Do you need your passport to debark in Seward?

[dijid]

Do you need your passport to debark a one-way cruise from Vancouver to Seward? Would a passport card work?

 

A while back I posted this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2338652&highlight=passport about my daughter having to surrender her passport for a visa application. Well, the plan to get the second passport just fell apart, as the visa invitation letter won't be ready for 3 (more) weeks. Which falls when we are on our cruise. To make the timing work, the coordinating agency wants us to submit everything from Juneau when we are there. In doing so, we know we would not be able to drive to Emerald Lake the next day in Skagway. We're fine with that.

 

What worries me is whether we'll need to show her passport to debark in Seward. We've got a flight from Anchorage that goes to Atlanta, so that part isn't a problem and has been confirmed with the Airline that the passport isn't needed. NCL's website doesn't address this, and the person I spoke to today couldn't figure out what documents anyone needed, yet alone specifically for debarkation. (The answer was, "It would be best if she had it at disembarkation." When pressed, she couldn't give an actual yes or no, and neither could her supervisor)

 

If it makes a difference, she is 16yo. I know that minors under 16 traveling across the border to Canada via train or car only need a birth certificate if they're with parents, but at 16 you need a passport, passport card or enhanced driver's license.

 

I still have time to get an expedited passport card if that would work for dearkation.

Edited May 12, 2016 by dijid
add more info

[Glaciers]

You won’t need a passport to disembark Seward. Since there is no immigration officials in Seward you will actually go through both Canada and US immigration in Vancouver. Problem might be boarding the ship in Vancouver, not disembarking in Seward. If you’ve already addressed this, you’re good to go.

[QueenofEverything]

You will go thru US Immigration in Vancouver before you board the ship. She will need it there.

[dijid]

Thanks for the quick replies. Good to know that she doesn't need it in Seward. ALthough I think to play it safe, we are going to expedite a passport card. I called CIBT and while it isn't cheap, it's actually not as big of a deal to get the passport card than to get a second passport. As a bonus, we'll still be able to drive to Emerald Lake, as the passport card is sufficient for the border crossing by land.

[Knobhdy]

Being a new englander, I frequently use my passport card to enter and exit Canada. It's wonderfully convenient, and I recommend it to anyone within driving distance of a boarder or a port.

[Putterdude]

A passport card may be used at land and sea ports of entry. A US citizen does not need a passport to enter Canada, a passport card will be fine. You will preclear CBP at Canada Place when embarking the ship, a passport card will be just fine there. With the pre clearance at Canada Place their is no customs clearance at Seward. You don't need anything other than government issued photo ID to board a plane in Alaska to return to the lower 48. A passport card will be just fine.

[zqvol]

Do you need your passport to debark a one-way cruise from Vancouver to Seward? Would a passport card work?

 

A while back I posted this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2338652&highlight=passport about my daughter having to surrender her passport for a visa application. Well, the plan to get the second passport just fell apart, as the visa invitation letter won't be ready for 3 (more) weeks. Which falls when we are on our cruise. To make the timing work, the coordinating agency wants us to submit everything from Juneau when we are there. In doing so, we know we would not be able to drive to Emerald Lake the next day in Skagway. We're fine with that.

 

What worries me is whether we'll need to show her passport to debark in Seward. We've got a flight from Anchorage that goes to Atlanta, so that part isn't a problem and has been confirmed with the Airline that the passport isn't needed. NCL's website doesn't address this, and the person I spoke to today couldn't figure out what documents anyone needed, yet alone specifically for debarkation. (The answer was, "It would be best if she had it at disembarkation." When pressed, she couldn't give an actual yes or no, and neither could her supervisor)

 

If it makes a difference, she is 16yo. I know that minors under 16 traveling across the border to Canada via train or car only need a birth certificate if they're with parents, but at 16 you need a passport, passport card or enhanced driver's license.

 

I still have time to get an expedited passport card if that would work for dearkation.

 

 

Do you need a passport to travel from LA to San Francisco? Of course not. You do not need a passport to travel in AK. You will clear customs and immigration prior to boarding the ship in Vancouver, that is when you actually return to the US. After that point all of your stops are domestic, and you need a passport or any documentation just like you need it to travel from city to city within any other state.

[zqvol]

Thanks for the quick replies. Good to know that she doesn't need it in Seward. ALthough I think to play it safe, we are going to expedite a passport card. I called CIBT and while it isn't cheap, it's actually not as big of a deal to get the passport card than to get a second passport. As a bonus, we'll still be able to drive to Emerald Lake, as the passport card is sufficient for the border crossing by land.

 

 

Why are you wasting your money? It is not needed. You are traveling domestically.

[cruisin0218]

The passport card is valid for land & sea but not airline travel so you will have a problem flying from the us to vancouver. There will not be a problem from Anchorage to Atlanta.

[dijid]

We ended up driving (~8 hours round trip) to our nearest Passport Agency yesterday to get an expedited passport card. They processed everything and it should be mailed out today and in our hands in about 3 days. This way we don't have to change our plans in Skagway, and can mail the passport in with the visa application from Vancouver if need be. We did not use an expediter because there wasn't consensus on what paperwork was needed. Two calls to CIBT got me two different answers. I ended up taking "paperwork set A" and "paperwork set B" with me to the agency. At the first window, the lady told me "set A" wasn't right and went and talked to a supervisor, who agreed we should switch to "set B." At the next window, the agent told me "set B" wasn't right and I needed "set A." (This whole situation was as clear as mud.) I informed him of the conversation at the previous window, and after he talked to the supervisor, he accepted "set B" and we were on our way home.

 

So the basic plan is to fly to Vancouver using the passport. At some point after that, the passport will be surrendered with the visa application, but the passport card will allow her to board the cruise (if passport has been surrendered) and let us drive to Emerald Lake and bake when we're in Skagway. IMO it wasn't a waste of money, but a decent price to pay for peace of mind knowing that we can get the visa application in on time without having to change the vacation plans.

[cherylandtk]

Now you've got me curious, what was the difference between paperwork Set A and Set B?

[dijid]

Now you've got me curious, what was the difference between paperwork Set A and Set B?

 

Set A was for a passport renewal and used her current passport as the supporting document. Paperwork B was for a new application and required submitting birth certificate, etc. I even had to sign that one, although legally a 16yo can get a passport on their own. They both have different application forms as well.

 

I will never know why one was picked over the other. In the end it all worked out. We were able to print out the last of the visa application at the Ketchikan Library (take a taxi up there and walk back down if you ever go!) and then mail it FedEx from the Office Max by the Juneau airport. Used her passport card to get in to Canada and back when driving the Klondike highway.