Birth certificate or passport?

[WeBeGone]

Holland America is insisting that all passengers hold passports when the ship ports at Belize City. No other cruise line requires this. The US gov says that birth certificates are ok on closed looped cruises, including those that stop in Belize.

 

Any information?

[Mack2]

I've never gone with anything but a passport with the kids... My youngest had her first passport at 18months or so.

 

I guess I just feel more secure carrying around a passport than a flimsy sheet of paper with a raised seal... Still... better safe than sorry. Nobody can really question citizenship with a passport... I would rather not let them have an excuse to give you a hard time.

[Ella2]

If you are a U.S. citizen, then believe what the government websites say. If you are on a closed-loop U.S. cruise, departing and returning to the same U.S. port, then you are able to use a certified copy of a birth certificate and a government-issued photo I.D. instead of a passport, when embarking. You do not need a passport when disembarking in Belize, if you are a cruise ship passenger.

 

I still ALWAYS recommend carrying a passport, though, it make it much easier if you have to fly home unexpectedly from a foreign port.

[cherylandtk]

HAL apparently is choosing to limit the RT exception to the Mexico-Canada-Bermuda-Caribbean countries and not the entire Western Hemisphere. It is within their rights to do so, but they may lose customers to other lines that do not impose a tighter requirement. Some of the luxury lines also impose a 'passport for everyone' requirement, even on itineraries that do not require it by WHTI regs.

[jkjmt]

WeBeGone......it sounds like you have no choice but to get a passport. We got ours about three years ago (4 for over $400), but I must admit I don't worry anymore about embarking and disembarking anywhere....:cool:

 

 

We're traveling on Carnival in January on a closed-loop cruise. We thought everyone had to have a passport. Our daughter's boyfriend is coming with us and we made him buy a passport. I hated to do it because he's a college student and money is tight. After he had ordered his passport, I found out about Carnival's rule for closed-looped cruises. I felt bad at first for making him buy a passport, but if we have any troubles in Belize I'll be happy we made him get it....plus it's good for 10 years.