Bermuda with only passport card?

[latebloomer56]

We have gone to Bermuda many times from both Boston and NY. When our sons and grandson have gone they only had birth certificates and the adults had photo ID in the form of their licenses.

My question is this. Would the passport card be acceptable for all three of them? I know passports are the best but wonder more for our twelve year old grandson. Would need to get another passport in five years due to his age. We do plan on a passport for him down the line for travel to Europe.

Thanks

[hallux]

It should be fine.  They've done it with photo ID and birth certificate, the card is slightly better.  The adults could do it if their state has enhanced DL's (NOT RealID, ENHANCED) and they have one.

[latebloomer56]

5 hours ago, hallux said:

It should be fine.  They've done it with photo ID and birth certificate, the card is slightly better.  The adults could do it if their state has enhanced DL's (NOT RealID, ENHANCED) and they have one.

Thanks just was thinking the cards would be a good thing to have. Would prefer our sons purchase passports though don't see that happening. It was hard enough getting them vaccinated 😊.

[pdmlynek]

My view is that one should travel with a passport.  Yes, Bermuda accepts passport cards for cruise based pax, and it normally works, but when things go wrong, it is better to have a passport.

 

As far as birth certificates go, how would any cop or another official in another country who stops you would know what it is?  Everyone understands passports because they have been developed to be standardized world all over, but things like residency cards, national identity cards, omang, CNI, Cedula de Identidad, Personalausweis, Aadhaar, etc. are simply not understood by officials outside of the country.

 

Not having the passport with you when visiting a foreign country simply makes you an undocumented alien.  That's fine most of the time, but things in some countries can go south quickly.

[njhorseman]

35 minutes ago, pdmlynek said:

My view is that one should travel with a passport.  Yes, Bermuda accepts passport cards for cruise based pax, and it normally works, but when things go wrong, it is better to have a passport.

 

As far as birth certificates go, how would any cop or another official in another country who stops you would know what it is?  Everyone understands passports because they have been developed to be standardized world all over, but things like residency cards, national identity cards, omang, CNI, Cedula de Identidad, Personalausweis, Aadhaar, etc. are simply not understood by officials outside of the country.

 

Not having the passport with you when visiting a foreign country simply makes you an undocumented alien.  That's fine most of the time, but things in some countries can go south quickly.

Your birth certificate isn't your ID, it's your proof of citizenship. In order take the cruise using a birth certificate you also need a government-issued photo ID, most commonly a drivers license. That is what you show if you're stopped by an official while ashore, not your birth certificate...and yes they will know what a drivers license is. You're not an undocumented alien because you entered the country legally using acceptable documentation for your mode of travel.

 

The countries  that accept a birth certificate and government ID in lieu of a passport are not places where it's very likely for something to "go south"  quickly. They are nearby countries that have many thousands of American tourists visiting every year.

 

Although I always travel with a passport, the reality is that in these countries the only situation making a passport is necessary occurs if you have to fly back to the US  rather being able to take your ship back. While that certainly can happen it doesn't happen very often so the risk is very low. In a country that has a US embassy, or consulate such as Bermuda, the worst that can happen is that you're delayed returning home while you obtain a passport, and in some cases you may even be able to get emergency authorization to fly back to the US without a passport. 

[pdmlynek]

12 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Your birth certificate isn't your ID, it's your proof of citizenship. 

 

No. Your birth certificate is not your proof of citizenship.  Although some countries, such as the US, there exists jus soli citizenship, that is the exception.  In most countries in the world, your citizenship is based on who you are when you are born, and not where you are born.  

[pdmlynek]

12 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Your birth certificate isn't your ID, it's your proof of citizenship. In order take the cruise using a birth certificate you also need a government-issued photo ID, most commonly a drivers license. That is what you show if you're stopped by an official while ashore, not your birth certificate...and yes they will know what a drivers license is.

 

 

 

This is really not true.  

 

Firstly, Driver's License is considered as a form of identification in the US, but in the vast majority of countries, it is not. It is akin to showing a hunting license, or a report card.  Identification is typically some sort of a card that identifies the person's identity.  Would a cop in the US take a fishing license from Madagascar or a diploma from a high school in Mongolia as a form of ID?

 

Secondly, the vast majority of driver licenses in the US are issued by the state and not the federal government.  It is not a Federal ID.  How would some underpaid cop that likely does not read English understand what a driver license is? To prove that cops in other countries do not understand driving licenses, is why International Driver Licenses exist.  A DL by itself is inadequate.

 

One should always have one's passport with self when traveling in a foreign country.

 

[njhorseman]

49 minutes ago, pdmlynek said:

 

No. Your birth certificate is not your proof of citizenship.  Although some countries, such as the US, there exists jus soli citizenship, that is the exception.  In most countries in the world, your citizenship is based on who you are when you are born, and not where you are born.  

Your response is irrelevant in the context of this thread.

This thread and discussion is about documentation requirements for US citizens taking a closed loop cruise to Bermuda and I am 100% correct about a birth certificate serving as proof of citizenship for those circumstances. Further when a US citizen applies for their first passport their birth certificate provides the necessary proof of their citizenship and no other proof of citizenship is necessary. There are other ways of proving citizenship, for example a naturalization certificate for those who were not a US citizen at birth, but for those born in the US the birth certificate provides all the proof needed.

Your response is 

[Oviedo32765]

This is from the U.S. Department of State's website:

 

The U.S. passport book and U.S. passport card are both accepted as ID for domestic flights.

 

You may not have heard about the U.S. passport card before. The passport card cannot be used for international air travel, but it is still a great ID to have in your wallet.

 

•  The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) accepts the passport card as ID for domestic flights.
•  Use the passport card when entering the United States at land-border crossings and sea ports-of-entry from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Do not use it for international air travel.
•  The passport card only costs $30 for adults if you already have a passport book, and only $65 for first-time adult applicants.    
•  The passport card has the same validity as the passport book: If you’re over 16, your passport card is valid for 10 years. If you’re under 16, your passport card is valid for 5 years.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/passports/how-a-passport-can-help-you-fly-domestically.html

[njhorseman]

56 minutes ago, pdmlynek said:

 

This is really not true.  

 , but in the vast majority of countries, it is not. It is akin to showing a hunting license, or a report card.  Identification is typically some sort of a card that identifies the person's identity.  Would a cop in the US take a fishing license from Madagascar or a diploma from a high school in Mongolia as a form of ID?

 

Secondly, the vast majority of driver licenses in the US are issued by the state and not the federal government.  It is not a Federal ID.  How would some underpaid cop that likely does not read English understand what a driver license is? To prove that cops in other countries do not understand driving licenses, is why International Driver Licenses exist.  A DL by itself is inadequate.

 

One should always have one's passport with self when traveling in a foreign country.

 

Once again this thread's context and discussion is about US citizens taking a cruise to Bermuda.  Your statement "Firstly, Driver's License is considered as a form of identification in the US" is incomplete because the government of Bermuda has also agreed to accept a US drivers license as proof of identity for cruise passengers . If they did not accept it please explain why Bermuda permits a US citizen to take a closed loop cruise to Bermuda using a drivers license as proof of identity?

You're creating issues that don't exist. We're not talking about Madagascar and no one has suggested a high school diploma is a form of ID. 

By the way Bermuda does not require an international drivers license to drive a rental motor scooter or one of their rental electric minicars.

Edited June 27, 2022 by njhorseman

[dcipjr]

I’ll interrupt this, err….spirited discourse…to add a bit of info to the OP: you can absolutely use passport cards for US Citizens to travel to Bermuda, but do expect a fair-bit of eyerolling from the cruise check-in staff, at least in NYC.

 

We have both books and cards, since we do a fair bit of land-border transits.

 

In the past, I’ve tried to use the cards at check-in in NYC. I had the passport books with me, too, but it’s easier to not have to fuss with turning them all to the right page, etc., so I figured cards would be convenient.

 

The agent harangued me into using the passport book…she went on and on about it. Maybe she was having a bad day, but I’ve just used the books ever since.