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US Passport needed for RT Alaska cruises?

tofubeast

By tofubeast,
in Celebrity Cruises

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tofubeast

Posted
Posted

US citizens going on Solstice next year --- roundtrip ---Seattle, Alaska, Victoria BC, and Seattle

 

Will I need to renew my passport? (I know it will be good for me to just go ahead and renew, but I just wanted to see what the requirements are for this trip). I have read some mixed comments online, so just thought you all could give me the most current scoop. TIA

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BKFlowerMound

BKFlowerMound

Posted
Posted

The Solstice does what is called a "closed loop cruise." This is the link to the US Customs and Border Patrol website regarding closed loop cruises:

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

 

Thus, contrary to what is said by the two posters immediately above, a passport is not required for this cruise for a US citizen. Moreover, there is no requirement at all for your US passport to be valid for at least six months to enter Canada.

 

Canada, does not require a US citizen to have a passport to enter Canada but does have some detailed requirements for alternative documents that it will accept. Here's a link to its website:

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1082.html

 

That said, I agree with Keith and the other posters that a passport is the best document to have.

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

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I see posts saying you need a passport. You do not because this is a closed loop cruise.

 

If you are a United States citizen and on a cruise that begins and ends in the USA as this one is you do not need a passport to visit Canada.

 

Now, I would still renew it because if you got sick and had to fly home from canada you would need a passport. But technically you do not to do this cruise.

 

Keith

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RickT

RickT

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The 6 month rule for a valid passport is a rule setup by Celebrity regardless of the country being visited. For a UK cruise a few years ago our passports were good for 5 mths past the sail date but Celebrity insisted we have it for 6 mths even though the UK has no such rule for Canadian residents.

 

As far as not needing a passport, I guess that requirement isn't absolutely needed however I'm not sure I would rely on Celebrity accepting anything else as proof of citizenship and photo ID. A drivers license does not prove citizenship. Always a great idea to have a passport and getting more important to have a Nexis card.

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Richiebaseball

Richiebaseball

Posted
Posted
The 6 month rule for a valid passport is a rule setup by Celebrity regardless of the country being visited. For a UK cruise a few years ago our passports were good for 5 mths past the sail date but Celebrity insisted we have it for 6 mths even though the UK has no such rule for Canadian residents.

 

As far as not needing a passport, I guess that requirement isn't absolutely needed however I'm not sure I would rely on Celebrity accepting anything else as proof of citizenship and photo ID. A drivers license does not prove citizenship. Always a great idea to have a passport and getting more important to have a Nexis card.

 

A driver's license does not provide proof of US citizenship however a certified birth certificate does. The driver's license is simply the ID.

Having a valid passport is a great idea and the best proof of citizenship however as others have stated it is not required in this particular case.

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RL1180

RL1180

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IIRC, this itinerary has a stop in Skagway, and I know many of the excursions (i.e. anything that takes the White Pass Railway) REQUIRE a passport be shown to them and carried with you during the excursion. Something to keep in mind when booking your Skagway excursions.

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tampacruiser

tampacruiser

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I just got off the Solstice on Friday. When we stopped in Victoria B.C. we did not need passport, just a room key and picture ID. We did do a train excursion in Skagway and we were told to bring our passports since the train went into Canada, however they were never needed. Guess its better safe then sorry and have them just in case

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

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I think we have given the original poster enough information so they can make a decision.

 

In short, they can take this cruise without a passport.

 

However, should there be an emergency which would necessitate leaving the ship and flying home from Canada that would not be possible until a new passport is acquired. And should they take an excursion that goes into Canada which are far and few they could not do it.

 

As I said, if it was me I would get the passport for this trip and knowing there could be other trips but the original poster will now have to figure out what they want to do.

 

Keith

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JOANN226

JOANN226

Posted
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Victoria, BC is in Canada. Pretty sure they won't let you on the ship without a valid passport.

 

Just returned from the Solstice we have a passport so we took it, they copy it at the check in, when we got off in BC we took our passports and when we were going through the guarded area I took out my passport and they said it's ok we know who you are. So I think that you need them, but I am not really sure.

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Phxazzcruisers

Phxazzcruisers

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When traveling anywhere outside of the United States it is always a VERY GOOD idea to take your passport with you. Yes, many above have said it is not a "requirement", I agree, but one never knows what may happen and if you would wind up needing it as the examples above show. It is anways better to be safe than sorry, especially in this day and age

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DiamondSuiteCruiser

DiamondSuiteCruiser

Posted
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I see posts saying you need a passport. You do not because this is a closed loop cruise.

 

If you are a United States citizen and on a cruise that begins and ends in the USA as this one is you do not need a passport to visit Canada.

 

Now, I would still renew it because if you got sick and had to fly home from canada you would need a passport. But technically you do not to do this cruise.

 

Keith

 

We did this itinerary last May on the Infinity, and they never asked us for our passport, but we did take them with us. I would renew it.

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BEAV

BEAV

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For what it's worth......

 

We sailed round trip from San Francisco to Alaska (closed loop) in May, and passports were not required to sail. However, those with only birth certificates had to report to Immigration officials upon return to San Francisco while those who had passports did not.

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