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Passport Card

trbarton

By trbarton,
in Princess Cruises

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trbarton "Live from...." Rare

trbarton

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I have the Passport Card which I plan to use on a Caribbean Cruise. Anyone had any problems using the card? I’m wondering if there are some terminal agents that don’t know what to do with them since there not the passport book?

Tom🤔

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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No problem. But be aware. If issues arise that would cause you to fly home from a Caribbean port of call you will unable to do so on the passport card.
Exactly. You can use the Passport card for a Caribbean cruise but should you need to fly back to the US for some reason, you’d need a passport book. I have one, too, as well as a Passport book. When I go ashore, I bring the card as my ID.
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ltcal94

ltcal94

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Exactly. You can use the Passport card for a Caribbean cruise but should you need to fly back to the US for some reason, you’d need a passport book. I have one, too, as well as a Passport book. When I go ashore, I bring the card as my ID.

 

 

 

Same here. One thing to consider is that although you cannot fly back from a foreign destination with it . The card is still excellent proof of citizenship etc. If for whatever reason you don’t have the book with you, the information from the card can be used to simplify securing the proper documentation in order to fly home in case of emergency . This is a much better option then just a drivers license / birth certificate.

 

 

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ltcal94

ltcal94

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On a Caribbean cruise a passport card will not provide any more assistance than a birth certificate and a driver's license.

 

 

 

Actually , since the application process is the same as a book, all your pertinent information will be in the Department of State system. The red tape to get emergency permission to fly home will be less then if you have never applied for a passport and if you are just traveling with a birth certificate and drivers license . That being said , in states that issue REALID compliant drivers licenses , the passport card is only slightly better .

 

 

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lstone19

lstone19

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so what is the advantage of a passport card over a passport book?

 

Almost none. It's basically a solution in search of a problem. The only people for whom it might make sense is people who regularly drive across a border (e.g. Detroit-Windsor commuters or the high school students of Pt. Roberts, WA who have to travel between home and school via Canada) and for their everyday travel can just keep the card in their wallet but a lot of those, at least for the U.S. / Canada border, will have Nexus. And if you're in one of those groups, you probably need a passport for other travel (e.g. Windsor residents are likely to fly out of Detroit).

 

With the RealID requirement coming, a lot of state's driver's licenses will no longer be valid for airport ID for domestic travel so a passport card will be useful for that (but if you have Global Entry, that card should be good for airport ID as well).

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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A passport card is useful when driving to/from the US and Canada. If you live in southern CA, as I do, I can drive to Mexico (if I wanted to, which I don’t). It’s also useful on Alaskan tours that enter Canada, such as in Skagway. I’m bringing mine for my tour in May.

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Steelers0854 "Live from...." Rare

Steelers0854

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What about the Global Entry card? We always carry our passports but also now have GE. The website is confusing because it says trusted traveler cards are ok on closed loops but then it only lists Sentri and Nexus and doesn’t say global entry. I’m just curious if something happened to our passports if in an emergency you could use the GE card?

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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I have the Passport Card which I plan to use on a Caribbean Cruise. Anyone had any problems using the card? I’m wondering if there are some terminal agents that don’t know what to do with them since there not the passport book?

Tom🤔

 

I've used my passport card even on cruises where the passport book (which I also have) should have been used (such on cruises that are not closed loop cruises). I use the passport card all the time because it is easier to carry.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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On a Caribbean cruise a passport card will not provide any more assistance than a birth certificate and a driver's license.

 

That is not true. The passport card will make it easier to get the passport book.

 

Also, a passport card cannot be used on all Caribbean cruises. It can only be used on closed loop Caribbean cruises.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Last I checked only 5 states currently have the approved REALID compliant drivers license. All must be in compliant in 2018.

 

That will not happen (not all 50 states will meet the deadline. However, the passport card is REALID compliant. I have used it for ID with the airlines.

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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Carrying a passport card onshore in foreign countries is good but so isn't your state DL. Both of which carry the same weight with the local police. The passport book is the only ID they will recognize in all foreign countries of the earth. Certainly if you have the card, one can go to the nearest US Embassy/Consulate and get proper identification allowing one to fly back into the US but it has to be cleared by the US State Department in Washington, DC. Now hopefully there will be a US Embassy/consulate near by and be open. Personally I don't see the difference between carrying the card or the state issued DL. Spending thousand of dollars on a cruise and then penny pinching a few more dollars for a passport is foolish in my opinion.

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UpcountryTravelers

UpcountryTravelers

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I bring my passport card when going ashore instead of the book. More convenient to carry as an ID and lesser worry if damaged or lost.

 

Agree. I did have it refused to enter Canada on a cruise. (I simply produced the book and was cleared.) However, when I followed up after arriving home, Canadian authorities denied that it wouldn't be accepted, saying it must have been expired (it was not and has not). Obviously a customs agent who did not know his job.

 

The small card is much more convenient than the large and easily damaged book. I predict that eventually all passports will be in card format. Technology advances.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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I’m not sure about that if the wrong person finds it. With all the identity theft going on today.

Tony

 

The passport book contains more info than the passport card, so I would rather lose the passport card than the passport book. However, since the passport card fits in my wallet, it would be harder for me to lose the passport card than the passport book.

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