Passport

[wrp96]

My husband and I are going on our 5th cruise and we do not have passports. We have never had a problem. As far as disembarkation, we have always gotten off the ship without any problem. As a matter of fact, the people beside us in the terminal had passports and they were stopped and we went right through. They may help, but they don't guarantee that you will get off quicker. It's just a matter of who they decide to spot check.

 

Umm, I don't know where you cruise through but they check everybody's ID coming back into the country. If they didn't check yours, then you need to report it as a violation of immigration policy. Now they may have had something on their custom's form that caused them to be pulled aside for a spot check though.

 

I can honestly say in my 3 cruises last month, that going through immigration it took less time to get passed through with the passport, less than a minute once I was at the desk. But I got to stand there and watch all the people with birth certificates in front of me getting really scrutinized.

[alli]

I've had a passport since I was six years old and I'm now approaching the half century mark ( I like that term better then fifty). At one piont in my life ( after a hurricane where we lost everything), it was my ONLY form of ID.

Now for the embrassing part, I let it expire.....ten years goes by so fast when your older and I didn't notice till my husband booked our May 7th cruise last week . We started a folder with the tickets, paperwork, etc. and we just happened to open my passport and saw it was expired.

I have the DL and the proper birth cert., so that's not a problem. But can you still travel on a passport that expired a few months ago? Obviously, I don't have time to renew before the trip.

 

Alli

P.S. Please try and refrain from any snide remarks about letting your passport expire........we all do dumb things!

[IBookHePays]

Your quote says "This is my First of Many"...so why WOULDN'T you get a passport!

[zantedeschia]

Now for the embrassing part, I let it expire.....ten years goes by so fast when your older and I didn't notice till my husband booked our May 7th cruise last week . We started a folder with the tickets, paperwork, etc. and we just happened to open my passport and saw it was expired.

I have the DL and the proper birth cert., so that's not a problem. But can you still travel on a passport that expired a few months ago? Obviously, I don't have time to renew before the trip.

 

Actually, that's the funny thing about passports. An expired passport is still a valid form of ID and proof of citizenship. Take the expired passport, it should still work. Take the other documents as well, just in case.

[rgnok]

But can you still travel on a passport that expired a few months ago? Obviously, I don't have time to renew before the trip.

 

Assuming you are a US Citizen, then yes, until the end of this year when you will be required to have a valid (meaning, among other things, non-expired) passport, you can still cruise to the Caribbean, Mexico, etc. with the expired passport and it will work as your ONLY ID, satisfying both the ID and proof of citizenship requirement -- my mother did this just a couple of months ago. The RCCL web site even says this (they say "A passport (either valid or expired) is highly recommended . . . In the absence of a passport, a birth certificate (original, notarized copy or certified copy), plus a picture ID. . ." ).

[alli]

This is kinda what I figured. It's going to be sorta a pain to lug around the birth certificate ( just in case), but I'm the dummy here.

As soon as we return, I'll be shipping off the passport for renewal. I'm a firm believer that in this day and age every citizen ( whether they travel overseas or not), should have a passport.

[grangermom]

We just got off the AOS two days ago. None of us had passports, and there were no glitches at all. Nobody moved past us because of a passport. There was a 10-yr-old with my friend's family who didn't even have a certified birth certificate. Her mom (who wasn't with her) sent her with a pink thing that the hospital staff hand-wrote when she was born. The nurse signed it, and it had the baby's little footprints on it. My friend didn't know about it until they got there. She was very worried, but RCI let her on board, no questions asked. Then, when the immigrations people checked everybody in St. Thomas, she got through again.

 

Calling people cheap is a bit arrogant. We've all got different budgets, and $100 can be alot of money. If you don't want "frugal" people on your cruise, maybe RCI isn't the right line for you.

[geniseg_2000]

I really thought there were nice people on these boards. After reading the rest of the thread I've changed my mind. I was under the impression that I could ask a newbie question and get an answer without be criticized. I now see that it's true.

 

I won't get into my finances, but I don't have a "boatload" of money right now. My husband was out of work for a year and after returning decided to surprise me with this cruise. So I'm trying to spread money in the most important places first. If I'm lucky enough this will be "the first of many" cruises I'm fortunate enough to go on.

 

Some of you really know how to ruin a girl's day :(

[Jeanie821]

I really thought there were nice people on these boards. After reading the rest of the thread I've changed my mind. I was under the impression that I could ask a newbie question and get an answer without be criticized. I now see that it's true.

 

I won't get into my finances, but I don't have a "boatload" of money right now. My husband was out of work for a year and after returning decided to surprise me with this cruise. So I'm trying to spread money in the most important places first. If I'm lucky enough this will be "the first of many" cruises I'm fortunate enough to go on.

 

Some of you really know how to ruin a girl's day :(

 

I'm sorry that you feel that way. I can't speak for everyone on these boards, but only for myself, and not knowing your situation, I was merely trying to offer advice to make embarkation/debarkation easier.

 

Knowing what I know now, I would say this: Call the cruise line and make sure that you can board and disembark with the certified birth certificate and driver's license. Then, when you come back, start saving your pennies for that passport - I guarantee you that this will be the first of many cruises and that the passport will not go to waste!

 

Enjoy your trip - I mean it!

[grangermom]

You really don't need to call anyone to ask about your driver's license and birth cert. It says right on the documents, and on-line check-in, that they are acceptable.

 

I'm sorry you got flamed on here. That happened to me by some travel agent, and I was not happy. I left the boards for while, but couldn't stay away. There are plenty of nice people on here, and you can get some valuable information. Make sure you check all the boards for the various ports you're visiting.

 

What a wonderful hubby you have. Have a great time, and get out those birth certificates!

[Mike_mc]

Will I need passports for my kids also??????

[grangermom]

If you are travelling in '07, everyone will need a passport.

[nrdsb4]

We just got off the AOS two days ago. None of us had passports, and there were no glitches at all. Nobody moved past us because of a passport.

 

It just depends. When we got off the AOS, they had a separate line for those with passports. We marched right on by all the people with birth certificates and heard a lot of complaining about it.

 

It will be a moot point after passports become mandatory. Once everyone has one, there will be no more "advantage."

[negc]

Will I need passports for my kids also??????

 

Yes, in 2007 everyone will need passports including kids (they cost a little less and are good for five instead of ten years).

[zantedeschia]

I really thought there were nice people on these boards. After reading the rest of the thread I've changed my mind.

People are not being mean. They're being practical. They're being realistic. If one wants to travel out of the country, pretty soon they're going to need a passport. I've been listening to people complain about this topic for as long as I've been reading cruise critic (a couple years?).

 

If one does not want/is not able to get a passport, then one must resign themselves to not being able to travel outside the country, consequently they won't be able to go on cruises.

 

I'm sorry you felt you were chastened, my advice would be don't take it so personally. When I started accessing public bulletin boards (my gosh, 22 years ago now) for the longest time I was too intimidated to post. People are just expressing their opinion, it's not that big a deal. Sometimes it makes me feel better to yell back at them too. :)

 

Me? I got my passport over 20 years ago out of necessity, I married an Australian and we wanted to travel to Australia to meet his family. Once I got it, it was like wow, this is a really neat thing to have. It is, don't be discouraged from getting one because of the cost or the hassle.

 

PS: If you think people reacted strongly, it's probably because this topic does come up every couple days with inevitably people whining about the new requirements. They're just tired of it.

[JaimeS]

I have an old passport, I got it 11 years ago I believe...will this help me at all or just stick to good old BC and Drivers License? Thanks!

[rgnok]

Yes, assuming you're a US Citizen (US Passport), it will work for now (until valid passports become required next year).

 

Also, assuming it was a 10 year passport, you can still renew it by mail just by filling out the form on-line, printing, and including the old passport and new photos. Much more convenient than having to appear in person to do a "new" passport. US Passports can be renewed by mail as long as they were ISSUED within the last 15 years.