Don't have a passport...

[sbelle]

I will be taking my first cruise in about 2 weeks and was told by my travel agent that a passport is not necessary as long as I have a copy of my birth certificate and valid drivers license. We booked this cruise last minute and I do not have ample time to get a passport. Will I be ok?

 

Thanks so much for your help!!!

[eh2zed]

I will be taking my first cruise in about 2 weeks and was told by my travel agent that a passport is not necessary as long as I have a copy of my birth certificate and valid drivers license. We booked this cruise last minute and I do not have ample time to get a passport. Will I be ok?

 

Thanks so much for your help!!!

It is possible but we would need to know what ports you are visiting. In any event contact the cruise line directly and inquire asap.

[daveco58]

as long as any flights involved are domestic, i.e. Florida - you are fine. If you are flying to or from the ship in some non US port, you better do it before January 31

[CPT Trips]

A copy of the birth certificate MUST be an "official" issued by the state or county (depending on how things are done where you live). It needs the official seal!

[cruiserbryce]

If you're flight is domestic and you will be coming back to a US port then you will be fine. The date for requiring passports keeps getting extended. I would certainly recommend a passport before your next cruise

[cb at sea]

You will be fine! None of the Caribbean countries require a passport--it's only the United States! And if you're cruising, you don't need it yet!

[dforeigner]

You will be fine! None of the Caribbean countries require a passport--it's only the United States! And if you're cruising, you don't need it yet!

 

Assuming that the the OP's first cruise is to the Caribbean.

[Wylie Coyote]

If it turns out that you need a passport quickly. You can get one the same day you apply if you make an appointment at a designated passport office and visit in person with the required documents within two weeks of your planned departure. We did this last year for our trip to Germany and my traveling partner had a passport the same day (his original passport was destroyed in the laundry, HA) for a $155 fee. Here is the link to the US Gov Passport office: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

 

Happy cruising. :D

[jdbmga]

I don't need a passport to cruise to the western Caribbean? A TA told us that we needed them. We are cruising in July.

[sbelle]

I was told that I didn't need one. Travel agent said that the date for requiring a passport to cruise had been extended for another year. I just wanted to be sure and not get caught off guard at embarkation. That would stink!!!

[pms4104]

sbelle ... for your peace of mind, suggest you go directly to the horse's mouth and check with the Feds for a defiinitive answer.

[*CruiseFan*]

I don't need a passport to cruise to the western Caribbean? A TA told us that we needed them. We are cruising in July.

 

I would get one just to be safe, to be honest. I have one but my name needed to be changed so I just sent off to get a new one (well, "renewal" of sorts I guess). They're good for 10 years (at least mine is, maybe it's 15 for some), so I would go ahead and get them. They're coming back very quickly right now, but when they actually DO enforce the rules requiring passports there will be another rush. I'd get it while you don't have to worry about expediting, etc. But that's just my 2 cents, and it's only worth about that, LOL!

 

And to answer your original question, I'm not sure! I would call your cruise line and double check :)

[kitty9]

Why the reluctance to get passports? It just makes everything easier. Do you realize if you have an emergency and need to get home early from a cruise that if you don't have a passport, you will go through so much trouble trying to leave the ship? Passports will eventually be required for everyone, so just do it. I'm not sure if Congress passed the extension for requiring passports, but as of now, you need a passport if you're cruising after June 30, 2008. And, if you're flying into or out of Canada for an Alaska or Canada cruise, passports are already required. For any flight out of the US to any foreign country, inlcuding Mexico and Canada, you need the passport right now.

[cherylandtk]

I'm not sure if Congress passed the extension for requiring passports, but as of now, you need a passport if you're cruising after June 30, 2008. .

While the rest of your reasons for considering a passport are all good suggestions and something to consider, this part of your statement is incorrect.

 

There is no passport requirement for RT from the US cruises to the WHTI countries (most Caribbean cruises) nor will there be one when the WHTI is full implemented. A certified BC and government issued ID will be acceptable.

http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/index.shtm

[BeverlyS]

I'm cruising in May from Miami, to Key West then to Calica.... I'll be honest... we're on a very strict budget and I don't want to spend the extra $95 a person to get a passport for the three of us. That money can be spent on an excursion or something else. We all have birth certificates with the seal, so we are planning to have them with us...

 

This is what I found: Land and sea travel: From January 31, 2008 to summer 2008, U.S. citizens traveling to or from the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico via land or sea ports must present a government-issued photo ID in addition to proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. (A voter’s registration card and social security card are not considered to be proof of citizenship.) Children under the age of 16 do not require a government-issued photo ID.

 

I'm hoping that's good enough!

 

Bev

[jdbmga]

I didn't want to spend the $ either but I didn't want to risk losing my birth certificate so I applied for passports.

[BeverlyS]

Well, I already have duplicate copies of both of my girls birth certificates so I'll be okay if I lose one... and to get a copy is only $32... I'm going to order a duplicate of mine, just to have in case....

 

Bev

[cherylandtk]

Bev,

Yes your BC and ID will be fine. Even after the next phase of WHTI which now cannot happen earlier than June of 2009.

 

http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/index.shtm

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1200669485238.shtm

[BeverlyS]

Yeah!!! Thank you!

 

Bev

[kitty9]

Well, I already have duplicate copies of both of my girls birth certificates so I'll be okay if I lose one... and to get a copy is only $32... I'm going to order a duplicate of mine, just to have in case....

 

Bev

 

 

I understand being on a budget, but if you ever plan on cruising again, you are going to need the passport.

[BeverlyS]

Thanks, I realize that... I'll be cross that bridge when I come to it....

 

Bev

[cherylandtk]

I understand being on a budget, but if you ever plan on cruising again, you are going to need the passport.

Darcie,

most cruises will not require the passport, even after all the new rules go into effect.

[kitty9]

Darcie,

most cruises will not require the passport, even after all the new rules go into effect.

 

 

Who determined that? I thought that once passports were going to be required, nothing was exempt, not even cruises? I know that for me, when we had to be medically evacuated off the ship last year, we needed the passports and if we didn't have them, it would have been a huge problem. We landed at the executive airport in FLL and they had a US Customs agent come on board the private med jet to check passports. Thank God we had them.

[cherylandtk]

Darcie,

The DHS determined it June 20, 2007. When the final proposed regulation was published, after the public comment period, new wording was in the WHTI NPRM. (This is the rule that is now not going into effect until after June 2009, and the new wording is what will be implemented at that time). They made some exceptions in certain cases where passports will specifically not be required, and US citizens on round trip cruises are one of the exceptions. So are members of the Kickapoo tribe and kids under 15 on school trips.

 

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1182350422171.shtm

http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/

http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/#3

 

So..Don't need passports now and won't need passports later for these cruises. And while it is technically possible to change the rule yet again, it would have to go through all the publication, waiting periods and public comment; a process that for this version has taken 3 and half years and is still not complete. And more importantly, there is no plan in the works or law that would require such a rule change from what has been published.

 

Now, in the case you described, where a medical evac flight occurs, a passport is needed. And if for nothing other than that, emergency flights, I would recommend a passport. But that is just my personal advice, not the law.

[ehfl]

The new rules will be in effect by the time you go. You WILL need a passport in order to return to the US.

 

Call your cruise line and find out what your options are if you cannot get a passport in time....then fire your travel agent.