Passport card vs book

This will be our first cruise, we live in Seattle and cruising out of Seattle to Alaska next year. Has anyone cruised with just a passport card and not the book? If so, any issues? We don't plan on traveling overseas anytime soon (14 years until all 4 kids move out!) and the only difference I saw between the two was flying overseas you need the book.

Of all the cruises where a passport card works,Caribbean, Mexico, New England, IMO Alaska would be the one to use it. Almost the entire cruise itself take place in the USA, and you would only be using your passport card to drive across the border to Canada, or use it to enter Canada in Victoria if sailing from Seattle, and really no possibility where you'd need the "flying overseas" benefit of a passport book.

I can't see any risk just using the passport card

Srpilo

I have used my passport card on every cruise since I received it . Depending on the itinerary, I do carry my book but I do not present it and leave it in the safe. The card is great as it provides compact proof of citizenship and can be used to secure other documents in case of emergency .

Sent from my iPad using Forums

So I did a quick google about the passport card and this is what came up:

United States citizens can use an official passport card to enter Canada if driving across the border or entering from the sea. The U.S. government began issuing passport cards in 2008. The cards cost less than the books, but can't be used for air travel. They resemble a driver's license in shape and thickness.

So, if on an Alaskan cruise, sounds like you could use it to go into the Yukon but if you need to fly into Vancouver to the start of a cruise or leave out of Vancouver, you will need a passport book.

Thanks guys! I was pretty sure it would be fine but I have never heard of the cards until I looked up info for passports! Glad to be saving $70/person!

Eventually everyone will be required to have a passport regardless of your travel choice or destination.

We used passport cards for our Alaska cruise out of San Francisco last month, and we had no problems. We left our passport books at home this time.

A passport card is all you need for the cruise or for land crossings into or out of Canada. The only thing you could not use it for is to fly into or out of the United States. For a Caribbean cruise, this could be an issue in case you got sink or missed the ship and had to make an international flight. For an Alaska cruise, it would be an issue only if you wanted to fly to or from Vancouver. If you get miss the ship in Alaska, you do not need a passport to fly to another state in the United States.

You can not use a passport card to fly to or from Vancouver. However, you can still take a one-way Alaska cruise. Just fly in or out of Seattle and take ground transportation between Seattle and Vancouver.

For OP who lives in Seattle, there is absolutely no reason to get a passport book for an Alaska cruise. Even if something went wrong, the only place in Canada they may have to get home from would be Vancouver, and the passport card would be fine for ground transportation to Seattle.

Some of the shore excursions that cross into Canada require a passport, but, since these are land crossings, a passport card is sufficient.

Eventually everyone will be required to have a passport regardless of your travel choice or destination.

Does this include travel from Tucson to Phoenix or just Arizona to Colorado? :evilsmile:

Does this include travel from Tucson to Phoenix or just Arizona to Colorado? :evilsmile:

Only Costco warehouses. Intra Costco travel

Only Costco warehouses. Intra Costco travel

I understand that your photo Costo membership card will suffice in that case. Unless you're on a Costa cruise.

I understand that your photo Costo membership card will suffice in that case. Unless you're on a Costa cruise.

Ha! What a tangled web we weave.

Of all the cruises where a passport card works,Caribbean, Mexico, New England, IMO Alaska would be the one to use it. Almost the entire cruise itself take place in the USA, and you would only be using your passport card to drive across the border to Canada, or use it to enter Canada in Victoria if sailing from Seattle, and really no possibility where you'd need the "flying overseas" benefit of a passport book.

 

I can't see any risk just using the passport card

Srpilo

Since 2014, I've used my passport card, but I have always carried my passport book with me as well... just in case there is an emergency or some other unexpected reason why I may need to fly back to the USA.

Here's something to take note. This April, when taking an NCL cruise from Miami, at port check-in the agent pulled out a form which my signature would acknowledge that I could NOT be airlifted back to the USA in the event of an emergency.

I pulled out my book and used it instead with this reasoning:

As I travel alone, IF there was an emergency where my passport book was locked in the safe, who would know it's there to permit me to be airlifted? In an emergency the ship's manifest would indicate the passport card as my ID, and they would just rule out air travel.

We like having BOTH a Passport Book and a Passport Card. (y)

I have the passport but not the passport card. What's involved in getting the card if you already have a valid passport?

Tom😎

I have the passport but not the passport card. What's involved in getting the card if you already have a valid passport?

Tom😎

How do I get a passport card?

You can apply by mail using Form DS-82 if you have a passport book or card that:

• Can be submitted with your application
  
• Is undamaged (other than normal "wear and tear")
  
• Was issued when you were age 16 or older
  
• Was issued within the last 15 years
  
• Was issued in your current name (or you can document your name change with an original or certified copy of your marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order)
  

If any of the above statements do not apply to you, you must Apply in Person using form DS-11.

Please note:

• Passport cards can only be mailed to you using First-Class Mail.
  
• You can use Form DS-82 to renew your passport book at the same time you apply for your first passport card.
  

Since 2014, I've used my passport card, but I have always carried my passport book with me as well... just in case there is an emergency or some other unexpected reason why I may need to fly back to the USA.

 

Here's something to take note. This April, when taking an NCL cruise from Miami, at port check-in the agent pulled out a form which my signature would acknowledge that I could NOT be airlifted back to the USA in the event of an emergency.

 

I pulled out my book and used it instead with this reasoning:

 

As I travel alone, IF there was an emergency where my passport book was locked in the safe, who would know it's there to permit me to be airlifted? In an emergency the ship's manifest would indicate the passport card as my ID, and they would just rule out air travel.

I agree with you for a Caribbean cruise. A passport book would be a good thing to have for an emergency there.

However OP lives in Seattle and was talking about an Alaska cruise. If they need to fly back, they will be in the United States and won't need a passport. They won't need to fly back from Vancouver or Victoria because they can take ground transportation back to Seattle from there. I see absolutely no reason for OP to get a passport book if the only foreign travel is Alaska cruises.

This will be our first cruise, we live in Seattle and cruising out of Seattle to Alaska next year. Has anyone cruised with just a passport card and not the book? If so, any issues? We don't plan on traveling overseas anytime soon (14 years until all 4 kids move out!) and the only difference I saw between the two was flying overseas you need the book.

My dad (86) has and uses the passport book all the time, well, he cruises two times a year, as he will not fly so the card fits his needs. He cruises the Mexican riviera with us.

He has had no issues other than one time in San Pedro, Ca, the customs agent said the passport book was not good for cruises. He let my dad go through after the lecture, however he needed training on what a passport card is used/good for.

If my dad needed to be flown home for any reason, it would take some extra time but he would not be denied and stranded in Mexico forever because he didn't have a passport.

This will be our first cruise, we live in Seattle and cruising out of Seattle to Alaska next year. Has anyone cruised with just a passport card and not the book? If so, any issues? We don't plan on traveling overseas anytime soon (14 years until all 4 kids move out!) and the only difference I saw between the two was flying overseas you need the book.

There is no problem at all cruising to Alaska from Seattle using a passport card or a passport. In fact, you don't need either one of them if you have an official state birth certificate (not one issued by the hospital that usually has an inked footprint on it, that's not an official document) and a government issued photo ID (normally a valid state driver's license.) Any one of those three documents will get you on your cruise with no problems.

Tom

I understand that your photo Costo membership card will suffice in that case. Unless you're on a Costa cruise.

What is required is a "government issued ID card", thus a Costco membership card would not be sufficient.

Tom

Living in Seattle, one could also consider the Washington State Enhanced Drivers License/ID, or the NEXUS program. Both are similarly priced to the passport card but the DL is faster to get and the NEXUS program comes with express entry to Canada and Mexico, express return to the US by any mode (Global Entry) and TSA PreCheck.

One advantage to NEXUS that cannot be overstated is how much time it saves at Canada Place on multi-ship days. I'd peg the savings at 90 minutes, easily, now that there is a dedicated security line as well as Express handing at preclearance. Way more savings than the ten minutes it took for the initial in-person interview.

What is required is a "government issued ID card", thus a Costco membership card would not be sufficient.

 

Tom

Disregard the previous post. I caught the joke when I reread the basic message. That's what happens when you don't read clearly. :loudcry:

Tom

Disregard the previous post. I caught the joke when I reread the basic message. That's what happens when you don't read clearly. :loudcry:

 

Tom

Been there, done that!

I had the same question OP. We have passport cards and i wanted to make sure we would not need to upgrade for Alaska cruise. I like having the passport cards. They are easy to carry.