Passport needed?

[mtebor]

I was preparing for an upcoming cruise and thought that everyone needed to have a passport. I was on royal caribbean's website today and came across this

 

 

Travel Documentation

 

 

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Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the required travel documents. The requirements described below are required by government regulations and policies. They are subject to change without notice.

 

Royal Caribbean International strongly recommends that all guests travel with a passport that is valid for at least 6 months beyond the end of the cruise.

 

It is the sole responsibility of the guest to identify and obtain all required travel documents for the entire cruise vacation and have them available when necessary. These appropriate, valid travel documents - passports, visas, family legal documents and inoculation certificates - are required for boarding and re-entry into the United States and other countries.

 

Guests who do not possess the proper documentation may be prevented from boarding their flight or ship or from entering a country and may be subject to fines.

 

No refunds will be given to individuals who fail to bring proper documentation.

 

For quick access to relevant information, choose one of the options below:

 

 

Cruises from a United States port (including Puerto Rico)

Cruises from a non-United States port

 

 

 

CRUISES FROM A UNITED STATES PORT

 

The following requirements are for sailings from a United States port to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada/New England, Hawaii, Alaska, Panama Canal and Mexico.

 

United States and Canadian Citizens:

 

You MUST have one of the following:

 

A valid United States or Canadian passport. For additional United States passport information visit the United States Department of State travel information website or the Passport Canada website. You may also contact VisaCentral (a CIBT Company), a fast and easy solution for all your U.S. passprt needs. VisaCentral can obtain passports in as little as one day. Contact VisaCentral online at http://www.visacentral.com/royalcaribbean or call 800-858-8579. Be sure to reference Royal Caribbean account 44988 for reduced service fees.

 

- OR -

 

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) or Trusted Travel Documents. Click here for a list of all approved documents.

 

 

Exceptions:

 

United States citizens on cruises that begin and end at the same port in the United States can use a original government-issued picture ID (i.e. driver's license) AND an original government-issued birth certificate or original Naturalization Certificate.

Minors under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original government-issued, original or certified copy of his or her birth certificate; a Consular Report of Birth Abroad Issued by DOA; or Certificate of Naturalization issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

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Is this a change in policy? I have friend who is looking for her passport and there is plenty of time to reorder one if needed. But if a birth certificate and driver license works why get the passport?

[cruisingsince94]

Where does the cruise start and end? If its a closed loop cruise that starts and ends in the same U.S. port a passport may not be needed.

Is it an Alaska cruise with a stop in Victoria or Vancouver? A passport is needed.

If you have a medical emergency while in another country and need to be flown back to the states you really need to have a passport to avoid issues.

[flowers44]

It is true that a Certified Birth Certificate and government issued Picture ID works for a closed circuit cruise, leaving and returning to the same US port. The only trouble is if you miss the ship or have some emergency while on vacation that you have to leave the ship, getting back to the US without the Passport is difficult. We traveled, last yea,r with 14 family members. About half of us had the Passports. The others used the Certified Birth Certificate and picture ID. The Birth Certificate must be a government issued document, not the piece of paper the hospital issues when you are born in their facility. NY Certified Birth Certificates have a raised seal in the lower corner.

[dacsmom]

Not a change in policy, as long as it is a closed loop cruise you are not required to have a passport. Everyone has an opinion but if you miss the ship or have some type of emergency, you will have a problem in another country without a passport. The chances are slim that this will happen. I have a passport just in case but many others do not.

[steveru621]

It's a catch-22, bring your passport but leave it in the safe. If you have an emergency how do you get your passport?

[Lionesss]

Get the passport.

 

This way no worries

 

We still do over kill

 

We take passports and birth certificates:eek:.

 

Sea Ya

[gerif]

It's a catch-22, bring your passport but leave it in the safe. If you have an emergency how do you get your passport?

 

If it becomes apparent that you will miss the ship, they will take the contents of the safe and leave it with the port agent for you.

[mtebor]

Sorry for lack of info. It is Allure of the Seas out of Ft Lauderdale.

[negc]

Sorry for lack of info. It is Allure of the Seas out of Ft Lauderdale.

 

Unless it is for the transatlantic, no passport is required of US citizens. In the unlikely event that you have to return to the US from one of the ports of call, it may be a bit of a hassle, but not impossible to do so, if you don't have a passport.

[Dalton5]

What about the Passport Card?

 

We are on Liberty out of Ft. Lauderdale in March 2015. Only stops are Jamaica & Labadee. DS's girlfriend is going and doesn't have a passport.

 

She wanted to know if she can just get the Card. She is a college student on her own and if she can just get the cheaper option that would be great!

 

Anybody have experience with this?

[Clarea]

What about the Passport Card?

 

We are on Liberty out of Ft. Lauderdale in March 2015. Only stops are Jamaica & Labadee. DS's girlfriend is going and doesn't have a passport.

 

She wanted to know if she can just get the Card. She is a college student on her own and if she can just get the cheaper option that would be great!

 

Anybody have experience with this?

A passport card is also acceptable for a closed end cruise out of the US. However, you still would need a passport booklet to fly into the US from a foreign country, should there be a problem.

Edited June 5, 2014 by clarea

[YadaYadaJodi]

What about the Passport Card?

 

We are on Liberty out of Ft. Lauderdale in March 2015. Only stops are Jamaica & Labadee. DS's girlfriend is going and doesn't have a passport.

 

She wanted to know if she can just get the Card. She is a college student on her own and if she can just get the cheaper option that would be great!

 

Anybody have experience with this?

 

If she is looking for a cheaper option I would go with the birth certificate & driver's license. You won't gain any benefit from a passport card vs a birth certificate for traveling on a cruise (other than a card vs a piece of paper). Passport cards are mostly for traveling by land between US & Canada and US & Mexico.

 

A passport book is what you will need if under the rare circumstance you have to fly home from a port or to fly between 2 ports to catch up with a cruise.

[cruiseguy1016]

It's a catch-22, bring your passport but leave it in the safe. If you have an emergency how do you get your passport?

 

I always bring my passport on a cruise with me and I always bring it with me when I leave the ship. I never leave it in the safe. If I am responsible enough to keep my wallet secure when in port, then I am also responsible enough to keep my passport secure.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Where does the cruise start and end? If its a closed loop cruise that starts and ends in the same U.S. port a passport may not be needed.

Is it an Alaska cruise with a stop in Victoria or Vancouver? A passport is needed.

If you have a medical emergency while in another country and need to be flown back to the states you really need to have a passport to avoid issues.

 

Are you talking about a closed loop cruise like Seattle to Seattle, or a north/south cruise starting in Seattle or Vancouver and ending in Alaska.

 

If it's the closed loop one i didn't think that a passport was required. The only limitation would be that you couldn't take an excursion into the Yukon.

 

I could be wrong but that is my interpretation.

 

Bill

[TravelerThom]

I always bring my passport on a cruise with me and I always bring it with me when I leave the ship. I never leave it in the safe. If I am responsible enough to keep my wallet secure when in port, then I am also responsible enough to keep my passport secure.

Problem is that everyone is that responsible. Maybe a month ago a New York City policeman(!) had his wallet stolen while he went for a short swim in Hawaii.:eek: Perhaps not one of New York's Finest.

 

Thom

[dwjoe]

It's a catch-22, bring your passport but leave it in the safe. If you have an emergency how do you get your passport?

There are several emergencies that will allow you to easily retrieve your passport e.g. sudden emergency at home, sudden illness, etc.

 

Also, since the chance of loss/theft/damage is several times higher than the risk of missing the ship, it makes sense to leave your passport in the safe.

 

It has been reported that if you are going to miss the ship, then ship's security will open your cabin safe, retrieve your passport, and leave it with the cabin safe. This is a mitigating factor to the risk of missing the ship.

[steveru621]

It's a catch-22, bring your passport but leave it in the safe. If you have an emergency how do you get your passport?

 

Just a little bit of sarcasm in my post. :) I'm sure that reports of RCI cleaning out your safe are true, but... Most people that cruise would have no idea that RCI has left their passport with the harbor master. I've never seen this other than CC, and I doubt it's on the website. Knowing RCI I'd be willing to bet it's not a universal practice. Very difficult and time consuming to do at a tendered port, and other large ports there could be some logistical problems. If they leave the gangway down long enough to send your passport out, hopefully they can radio the crew member to return if you show up in the mean time.

 

If you have a medical emergency while you are on an excursion, the last thing you are probably worried about is your passport. Although the excursion operator knows how to contact the ship if they will be delayed and probably could assist if you have a medical emergency.

 

Lastly while it probably is a hassle, a foreign country doesn't really have any interest in keeping you there.

 

I'm just nit-picking here. CC is a valuable resource to find this information.

[dwjoe]

It has been reported that if you are going to miss the ship, then ship's security will open your cabin safe, retrieve your passport, and leave it with the cabin safe. This is a mitigating factor to the risk of missing the ship.

Oops, I misspoke. I meant to say that they would leave it with the port agent.

[Desert Cruizers]

I bring our passports and other certificates and make copies. This way we are prepared for any possibilities.

[BBowCruiser]

We are cruising with another family next year out of San Juan. They don't want to spend the money on a passport for their children and would just like to get the passport card. Can they just use a birth certificate when it's out of San Juan? I asked our travel agent and she said to check the government website, but I'm not sure about a close-looped cruise out of PR. Thanks for any help!!

[Clarea]

We are cruising with another family next year out of San Juan. They don't want to spend the money on a passport for their children and would just like to get the passport card. Can they just use a birth certificate when it's out of San Juan? I asked our travel agent and she said to check the government website, but I'm not sure about a close-looped cruise out of PR. Thanks for any help!!

San Juan is the United States, so same rules as the mainland.

 

For a closed loop cruise out of the US (which includes San Juan), you can use a Passport Booklet, Passport Card, or combination of certified birth certificate and government issued photo ID.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We are cruising with another family next year out of San Juan. They don't want to spend the money on a passport for their children and would just like to get the passport card. Can they just use a birth certificate when it's out of San Juan? I asked our travel agent and she said to check the government website, but I'm not sure about a close-looped cruise out of PR. Thanks for any help!!

 

just use the certified birth certificate for kids if they are under 16. If 16 or older they will also need a photo ID.

 

Just make sure it is not the one from the hospital with footprints on it.

 

Bill

[BBowCruiser]

Thank you. I figured it was for PR too since it's a US territory, but I didn't want them to get to the airport or port and not be able to go!!

[north29]

Get the passport.

 

This way no worries

 

We still do over kill

 

We take passports and birth certificates:eek:.

 

Sea Ya

 

I agree, never travel with out a Pass Port, just too many issue if PP is required.

[cruisinfanatic]

If it becomes apparent that you will miss the ship, they will take the contents of the safe and leave it with the port agent for you.

never heard of that actually happening although some insist that it does