Pass Port Info

[Dadoftwins]

Hello,

 

This has probably been covered over and over again on this board, so I will start with an apology!

 

My wife and I will be cruising for the first time since Jan of last year and since the passport requirements have changed. We did not know of the changes until recently and are too close to departure to get a passport. (Hey we had twins, leave us alone! I know this news is not new!)

 

Carnival tells us we can still use the birth certificates and DL we have used before, however, when I call the Dept of State they say we will not be able to get off the ship in Belize and the web site says that we will not be able to get off in Cayman. I get conflicting information and I do not know who to believe!

 

Has anyone recently visited Mexico, Cayman, and Belize with just a birth certificate and DL and were you able to get off and most importantly, back on the ship?

 

Any help is welcome! And again sorry for bringing up an old subject!

 

Joe

[TexasSmiles]

When are you cruising? I believe unless something recently changed you must have a passport if you are traveling after Dec. 31, 2006. If you are cruising after that time you still have plenty of time to get a passport. The longer you wait however the longer it may take since more passports will be issued the closer it gets to the end of the year.

 

Woo hoo....getting closer....12 days and counting. Oh my gosh, I can't hardly contain myself :) :)

[tocruzagain]

I have not personally recently cruised to the ports you are concerned about, but a good friend of mine just cruised there mid-July. None of them had passports, and yes, they did get off the boat in Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel without any problems. I believe the passport requirement begins after Dec. 31, 2006 for see travel to the caribbean and Mexico. There is LOTS of information on this topic so just do a search.

[Byn]

There are passport offices where you can get your passport in one day... but it will cost you a fortune to get it.

Byn

[Zyzygy]

We just went to Belize and Cozumel on Glory last week.

 

We had passports, so did not encounter the specific question you raise.

 

But lots of people on the cruise had only birth certificates, and there were no special announcements about them not being able to leave the ship, so I assume it should be no problem.

 

Be sure to have a picture i.d. with you (such as a driver's license), as well as the birth certificate, except for kids under 16.

[zqvol]

Please be aware that the passport requirement deals with entering and leaving the US , not foreign countries. Everyone seems to say that there have been no rule changes and that birth certificates are OK for entry into foreign countries. This is probably correct because usually you do not need anything to leave the ship in a foreign port. You need an ID and your sign and sail card to get back on but that it all.

 

If in doubt check with the foreign countries, not our state department, because although they can give you good info the foreign governments controls who enters and leaves their countries and the requirements.

[PlanoDebbie]

You can also pay some extra money for an expedited passport. When I did mine about 6 years ago, they told me it would take 4 - 6 weeks filing the regular way, but about 2 weeks for expedited service. Since my flight was 6 weeks away. I couldn't take the chance of going the regular route. I easily had my passport in about 2 weeks.

 

Good luck,

[Fun, Fun 44]

Before December 31, 2006 you are good to go with birth certificate and picture id. I was told the id can't be over 4 years old. I know a couple that it took 11 weeks to get their passports. Was also told if your cruise leaves last few days of December and you return After January 1, 2007 you need a passport to return.

Kat

[suzy671]

Have you called the cruise line to see what they say?

[JulieMcCoy]

You are fine until Dec. 31, 2006.

[dst]

My mom and I were on the Glory in July, we went to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize....I have a passport, mom does not. Neither of us ever left the ship with anything but our DL and one other form of ID....never had an issue. They check you getting back on the ship (via they pic ID stand) so there really is no need for any worries.

[joejo]

Wowzers! Passports sure take a long time in the states!

 

I'm canadian and we were told by our TA right at booking that we would need a passport for Belize.

 

We went and dropped our passport applications off in person on a Friday and they were delivered to my door the next Friday and that was just using the regular method.

[bguppies]

Wowzers! Passports sure take a long time in the states!

 

I'm canadian and we were told by our TA right at booking that we would need a passport for Belize.

 

We went and dropped our passport applications off in person on a Friday and they were delivered to my door the next Friday and that was just using the regular method.

 

I think the demand and time to get them back could have to do with the total population of Canada versus the US.

 

Isn't the population of just the NY metro area alone, larger than the entire population of Canada? (not that a lesser demand on services is a BAD thing. :D )

 

Bill

[EngIceDave]

Wowzers! Passports sure take a long time in the states!

 

I'm canadian and we were told by our TA right at booking that we would need a passport for Belize.

 

We went and dropped our passport applications off in person on a Friday and they were delivered to my door the next Friday and that was just using the regular method.

 

 

C'mon, what are there, like a couple dozen Canadians?

How hard could it be?

[BND]

When you apply for your passport there is a place to put when you are traveling out of the country. The person who verifies your info will note the date and if it's close will let you know how to expedite it. The passport office also notes the date. I have a friend who went to the State Dept and had hers done in one afternoon as she was traveling out of the country on an emergency family trip and her old one had expired and her toddler daughter needed one. If you live close enough to a passport office you can easily have it in one day and I'm not sure of the cost. As far as I know the date is still 31 Dec 06 even though it's been attempted to delay it. If it took someone 11 weeks, it may have been because they had to investigate something There are several reasons passports do not get done on time. They have to investigate whether there are outstanding federal warrants, back child support owed and a few other things before one can be issued. 11 weeks probably means something else was up or had to be cleared up. That's a long time. 6-8 weeks seems to be the extreme. Mine took 2 weeks last year.

[nursewurmy]

according to the carnival site it is now Jan 8, 2007