Timeline for Forgot passport for Alaska cruise (Anchorage to Vancouver)
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 2019 at 20:04 | comment | added | reirab | @MichaelSeifert Yeah, they usually stop in Victoria in order to get in the Canadian stop (rather than sailing backwards up to Vancouver.) | |
| Jun 11, 2019 at 20:02 | comment | added | Michael Seifert | @reirab: I didn't know that, but that makes sense. A round trip that starts and ends at the same US port is allowable so long as it stops at a foreign port along the way. | |
| Jun 11, 2019 at 19:55 | comment | added | reirab | @MichaelSeifert Loads of Alaska cruises leave from Seattle, but they're mostly (or entirely?) round-trip cruises back to Seattle. But, yes, that is why one-way cruises (e.g. to/from Seward) do typically start or end in Vancouver. | |
| Jun 11, 2019 at 19:28 | comment | added | Michael Seifert | @reirab: That exception only applies to Canadian vessels, and only until a U.S. carrier starts providing passenger service. The reason folks are allowed to get off at intermediate stops on cruises is that the regulations are mainly concerned with where you "disembark" at the end of your your voyage. That's why most Alaska cruises start or end in Vancouver, not Seattle. | |
| Jun 11, 2019 at 18:48 | comment | added | reirab | @MichaelSeifert Hmm... Passengers do go ashore from most Alaska cruises at consecutive U.S. ports. This is pretty much ubiquitous for Alaska cruises, since Alaska is not the Caribbean and doesn't have a bunch of islands belonging to other countries lying around. It seems that PVSA has an exception for Southeastern Alaskan ports to allow such cruises. | |
| Jun 10, 2019 at 22:22 | comment | added | Kevin | @MichaelSeifert: Good point. Cruise operators and others will often (incorrectly) lump that law in with the similar Jones Act (which only applies to cargo, but is substantially stricter because it also requires the ship to be constructed in the US and owned and crewed by Americans, which is fantastically unlikely for the average cruise ship), but either way, it's a no-go. | |
| Jun 10, 2019 at 21:31 | comment | added | Michael Seifert | Note that unless the cruise ship is flagged in the US (which it probably isn't), then the Passenger Vessel Services Act prohibits the cruise operator from letting a passenger travel between US ports. They're liable for an ~$800 fine if they do let you off, which they'll be happy to add to your bill. | |
| Jun 10, 2019 at 19:09 | comment | added | reirab | @DavidK It was similar when I did a Seattle-Seattle cruise that stopped at a few ports in Alaska and also at Victoria, B.C. I think we did have to walk past an immigration/customs guy in Victoria and maybe hand him a declaration form, but there was no formal immigration interview of the normal sort. Since we had entered Canada, I believe we also had a fill out a U.S. arrival card and maybe flash a passport upon arriving back in Seattle, but it was very informal, to say the least, compared to typical immigration at an airport or even land border. | |
| Jun 10, 2019 at 19:04 | comment | added | David K | Anecdote: I took an Alaskan cruise last year from Anchorage to Vancouver. Our passports were checked when we boarded in Anchorage, and when we flew out of Vancouver airport. There was no stop when we got off the boat in Vancouver. Maybe that's not typical, or maybe it's because our passports were checked when we got on the cruise initially. I did find it surprising at the time. | |
| Jun 10, 2019 at 18:56 | comment | added | Stian | Yeah, sorry about that. My memory did not serve me right. It seems that the kind I was thinking of is only for "life and death situations" and is 72 hours. travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/…. | |
| Jun 10, 2019 at 18:48 | comment | added | Nate Eldredge | @StianYttervik: I've never heard of an "expedited postal service office". You can request expedited service for a $60 fee when applying at a post office or any other acceptance facility, but this just reduces the processing time from 6-8 weeks to 2-3 weeks: useless for the OP. See travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/… | |
| Jun 10, 2019 at 18:18 | comment | added | Stian | If my memory serves me right, you can also apply for emergency passport at an expedited US Postal Service Office, which there SHOULD be some of in Alaska, though I am no expert. | |
| Jun 10, 2019 at 14:47 | history | answered | Nate Eldredge | CC BY-SA 4.0 |