens. But if you have the money to spare or anticipate traveling more frequently (and internationally), a passport book is always the best choice. In addition to being mandatory for air travel, it can offer peace of mind for emergencies. You never know when you might need to get off the ship because of an injury or illness, and arranging an unexpected flight home is much easier with a passport in hand.
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25 BEST Caribbean Cruises 2024 (Prices + Itineraries): Cruises to the Caribbean on Cruise Critic.
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Without the proper documentation, you may be denied boarding and no refund will be issued. MSC Cruises USA is not responsible for advising guests of documentation required for travel. While a U.S. passport is not mandatory for sea travel, it is recommended since it is a more readily recognized form of positive proof of citizenship. A lost or stolen passport is also easier to replace when outside of the United States than other evidence of citizenship. You need a passport to go anywhere outside the borders of the United States, right?
But if you wish to book a rail journey excursion on the White Pass & Yukon Route, which takes you from Alaska into Canada, choose the shorter White Pass Summit tour; you'll need a passport for the longer trips. The rules also apply to Caribbean islands that are U.S. territories. For instance, you won't need a passport to fly to and cruise out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, or St. Thomas in the U.S. Royal Caribbean emphasizes that Baptismal papers and hospital certificates of birth are not acceptable. Voter registration cards or Social Security cards are not considered proof of citizenship. That said, some may require a passport if you want to disembark at ports in any Caribbean destination.
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But just because some cruise passport requirements allow for “no passport cruises” doesn't mean you should sail without one. We break down closed-loop cruises, what happens in an emergency if you cruise without a passport, and what passport rules are for Alaska, the Bahamas and other popular cruise destinations. It's best to check the requirements not just for each island that you'll be sailing to, but also to additional destinations you may visit on a port call. The exact travel documentation required depends on what citizenship you hold, as well as where your cruise is sailing from and to. It is critical to understand the proper documentation needed for a cruise, as no refunds are provided for guests who fail to bring proper documentation.
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As you would expect, there is no shortage of tour operators willing to take eager cruise passengers out for a multi-hour fishing experience. Despite its small size and population, Skagway has plenty to offer visitors. Since Skagway once served as the main gateway to the gold deposits of the Klondike region of Yukon, Canada, the town has a very noticeable link to the Klondike Gold Rush.
We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. We recommend investing in a passport cover or wallet to protect your pages from bends, tears and spills.
We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports.Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. No, photocopies are not considered valid forms of identification for any cruise, domestic or international. If you are worried about losing your passport or other important documents, it is advised that you secure them in your cabin safe box as soon as you make it there. That said, passport requirements can differ depending on where your cruise departs from and its itinerary. This comprehensive guide will explain everything you need to know about passport regulations for cruises. You can cruise to The Bahamas from a number of U.S. ports along the Atlantic Coast.
Be aware that requirements on closed-loop cruises can still change in certain countries, so be sure to check the entry requirements of the specific cruise ports on your itinerary. Some Caribbean nations still require passports or passport cards, like Martinique and Guadeloupe. You have options to cruise without a passport because not every sailing requires them. The purpose of a U.S. passport card is to allow U.S. citizens to travel by land or sea to Mexico, Canada, over a dozen Caribbean Island nations and Bermuda.
Passports are generally easier to check than other documentation and may save you time when boarding and deboarding. In a nutshell, a passport card is a plastic card that can fit into a wallet and are accepted for land and sea border crossings between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Passport cards cannot be used on cruises from international homeports. Mostly, whether or not a passport is required depends on your itinerary.
In our minds, investing around a dollar per month for 10 years of security is a steal. Even if you're on a closed-loop sailing, certain islands in the Caribbean – Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barts, Barbados and others -- require a passport for entry. It's your responsibility (not your cruise line's) to learn the requirements of each of the destinations you're visiting before you go. A passport book can get you to so many more places internationally, and in the case of an emergency on a cruise, having a passport book allows you to make unexpected travel arrangements significantly easier. Keep in mind that some Caribbean countries on your closed-loop cruise might require a U.S. passport to enter.
In these cases, you may be required to stay on the ship if you do not have a valid passport to show port authorities. If you are unsure about the meaning, ports of call are temporary stops in various ports. They allow you to exit the ship and experience different cultures, climates, and on-shore excursions. As you would expect, if these ports of call are in international destinations, you would need a passport, even if you initially boarded your cruise ship in your home country. On the other hand, if you are boarding a domestic cruise in a country where you do not hold citizenship, you will need to bring your passport.
The cruises that you don't need a passport for are closed-loop sailings, which depart from and return to the same port within the U.S. One-way sailings from one U.S. port to another or from a U.S. port to a foreign one would require a passport. If you only have a U.S. passport card and plan on visiting countries outside of North American and the Caribbean, you'll have to purchase a passport book.
