Documentation Question

[mikemike404]

Just spoke to a RCCL rep to make sure we are good to go for our May 26th Allure trip. He stated that my global entery card will NOT work and my 8 and 10 year old need a School ID as well as the birth certificates ! My kids don't have a school ID so I am hopping he is just green and some on here can tell me that his info was false.

[CruiserBruce]

More details are required. Where are you sailing out of, and/or returning to? I wouldn't be shocked if the RCI rep didn't now what they were talking about, but without more info, we can't help you.

 

Have never heard of school ID being required...but, I am also not aware of all rules and regs regarding kids.

[sparks1093]

I had a cruise line rep tell me once that I needed a birth certificate with my Enhanced Drivers License, which wasn't true, so this isn't surprising. If you are sailing on a closed loop cruise and your kids were born in the US then all they need is their government issued birth certificate.

[mikemike404]

Allure May 26th St Thomas, Puerto Rico, Labadee

[CruiserBruce]

6 minutes ago, mikemike404 said:

Allure May 26th St Thomas, Puerto Rico, Labadee

And sailing out of Florida, I assume...this shouldn't be difficult.

 

Official, government issued birth certificate is all you need.

[njhorseman]

35 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

And sailing out of Florida, I assume...this shouldn't be difficult.

 

Official, government issued birth certificate is all you need.

Yes, official birth certificates for the 8 and 10 year olds, but the adults also need official photo ID. A valid global entry card or drivers license would satisfy that...but someone holding a global entry card has a passport, so why take two documents, BC and photo ID, when one has a superior single document, a passport?

[CruiserBruce]

4 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Yes, official birth certificates for the 8 and 10 year olds, but the adults also need official photo ID. A valid global entry card or drivers license would satisfy that...but someone holding a global entry card has a passport, so why take two documents, BC and photo ID, when one has a superior single document, a passport?

Yes...I should have been clearer. An official government issued birth certificate is all that is required for the kids. Adults need more, as you correctly point out.

 

The desirability of taking Global Entry card will also depend on the port, which remains a secret...

[njhorseman]

7 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Yes...I should have been clearer. An official government issued birth certificate is all that is required for the kids. Adults need more, as you correctly point out.

 

The desirability of taking Global Entry card will also depend on the port, which remains a secret...

No mystery on the port. The May 26 Allure sailing is from Fort Lauderdale. As I recall that is one of the only ports where a Global Entry card can speed you through immigration at the end of the cruise. I'd still also take my passport with me though. I can't see not taking your passport when you have one.

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

No mystery on the port. The May 26 Allure sailing is from Fort Lauderdale. As I recall that is one of the only ports where a Global Entry card can speed you through immigration at the end of the cruise. I'd still also take my passport with me though. I can't see not taking your passport when you have one.

Not everyone has all the ports, and ships assigned, memorized. It's not difficult to tell us what port one is sailing out of.

 

Ft Lauderdale is one port where possessing your GE card helps get you into the GE line, and through the Immigration process MUCH faster.

[njhorseman]

3 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Not everyone has all the ports, and ships assigned, memorized. It's not difficult to tell us what port one is sailing out of.

 

Ft Lauderdale is one port where possessing your GE card helps get you into the GE line, and through the Immigration process MUCH faster.

I don't have the ports memorized. it took me all of a few seconds to find it on Royal Caribbean's website. Not much more than it would take to type that the port was a mystery.

Edited May 16, 2019 by njhorseman

[Turtles06]

26 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

The May 26 Allure sailing is from Fort Lauderdale. As I recall that is one of the only ports where a Global Entry card can speed you through immigration at the end of the cruise. I'd still also take my passport with me though. I can't see not taking your passport when you have one.

 

Yes, there's a Global Entry line in the Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal.  It's not true Global Entry as at airports (no machines), it's just a dedicated line for those with GE cards, but it definitely speeds things up to be in that line.  I totally agree with you on the passports -- I don't leave the country without mine, even on a cruise where I can.

[BaumD]

You may get thru the GE line in Fort Lauderdale, but your kids won't, so unless you leave then alone, your GE card won't help.

[brillohead]

For a closed-loop cruise out of the USA:

Kids under 16yo don't need photo ID -- just proof of citizenship (birth certificate).

Adults need a birth certificate AND a government-issued photo ID.... OR just a passport.  


Your Global Entry card in and of itself doesn't accomplish anything other than prove that you (and only you, not your kids) are allowed to use the shorter line for immigration back into the country.  You still need to bring your passport for the actual immigration process.  

[SRF]

3 hours ago, brillohead said:

Adults need a birth certificate AND a government-issued photo ID.... OR just a passport.  

 

Just to be accurate, a BC if born in the US.  Or Consular Report of Birth Abroad if born outside the US, but to US parents.  Or Naturalization Certificate if born aboard to non-US parents, but now a citizen.

 

And if not a US citizen, you need a passport, with multiple entry visa, if a visa is required. 

[fishywood]

I think everyone has missed one crucial point. The OP is asking about using his Global Entry card for the proof of citizenship at embarkation. That card alone will not work. Unless using the DL/BC combo (see below) he will absolutely need his passport, not just "should bring it anyway".

 

As for the kids, here is what the RCI website says:

 

• 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.

So minors under 16 do not need a picture ID, just the government issue birth certificate.

 

And further to the Global Entry card: while the other "Trusted Traveler" cards are sufficiently vetted so as to function as sufficient stand-alone ID under the WHTI, Global Entry is not. This is the CBP page RCI refers one to for guidance:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative

[Sancho_proudfoot]

As a Brit, l am always puzzled by all the panicking about 'enhanced driving licences', birth certificates, notarised copies of this that and the other. 

 

You're spending $000s on your cruise...... why not splash out the 70-odd bucks and get a passport, which eliminates the problem for 10 years?

 

(Yes, l am aware you CAN  cruise on certain itineraries with other forms of ID, but surely a passport is simpler? What's the big aversion?)

[sparks1093]

4 hours ago, fishywood said:

I think everyone has missed one crucial point. The OP is asking about using his Global Entry card for the proof of citizenship at embarkation. That card alone will not work. Unless using the DL/BC combo (see below) he will absolutely need his passport, not just "should bring it anyway".

 

As for the kids, here is what the RCI website says:

 

• 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.

So minors under 16 do not need a picture ID, just the government issue birth certificate.

 

And further to the Global Entry card: while the other "Trusted Traveler" cards are sufficiently vetted so as to function as sufficient stand-alone ID under the WHTI, Global Entry is not. This is the CBP page RCI refers one to for guidance:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative

I think the OP's main question was about his kids but this is still good info to have out there.

[sparks1093]

1 minute ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

As a Brit, l am always puzzled by all the panicking about 'enhanced driving licences', birth certificates, notarised copies of this that and the other. 

 

You're spending $000s on your cruise...... why not splash out the 70-odd bucks and get a passport, which eliminates the problem for 10 years?

 

(Yes, l am aware you CAN  cruise on certain itineraries with other forms of ID, but surely a passport is simpler? What's the big aversion?)

Everyone's travel situation and needs are different. Some people can only do the odd closed loop cruise every year or two while some people can travel at will anywhere in the world. When we started cruising we were taking a 4 day cruise and for the 7 of us it would have cost $850 or so for passports, which was about half what our cruise itself cost. I did the research and determined that the risks were low enough to warrant not getting passports. DW and I knew that we wanted to travel elsewhere at some point but we also knew that we wouldn't be doing that travel with the kids, so we decided to wait until the time came when we actually needed a passport for the type of travel we were doing. 

[spookwife]

1 hour ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

 

You're spending $000s on your cruise...... why not splash out the 70-odd bucks and get a passport, which eliminates the problem for 10 years?

 

 

our renewals( due this year) are $110 each.  new passports are  more expensive.  for families that travel maybe once or twice.. that's a significant chunk of change.  

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

As a Brit, l am always puzzled by all the panicking about 'enhanced driving licences', birth certificates, notarised copies of this that and the other. 

 

You're spending $000s on your cruise...... why not splash out the 70-odd bucks and get a passport, which eliminates the problem for 10 years?

 

(Yes, l am aware you CAN  cruise on certain itineraries with other forms of ID, but surely a passport is simpler? What's the big aversion?)

Based on the relative percentages of passport holders, I put it down to culture, which was driven by frequency of international travel and that US & Canadians could cross the border with nothing but a regular drivers licence, until a few years ago.

 

Growing up in UK we had a plethora of dirt cheap package holidays available, so while I have had a passport since I was 16, I was included on my mother's passport from a very young age. As a teenager, I and many friends had a passport before we were old enough for a driver's licence. If we wanted to travel, we knew the cost of a passport had to be factored into the equation, if we could not afford a passport, we couldn't afford to travel. In my experience, that thought process is not overly common in North America, since they have so many options to travel without a passport.

 

Although the number of passport holders in North America has increased significantly, I believe Canadians with passports are still only about 60%, while in the US it is only about 35%, which is a huge increase from the 1990's when it was <5%.

[SRF]

On 5/18/2019 at 1:24 AM, fishywood said:

I think everyone has missed one crucial point. The OP is asking about using his Global Entry card for the proof of citizenship at embarkation. That card alone will not work. Unless using the DL/BC combo (see below) he will absolutely need his passport, not just "should bring it anyway".

 

As for the kids, here is what the RCI website says:

 

• 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.

So minors under 16 do not need a picture ID, just the government issue birth certificate.

 

And further to the Global Entry card: while the other "Trusted Traveler" cards are sufficiently vetted so as to function as sufficient stand-alone ID under the WHTI, Global Entry is not. This is the CBP page RCI refers one to for guidance:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative

 

A Global entry card IS a government issued photo ID card.

 

They would still need the BC or other document for proof of citizenship

 

Global Entry card is not proof of citizenship, as you do not have to be a US citizen to enroll in Global Entry.

[mikemike404]

Thanks everyone for the info, I travel a ton for work and love the GE card when returning to the US, however it would not help in this instance as it won't benefit my family who will be with me.....I just questioned what I already knew because the RCCL rep gave me bad info......Thanks again everyone.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Even with our GE card when returning to Ft. Lauderdale on a closed loop cruise we had to show our passport also.

[SRF]

GE card can be used as a government issued photo ID.  It is not proof of citizenship.

 

You need some other proof of citizenship.  BC, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Naturalization certificate, or passport.