Passport Card and Driver's License enough?

[batt01]

Hi,

 

My parents and I will be boarding a closed loop US cruise (Port Canav).

 

My parents have Passport Cards and a Driver's License.

 

Do they need to bring their (very old and delicate) birth certificates? They used the birth certificates to get the Passport Cards, so I'm guessing that means that the Card is enough.

 

However, the Royal Caribbean site says nothing about cards:

 

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.

 

Read more at http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/travelDocumentation.do?pnav=4&snav=5#Q5k0RxXKuhiDYDmb.99

 

AND we know the risks involved with not having a Passport Book - so no need to get into that here...just curious if we should bring birth certificates as well or if any of you out there can confirm that they got on and off with a DL and Passport Card alone.

[Clarea]

A passport card is sufficient to cruise on a US based closed-loop cruise. No DL or other documents needed.

[Kamloops50]

My only concern would be if they missed the ship or got sick on one of the ports. Passport Cards aren't accepted international flights

"Passport " is still gold standard for travel.

[Havingfun2010]

My only concern would be if they missed the ship or got sick on one of the ports. Passport Cards aren't accepted international flights

"Passport " is still gold standard for travel.

 

I wouldn't be concerned. I wouldn't mind getting stranded on a island with no hope of getting home!!!!! (which is not really true, because you can still get home).

 

To answer the question, and only the question, a passport card is a "PASSPORT" with some restrictions. When traveling with a passport, you do not need additional ID. The option to travel with BC is for those that do not have a passport.

[Terre]

As far as boarding airplane or ship, passport card will be sufficient.

 

Sometimes you need your DL to get back inside the cruise terminal when returning from a port day if you don't want to take your passports with you.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Terre

[reedprincess]

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/information/card.html

[mollyeilis]

Do they need to bring their (very old and delicate) birth certificates?

 

If they were born in the States they could very likely get new certified copies of the original info. That way they wouldn't have to worry about the paper being old and delicate.

 

I'm only in my 40s but I'm on my 3rd BC so far. The 100th certified copy (should I get to that number LOL) is just as good as the one my parents originally got from the county!

[sparks1093]

As far as boarding airplane or ship, passport card will be sufficient.

 

Sometimes you need your DL to get back inside the cruise terminal when returning from a port day if you don't want to take your passports with you.

 

You can't board an international flight with a passport card without some sort of intervention by DHS or the State Department.

 

OP, yes, the passport card alone is sufficient and they may use it to re-board at the ports along with their cabin card. Should something happen having the card will make it easier to obtain assistance since they are already in the State Department's system.

[poncho1973]

As far as boarding airplane or ship, passport card will be sufficient.

 

Sometimes you need your DL to get back inside the cruise terminal when returning from a port day if you don't want to take your passports with you.

 

As far as boarding airplane for a domestic flight only or ship, passport card will be sufficient.

 

Fixed.

 

 

The second part doesn't make sense. If they only have a passport card that is the same size as a DL, why wouldn't they take that? I can understand leaving a passport book because it's larger and made of paper, but why the small plastic card?

[whitshel]

My only concern would be if they missed the ship or got sick on one of the ports. Passport Cards aren't accepted international flights

"Passport " is still gold standard for travel.

 

Been on 10 cruises and that has never happen to me or any of the many people we have traveled with. The odds of this happening are very slim. Passports for US based closed loop cruises are not required, and like another poster said, if your stranded on an Island for a few hours, cool!!:D

[Kamloops50]

Been on 10 cruises and that has never happen to me or any of the many people we have traveled with. The odds of this happening are very slim. Passports for US based closed loop cruises are not required, and like another poster said, if your stranded on an Island for a few hours, cool!!:D

 

Fine to be stuck on an island with a passport. If you have to fly to the next island a passport card won't help.

On an Alaska cruise in July 2015 .Six people missed the ship. Their passports where removed from their safe and given to the port agent.

Almost every cruise we have been on. Someone almost missed the ship. In Cozumel we have seen people miss their ship.

[whitshel]

Fine to be stuck on an island with a passport. If you have to fly to the next island a passport card won't help.

On an Alaska cruise in July 2015 .Six people missed the ship. Their passports where removed from their safe and given to the port agent.

Almost every cruise we have been on. Someone almost missed the ship. In Cozumel we have seen people miss their ship.

 

I get it does happen but 99% of the time the reason people who miss the ship is at their own fault. Again though, its rare. And in your post you even said " Almost every cruise we have been on. Someone almost missed the ship" So no one has actually missed the ship. And the 6 people in Alaska that did miss the ship, why did they need a passport? Alaska is US, last I checked you dont need a passport to go state to state. Maybe they missed the boat in a Canadian port, but then again they still dont need a passport to get back to the US.

 

And Cozumel, well its Cozumel--everyone has seen someone miss the ship in Cozumel......on youtube :D Lets have another cervaza :cool:

 

So to answer the original question, you really don't need a passport. :)

[seashells]

Passports are required for all travelers who enter or re-enter the U.S. by air from any other country, which means that U.S. citizens and residents who fly back to the U.S. from Vancouver or any other Canadian city after an Alaska cruise or cruise tour are required to have a valid passport.

 

Passports also are required for anyone who enters or re-enters the U.S. by land or by sea. There are a few exceptions to the passport requirement pertaining to land and sea border crossings.

 

First, U.S. citizens on cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port and travel to destinations in Canada (and select other countries) are able to re-enter the U.S. with proof of citizenship other than a passport, such as a birth certificate and government-issued photo ID.

 

Passports are required for cruises that begin in one U.S. port and end in another.

 

So, U.S. citizens on cruises that sail round trip from Seattle or San Francisco are not required to have a passport. U.S. citizens who drive to Vancouver for a round-trip Alaska cruise or who cruise one way between Vancouver and an Alaskan port (such as Whittier or Seward) do need a passport.

 

Next, children under the age of 16 who are citizens of the U.S. or Canada are exempt from the passport requirement for land and sea border crossings. In lieu of a passport, children are able to use a birth certificate as proof of citizenship for entry into the U.S. by land or by sea.

 

Children entering or re-entering the U.S. by air still are required to have a valid passport.

 

Finally, a lower-cost alternative to the passport, called a passport card, is acceptable for entries into the U.S. by land or sea.

Compared to passports, which cost $135 for first-time applicants ($105 for children), passport cards cost just $55 ($40 for children).

 

The passport card is not acceptable for air travel.

 

Even in cases where a passport is not required, and all cruise lines recommend that passengers have them anyway. This is because, while highly unlikely, an emergency could arise in which a U.S citizen needed to disembark early and fly home from Canada or any other Nation that requires a passport, a passport would be required for that flight.

 

Passports are required for citizens of all other countries for any Alaska cruise or cruise tour.

[Paul65]

So, to summarize:

 

1. No, they will not need their birth certificates.

 

2. Passport cards are sufficient for a closed loop cruise.

 

3. Full passports are preferable.

 

4. Any discussion of passports will lead to bickering between those who have strong feelings about Nos. 2 and 3 above.

 

:D

[Havingfun2010]

Fine to be stuck on an island with a passport. If you have to fly to the next island a passport card won't help.

On an Alaska cruise in July 2015 .Six people missed the ship. Their passports where removed from their safe and given to the port agent.

 

If you are flying from Alaska to any other US territory, you do not need a passport.

 

Almost every cruise we have been on. Someone almost missed the ship. In Cozumel we have seen people miss their ship.

 

If you miss the ship in Cozumel, you can rent a car, and if you have a passport card drive to the boarder (after you take the ferry of course to the mainland). It will take several days and but you can make it, plus it would be an adventure.

 

Why is it that everyone states the "passport" is in the safe? Number one, why is it in the safe and not with you? Next, when I travel, internationally, and not on a cruise, my hotel room does not have a safe. Almost always, my passport, just like my other ID's are with me.

[seashells]

I would suggest that you scan your front page of your passport into your home computer.

If lost or stolen you have easy access to the important information to replace it quickly with the Government, if in another Country.

 

The other thing done by us, is to scan our passport, reduce it to credit card size and laminate it.

 

Some Nations require you to submit and leave your passport at the hotel desk, and some cruises that go to numeral Nations on a cruise, such as South America take your passport upon boarding, and returns it to you when you leave the ship AFTER the cruise is completed.

[negc]

I think that the people who leave their passports in the stateroom safe seem more concerned with its safety than their own. Being able to take reasonable precautions with one's possessions when traveling seems like a basic necessity for travelers and the chances of having a passport stolen or lost seem even lower than the chance of missing the ship. Knowing that my passport is safe wouldn't exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy if I was watching my ship sail away without me and I'm not convinced that the ship's personnel have a stellar record of recovering my passport from my stateroom and giving it to the port agent. :)

[Paul65]

I think that the people who leave their passports in the stateroom safe seem more concerned with its safety than their own. Being able to take reasonable precautions with one's possessions when traveling seems like a basic necessity for travelers and the chances of having a passport stolen or lost seem even lower than the chance of missing the ship. Knowing that my passport is safe wouldn't exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy if I was watching my ship sail away without me and I'm not convinced that the ship's personnel have a stellar record of recovering my passport from my stateroom and giving it to the port agent. :)

 

I think it's just a judgment call between the chances that you'll lose your passport, if you're carrying it around with you, and the chances that you'll need it while you're off the ship. Personally, I don't generally keep my passport with me at all times, when I'm in another country, but I can see the pluses and minuses of either philosophy.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Paul65

[bouhunter]

So, to summarize:

 

1. No, they will not need their birth certificates.

 

2. Passport cards are sufficient for a closed loop cruise.

 

3. Full passports are preferable.

 

4. Any discussion of passports will lead to bickering between those who have strong feelings about Nos. 2 and 3 above.

 

:D

 

A very good summation:D

[Duke Mazer]

Forgive me for asking but I've seen so many of these threads and it all leads to the this question from me a Canadian.

 

Why is it such a big deal to get a passport for Americans?

 

As an example, my wife's cousin married an American, the wedding had to be in the US because, none of the US family had passports. :eek:

 

Then seeing all these threads all the time, make it sound likes it's quite an ordeal, or so expensive it's not worth it. I don't know $135 for 10 years then $110 after that, doesn't seem so bad.

 

Does having passport not just solve all the potential issues? What am I missing?

[Paul65]

Does having passport not just solve all the potential issues? What am I missing?

 

I think the main reason is because most Americans just never needed a passport (or needed it only as a once or twice in a lifetime thing for a trip overseas). The US is a large country, and no passport is needed to travel around it, and until recently, it was not needed for travel to Canada or Mexico, either.

 

So, in the US, it has just not been standard practice for the average person to need a passport.

[Kamloops50]

Forgive me for asking but I've seen so many of these threads and it all leads to the this question from me a Canadian.

 

Why is it such a big deal to get a passport for Americans?

 

As an example, my wife's cousin married an American, the wedding had to be in the US because, none of the US family had passports. :eek:

 

Then seeing all these threads all the time, make it sound likes it's quite an ordeal, or so expensive it's not worth it. I don't know $135 for 10 years then $110 after that, doesn't seem so bad.

 

Does having passport not just solve all the potential issues? What am I missing?

 

I think as fellow Canadian . We haven't had passport cards aviable for our use. We are used to using a passport for all our travels by air .

[sparks1093]

Forgive me for asking but I've seen so many of these threads and it all leads to the this question from me a Canadian.

 

Why is it such a big deal to get a passport for Americans?

 

As an example, my wife's cousin married an American, the wedding had to be in the US because, none of the US family had passports. :eek:

 

Then seeing all these threads all the time, make it sound likes it's quite an ordeal, or so expensive it's not worth it. I don't know $135 for 10 years then $110 after that, doesn't seem so bad.

 

Does having passport not just solve all the potential issues? What am I missing?

 

I think the biggest reason is because few Americans travel to places where a passport is required. I know that when we first started cruising it would have set us back around $850 for passports so I did my research. I determined that the risk of needing a passport on a closed loop cruise was not great enough to warrant spending that kind of money, so we decided to wait to get passports until we could undertake travel that actually required them. For our last cruise we got Enhanced Drivers Licenses for DW and I, because I don't like carrying her Naturalization Certificate around. This year we traveled to Germany so of course we obtained our passports for the trip.

 

Anyway, our government gives travelers choices and each traveler should use the travel document that best suits their needs.

[Duke Mazer]

I think as fellow Canadian . We haven't had passport cards aviable for our use. We are used to using a passport for all our travels by air .

 

 

I hear you, but I have a Nexus card and I'm still taking my passport. Oh well maybe it's because us Canadian are much more likely to travel to the U.S. Which does require a passort

[poncho1973]

The US is a large country, and no passport is needed to travel around it...

 

That tiny, little Canada!