Passport Clarification Please? BC and Yukon Territory

[Yukonjake]

Newbie here.

 

I keep seeing posts exhorting us to leave our passports in the cabin safe. we will embark and debark in Seattle. But, I have an excursion in Skagway to Carcross (through BC and into the Yukon Territory). Also, our last night is in Victoria BC.

 

For these two forays into Canada, I presume that we should take our passports ashore as we take them when we drive or fly to Canada?

 

Advice, please?

[Crew News]

You will need your passport to cross the border checkpoint and in Victoria.

 

My photo review of your excursion:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/place/canada/yukon-territory/caribou-crossing/

[cruiseguy1016]

We rented a car in Skagway and drove into the Yukon. We were asked for our passports at the border.

Edited March 28, 2018 by cruiseguy1016

[hawkeyetlse]

You need your passports to enter Canada from Alaska (and above all, to re-enter the US at the end of your excursion).

 

For the stop in Victoria, you can leave your passport on board if you prefer that.

[peety3]

You need your passports to enter Canada from Alaska (and above all, to re-enter the US at the end of your excursion).

 

For the stop in Victoria, you can leave your passport on board if you prefer that.

Agreed. When we did the train to Carcross from Skagway, a border agent came on board and wanted us to hold our passports open with the photo next to our head. On return, the bus driver had us get our passports out in case an agent boarded, but we didn't have to show them. Every time we've gone into Victoria, they were never checked (but we took them anyway to be safe).

 

Interestingly, last year on a private photo tour from Skagway to the "Welcome to the Yukon" sign, our driver/guide received some sort of receipt marking us as in-transit. He provided that to the US border guards on return, and in theory it validated that we'd crossed the border so recently that we couldn't have left anything behind or gained anything (at least from a customs/duty collection perspective). No idea if that makes the process any easier, but still neat to witness that it happens.

 

We have the convenience of living in a state (Washington) that offers "enhanced" driver licenses. These prove citizenship and are suitable for land and sea travel. As such, we now choose to leave our passports in the safe and just use our DLs. Nice to know we have alternate ID kept separate from us; this could also be a good reason to consider a passport book plus a passport card, if those are still offered.

[martincath]

...Interestingly, last year on a private photo tour from Skagway to the "Welcome to the Yukon" sign, our driver/guide received some sort of receipt marking us as in-transit. He provided that to the US border guards on return, and in theory it validated that we'd crossed the border so recently that we couldn't have left anything behind or gained anything (at least from a customs/duty collection perspective). No idea if that makes the process any easier, but still neat to witness that it happens.

I wager this is the same deal as the short return train ride - which does actually cross onto Canadian soil, but does not give any opportunity to disembark the train, so is the only train ride that does not need a passport or equivalent.

 

 

OP - it's not a 'should' but a straight-up 'must' that you take your passport (unless you also have some other equivalent WHTI-compliant doc).

[new_cruiser]

I used my Passport card for the bus/train excursion into the Yukon. Since it is a land crossing, a Passport card works, if you have one and don't want to take the Passport book.

 

Reminder, since Enhanced Driver License was mentioned above - that is not the same as a RealID license. The only a small number of states that border on Canada have an option to get an Enhanced Driver License currently. If it is one, it will have a little US flag on it.