Passport requirements for carnival spirit Alaska cruise.

[geovet]

We are taking a cruise this May and have a friend that would like to come. They do not have a passport and wanted to know if having a birth certificate would work.

 

Thanks

[nwcruiselover]

A birth certificate and driver’s license is all that is required if this is a closed loop cruise.  For instance leaving from Seattle and returning to Seattle.  A passport is a stronger form of ID but not required.

[Elaine5715]

Some Alaskan excursions cross into into Canada and those will require a passport so read the fine print

[Mic101680]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Some Alaskan excursions cross into into Canada and those will require a passport so read the fine print

This! We did an excursion on our 2018 Alaska cruise, and despite it being spelled out on the excursion description and on the excursion tickets in bold letters, AND a person announcing multiple times before we got on the bus, while we were on the bus waiting for others to show up, and before the bus left port that a passport was REQUIRED for this excursion, there was one guy who said they didn't have a passport as we were driving up to the border, which was a good 40+ minutes away from town. 🙄

 

Not saying this would always happen, but border control ended up letting the guy go through with us, after holding up the bus for 30 minutes while they asked him a bazillion questions and scrutinized his U.S. driver's license.  Had they not done that, or had he been a non-U.S. citizen, I don't know if the bus would have turned around to take him back to town, or if they would have just kicked him off the bus until we came back through. Dude was LUCKY.

[geovet]

Stopping in Victoria Bc would she flagged from getting off the ship?

 

[d9704011]

9 minutes ago, geovet said:

Stopping in Victoria Bc would she flagged from getting off the ship?

 

No.

[Jasonsterling]

6 minutes ago, geovet said:

Stopping in Victoria Bc would she flagged from getting off the ship?

 

No. That port falls within the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative as I believe it's called and since I am assuming you are on a closed loop cruise to and from Seattle or San Francisco being on Carnival then you do not need a passport. You can double check Carnival's website just in case but I'm not aware of anything having changed. 

[mondello]

Pretty sure our passport was required for the White Pass Railroad to the Yukon. 

[d9704011]

22 minutes ago, mondello said:

Pretty sure our passport was required for the White Pass Railroad to the Yukon. 

Yes.  Taking a car, bus or train excursion from an American port to Canada is different than the cruise ship docking at a Canadian port.

[mondello]

6 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Yes.  Taking a car, bus or train excursion from an American port to Canada is different than the cruise ship docking at a Canadian port.

No, I’m talking about our excursion from the ship. Canadian Customs boarded the train and checked passports.

[mondello]

8 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Yes.  Taking a car, bus or train excursion from an American port to Canada is different than the cruise ship docking at a Canadian port.

Very popular excursion for cruise pax, just a heads up for those that may not be aware they need their passport for the excursion.

[Elaine5715]

38 minutes ago, mondello said:

Pretty sure our passport was required for the White Pass Railroad to the Yukon. 

Yes, when it goes to the summit.  It tells you several times when you book.  When we went in 2021, it went partway up so passports weren't needed.    

[1025cruise]

When I took the White Pass, the bus driver wouldn't let us on the bus without viewing our passports.

[d9704011]

2 hours ago, mondello said:

No, I’m talking about our excursion from the ship. Canadian Customs boarded the train and checked passports.

Did the ship dock in the United States before passengers go on the train to Canada?

[d9704011]

2 hours ago, mondello said:

No, I’m talking about our excursion from the ship. Canadian Customs boarded the train and checked passports.

Did the ship dock in the United States before passengers go on the train to Canada?

[nwcruiselover]

Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a birth certificate along with a driver’s license are acceptable to travel between the U.S. and Canada by land or sea.  Not acceptable for air travel.  The tour operators are within their rights to require passports when traveling into Canada on a tour, but they are not required by the governments of Canada or the U.S.

[d9704011]

13 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a birth certificate along with a driver’s license are acceptable to travel between the U.S. and Canada by land or sea.  Not acceptable for air travel.  The tour operators are within their rights to require passports when traveling into Canada on a tour, but they are not required by the governments of Canada or the U.S.

I believe the WHTI permits US citizens to enter the United States using documents other than a passport; it does not necessarily permit passengers to enter Canada although I believe that courtesy is extended to passengers arriving at a Canadian port on a cruise ship.  

[sparks1093]

48 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a birth certificate along with a driver’s license are acceptable to travel between the U.S. and Canada by land or sea.  Not acceptable for air travel.  The tour operators are within their rights to require passports when traveling into Canada on a tour, but they are not required by the governments of Canada or the U.S.

WHTI doesn't extend to land border crossings so the BC/DL won't work for any shore excursion that crosses the land border. I would expect that a passport card or an Enhanced Drivers License would also be acceptable for the excursion since those may be used for land border crossings.

[Ferry_Watcher]

13 hours ago, Mic101680 said:

but border control ended up letting the guy go through with us, after holding up the bus for 30 minutes while they asked him a bazillion questions and scrutinized his U.S. driver's license. 

 

I bet the ship got reprimanded and possibly fined for not checking that every passenger on that excursion had their passport in hand.

[Ferry_Watcher]

11 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I would expect that a passport card or an Enhanced Drivers License would also be acceptable for the excursion since those may be used for land border crossings.

 

Hello my friend, I am signed up for the WPR excursion this May, and my ticket clearly states that I need a passport.  It was also very prominently  displayed on the excursion sign-up / registration site.

[sparks1093]

5 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Hello my friend, I am signed up for the WPR excursion this May, and my ticket clearly states that I need a passport.  It was also very prominently  displayed on the excursion sign-up / registration site.

Howdy! I understand but the two documents that I mentioned are also valid for crossing the land border, so there is no real reason why they shouldn't be accepted. 

Edited February 20, 2023 by sparks1093

[Ferry_Watcher]

15 hours ago, geovet said:

We are taking a cruise this May and have a friend that would like to come. They do not have a passport and wanted to know if having a birth certificate would work.

 

Just remember that it has to be a gov't issued birth certificate, not a hospital (foot print) certificate.  Make sure your friend has it on their person, and not packed away in their checked luggage.  You would be surprised how many people hand their luggage over to the porters with their travel documents inside their bags.

[Ferry_Watcher]

5 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I mentioned are also valid for crossing the land border, so there is no real reason why they shouldn't be accepted. 

 

When it comes to the Canadians, I find it better not to question 'Why?.  LOL

 

On a more personal note, did I read that you are considering an Alaskan cruise in a year or so?

[tonit964]

4 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

When I took the White Pass, the bus driver wouldn't let us on the bus without viewing our passports.

Our bus driver too. 

[mistycruiser]

There are multiple train trips from Skagway.  Some require passports some do not.  The train trip that DOES NOT require passports goes to the Canadian border and turns around and returns back down to Skagway. You do not get off the train.  The others that go into Canada do require a passport and have various options.  Some go up by train and back by bus and other options as well.  When you look at the shore excursion offered by Carnival you'll see the various options and those that require a passport will be clearly noted.