Don't leave home without it

Well, I think the Feds have finally settled on immigration regs for U.S. residents. Well, almost. Effective June 1, 2009, anyone entering the United States from another country by whatever means must have either a passport or a passport card.

On or after June 1, U.S. citizens must have a passport to return to the U.S. by air. Period.

But, just so you won't get dug in too tight, there is also something called a Passport Card. A passport card allows U.S. citizens to re-enter the U.S. on the ground (on foot or in a vehicle) or on a cruise ship. But before you begin thinking you're good to go with a passport card for that Caribbean cruise you've been planning, read again the paragraph just above. If a passenger used a Passport Card to board a cruise ship has to return to the United States from another country by air, he or she will not be permitted to return using the Passport Card. There is no wiggle room.

It's not about getting out of the country. It's about getting back in. Yes a Passport Card costs about half as much as a passport but it is also only valid half as long as a passport and the Passport Card utility is inferior except in limited circumstances

So how often does someone have to fly home from a non-U.S. port while on a cruise? Far more often than you think. And even if it only happened once every million cruise passengers, if that millionth passenger is you, statistics go out the window.

Charlie's tip for the decade - GET A PASSPORT! It's just not worth the risk.

Alaska is really hot this year with better deals than I have seen since - EVER. Alaskan cruises never come to mind that I don't think of an incident that occurred about five years ago.

It was late August and a woman called to get information on an Alaskan cruise. From the conversation, it was obvious she had never taken a cruise but she also didn't want to be obvious about it because she didn't want "the wool pulled over her eyes". Just to be sure our agent knew she was serious, she explained that she could only travel the first or second week of September, and she was ready to give our agent a credit card but only if our agent could guarantee that the glaciers would still be out. The agent put the client on hold and came in my office and frantically asked "What do I tell her?" My response - take the credit card 'cuz if the glaciers aren't out for her cruise we have a whole lot worse problems than a credit card charge back.