Quick Question RE: Cruising to Alaska

[ZachMorgan54]

Hey all, I've read some conflicting information recently about my upcoming Alaska cruise on QOTS and was hoping for a little clarity. My passport recently expired, I know, shame shame, I'm working on getting it renewed! However, in the interim, I'll be using my birth certificate and ID. I read several places that Victoria, B.C. requires a passport to get off the ship. Can anyone confirm if this is true or not? There's 16 of us on this cruise and maybe 10-12 have passports. Thank you so much for any clarity you can provide. :)

[Ferry_Watcher]

You do not need a passport to get off the ship during your port-of-call in Victoria.  Whatever type of travel documents the were accepted at check-in in Seattle will be accepted by the Canadian gov't.

 

Please make sure your birth certificate is gov't issued and not a hospital issued (often times with footprints on it).

Edited June 27, 2022 by Ferry_Watcher

[ZachMorgan54]

Thank you, I appreciate that. Phew. Yeah, it's a government issues BC and ID. I've used them to cruise on my last 3 cruises the past few months, as I haven't renewed my passport yet. But, it's on the agenda! Thanks again for the clarity 🙂

[JeffT237]

We just cruised to Alaska last month, we were Seattle roundtrip with a short stop in Victoria.  Whether we left the ship in Victoria or not we were required to register with ArriveCan, we had to show proof to the ship's personnel.  With ArriveCan we had to upload our passport as well as vaccine info.  We did sail Princess but I would think this is a Canadian requirement.  We did get off the ship in Victoria and no one checked for passports or the ArriveCan info, we only had to show proof when we embarked from Seattle.  I'd check that out completely before your trip, it was my understanding you could be denied check in to your ship without it.

 

https://www.canada.ca/en/border-services-agency/services/arrivecan.html

Edited June 27, 2022 by JeffT237

[ZachMorgan54]

Oh my. I mean, we leave in less than 3 weeks and haven't heard a peep about this. That's concerning.

 

[rudeney]

As mentioned, call RCI to verify!!!  But...

 

Per the US State Dept.:

 

Entry into Canada: Canadian law requires that all persons entering Canada carry proof of citizenship and identity. A valid U.S. passport, passport card, or NEXUS card satisfies these requirements for U.S. citizens.  Children under 16 only need proof of U.S. citizenship.

 

A certified copy of a BC and a driver license or other government-issued photo ID would seem to meet the requirement.  Note that ArriveCAN is all about COVID vaccines and not citizenship.  And it has a place to select Birth Certificate:

 

[ZachMorgan54]

Thanks, Rodney. I appreciate that! I just got off the phone with Royal Caribbean, the agent insisted I would be able to not only board in Seattle but get off in Victoria with a valid Birth Certificate and Photo ID. But....I am still pretty anxious. I may try and make an appointment for an Urgent Travel passport, if I can get one. 

[JeffT237]

Completely apologize if I gave the wrong info and added to any stress, and if RCI is verifying your needed documents for travel I'd go with that.  We've done a few closed loop cruises without passports and without issues.  The ArriveCan app was required for our cruise and was needed for vaccine info and it requires you to upload proof of citizenship, which we used our passports for, once we entered them I didn't really pay attention to what the other options were.  But that screenshot in the previous post looks legit.  Again I apologize if my info was incorrect.  

[rudeney]

FYI, that was my screenshot that I just took in the ArrivCAN app on my phone.  I downloaded the app, created an account and started entering data. You can do this, too, if you want to verify the options.

 

Even though we are told that we can cruise to most ports in Canada and The Caribbean with just a BC and ID, I always keep our passports current and carry them with us in port "just in case".  If something unexpected happens and we need to fly out, a passport is required.  

[ZachMorgan54]

7 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

Completely apologize if I gave the wrong info and added to any stress, and if RCI is verifying your needed documents for travel I'd go with that.  We've done a few closed loop cruises without passports and without issues.  The ArriveCan app was required for our cruise and was needed for vaccine info and it requires you to upload proof of citizenship, which we used our passports for, once we entered them I didn't really pay attention to what the other options were.  But that screenshot in the previous post looks legit.  Again I apologize if my info was incorrect.  

No worries at all brother, I appreciate your response!! I'm just an anxious mess. I generally keep my passport up to date, it just so happened to expire during all of the Covid lockdown mess and I haven't taken the time to get it renewed. But I'll get that taken care of as soon as I get back from this trip, HA!

[reallyitsmema]

21 minutes ago, ZachMorgan54 said:

No worries at all brother, I appreciate your response!! I'm just an anxious mess. I generally keep my passport up to date, it just so happened to expire during all of the Covid lockdown mess and I haven't taken the time to get it renewed. But I'll get that taken care of as soon as I get back from this trip, HA!

 

You can cruise with your birth certificate and a government issued photo ID.  You have used these documents for three cruises already, you will be fine.  You are sailing a closed loop cruise from a US port, you meet the requirements.  You are in transit while in Canada and meet the requirements.  The ArriveCan information is on the Royal Caribbean website and should be in your cruise documents.  We received multiple emails from the cruise line about ArriveCan prior to our recent Alaska sailing.