Leaving from Jaxport and my young children only have birth certificates

[gumybearz33]

My husband and I are taking our children on a cruise that leaves from Jaxport and our kids do not have passports, but they all have official birth certificates. Jaxport’s terminal website mentioned that you need a US drivers license and birth certificate if you’re not using a passport. Obviously my children (who are 5 and younger) do not have any type of phot ID and I’m wondering if anyone has had any experience sailing from Jaxport and their children only having their official birth certificates?

[siestakeys04]

When I took my 10 year old 8 years ago he didn’t have an ID. When he got 14 I started taking his school ID

[Tapi]

No ID required at their age, just the official birth certificate. Enjoy!

 

 

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[Quilcruisers]

My son has had a passport since very young but my nieces and their parents have cruised with us. They will not need anything but birth certificates until 16. Once they are 16 , they need additional form of ID. You have time.

 

 

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[Kwaj girl]

:rolleyes:Hopefully you don't have an emergency that requires you to fly home from a foreign port.....won't be able to do that without passports.

[Tapi]

[emoji57]Hopefully you don't have an emergency that requires you to fly home from a foreign port.....won't be able to do that without passports.

 

 

I’m a huge advocate for getting passports. My kids got theirs when they were only a few months old. But I think that it should be clarified that not having passports will not prevent the OP from flying home in case of an emergency. It will just make it harder. Citizenship will need to be verified through the local US embassy or Consulate, and temporary documentation will then need to be issued in order to fly home, usually within hours.

 

 

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Edited September 2, 2018 by Tapi

[BallFour4]

:rolleyes:Hopefully you don't have an emergency that requires you to fly home from a foreign port.....won't be able to do that without passports.

At some point you and others will stop posting this. This isn't a blanket true statement.

 

Cruise lines have an agent at every port with connections to the consulates office, travel and emergency services. It happens more than you can imagine. While it can take a day, often in just a few hours the passenger is on their way home.

 

We've had a travel friend taken right from the ship and escorted to the airport in Cozumel due to a sudden death in his family. He didn't have a passport. After 35 years of cruising we've also met others with the same experience.

 

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[gumybearz33]

I’m not sure that this needs to be explained, since I never stated that I don’t think passports are necessary, but, I understand the use and importance of passports, considering my husband and I both have them.

 

This isn’t my first cruise; my husband and I have cruised for years, and it was my intention for my children to have passports when they went on their first cruise (as I have only ever cruised with a passport); I was planning on going on a cruise this winter and therefore, would have had enough time to apply for and receive my children’s passports, but then there was a really good deal for a cruise this October, and so I booked it.

 

There may be time for their passports to get here, if they’re expedited, but it may be cutting it too close, and therefore, I wanted to make sure that they could board the cruise with just their birth certificates (and no photo IDs). I will most likely apply for and get their State Issued Enhanced Non-drivers IDs, because the time between applying for and receiving those IDs is less, and it would allow them to travel by land and sea to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean (the latter being where we’re going); however, Enhanced IDs and passport ID cards alike only allow for travel by land and sea.

 

I 100% want my children to have their passports, but as I said, I simply do not know if they will be here in time, which is why I am verifying the information that I originally asked about.

[Quilcruisers]

I’m not sure that this needs to be explained, since I never stated that I don’t think passports are necessary, but, I understand the use and importance of passports, considering my husband and I both have them.

 

This isn’t my first cruise; my husband and I have cruised for years, and it was my intention for my children to have passports when they went on their first cruise (as I have only ever cruised with a passport); I was planning on going on a cruise this winter and therefore, would have had enough time to apply for and receive my children’s passports, but then there was a really good deal for a cruise this October, and so I booked it.

 

There may be time for their passports to get here, if they’re expedited, but it may be cutting it too close, and therefore, I wanted to make sure that they could board the cruise with just their birth certificates (and no photo IDs). I will most likely apply for and get their State Issued Enhanced Non-drivers IDs, because the time between applying for and receiving those IDs is less, and it would allow them to travel by land and sea to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean (the latter being where we’re going); however, Enhanced IDs and passport ID cards alike only allow for travel by land and sea.

 

I 100% want my children to have their passports, but as I said, I simply do not know if they will be here in time, which is why I am verifying the information that I originally asked about.

 

 

 

Yes you will be fine on a closed loop cruise starting and ending at the same US port. Their birth certificates will be sufficient. Have fun. My kids and nieces thoroughly enjoy cruising.

 

 

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[sparks1093]

I’m not sure that this needs to be explained, since I never stated that I don’t think passports are necessary, but, I understand the use and importance of passports, considering my husband and I both have them.

 

This isn’t my first cruise; my husband and I have cruised for years, and it was my intention for my children to have passports when they went on their first cruise (as I have only ever cruised with a passport); I was planning on going on a cruise this winter and therefore, would have had enough time to apply for and receive my children’s passports, but then there was a really good deal for a cruise this October, and so I booked it.

 

There may be time for their passports to get here, if they’re expedited, but it may be cutting it too close, and therefore, I wanted to make sure that they could board the cruise with just their birth certificates (and no photo IDs). I will most likely apply for and get their State Issued Enhanced Non-drivers IDs, because the time between applying for and receiving those IDs is less, and it would allow them to travel by land and sea to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean (the latter being where we’re going); however, Enhanced IDs and passport ID cards alike only allow for travel by land and sea.

 

I 100% want my children to have their passports, but as I said, I simply do not know if they will be here in time, which is why I am verifying the information that I originally asked about.

 

You don't need to explain your legitimate choice, the birth certificates are more than sufficient.

[Lottacruises]

Have fun!

[BananaAnna]

:rolleyes:Hopefully you don't have an emergency that requires you to fly home from a foreign port.....won't be able to do that without passports.

I'm impressed that you're so knowledgeable about all foreign ports! Are you psychic in other areas as well?

[cb at sea]

Under 16 needs no "photo" id.

[BananaAnna]

:rolleyes:Hopefully you don't have an emergency that requires you to fly home from a foreign port.....won't be able to do that without passports.

I'm impressed that you're so knowledgeable about all foreign ports! Are you psychic in other areas as well?

[ProgRockCruiser]

Yes you will be fine on a closed loop cruise starting and ending at the same US port. Their birth certificates will be sufficient. Have fun. My kids and nieces thoroughly enjoy cruising.

Except Cuba, and a few other destinations used by other cruiselines, I believe. But in general, yes, BC (+DL for "adults") is all that is required.

 

I'm impressed that you're so knowledgeable about all foreign ports! Are you psychic in other areas as well?

It isn't the foreign port so much as it is US Customs - you can't return to the US via air without a passport, which is why you need one to leave.

[ProgRockCruiser]

Except Cuba, and a few other destinations used by other cruiselines, I believe. But in general, yes, BC (+DL for "adults") is all that is required.

 

 

It isn't the foreign port so much as it is US Customs - you can't return to the US via air without a passport, which is why you need one to leave.

I tried to edit, but didn't save in time:

 

It isn't the foreign port so much as it is US Customs - you can't return to the US via air without a passport, which is why you need one to leave the US via air, and would need one to get on a plane at that foreign port.

 

That being said, it appears obtaining expedited passports at most foreign ports are easy enough if the situation warrants it. I have never exercised that, though.

[sparks1093]

I tried to edit, but didn't save in time:

 

It isn't the foreign port so much as it is US Customs - you can't return to the US via air without a passport, which is why you need one to leave the US via air, and would need one to get on a plane at that foreign port.

 

That being said, it appears obtaining expedited passports at most foreign ports are easy enough if the situation warrants it. I have never exercised that, though.

 

Post 8 contradicts this and I have read other threads where a US citizen was allowed to board a plane in a foreign port without a passport. There are indeed provisions in the DHS regulations that allow the waiver of the passport requirement for emergencies and for humanitarian reasons.

[buckeyefrank]

I tried to edit, but didn't save in time:

 

It isn't the foreign port so much as it is US Customs - you can't return to the US via air without a passport, which is why you need one to leave the US via air, and would need one to get on a plane at that foreign port.

 

That being said, it appears obtaining expedited passports at most foreign ports are easy enough if the situation warrants it. I have never exercised that, though.

 

A US citizen cannot be prevented from entering the US in any fashion, whether its by land, sea or air. The passport is the vehicle generally used to identify US citizenship easily. For those without a passport, the embassy or other official US govt persons will use whatever is necessary to verify the person's citizenship and allow them to enter the US. There can be a delay, but a US citizen will ALWAYS be allowed into the US.

[ProgRockCruiser]

A US citizen cannot be prevented from entering the US in any fashion, whether its by land, sea or air. The passport is the vehicle generally used to identify US citizenship easily. For those without a passport, the embassy or other official US govt persons will use whatever is necessary to verify the person's citizenship and allow them to enter the US. There can be a delay, but a US citizen will ALWAYS be allowed into the US.

OK, I agree with what you are saying. But you have to arrive in the US first to be allowed in. An airline at a foreign airport often doesn't have the means to verify your citizenship through non-passport methods - you might know your birth certificate is a genuine document, but to someone outside the US it may just be a fancy looking piece of paper. And if they fly you to the US and you aren't a citizen, they are responsible for flying you back to your origin. So they simply won't sell you the ticket in the first place.

 

Thus, you'd need to go to an embassy or consulate and get some paperwork - and that often means an expedited passport.

 

So yeah, it isn't impossible, just a big pain from what I understand.

[sparks1093]

OK, I agree with what you are saying. But you have to arrive in the US first to be allowed in. An airline at a foreign airport often doesn't have the means to verify your citizenship through non-passport methods - you might know your birth certificate is a genuine document, but to someone outside the US it may just be a fancy looking piece of paper. And if they fly you to the US and you aren't a citizen, they are responsible for flying you back to your origin. So they simply won't sell you the ticket in the first place.

 

Thus, you'd need to go to an embassy or consulate and get some paperwork - and that often means an expedited passport.

 

So yeah, it isn't impossible, just a big pain from what I understand.

 

I'm sure they make you sign a paper saying that you will pay for any return ticket if you are denied entry, but I've read of two instances recently (one in this post) where the US citizen went to the airport and boarded the plane. There wasn't an embassy nearby in either case. The port agent knows who to talk to at the airport in order to get you onboard the plane and after that it's a matter of spending time in CBP secondary inspection when you land.

[BananaAnna]

Except Cuba, and a few other destinations used by other cruiselines, I believe. But in general, yes, BC (+DL for "adults") is all that is required.

 

 

It isn't the foreign port so much as it is US Customs - you can't return to the US via air without a passport, which is why you need one to leave.

 

Right, I was just razzing kwaj girl for, apparently, knowing about ALL foreign ports. That's why I asked if she is psychic. ;)

[dmdiver]

Your children will be fine on a closed loop cruise with their official birth certificates - not the hospital one with the footprints - that is only a keepsake. Our son was 10 when he first cruised, so no photo id for him.