Passport Question

[HORDOSR]

Do you need a passport before you book a cruise? I am flying out of Canada and to Miami.

Thanks!

[Putterdude]

I am assuming that you are Canadian so yes you will to not only fly into the US but also return to the US on the ship.

[montekat]

Do you need a passport before you book a cruise? I am flying out of Canada and to Miami.

Thanks!

You don't need the passport prior to booking a cruise, just be sure to have it in hand when boarding.

[paul929207]

You just need your passport when you first board an internetional flight or the cruise ship.

[trainfan]

You will have to have the passport number to fill out passenger information forms prior to boarding the cruise - about 70 days prior. Under the new North American Security regulations you need the passport fairly early on. As a Canadian you will also have to supply the exact address of the place you are going to in the United States as well as how long you will be staying there. I have actually seen someone refused entry at Toronto airport because they didn't have the exact address of the place they were going to. The person was frantically calling his brother (I think it was) for the street address so he could get by immigration inspection. The only way to speed up entry into the USA or Canada is to have a NEXUS card - but you need a passport for that and have to undergo a personal interview and security check before you get one of those.

[wrp96]

You don't have to have the passport when you book the cruise but you will need one to be able to take the cruise, so you can book your cruise then get your passport.

[Putterdude]

The only way to speed up entry into the USA or Canada is to have a NEXUS card - but you need a passport for that and have to undergo a personal interview and security check before you get one of those.

 

I have a NEXUS card but I think it may only be accepted in certain airports and cruise terminals that are equipped for it...such as the retina scan...my guess would be that the DHS in Miami may never have heard of NEXUS.

[jocap]

We had to give our passport number and date it expired, when we filled out our passenger info, some weeks before. The passport needs to have 6 months on it, even when, as in my case, it was a short cruise entirely in and from the Med, and my 5 months left were not allowed.

Jo.

[njhorseman]

We had to give our passport number and date it expired, when we filled out our passenger info, some weeks before. The passport needs to have 6 months on it, even when, as in my case, it was a short cruise entirely in and from the Med, and my 5 months left were not allowed.

Jo.

 

That is not the case for the typical cruise (Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, etc.) departing and ending in the US.

[trainfan]

my guess would be that the DHS in Miami may never have heard of NEXUS.

When flying from major Canadian airports (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg) you are cleared by US Homeland Security Agents in those airports while still on Canadian soil - before you are even allowed into the boarding area for departure, so in this case it doesn't matter if Miami DHS have ever heard of NEXUS you will pass through at Toronto or the other Canadian airports very quickly. We use ours and avoid the lines. Because we live within 50 minutes of the US/Canada boarder it makes getting across the boarder for shopping, shows, etc. very easy.

 

Interestingly - I just booked a cruise yesterday and my TA phoned me back and said she could not book it unless she booked it under the name exactly as it appears in my passport. I was always able to use just first and last name - it now has to be all the names in the passport (first, middle, last - exact spellings). Apparently, according to my TA, this rule has recently come into effect. Still don't need the passport - just make sure the names match up when you get one.

[njhorseman]

When flying from major Canadian airports (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg) you are cleared by US Homeland Security Agents in those airports while still on Canadian soil - before you are even allowed into the boarding area for departure, so in this case it doesn't matter if Miami DHS have ever heard of NEXUS you will pass through at Toronto or the other Canadian airports very quickly. We use ours and avoid the lines. Because we live within 50 minutes of the US/Canada boarder it makes getting across the boarder for shopping, shows, etc. very easy.

 

Interestingly - I just booked a cruise yesterday and my TA phoned me back and said she could not book it unless she booked it under the name exactly as it appears in my passport. I was always able to use just first and last name - it now has to be all the names in the passport (first, middle, last - exact spellings). Apparently, according to my TA, this rule has recently come into effect. Still don't need the passport - just make sure the names match up when you get one.

 

Presumably your TA is talking about your airline flights, not your cruise. There is a relatively new rule, called Secure Flight, requiring your flight booking to be in the same name as your identification documents. The airline also has to capture your gender and date of birth. The purpose is to help DHS match passenger names to terrorist watch lists.

 

There's no such rule for cruises.

[Putterdude]

When flying from major Canadian airports (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg) you are cleared by US Homeland Security Agents in those airports while still on Canadian soil - before you are even allowed into the boarding area for departure, so in this case it doesn't matter if Miami DHS have ever heard of NEXUS you will pass through at Toronto or the other Canadian airports very quickly. We use ours and avoid the lines. Because we live within 50 minutes of the US/Canada boarder it makes getting across the boarder for shopping, shows, etc. very easy.

 

Interestingly - I just booked a cruise yesterday and my TA phoned me back and said she could not book it unless she booked it under the name exactly as it appears in my passport. I was always able to use just first and last name - it now has to be all the names in the passport (first, middle, last - exact spellings). Apparently, according to my TA, this rule has recently come into effect. Still don't need the passport - just make sure the names match up when you get one.

 

As a NEXUS enrollee since it's inception and a PACE participant before that I understand the concept...the issue may prove to be entering the US when leaving the ship. I would be interested in if anyone has tried using their NEXUS card at a US cruise port.

[scottbee]

That is not the case for the typical cruise (Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, etc.) departing and ending in the US.

 

It is for someone who is not a US Citizen not carrying a US Passport; like the OP

[njhorseman]

It is for someone who is not a US Citizen not carrying a US Passport; like the OP

 

No...it depends on your citizenship. The US does not require passports to be valid for 6 months beyond your trip for citizens of many countires (last I checked it was about 130 countries). For example Canadian passports only have to be vaild for the duration of your trip:

 

http://www.consular.canada.usembassy.gov/frequently_asked_questions.asp

Expiring Canadian Passport

For Canadian citizens: My passport expires in less than 6 months. Can I still travel to the U.S.?

Your passport only needs to be valid for the duration of your planned trip to the U.S.

Some cruise lines and airlines blindly impose the 6 month rule simply for their own convenience...they don't want to keep track of which countries have a 6 month validity rule (relatively few, by the way), a 3 month rule, etc.

[trainfan]

Presumably your TA is talking about your airline flights, not your cruise.

 

There's no such rule for cruises.

No - it was for the cruise - the cruise is in Oct 2011 - I haven't booked the air yet (I can't as bookings are not possible that far out). She was quite surprised when she couldn't get the booking until she had the information.

[PennyAgain]

The passport office (US) changed the way my name is listed on my passport, bringing up a middle name I had not used in decades.

 

Had to run around and change all the airline membership/miles/ticketing names to match.

 

Having done that, I always book the cruise name as on my passport and air tickets.

[njhorseman]

No - it was for the cruise - the cruise is in Oct 2011 - I haven't booked the air yet (I can't as bookings are not possible that far out). She was quite surprised when she couldn't get the booking until she had the information.

 

Which cruise line is doing that? I booked our October, 2011 NCL cruise without being asked for passport information. I only needed it to complete the on line registration, which I could have put off completing if I had chosen to until I needed to print my edocs after making the final payment in 2011.

 

As I said in my previous post, there is no US government rule for cruises that is comparable to Secure Flight for airline bookings.

 

Cruise lines' customer service departments are notorious for giving out bad information. By and large the agents are inexperienced and poorly trained.

Maybe your travel agent should try again...she might get a different response from a different agent.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes you need a passport.

[trainfan]

Which cruise line is doing that? I booked our October, 2011 NCL cruise without being asked for passport information. I only needed it to complete the on line registration, which I could have put off completing if I had chosen to until I needed to print my edocs after making the final payment in 2011.

 

As I said in my previous post, there is no US government rule for cruises that is comparable to Secure Flight for airline bookings.

 

Cruise lines' customer service departments are notorious for giving out bad information. By and large the agents are inexperienced and poorly trained.

Maybe your travel agent should try again...she might get a different response from a different agent.

My TA is too experienced to be caught like that. The line is Princess and the cruise starts and ends in Australia so I suspect it is something to do with Australian regs, not the US. Since we have to get an Australian visa they may be matching names and manifests. It really doesn't matter for us as we have always carried passports.

 

If you want the height of silliness with respect to passports - the Canadian Government will NOT accept a Canadian passport as a valid ID in some cases. We have tried on a couple of occassions to use them e.g. advance polling for a Federal election and they are not acceptable as a piece of ID. Was also not accepted at a post office when I went to claim a parcel once!

[njhorseman]

My TA is too experienced to be caught like that. The line is Princess and the cruise starts and ends in Australia so I suspect it is something to do with Australian regs, not the US. Since we have to get an Australian visa they may be matching names and manifests. It really doesn't matter for us as we have always carried passports.

 

If you want the height of silliness with respect to passports - the Canadian Government will NOT accept a Canadian passport as a valid ID in some cases. We have tried on a couple of occassions to use them e.g. advance polling for a Federal election and they are not acceptable as a piece of ID. Was also not accepted at a post office when I went to claim a parcel once!

 

You said she was surprised by it, so who knows? If you had said in your original post that the cruise started and ended in Australia I would have never made reference to US rules.

 

When your Canadian pasport was not accepted as ID, was it because the situation required an ID that had your address? I don't know about Canadian passports, but your address is not recorded on a US passport, other than in a spot where you can write it in yourself in pencil.

[Putterdude]

If you want the height of silliness with respect to passports - the Canadian Government will NOT accept a Canadian passport as a valid ID in some cases. We have tried on a couple of occassions to use them e.g. advance polling for a Federal election and they are not acceptable as a piece of ID. Was also not accepted at a post office when I went to claim a parcel once!

 

It is a residency matter and your passport proves citizenship but not residency.

[NMLady]

Presumably your TA is talking about your airline flights, not your cruise. There is a relatively new rule, called Secure Flight, requiring your flight booking to be in the same name as your identification documents. The airline also has to capture your gender and date of birth. The purpose is to help DHS match passenger names to terrorist watch lists.

 

There's no such rule for cruises.

 

Many of the cruise lines are now requiring that their documents also match the name on your passport. It goes along with the new flight rule recently passed. I guess it is so that the same name is on all documents.

[vonster]

has anyone have problems with their passport expiring within less than 6 months?

My bf's expiring in December...

[jocap]

has anyone have problems with their passport expiring within less than 6 months?

My bf's expiring in December...

Yes. It is easier for a cruise line to put a 6 month expiration date on all cruises, so you could be refused admission on board.

I don't know what the rule is in Canada, but in the UK you can get a new passport up to 9 months before the old one expires. The remaining months are added to the 10 years. I believe that is not so in the USA, but a Canadian will tell you your country's rules.

Jo.