Passport

[Cruise Happy87]

So is there a difference with the passport book or card.....What is the difference ?

[d9704011]

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-renew-passport/card.html

[Flatbush Flyer]

5 hours ago, Cruise Happy87 said:

So is there a difference with the passport book or card.....What is the difference ?

Card is insufficient for international air travel and for cruises that require a passport. Card is useful for land crossing at North American borders and will suffice for domestic flights (if you don't have your state's "real ID" or "enhanced DL" once that new requirement is enforced).

 

BTW, note that pretty much every premium/luxury cruise line requires all passengers on all itineraries to present a passport (book) and often surrender them to the purser at embarkation.

[SRF]

If you live near the Canadian or Mexican border, and ONLY do international across those borders, the passport card is good enough.

Most everything else requires the book.

[njhorseman]

10 hours ago, SRF said:

If you live near the Canadian or Mexican border, and ONLY do international across those borders, the passport card is good enough.

Most everything else requires the book.

There's lot for cruisers that doesn't require the book, and Cruise Critic is a website whose members are overwhelming cruisers, so saying "most everything else" isn't accurate in the context of this forum. Since the passport card is a WHTI-compliant document and is valid at sea-ports-of-entry from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean it can be used as a single identity and proof of citizenship document for closed loop Western Hemisphere cruises originating in the US as well as many open jaw repositioning cruises as long as the cruise line is not one of those (generally luxury lines) that requires a passport book of all passengers regardless of what the laws and regulations permit.

 

The passport card is also good as ID for domestic air travel and admittance to federal government facilities, something that will be of increasing importance as we approach full implementation of the REAL ID requirements in October, 2020. Those who may live in states that are not issuing REAL ID drivers licenses, or who would prefer not to go through the trouble of obtaining a REAL ID license can use a passport card instead.

[SRF]

MOST, not ALL.

 

Closed loop cruises are a special circumstance.  And while a lot of people cruise, more people make other trips.  And many cruises are not closed loop, or not from US ports.

 

MOST is correct.

[donaldsc]

Try typing "passport book vs card" into Google.  You will get detailed information about the differences.

 

DON

[njhorseman]

6 hours ago, SRF said:

MOST, not ALL.

 

Closed loop cruises are a special circumstance.  And while a lot of people cruise, more people make other trips.  And many cruises are not closed loop, or not from US ports.

 

MOST is correct.

Closed loop  cruises are anything  but a special circumstance. The overwhelming majority of cruises from US ports are closed loop on mass market lines that permit use of the card. The card will also be good on many repositioning cruises on those same mass market lines.

 

 So for cruising from the US, your version of MOST is wrong because MOST passengers on cruises departing the US actually can use the passport card.  It's simple arithmetic. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by njhorseman

[SRF]

Did I limit my response to cruises?

 

No.

 

Cruises are a small subset of international travel.

 

But yes, for US cruisers, closed loop cruises are more common.  But then again, you don't even need a passport card for them.