Cruising Without Passport

[winchesterdog]

Hi,

My family will soon be departing on a 7-day cruise to Belize, Cozemel, Roatan, and Costa Maya on Carnival Dream. We all have our passport save our 22 y/o son. He will be sailing on a Birth Certificate only. I understand that he will be able to get off the boat in Cozumel but there must be some limitations. Can the board offer me some suggestions on things to be wary of? I would think missing the boat in port would be huge as there is no way to fly international without a passport. Is there other things I should be considering? Thanks

 

Kevin

 

[CLS/KAS]

He will be limited in what he will be able to do.. shame to travel all the way there.. and not poss. be able to get off..

God forbid he does miss the boat, due to injury, etc.. will be royally screwed, where your going...

The amount of $ it would take get him home....not worth it..get a passport..no upside..you didnt say when you are leaving.. you can get a PP in 3 wks..normal wait.. you are going on Vaca...NO stress!  :) 

[sparks1093]

He will need a government issued ID to go with the birth certificate. For the cruise itself there are no limitations, he can go ashore just like anyone else. The only issue would be if he missed the ship and that is very largely within his control. I was reading a thread not too long ago where someone had to disembark in Cozumel for an emergency back home and they were allowed to board a plane back to the States even though they didn't have a passport.

Edited November 18, 2018 by sparks1093

[broberts]

Along with an official birth certificate (not a hospital issued one) he will need government issued photo id like a driver license. There are no real limitations on what can be done on a cruise on in visited ports. However, should he have interrupt the cruise and fly back to the US, the process will involve some added discussions with various authorities.

 

[DallasGuy75219]

15 minutes ago, CLS/KAS said:

shame to travel all the way there.. and not poss. be able to get off..

What on earth are you talking about?  A closed loop cruise leaving the US with those ports does not require a passport and has no restrictions on debarking in those ports.

 

17 minutes ago, CLS/KAS said:

God forbid he does miss the boat, due to injury, etc.. will be royally screwed, where your going...

He will be screwed regardless of whether he has a passport.  The only difference is that without a passport, he'll have to make arrangements with the closest US consulate for a temporary passport to get back to the US, which could lengthen his stay abroad (and incur additional expenses) until he has permission to travel back to the US.

[Moviela]

Your son can travel with a birth certificate and a government issued photo ID. This will be enough to board and enter the USA at the end of the trip. It is acceptable to Belize for entry, but you MUST have a Passport Book to leave by air for any reason, including missing the ship. In Mexico he can enter, but should he become involved with local authorities they may hold him until they are sure of his identity. Of course in Mexico a small "mordida" can solve a problem quickly. In the other countries unless they have been alerted to look for specific individuals, if they see your sign and sail card they will wave you through. 

 

A passport book is the gold standard for international travel. It is always accepted, while other forms of identification may result in delays while you are identified, not to mention expenses that could have been avoided with a $145 passport. ($110 for renewal)

 

I have travelled internationally for more than 60 years and have never left the country without a passport, and never had a problem.

 

[coevan]

4 hours ago, winchesterdog said:

I understand that he will be able to get off the boat in Cozumel but there must be some limitations.

 

 

What limitations are you understanding? as far as a passport, pass me the popcorn

[winchesterdog]

Thanks for all the great replies.

 

The limitations I was referring too was things like trying to board an international flight back home etc. What I was looking for in this post was things I haven't thought of. Like the comment where someone mentioned local police might hold you until you can be properly identified. I guess this might make me a bit cautious on some of the excursions we choose... such as the jeep excursion on Cozumel. A fender bender downtown could turn into a trip ruining problem lol. This board has such a huge knowledge pool that I knew this question would help me with that "what if" factor for my travel planning.  As to stressing on vacation - I agree completely. It's true Passports don't take long at all to get but we are nearing our sail date and I fear even the expedited turn around time has passed.  ( Young people often have a difficult time meeting deadlines even with months and months of advanced warning lol). Thanks again guys!

[sanger727]

15 minutes ago, winchesterdog said:

Thanks for all the great replies.

 

The limitations I was referring too was things like trying to board an international flight back home etc. What I was looking for in this post was things I haven't thought of. Like the comment where someone mentioned local police might hold you until you can be properly identified. I guess this might make me a bit cautious on some of the excursions we choose... such as the jeep excursion on Cozumel. A fender bender downtown could turn into a trip ruining problem lol. This board has such a huge knowledge pool that I knew this question would help me with that "what if" factor for my travel planning.  As to stressing on vacation - I agree completely. It's true Passports don't take long at all to get but we are nearing our sail date and I fear even the expedited turn around time has passed.  ( Young people often have a difficult time meeting deadlines even with months and months of advanced warning lol). Thanks again guys!

The only limitations are that he can’t board an international flight and I don’t think he will be able to travel internationally while in a port at all. By that I mean, I’ve read on here that there are some ports like the U.S. Virgin Islands where you can ferry to the British Virgin Islands and a passport must be shown. But within the cruise itinerary he will be perfectly fine. Regardless of the fear mongering, he will never be stuck in a foreign country. If he was to miss the ship he wouldn’t be able to fly on to the next port, but he would be able to get home. It may just take some extra steps.

 

personslly, I wouldn’t drive a car in Mexico anyway just due to possible insurance issues and reported police Shake downs, but him having a passport is irrelevant to that. He won’t face any detentions or questioning in ports, many many many cruisers cruise without a passport. Perfectly fine and allowed.

[The4Cruisers]

5 hours ago, CLS/KAS said:

He will be limited in what he will be able to do.. shame to travel all the way there.. and not poss. be able to get off..

 

Where did you dream this up?  
There is NO limitation on traveling that itinerary with a BC & DL rather than a passport.   
SMH... 

Edited November 19, 2018 by The4Cruisers

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, Moviela said:

Your son can travel with a birth certificate and a government issued photo ID. This will be enough to board and enter the USA at the end of the trip. It is acceptable to Belize for entry, but you MUST have a Passport Book to leave by air for any reason, including missing the ship. In Mexico he can enter, but should he become involved with local authorities they may hold him until they are sure of his identity. Of course in Mexico a small "mordida" can solve a problem quickly. In the other countries unless they have been alerted to look for specific individuals, if they see your sign and sail card they will wave you through. 

 

A passport book is the gold standard for international travel. It is always accepted, while other forms of identification may result in delays while you are identified, not to mention expenses that could have been avoided with a $145 passport. ($110 for renewal)

 

I have travelled internationally for more than 60 years and have never left the country without a passport, and never had a problem.

 

And millions of people travel every year via closed loop cruise with something other than a passport and have never had a problem, either. For most people it is a low risk proposition that is within their comfort level. 

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, winchesterdog said:

Thanks for all the great replies.

 

The limitations I was referring too was things like trying to board an international flight back home etc. What I was looking for in this post was things I haven't thought of. Like the comment where someone mentioned local police might hold you until you can be properly identified. I guess this might make me a bit cautious on some of the excursions we choose... such as the jeep excursion on Cozumel. A fender bender downtown could turn into a trip ruining problem lol. This board has such a huge knowledge pool that I knew this question would help me with that "what if" factor for my travel planning.  As to stressing on vacation - I agree completely. It's true Passports don't take long at all to get but we are nearing our sail date and I fear even the expedited turn around time has passed.  ( Young people often have a difficult time meeting deadlines even with months and months of advanced warning lol). Thanks again guys!

I don't know how likely it is about being held up by the local police until one is properly identified but from reading many threads on the topic those who do have passports will typically leave them on-board in the cabin safe, have calculated an actual percentage but would guess it's in the 70 percent range (and of course that's a whole different question). We did a cruise with a couple of our adult children in February (on their dime) and I let them make up their own mind regarding travel documentation. Since they are both getting started in life and don't plan on doing any other foreign travel in the foreseeable future they opted for using their birth certificates.

[mredandchis]

look i have a passport and i never needed it at any of those ports.  It stays in the safe until I hit the states and there it just makes things a bit easier.  Every one needs a photo id and a sail and sign card to get back to the ship.  DL works fine.  And they dont bother the tots at all when with a parent.  

[summersigh]

The only Caribbean cruise we've been on that required a passport was a HAL cruise where the Costa Rica stop required it.  We were given more than ample notice what was needed ahead of time as we wouldn't even be allowed on the boat in Ft Lauderdale without one.

[Moviela]

7 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

And millions of people travel every year via closed loop cruise with something other than a passport and have never had a problem, either. For most people it is a low risk proposition that is within their comfort level. 

 

Millions? It is closer to less than 1%, with most being minor children traveling with parents carrying passports

[sparks1093]

20 minutes ago, Moviela said:

 

Millions? It is closer to less than 1%, with most being minor children traveling with parents carrying passports

From all that I've read 40 to 60% of each closed loop sailing is undertaken by folks using something than a passport and given the number of people sailing on closed loop cruises there are every year yes, I would say millions. The way I arrived at millions was reading a travel magazine article which said there were 10 million cruise passengers in the previous year. Another article tells me that the vast majority of cruises originate in the US. So let's say conservatively that's 6.5 million passengers sailing from US ports. Most of those itineraries are closed looped cruises but again we'll be conservative and say that 5 million passengers are sailing on closed loop cruises. Other travel articles tell me that 40 to 60 percent of all passengers on a closed loop cruise are using something other than a passport (EDL, passport card, DL/BC), which kind of squares with State Department data that shows about 42% of US citizens have passports. We'll again be conservative and say it's 40% of those leaving on closed loop cruises. That gives us 2 million passengers as a very conservative number and it is very likely higher than that. So yes, millions.

Edited November 19, 2018 by sparks1093

[broberts]

1 hour ago, Moviela said:

 

Millions? It is closer to less than 1%, with most being minor children traveling with parents carrying passports

 

Roughly thirteen million cruise passengers used the Ports of Miami, Canaveral, and Everglades last year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_cruise_ports_by_passengers. 

 

Since less than 45% of US citizen posses passports, it is unrealistic to expect that only 1% of cruise passengers travel without passports.

[Moviela]

I cannot see how the number of passport holders, nor the number of passengers passing through terminals can be used to apportion how many travel without passports. Terminal head counts do not represent how many unique individuals are traveling. In fact those on a closed loop cruise count two for each journey, and many of those individuals use the terminal several times per year.

 

The real count is who boards the ship and what docs they present when landing in the USA. Foreign nationals all have passports, and returning US citizens about 1% are without passports. 

 

See for yourself. Next time you enter the US see how many people are unfolding full sheets of paper to show the officers.

 

[sparks1093]

6 hours ago, Moviela said:

I cannot see how the number of passport holders, nor the number of passengers passing through terminals can be used to apportion how many travel without passports. Terminal head counts do not represent how many unique individuals are traveling. In fact those on a closed loop cruise count two for each journey, and many of those individuals use the terminal several times per year.

 

The real count is who boards the ship and what docs they present when landing in the USA. Foreign nationals all have passports, and returning US citizens about 1% are without passports. 

 

See for yourself. Next time you enter the US see how many people are unfolding full sheets of paper to show the officers.

 

Your evidence is just as sound as ours, you just see things differently. I take my information from industry reports and reliable travel magazine articles. Observing people in line is even less reliable. Let's just say a large number of US citizens travel on closed loop cruises every year with something other than a passport and experience no difficulties and leave it at that. We are still talking about a low risk proposition for most people.

[ProgRockCruiser]

11 hours ago, Moviela said:

I cannot see how the number of passport holders, nor the number of passengers passing through terminals can be used to apportion how many travel without passports. Terminal head counts do not represent how many unique individuals are traveling. In fact those on a closed loop cruise count two for each journey, and many of those individuals use the terminal several times per year.

 

The real count is who boards the ship and what docs they present when landing in the USA. Foreign nationals all have passports, and returning US citizens about 1% are without passports. 

 

See for yourself. Next time you enter the US see how many people are unfolding full sheets of paper to show the officers.

 

 

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Your evidence is just as sound as ours, you just see things differently. I take my information from industry reports and reliable travel magazine articles. Observing people in line is even less reliable. Let's just say a large number of US citizens travel on closed loop cruises every year with something other than a passport and experience no difficulties and leave it at that. We are still talking about a low risk proposition for most people.

 

I think (hope?) we can agree that until we get actual statistics of actual number of US Citizens cruising on passports vs BCs, we are stuck with extrapolating data and anecdotal evidence.

 

So here is my first anecdote:

Both times (in the last year) arriving back at Port Canaveral after a short 3 or 4 day cruise to the Bahamas, at least 1/4, maybe up to about 1/3, of the passengers in the US Citizenship lines were holding pieces of paper and what looked like their DLs - so I would assume they were, for the most part, traveling on BCs+DLs, not passports. 

 

Anecdote #2:

My daughter and her friend (and friend's parents/family) all recently cruised using DLs+BCs.

 

Maybe for #1 it was just a weird grouping both times.  Maybe it is different based on who sails out of which ports.  Maybe shorter cruises attract non-passport holders more.  Maybe I mis-observed.  I will be on another, longer, cruise shortly, and perhaps I will observe differently then.

 

:shrug:

[sparks1093]

42 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

 

I think (hope?) we can agree that until we get actual statistics of actual number of US Citizens cruising on passports vs BCs, we are stuck with extrapolating data and anecdotal evidence.

 

So here is my first anecdote:

Both times (in the last year) arriving back at Port Canaveral after a short 3 or 4 day cruise to the Bahamas, at least 1/4, maybe up to about 1/3, of the passengers in the US Citizenship lines were holding pieces of paper and what looked like their DLs - so I would assume they were, for the most part, traveling on BCs+DLs, not passports. 

 

Anecdote #2:

My daughter and her friend (and friend's parents/family) all recently cruised using DLs+BCs.

 

Maybe for #1 it was just a weird grouping both times.  Maybe it is different based on who sails out of which ports.  Maybe shorter cruises attract non-passport holders more.  Maybe I mis-observed.  I will be on another, longer, cruise shortly, and perhaps I will observe differently then.

 

:shrug:

I don't think the actual number is important, what's important is that people do travel with alternative documents on closed looped cruises by their own choice and their choice doesn't affect your choice or my choice or anyone else's choice. As long as people are choosing the travel documentation that works best for their travel needs. 

[mredandchis]

23 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Your evidence is just as sound as ours, you just see things differently. I take my information from industry reports and reliable travel magazine articles. Observing people in line is even less reliable. Let's just say a large number of US citizens travel on closed loop cruises every year with something other than a passport and experience no difficulties and leave it at that. We are still talking about a low risk proposition for most people.

There you go, i can by that.  I always take a passport,  and figure maybe one day I will need it and i will have it.  But the only time i ever use it is back in the USA,  

[mredandchis]

17 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

 

I think (hope?) we can agree that until we get actual statistics of actual number of US Citizens cruising on passports vs BCs, we are stuck with extrapolating data and anecdotal evidence.

 

So here is my first anecdote:

Both times (in the last year) arriving back at Port Canaveral after a short 3 or 4 day cruise to the Bahamas, at least 1/4, maybe up to about 1/3, of the passengers in the US Citizenship lines were holding pieces of paper and what looked like their DLs - so I would assume they were, for the most part, traveling on BCs+DLs, not passports. 

 

Anecdote #2:

My daughter and her friend (and friend's parents/family) all recently cruised using DLs+BCs.

 

Maybe for #1 it was just a weird grouping both times.  Maybe it is different based on who sails out of which ports.  Maybe shorter cruises attract non-passport holders more.  Maybe I mis-observed.  I will be on another, longer, cruise shortly, and perhaps I will observe differently then.

 

:shrug:

Look you do have a point and really there is no true way to tell, at least not for us not working the return line from a cruise.   I was on a journey cruise on the sunshine back in mar of 2016 that i called the plague ship lol.  Everyone was getting sick and the crew went into hyper drive trying to keep things clean. There were 7 of us traveling together and 2 of us didnt get sick, the other 5 got it and got it good.   Both my steward and his assistant fell to it and a number of other crew members also.  This was not Carnivals fault, someone brought it with them. But I saw the article wrote up on it and realized that the number were skewed cause they only counted those that showed up in sick bay.  And there were many others who also fell victim and since we knew from the pioneers of the outbreak what it was and tha tthere wasnt much the doc could do . It lasted 24 to 36 hours and just went away.    But my point is the figures were 178 passengers and 5 crew were reported in the article.   As for the crew members i spoke to 7 of the 5 that got sick lol.  There was just no way for anyone to crunch the numbers and come up with real ones.  And even standing in line and observing is not really scientific and can be skewed.  But in your discussion it is safe to say some people do and some dont and no one will ever know the percentages.  

[Cushing985]

On 11/20/2018 at 6:32 AM, sparks1093 said:

Your evidence is just as sound as ours, you just see things differently. I take my information from industry reports and reliable travel magazine articles. Observing people in line is even less reliable. Let's just say a large number of US citizens travel on closed loop cruises every year with something other than a passport and experience no difficulties and leave it at that. We are still talking about a low risk proposition for most people.

 

I worked in Port Canaveral checking people in and if I had to spit out a percentage of people traveling without a passport I would say over 50% used a BC and a DL to get onboard.  Would I cruise without one?  Nope.  If I had a medical emergency and had to be flown off from a foreign country or had a few too many drinks and missed the ship getting home is a lot easier with a passport.  Like others, I don't take it ashore with me but realize security can get into your cabin safe to retrieve it.

[sparks1093]

17 minutes ago, Cushing985 said:

 

I worked in Port Canaveral checking people in and if I had to spit out a percentage of people traveling without a passport I would say over 50% used a BC and a DL to get onboard.  Would I cruise without one?  Nope.  If I had a medical emergency and had to be flown off from a foreign country or had a few too many drinks and missed the ship getting home is a lot easier with a passport.  Like others, I don't take it ashore with me but realize security can get into your cabin safe to retrieve it.

Your first hand account is very helpful in these types of debates and is fully consistent from what others with direct knowledge have posted. Having a passport does make it easier, and essentially it comes down to whether or not someone is willing to risk any delay that would take place if something happened. I was never that concerned about it. Of course I don't drink that heavily when onshore in part because I am not going to do anything to risk missing the ship (that was a cardinal sin in the Navy, missing ship's movement).