meanmom08 Posted July 24, 2023 #1 Share Posted July 24, 2023 I’ve tried to talk to someone at RCCL without success, and I emailed my travel agent and am waiting for a call back. In the meantime, I’m hoping someone can answer my question as I’m in a bit of a panic. I recently booked a 4 day cruise to Nassau for Aug 5. My husband just informed me his passport expires Aug 1. If I understand correctly, you (an American citizen) absolutely cannot go to the Bahamas without a passport. RCCL’s website says you may board the ship with a birth certificate and an official government ID. My question is: will he be allowed to go on the cruise, but just not get off the ship at Nassau, or will he not be allowed to sail at all? please don’t ask how we could have done something so stupid… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted July 24, 2023 #2 Share Posted July 24, 2023 (edited) He can sail (it's a closed loop cruise) and get off in Nassau for the day. Make sure the birth certificate has a raised seal and is not a copy. And ... his government ID is not expired. 😄 Edited July 24, 2023 by Another_Critic 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanmom08 Posted July 24, 2023 Author #3 Share Posted July 24, 2023 That’s what I thought I read, but I was afraid I had misunderstood. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted July 24, 2023 #4 Share Posted July 24, 2023 18 minutes ago, meanmom08 said: That’s what I thought I read, but I was afraid I had misunderstood. thanks! Correct response from @Another_Critic 🙂 Just a note: PLEASE carry your driver's license with you off the ship in Nassau. You will need to show it to return to the ship. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyderJ201 Posted July 24, 2023 #5 Share Posted July 24, 2023 Take the passport as well. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanmom08 Posted July 25, 2023 Author #6 Share Posted July 25, 2023 Thanks so much for all the responses. My travel agent confirmed his birth certificate and valid gov’t issued ID will be enough. He’ll take his (expired) passport, too. He has a birth certificate but it does not have a raised seal. I checked, and some years ago VA switched from a raised seal to some sort of special paper to print certified birth certificates. He is going tomorrow to get a new one. It’s up to him, at this point. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted July 25, 2023 #7 Share Posted July 25, 2023 25 minutes ago, meanmom08 said: Thanks so much for all the responses. My travel agent confirmed his birth certificate and valid gov’t issued ID will be enough. He’ll take his (expired) passport, too. He has a birth certificate but it does not have a raised seal. I checked, and some years ago VA switched from a raised seal to some sort of special paper to print certified birth certificates. He is going tomorrow to get a new one. It’s up to him, at this point. It does not have to be a raised seal, just original. As you have discovered many states no longer do the raised seal. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2wheelin Posted July 25, 2023 #8 Share Posted July 25, 2023 7 hours ago, Merion_Mom said: Correct response from @Another_Critic 🙂 Just a note: PLEASE carry your driver's license with you off the ship in Nassau. You will need to show it to return to the ship. Good idea to take it but will most likely not need it. We just returned and did not need anything but ship card to return Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted July 25, 2023 #9 Share Posted July 25, 2023 5 hours ago, 2wheelin said: Good idea to take it but will most likely not need it. We just returned and did not need anything but ship card to return Then either that's a new procedure or you had a new worker. I have ALWAYS been asked to show government-issued photo idea in Nassau. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyBerard Posted July 25, 2023 #10 Share Posted July 25, 2023 9 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said: It does not have to be a raised seal, just original. As you have discovered many states no longer do the raised seal. It does not need to be an original birth certificate. It must, however, be a certified birth certificate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmtx Posted July 25, 2023 #11 Share Posted July 25, 2023 3 hours ago, Merion_Mom said: Then either that's a new procedure or you had a new worker. I have ALWAYS been asked to show government-issued photo idea in Nassau. I must have had the same new worker, because none of us were asked to show anything more than a SeaPass card to enter the cruise terminal in Nassau, Jun 2023. Maybe they are more lax now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwlane Posted July 25, 2023 #12 Share Posted July 25, 2023 18 hours ago, meanmom08 said: If I understand correctly, you (an American citizen) absolutely cannot go to the Bahamas without a passport. Curious why this was your understanding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaddyandMax Posted July 25, 2023 #13 Share Posted July 25, 2023 We've been to Nassau 3 times in the past 1.5 years. We've always had to show our passports to get back on the boat (we are Canadian so we can't use a birth certificate). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanmom08 Posted July 26, 2023 Author #14 Share Posted July 26, 2023 It was my understanding because numerous articles pop up when you Google “do you need a passport to go to the Bahamas” that tell you you do. Obviously, they were not authoritative sources which is why I was trying to find someone that could give me the straight skinny. My TA called RCCL and confirmed you do not, and of course, others on this thread told me the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted July 26, 2023 #15 Share Posted July 26, 2023 19 hours ago, MaddyandMax said: We've been to Nassau 3 times in the past 1.5 years. We've always had to show our passports to get back on the boat (we are Canadian so we can't use a birth certificate). "government issued photo ID" - passport works fine; I don't carry my passport off the ship; I carry my DL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mscinmia Posted July 26, 2023 #16 Share Posted July 26, 2023 8 hours ago, meanmom08 said: It was my understanding because numerous articles pop up when you Google “do you need a passport to go to the Bahamas” that tell you you do. Obviously, they were not authoritative sources which is why I was trying to find someone that could give me the straight skinny. My TA called RCCL and confirmed you do not, and of course, others on this thread told me the same. You DO need a passport to fly to the Bahamas but with the WHTI rules you can sail with the birth certificate and DL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OCSC Mike Posted July 26, 2023 #17 Share Posted July 26, 2023 10 minutes ago, mscinmia said: You DO need a passport to fly to the Bahamas but with the WHTI rules you can sail with the birth certificate and DL. This. You will absolutely be fine with an official birth certificate and DL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinfanatic Posted July 27, 2023 #18 Share Posted July 27, 2023 On 7/24/2023 at 2:56 PM, Another_Critic said: He can sail (it's a closed loop cruise) and get off in Nassau for the day. Make sure the birth certificate has a raised seal and is not a copy. And ... his government ID is not expired. 😄 That answer has been wrong for decades Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG65CB Posted July 27, 2023 #19 Share Posted July 27, 2023 On 7/25/2023 at 4:11 AM, Merion_Mom said: Then either that's a new procedure or you had a new worker. I have ALWAYS been asked to show government-issued photo idea in Nassau. We had to show photo ID to get back to the ship in St Kitts, but didn't know it. My wife didn't bring hers off the ship. When returning to the terminal we were stopped at the gate and asked for photo ID. Wife: "I didn't bring my ID" Guard: "Do you live here?" Wife: "No" Guard: "Well then you can't stay here. Go get on the ship" 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BirdTravels Posted July 27, 2023 #20 Share Posted July 27, 2023 On 7/24/2023 at 10:56 PM, 2wheelin said: Good idea to take it but will most likely not need it. We just returned and did not need anything but ship card to return If the ship asks you to carry your driver's license, which it does, your one-off personal experience with a lazy security checker may get someone stuck. Follow the direction of the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2wheelin Posted July 27, 2023 #21 Share Posted July 27, 2023 10 hours ago, BirdTravels said: If the ship asks you to carry your driver's license, which it does, your one-off personal experience with a lazy security checker may get someone stuck. Follow the direction of the ship. That’s why I SAID it’s a good idea to take it. I always take drivers license (enhanced in my case but any will do) wherever I go. Have needed it possibly half the time or less when reboarding. Again my last week experience in Nassau was not a one-off. There were three ships in port and everyone I observed over a period of time was only showing ship card to any of the multiple checkers. It was also not especially busy so they could have asked if they wanted to. If you get checked, you get checked but it is not a given that we all will. I don’t understand why anyone would go anywhere (off the ship) or traveling without ID but some do I guess. In the other extreme, some won’t get off the ship without their passport—rarely instructed to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tardy Posted July 27, 2023 #22 Share Posted July 27, 2023 A US issued drivers license and birth certificate will get you on the ship , off in the Bahamas and back on the ship to return to US . You will need passport to return to US from Bahamas by Air if you have an emergency and need to return immediately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles4515 Posted July 27, 2023 #23 Share Posted July 27, 2023 On 7/25/2023 at 7:05 AM, robmtx said: I must have had the same new worker, because none of us were asked to show anything more than a SeaPass card to enter the cruise terminal in Nassau, Jun 2023. Maybe they are more lax now In 2019 on the daily activity sheet, the cruise director also mentioned it in his announcemnt and there was a sign at the gangway leaving. With all that a member of our group left her photo ID in her cabin and did not have her photo ID returning. So they called the ship and verified her ID from the manifest. She was delayed about 10 minutes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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