Passport AND photo id?

[walkman4]

Hey. We are going to St. Thomas and St. Martin. All of us have our passports except for three children who will be using birth certificates, they are 10, 12, and 14. I am hearing that you need your passport AND a photo id to get back on the ship at these islands. If this is true, what about our three children that do not have photo id's? Will they be ok to get back on? Please help. Also, do they have to show the certified birth certificate to board at Port Canaveral or just a copy? Thanks. :confused:

[Shelli]

Your passport has a photo, so it IS a photo ID. But many here don't bring their passports on the islands (certainly not necessary in St. Thomas, as it is part of the U.S.)-- they just take photo ID, such as a driver's license.

 

As for your children, they'll be fine re-boarding with their Sea Pass card alone. Here is what the Royal Caribbean web site says:

 

"U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the same port in the U.S.) will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate and laminated government issued picture ID, denoting photo, name and date of birth. A U.S. citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issues by DOS, or Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."

 

Although it uses the word "copy" in there when referring to the birth certificates, I highly recommend that you make sure it is a CERTIFIED copy, which means that you get it from the municipality in which the children were born. That way, there will be no chance of losing the original (assuming you have the original!) or chance that this paragraph really does mean "certified copy."

[walkman4]

Thank you for the help.

[TPKeller]

The biggest difference in recent months/years concerning reboarding the ship while in a foreign port is the requirement to present a photo ID along with your seapass card to enter the secure area of the port. I believe this new procedure is at least partly due to new efforts to make travel more secure in general, and it also contributes to the cruise passport exemption which will remain in place even after the June 1, 2009 implementation date of the full WHTI rules.

 

They want to make sure that the holder of a plastic seapass card is actually the right person. They obviously check your photo in their security system when you board the ship, but they still want to keep impostors away from the ship altogether.

 

It is actually a very good question to ask about how this is handled for children. I would have to assume that if they are accompanied by an adult with a proper photo ID and seapass card, they would be allowed to pass, but it may be worth following up a little more carefully since reboarding the ship is a different situation than passing immigration as you return to the US, which is what the cruise line rules are designed to satisfy.

 

Obviously though, this is not a huge problem, or we would have read about it here before now... "HELP!! MY KIDS WERE STRANDED IN [fill in the blank!!!!!]" :rolleyes:

 

Theron

[walkman4]

Thank you Theron. I am a little concerned about it. Not sure what to do about it though. I hear that children can get an id card but am not sure how long that takes. We are leaving in 19 days. (May check and see if they have ANY id card with their picture on it...like a school card.) I am hoping that it will be ok. Have not heard of any children left behind either. ha.

[AllieInMD]

You don't have to - but if it gives you peace of mine - you can go to the local DMV and get an ID card for the kids - take their birth certificate and a parent - think it's like $10 - and it's just a photo id.

 

 

Thank you Theron. I am a little concerned about it. Not sure what to do about it though. I hear that children can get an id card but am not sure how long that takes. We are leaving in 19 days. (May check and see if they have ANY id card with their picture on it...like a school card.) I am hoping that it will be ok. Have not heard of any children left behind either. ha.

[walkman4]

Thanks! Great idea.

[pcur]

If you plan to keep cruising as a family, it might be a good idea to get the kids their passports when you get back. They are good for 10 years, and I can definitely see them wanting to travel between now and 20, 22, and 24. Prime travel years!! :D

 

I just renewed mine, and got it in less than 30 days through the post office.

[AllieInMD]

Actually - for their ages (under 16 or 18) - I believe they are only good for 5 years.

 

 

If you plan to keep cruising as a family, it might be a good idea to get the kids their passports when you get back. They are good for 10 years, and I can definitely see them wanting to travel between now and 20, 22, and 24. Prime travel years!! :D

 

I just renewed mine, and got it in less than 30 days through the post office.

[nrdsb4]

Your passport has a photo, so it IS a photo ID. But many here don't bring their passports on the islands (certainly not necessary in St. Thomas, as it is part of the U.S.)-- they just take photo ID, such as a driver's license.

 

As for your children, they'll be fine re-boarding with their Sea Pass card alone. Here is what the Royal Caribbean web site says:

 

"U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the same port in the U.S.) will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate and laminated government issued picture ID, denoting photo, name and date of birth. A U.S. citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issues by DOS, or Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."

 

Although it uses the word "copy" in there when referring to the birth certificates, I highly recommend that you make sure it is a CERTIFIED copy, which means that you get it from the municipality in which the children were born. That way, there will be no chance of losing the original (assuming you have the original!) or chance that this paragraph really does mean "certified copy."

 

 

None of us are ever given the "orginal." That always stays with the bureau of vital statistics. All we can ever get is the certified copy, which the OP's children will need to board the ship. Any other "copy" would be insufficient.

[pcur]

Actually - for their ages (under 16 or 18) - I believe they are only good for 5 years.

 

That's weird. Did they change the rules in recent years? My son has one from when he was 17 and it's good for ten years.

[RetireeWannabee]

17 might be the age at which it jumps to 10 years. The lifespan of a passport has been shorter for children for some time now.

[TPKeller]

The 5/10 year length of life for a passport switches between 15 and 16 years of age:

 

http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/fri/faq/faq_1741.html#valid

 

Theron

[pcur]

That makes sense, because he was over those ages when we got the passport. I can see holding off with children, as it can get expensive!!

[RoofingPrincess]

The "cutoff" age with passports is 16; one term and fees for under 16, another for 16 and up.

If you're 16 or older when you get it, it currently costs $100 ($75 application fee + $25 execution fee) and it's good for 10 years; otherwise it costs $85 ($60 app + $25 exec) and it's good for 5 years.

[rcurl]

Hello, we are traveling on the Mariner on July 13th and would like to know what documents are required for reboarding the ship. I assumed it was only our sea pass cards. Do we need another form of picture ID as well? Don't the sea pass cards have our pictures encoded on them already?

 

I seem to remember from our last cruise that they did and were digitally read at the gangplank upon returning from port.

 

We are going to Labadee Haiti, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown Gr Cayman and Cozumel Mexico. Do any of these ports require us to show any other id than our sea pass upon reboarding?

 

Thank you for your assistance.

[TPKeller]

Hello, we are traveling on the Mariner on July 13th and would like to know what documents are required for reboarding the ship. I assumed it was only our sea pass cards. Do we need another form of picture ID as well? Don't the sea pass cards have our pictures encoded on them already?

 

I seem to remember from our last cruise that they did and were digitally read at the gangplank upon returning from port.

 

We are going to Labadee Haiti, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown Gr Cayman and Cozumel Mexico. Do any of these ports require us to show any other id than our sea pass upon reboarding?

 

Thank you for your assistance.

Yes! Please read my post #4 on this thread. Due to increased security procedures, you are now required to show a photo ID in addition to your seapass card before you can enter the secure port area. They do check your picture on the seapass system upon boarding the ship, but the security folks at the entrance to the port (usually ranging from several dozen to several hundred yards away from the ship) do not have this equipment available to them!

 

Theron

[kc320]

Hello, we are traveling on the Mariner on July 13th and would like to know what documents are required for reboarding the ship. I assumed it was only our sea pass cards. Do we need another form of picture ID as well? Don't the sea pass cards have our pictures encoded on them already?

 

I seem to remember from our last cruise that they did and were digitally read at the gangplank upon returning from port.

 

We are going to Labadee Haiti, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown Gr Cayman and Cozumel Mexico. Do any of these ports require us to show any other id than our sea pass upon reboarding?

 

Thank you for your assistance.

 

Many (most) times security will ask to see your photo id (driver's license/passport/gov Id) BEFORE you ever go back up the gang way.. then once you are onboard they put your seapass into the machine & log you as onboard...

[DonnaK]

Hello, we are traveling on the Mariner on July 13th and would like to know what documents are required for reboarding the ship. I assumed it was only our sea pass cards. Do we need another form of picture ID as well? Don't the sea pass cards have our pictures encoded on them already?

 

I seem to remember from our last cruise that they did and were digitally read at the gangplank upon returning from port.

 

We are going to Labadee Haiti, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown Gr Cayman and Cozumel Mexico. Do any of these ports require us to show any other id than our sea pass upon reboarding?

 

Thank you for your assistance.

 

The photo ID is not a cruiseline requirement to get back onto the ship. It's to be allowed into the secure area around the ship - Port Authority personnel will check your photo ID before allowing you to approach the ship. (The pier is usually in a gated area.

 

On the Western Caribbean itinerary, we had to show photo ID at all those ports except Labadee. Then we proceeded to the gangway to board the ship, and only had to show our sea pass there.

 

Photo ID does NOT have to be a passport. It can be your driver's license. As well, photo ID is not required for children under 16.

[rcurl]

Another question then if I may. Do you bring your Driver's License with you to shore or make photo-copies of them and use the copies for reboarding? I'd rather not carry my DL or passport unless necessary since we plan to be doing some water activities as a group and wouldn't want these items to go missing if we leave them unattended.

 

What do you suggest?

 

Thanks again

[DonnaK]

We bring our original driver's licenses and our sea pass. We keep them inside our beach bag, if it is going to be left in a secure place, like a boat taking us on a snorkling excursion. If not, you can buy a hard plastic waterproof "wallet" that you wear around your neck or tie onto your swimsuit. My husband has cargo shorts type swim trucks - we put our papers into double ziplock sandwich bags, and then he secures them in the cargo pocket of his swim trunks.