NEED TO KNOW TRAVEL INFORMATION
TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION:
Cruise Planners strongly recommends a passport for all travel. On some closed-loop cruises, which start and end at the same American port, the following forms of ID are accepted: a birth certificate (state issued, certified, with raised seal) and matching government ID with photo. If the two forms of ID do not match, a bridge document is necessary, such as a marriage certificate. Please note that in an emergency passengers will not be able to fly back to the U.S. without a passport from any foreign country, including Canada and Mexico, regardless of age. Also, a passport is required for several excursions that enter Canada on an Alaska cruise.
Passports must be valid for at least six months after your return. Please refer to travel.state.gov for up-to-date travel ID requirements, including necessary visas, or the consulate of your country if you are not an American citizen. If you are flying internationally, also check your airline’s rules, which may differ from government rules. Some cruise lines require a passport regardless of itinerary. Make sure your passport isn’t ripped, overly worn, or damaged in any way (it will be rejected), and also make sure it has enough pages for stamps.
Passport applications or renewals: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html/
Locate your passports well in advance of your travel date. Emergency passports are available, but at a price.
Cruise Planners/Exploring Dreams Together is not responsible for denied travel due to incorrect travel ID.
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IMMUNIZATIONS: Please refer to travel.state.gov for information about recommended immunizations for your destination(s).
CDC TRAVEL NOTICES: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues travel notices that are designed to inform travelers and clinicians about current health issues related to specific destinations, including updates on the Zika virus. Please refer to the following website prior to your travels: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices
TRAVEL INSURANCE: Offering travel insurance is required by law. Cruise Planners offers excellent Allianz travel insurance. I will send insurance quotes prior to final payment. An insurance waiver or a return email with "accept" or "decline" is required prior to processing final payment. Cruise Planners strongly recommends trip insurance. For covered reasons, Worldwide Travel Protection and Cancel Anytime both provide up to $50,000 per person for emergency medical and up to $1,000,000 in emergency medical transportation while on your trip – not to mention trip cancellation and other protection. Cruise lines impose hefty cancellation fees -- up to 100 percent -- depending on date of cancellation. Ship infirmaries can be expensive and are “foreign” entities, not often covered by your regular insurance back home, and not covered by Medicare or Medicaid. If you have immediate family members not traveling with you who become grievously ill while you’re away, you will be covered for transportation home, up to policy limits. Allianz Worldwide Travel Protection and Cancel Anytime include coverage for preexisting conditions when 1) insurance is purchased by final trip payment as indicated on the supplier invoice, 2) all nonrefundable expenses are covered, and 3) the passenger is physically able to travel at the time of insurance purchase.
ENTRY INTO CANADA WITH A CRIMINAL RECORD (INCLUDES ALASKA CRUISE ITINERARIES):
Anyone with a criminal record (including misdemeanors or alcohol-related driving offenses) may not be able to enter Canada without first obtaining an approval for rehabilitation well in advance of any planned travel. To determine whether you may be inadmissible and how to overcome this finding, please refer to the following Government of Canada website at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/index.asp.
Cruise Planners Advisor is not responsible for denied entry into any foreign country due to a criminal record.
CHILDREN TRAVELING WITHOUT BOTH BIRTH PARENTS: Due to increasing incidents of child abductions in disputed custody cases, Customs and Border Protection and many international countries often ask to see the following when traveling with children under the age of 18: a notarized permission slip from the parent not traveling with the child, when parents have joint custody; or original divorce papers showing sole custody; or a death certificate. Relatives traveling with children without their parents must also present paperwork that shows permission. Even if this paperwork has not been requested in the past, and even if the cruise lines indicate that it is not required, passengers ARE being stopped randomly by government officials and denied travel. Customs and Border Protection overrides cruise line rules. Permission forms are available upon request. Cruise Planners Advisor is not responsible for denied boarding due to missing paperwork.
GRATUITIES: Most mainstream cruise lines and some river cruise lines add gratuities to the onboard account, unless gratuities are prepaid. Charges vary by stateroom type and cruise line, and will be communicated prior to final payment. In some cases gratuities can be adjusted up or down onboard. (Norwegian Cruise Line does not permit onboard adjustments.) Gratuities are split among stateroom attendant(s) and restaurant wait staff. An additional gratuity is usually applied to soda, alcohol, and beverage packages, along with specialty restaurants and spa treatments.
PREGNANCY: Those entering their 24th week of pregnancy are not allowed on most cruise lines, and a doctor's note indicating week of pregnancy is usually requested by cruise line officials at check-in. Rules differ slightly depending on cruise line.
