Passport for Seattle roundtrip to Alaska?

[donswife]

If you use a birth certificate, keep in mind the following:

Hospital-issued BCs are not acceptable. It must be issued by a US government authority (state, county, city).

Puerto Rican birth certificates issued prior to 7/1/2010 are not acceptable.

 

 

Thank you for that important piece of information. We now have a friend lined up to go, so tonight I will discuss the BC vs passport issue with her mom. I doubt she has a passport, so they would have to do the expedited card, we sail June 21.

[Himself]

Has anyone been to Alaska this season using a birth certificate and photo ID rather than a passport? My son might not be able to come with us on our roundtrip from Seattle, and I am not sure if my daughter's friend has to rush a passport, or if she can use her other ID. She is 18 years old. We are not going to Skagway, so that is not an issue.

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Karen

 

Check with Holland America Line. Remember the ship does dock in Victoria B.C. Canada for about 6 hours on the Friday before you disembark.

 

Himself

[whogo]

The drama continues: the boy got the camp job, so now we are trying to find one of my daughter's friends who is available to come with us that week. Eighteen year old girls are busy!

Will the cruise line charge you for changing the booking?

[donswife]

Will the cruise line charge you for changing the booking?

 

I expect they will, I have heard it is something along the lines of $200, but I will see if TA can work any magic. We have insurance, but I doubt it will cover a job at summer camp:p

[igraf]

Because they were denied boarding based on their birth certificate!!! Did you not even read the thread??

 

Here are the highlights of the thread:

 

"My father was a U.S. Army soldier married to my German mother, when I was born at a U.S. Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, making me an automatic natural born U.S. Citizen. Even though, I had contacted the cruise line prior to our departure to inform them of the exact details of my documentation, and their representative assured me I would have no problems going on the cruise with my original birth certificate, we were denied boarding and left abandoned on the dock like discarded garbage as the ship sailed away. It was a very disappointing and traumatic experience."

 

 

I am not even saying you are wrong. I am saying that the ship may leave without you. Get the passport. Pay the fee and get over it. This is no time to fight the government on what is right and wrong. Your vacation will be ruined and the customs official will get paid for a day's work.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Here is the "German birth certificate thread"

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1790403&highlight=disasterdam

 

That thread was full of posters saying, incorrectly, that a passport is required. What was required was a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which is the equivalent of a BC for US citizens born in other countries.

 

Many cruisers sail with BCs and it complies with HAL's written policy. So a birth certificate is not dependable because...?

Edited May 9, 2014 by igraf

[Boytjie]

Thank you for that important piece of information. We now have a friend lined up to go, so tonight I will discuss the BC vs passport issue with her mom. I doubt she has a passport, so they would have to do the expedited card, we sail June 21.

 

Don't know which state you are in but a state-issued enhanced driver's license is also an option. Five states offer it:

Michigan

Minnesota

New York

Vermont

Washington

[CGYCruisingFamily]

I never can understand why people who travel don't have a passport. Our kids have had them since they were under 6 months old. We keep our current and valid.

 

You won't be asked to produce it in Victoria (ship is per cleared). But if you were driving across the border you would be asked to produce one.

 

Good luck with funding a replacement but just for ease of mind, I would ensure everyone has a passport.

 

 

(ps you can blame certain governments for this as it was Canadas reaction to it being inforced for their citizens to travel south. It was so so so much easier when there was free travel between Canada and the States for both citizens).

[dwjoe]

Because they were denied boarding based on their birth certificate!!! Did you not even read the thread??

 

Here are the highlights of the thread:

 

"My father was a U.S. Army soldier married to my German mother, when I was born at a U.S. Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, making me an automatic natural born U.S. Citizen. Even though, I had contacted the cruise line prior to our departure to inform them of the exact details of my documentation, and their representative assured me I would have no problems going on the cruise with my original birth certificate, we were denied boarding and left abandoned on the dock like discarded garbage as the ship sailed away. It was a very disappointing and traumatic experience."

 

 

I am not even saying you are wrong. I am saying that the ship may leave without you. Get the passport. Pay the fee and get over it. This is no time to fight the government on what is right and wrong. Your vacation will be ruined and the customs official will get paid for a day's work.

Yes, I read the thread. I fail to understand your post.

 

You don't need to worry about the ship leaving without you if you read and follow HAL's written regulations.

 

If you don't want to be bothered, then, by all means, get a passport. A passport has other advantages as well.

Edited May 9, 2014 by dwjoe

[donswife]

I looked at both the HAL website and the US government website, and both are clear about the special rule for closed loop cruises out of a US port. Taylor was born in Nevada to American parents, so there is no reason for there to be a problem. It is very clear that a passport is not required.

[deannad]

It's fine!!! It's documented on the cruise website. I also had this confirmed for my Dad & Uncle who will travel with us on the same cruise in July via the website chat.

 

Have a great cruise!

[dwjoe]

It's fine!!! It's documented on the cruise website. I also had this confirmed for my Dad & Uncle who will travel with us on the same cruise in July via the website chat.

I think you can rely on what's written on HAL's web site, but be wary about chat conversations. The fellow who tried to board with a German birth certificate in the other thread linked above, was told he could do so by HAL reps via chat, only to be denied at the pier. He had saved the chat transcript, so ultimately he was able to get some compensation.

Edited May 9, 2014 by dwjoe

[Catlover54]

I am reviving this year-old thread to see if anyone has since had adverse experiences trying to cruise a closed loop out of Seattle to Alaska with just a US birth certificate and government photo ID.

My US born senior friend has both and is booked on a cruise with me in July. HAL website and the group TA said that is ok, even with the stop in Victoria.

 

But I am paranoid and cautious and want a contingency in case of emergency evacuation, so I have been trying to get an appointment for him to submit a passport application in southern CA , have all the documents ready, just in case. I am willing to pay big fees to avoid lines, but it is amazingly difficult to try and make an appointment at the various government outlets all the way from LA to Irvine ( I have called about twenty) either at post offices or city clerk offices, if the cruise is more than 30 days out. He is very old so he cannot just show up with me driving him and stand around in a line for a long time ( and web reviews confirm lines are long) so he needs an appt., but places listed for new passport document acceptance either do not answer the phone at all and have no voicemail so I can make an appt., have a perpetual busy signal, or the few who answer simply say first come first serve, meaning standing around in line for him with the young and healthy is required.Passport expediters cannot help as you still have to go stand in line with your documents first, for new passports. So, we are cruising ( his first cruise) just with his birth cert and govt photo ID and hope there are no surprises.

 

This may be one reason some people may not get passports, i.e., very hard to get an appt., and/or difficult for seniors to stand in lines. Others may just not want to pay.I have had passports since I was age two doing multiple "ocean liner" transportation transatlantics as a child, so renewals for me have been easy, by mail. Maybe this problem with poor or non-responsive government outlets for passports is just a CA thing. It would be nice if we could actually make appointments, online or someone answering the phone, even if it would be extra charge.

[summer slope]

Can you apply online? Get his picture taken at the local AAA and send the application in? I went to my local Post Office (20 yrs. ago) and applied.

[zerbot]

Our family recently got passports (first time for 3 of the 4 of us), and service was very fast. Applied April 16th, and they came in the mail May 4th. We did not pay for expedited service. I have no experience with offices in Southern California, but here you'll run into lines on the weekends, but weekdays there is usually either no line, or only one person ahead.

 

One thing I would ask is how old is his birth certificate? I have a state issued birth certificate that my parents obtained shortly after I was born almost fifty years ago, and I've had to get new certified copies as the old one is considered too out of date. Something about the old ones being too easy to forge with modern copying equipment.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I always use a passport as my ID when flying (even if just in the US) and cruising. They are easy to get. last 10 years (US), and well worth the price IMO.

[Catlover54]

Our family recently got passports (first time for 3 of the 4 of us), and service was very fast. Applied April 16th, and they came in the mail May 4th. We did not pay for expedited service. I have no experience with offices in Southern California, but here you'll run into lines on the weekends, but weekdays there is usually either no line, or only one person ahead.

 

One thing I would ask is how old is his birth certificate? I have a state issued birth certificate that my parents obtained shortly after I was born almost fifty years ago, and I've had to get new certified copies as the old one is considered too out of date. Something about the old ones being too easy to forge with modern copying equipment.

 

 

Good point to consider about the birth certificate age, as his is an original from the 1920's, out of rural Montana! I think I will see if I can get him to go apply for a passport, just to be absolutely sure no one rejects the birth cert when we board in Seattle or otherwise, even with no passport appointment realistically possible, despite the awful lines we anticipate. Will take one of those walking sticks that has a flipdown seat for waiting around ( he is too proud for a wheelchair).

[Boatdrill]

Under 16 (so, 15 and under)only requires a birth certificate.

 

And hopefully the teenager will bring a photo id (such as school id) to go with that birth certificate.

 

Without a photo id to match the name on the birth certificate, the bc becomes nearly worthless as a document proving the identification and citizenship of the person holding it.

 

Imagine having a passport without your photo. It could belong to anyone.

 

HAL has not made a photo id mandatory for ALL passengers (yet) so don't be surprised if your check-in agent barely looks at a teenager's bc if there is no accompanying photo id. It's a waste of time...the agent has no way to verify the person named on the bc is the same person standing at the check-in counter. Yes, the family will swear that the child is their son or daughter, but without a photo id, that teenager could be someone else entirely.

Trust, but verify.

 

Flame suit on. :)

Edited May 23, 2015 by Boatdrill