Passport Confusion

[apratt]

My husband, myself, & our 2 daughters are cruising in April to Roatan, Belize City, & Cozumel. My husband is the only one of us who has a passport right now. I was going to get passports for everyone, but it is quite expensive & my husband says we will only need a birth certificate for this closed loop cruise. I was worried about what the procedure would be during an emergency so I called Royal Caribbean and asked if there was an emergency if we would be able to fly home without a passport. The gentleman I spoke to said yes, but that doesn't sound right to me. Don't you always need a passport to fly in/out of the country (United States)? I know it's always a good idea to have passports, but I would rather use that money on excursions.

[Clarea]

You normally need passport booklets to fly into the US from a foreign country.

 

However, in the case of extenuating circumstances, the local US consulate can issue temporary passports.  However, this may take time, especially if there is no consulate nearby, or they are closed for the day.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, apratt said:

 Don't you always need a passport to fly in/out of the country (United States)? 

Yes, or some documentation from the nearest Embassy/Consulate to get you on the plane.

[klfrodo]

As stated earlier, in the case of an emergency, and you don't have a passport, and you have to fly home, you will have to contact your local embassy or consulate to get emergency documentation that will allow you to fly home.

Could take an hour or 2,, or it could take a few days.

Also, all out of pocket costs will be on you. Hotels, meals, and transportation to include flights.

Then when you get home, you can file for reimbursments from you travel insurance providor. If it is determined that your claim is a valid claim, you will be reimbursed. (This process could take a couple of weeks, or could take a few months)

[Clarea]

If I'm not mistaken, I think the closest US consulate to Cozumel is in Playa Del Carmen, on the mainland.

[Biker19]

Yes, though services could be limited.

[JohninDC]

Passports are expensive up front, but are good for 10 years (I think only 5 for kids under 18 - it has been a while since we had anyone that young in my family); it's a worthy investment IMHO, but it's easy for someone to suggest how you spend your money.

[bouhunter]

Question answered - easier and faster to get home with a passport.  I think 16+ is when they are valid for 10 years.

[apratt]

24 minutes ago, JohninDC said:

Passports are expensive up front, but are good for 10 years (I think only 5 for kids under 18 - it has been a while since we had anyone that young in my family); it's a worthy investment IMHO, but it's easy for someone to suggest how you spend your money.

Our girls are 5 and 7 and this will probably be the only time they are out of the country in that 5 years....so tough decision.

[3monkeys4me]

3 hours ago, JohninDC said:

Passports are expensive up front, but are good for 10 years (I think only 5 for kids under 18 - it has been a while since we had anyone that young in my family); it's a worthy investment IMHO, but it's easy for someone to suggest how you spend your money.

 Kids under 16 are good for 5 years, after 16 it is good for 10 years. 

 

OP, it is an expense for sure. We do have passports for our kids but we do travel out of the country quite a bit. 

[njkruzer]

Our granddaughter, almost 6, just got her 2nd passport.  Just easier to have.  Understand that if you need an emergency passport/documents you have to wait for embassy or consulate. A lost passport is not considered an emergency.   I lost my wallet with passport in Copenhagen on a Friday this past August.  Were to board the Serenade that Sunday. If we hadn't been able to get help from Senator Corker's office I would have had to wait until Monday to get my replacement passport and would have missed the first 2 days of our cruise, plus the cost for extra hotel nights, flight to 2nd port, etc.  Just easier to have passport.  Admittedly a family emergency might get you help, but no guarantees. 

[lizardhowson]

5 hours ago, apratt said:

My husband, myself, & our 2 daughters are cruising in April to Roatan, Belize City, & Cozumel. My husband is the only one of us who has a passport right now. I was going to get passports for everyone, but it is quite expensive & my husband says we will only need a birth certificate for this closed loop cruise. I was worried about what the procedure would be during an emergency so I called Royal Caribbean and asked if there was an emergency if we would be able to fly home without a passport. The gentleman I spoke to said yes, but that doesn't sound right to me. Don't you always need a passport to fly in/out of the country (United States)? I know it's always a good idea to have passports, but I would rather use that money on excursions.

I'll bet that if something happens which requires you to fly home, but it takes a couple days to acquire the required paperwork, in hindsight you would have been willing to pay twice the cost to have passports for everyone in hand.  Just saying ...

[HOSKI]

7 hours ago, JohninDC said:

Passports are expensive up front, but are good for 10 years (I think only 5 for kids under 18 - it has been a while since we had anyone that young in my family); it's a worthy investment IMHO, but it's easy for someone to suggest how you spend your money.

Just renewed, passports for under 16 are 5 years.  Sixteen and older is 10 years.

[fredflint]

Just plan more trips out of the  country to make it worthwhile 🙂

[bearette]

My message six (twins) and also on their second passport.  The likelihood of you needing it is very low in your case. If you are not going to travel, then don't bother. $300 is a lot of money for some, so if it eats too much of your vacation budget you can risk it. Just make sure you have credit (or debit) that could cover the cost in a worst case scenario. Also, I would make sure you are back very early for all aboard.

[sparks1093]

There are provisions in the DHS regulations that allow the authorities to waive the passport requirements for emergencies and for humanitarian reasons. No government, ours or the country you are visiting for tourism, wants to strand anyone anywhere. It could be as easy as going to the airport and boarding a flight home and being cleared in secondary inspection (I've read of this happening several times, including from Cozumel). It could involve a delay of a day or two. For most cruisers the risk of something happening is extremely low, so you have to determine if you are comfortable with your risk level. 

[waterbug123]

17 hours ago, apratt said:

 I was worried about what the procedure would be during an emergency so I called Royal Caribbean and asked if there was an emergency if we would be able to fly home without a passport. The gentleman I spoke to said yes, but that doesn't sound right to me. Don't you always need a passport to fly in/out of the country (United States)? I know it's always a good idea to have passports, but I would rather use that money on excursions.

 

First of all, the gentleman you spoke to at RC is not the person who will get to decide whether or not you actually get on a plane at the airport.  He is answering phones in a call center; he will not be at the airline ticket counter or departure gate, nor does he work for US CBP/DHS.  There are plenty of threads about cruise ship phone reps not even knowing accurate details about the cruises they are selling, so I certainly wouldn't count on one to give accurate/detailed answers about passport requirements in an emergency, or about airline ticketing/boarding procedures.

That said, yes you can fly home without a passport.  Contrary to what some would have you believe, people do not get stuck in other countries for the rest of their lives because an emergency came up and they didn't have a passport.  Can you do so easily?  Probably not.     But it's also not as simple as going to the airport, saying "I need to fly to the US but don't have a passport" and the agent saying "oh no problem, I believe you, here's your boarding pass, have a safe flight."   Most likely you need to visit the nearest US embassy or consulate to get an emergency passport. It may or may not be nearby, which means you will incur transportation costs.  If it's a weekend or holiday, you will probably have to wait, which means you will incur hotel costs.  Possibly, in lieu of getting an emergency passport, you will be subjected to some special screening process that may well be both stressful and time consuming, and would likely take place both prior to being ticketed, and upon going through I/C upon arrival to the US.  For some, these risks/challenges are not worth spending the money to get a passport.  For others, they wouldn't dream of traveling without one.  We all have things we'd rather spend our money on, but we have to weigh those choices against our own risk tolerance level. 

[apratt]

9 hours ago, fredflint said:

Just plan more trips out of the  country to make it worthwhile 🙂

Hey I like that idea!

[Desert Cruizers]

I would recommend you get the Pass Port. Regardless of a closed loop or not, as you brought up in an emergency, your flying back to the states will go more smoothly. We hope an emergency never happens to us, but better be prepared with proper documents from the start. I can speak from personal experience after my husband had a heart attack a year ago on our TA and we were diverted to Canada. To get him home with a medical  flight, they needed his PP. 

[cb at sea]

You will NOT be "stranded" in a foreign country....no worries.  It may take a little time, but you can get home.  The odds of a catastrophe happening are low....it's up to you to weigh the costs and risks.

 

We always cruise (closed loop) with BC and ID.  Under 16 doesn't even need ID...just the BC.

[apratt]

17 minutes ago, Desert Cruizers said:

I would recommend you get the Pass Port. Regardless of a closed loop or not, as you brought up in an emergency, your flying back to the states will go more smoothly. We hope an emergency never happens to us, but better be prepared with proper documents from the start. I can speak from personal experience after my husband had a heart attack a year ago on our TA and we were diverted to Canada. To get him home with a medical  flight, they needed his PP. 

That is what I am worried about! If one of my kids needed medical care I would feel so bad if we were held up because of that. I know they have some kind of med bay on the ship, but I don't know how good it is. I didn't know until I posted this that kids under 16s passports are only good for 5 years...what a rip off! 

[swoopy2110]

7 hours ago, bearette said:

My message six (twins) and also on their second passport.  The likelihood of you needing it is very low in your case. If you are not going to travel, then don't bother. $300 is a lot of money for some, so if it eats too much of your vacation budget you can risk it. Just make sure you have credit (or debit) that could cover the cost in a worst case scenario. Also, I would make sure you are back very early for all aboard.

 

Poor choice of words saying it's "very unlikely you'll need it"

 

Anything can happen to you at any time!

 

Getting the passport would be the safest option

[Iamcruzin]

We purchased passports for the entire family when my children were 11 and 14. At the time we couldn’t predict how many times we would travel out of the country but I figured like insurance it’s better to be safe than sorry. As it turned out we did cruise again within the 5 year span and we also used the passport as ID when they registered for sport leagues and when they got their first part time job. Usually when an emergency occurs it’s for a child or an elderly person. They seem to be more prone to accidents or medical issues. If you are unable to purchase passports for your children I would strongly suggest that you at least get one for yourself especially if you live in a state that hasn’t upgraded the driver license with real ID. Even domestic flights will be requiring a passport or real ID to board starting in 2020. I’m not sure what they will be requiring for children. Also if you don’t get a passport be sure to take your marriage license along with your passport so you can bridge your maiden name to your married name.

[Iamcruzin]

12 minutes ago, apratt said:

That is what I am worried about! If one of my kids needed medical care I would feel so bad if we were held up because of that. I know they have some kind of med bay on the ship, but I don't know how good it is. I didn't know until I posted this that kids under 16s passports are only good for 5 years...what a rip off! 

Rip off yes because they shouldn’t cost so much but kids change a lot during those year so that’s why they need to be renewed sooner. It’s not as expensive to renew once you have one. My kids renewed their own when they expired. 

[sparks1093]

14 minutes ago, apratt said:

That is what I am worried about! If one of my kids needed medical care I would feel so bad if we were held up because of that. I know they have some kind of med bay on the ship, but I don't know how good it is. I didn't know until I posted this that kids under 16s passports are only good for 5 years...what a rip off! 

Kid's facial features can change drastically in even 5 years, much less 10.