passports?

[ddunn]

are passports needed for 8 yr olds?

 

western caribbean....7 nights.........

 

Thanks!

Denise

 

My granddaughter has one that expires the day before we leave!

[Cotton]

Passports are not required at this time, if you are departing and returning to a U.S. port.

[ddunn]

thanks.

 

I am afraid to apply for her new passport, for fear i wont have her birth certificate etc back or the passport before we cruise.......then i would be in trouble.

 

i have always used her passport before, but childrens expire in 5 years, adults in 10......hers expires a day before we sail.

 

If we dont need it, i will apply for it when we get home........

[JRock59]

Take it with you even if it's going to expire it might help you board just a little faster.

[snipper2]

Passports will be required for everyone next summer, so be sure to get her one when you return.

[ddunn]

Take it with you even if it's going to expire it might help you board just a little faster.

yes, i think i will.

 

Passports will be required for everyone next summer, so be sure to get her one when you return.

 

oh i will do that. I am just afraid to go try to get it now, because what happens if the passport doesnt come in time, and they still have the birth certificate? LOL...i would be in trouble.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Passports will be required for everyone next summer, so be sure to get her one when you return.

 

Passport questions are confusing enough. Please do not make the issue any more confusing with erroneous information.

 

As long as your cruise starts and ends in the same U.S. port a passport will not be required now or AFTER June 1, 2009.

 

Bill

[snipper2]

So the issue is not confused, this is from the US Dept of State website. I agree it is subject to interpretation. Of course, it is always best to have a passport.

 

 

 

LAND AND SEA TRAVEL

The following summarizes information available on the Department of Homeland Security’s website.

• CURRENTLY:
  U.S. citizens need to present either (a) a passport, passport card (scheduled to be in full production beginning in July 2008), or WHTI-compliant document; or (b) a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate.
  
• LATER:
  On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have a passport, passport card, or WHTI-compliant document.

Note: The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

So the issue is not confused, this is from the US Dept of State website. I agree it is subject to interpretation. Of course, it is always best to have a passport.

 

 

 

LAND AND SEA TRAVEL

The following summarizes information available on the Department of Homeland Security’s website.

• CURRENTLY:
  U.S. citizens need to present either (a) a passport, passport card (scheduled to be in full production beginning in July 2008), or WHTI-compliant document; or (b) a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate.
  
• LATER:
  On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have a passport, passport card, or WHTI-compliant document.

Note: The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory.

 

You are incorrect....

Heres the part you have to dig a little deeper to find:

 

How will the final WHTI requirements affect passengers going on cruises?

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 government-issued photo ID. 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 issued by DOS, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Please be aware that you may still be required to present a passport when you dock at a foreign port, depending on the islands or countries that your cruise ship is visiting. Check with your cruiseline to ensure you have the appropriate documents for the stops you’ll be making on your cruise.

[Monty'sMum]

Hey, I've got a great idea... instead of bickering about who's right and who's wrong about the logistics of needing a passport, just go and get one!!!

 

Unless you plan on spending the rest of your life only in the US of A or on a cruise ship leaving and returning to the US, it would be in your best interest to have one. :rolleyes: :p

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Hey' date=' I've got a great idea... instead of bickering about who's right and who's wrong about the logistics of needing a passport, just go and get one!!!

 

Unless you plan on spending the rest of your life only in the US of A or on a cruise ship leaving and returning to the US, it would be in your best interest to have one. :rolleyes: :p[/quote']

 

Not bickering. Just making a correction to a post and trying to answer the OPS question. BTW I have held a passport for over twenty five years just did not find it necessary to cloud the answer.

[Pitboss32]

Just because it might say that you won't have to have a passport to cruise ....How do you know Carnival won't implement it on their own to say that you have to to sail?

[Monty'sMum]

But what you posted clouds the issue just as much since it mentions the fact that the traveller may need a passport for entry into countries they may visit during the cruise, just not to get back into the US.

 

I get this question all the time from US travellers visiting my company's hotels in Canada. My advice is always to bite the bullet and get the passport. It's called 'CYA'.

 

I'd rather travel with my passport issued by the federal govt than risk whether my birth certificate and/or photo ID get the all clear from whatever officials are looking at them. I don't even use my license and birth certificate at the border when driving from NB to ME, I show my passport.

[ddunn]

Hey' date=' I've got a great idea... instead of bickering about who's right and who's wrong about the logistics of needing a passport, just go and get one!!!

 

Unless you plan on spending the rest of your life only in the US of A or on a cruise ship leaving and returning to the US, it would be in your best interest to have one. :rolleyes: :p[/quote']

 

i was mainly wanting to know, because our granddaughter has a passport, but it expires ( just realized this today) hers is only good for 5 years, ours are good for 10......

if i mail off her birth certificate etc to get her passport, it may not be back here in time for the cruise, then i will be with out passport or birth certificate. So i thought if she didnt need it, i would just wait till we got back to apply for it. Hers expires Sept 13, 2008. We leave the 14th.

 

I think i just read where you can pay extra and get it back sooner, which i might do, then i will have peace of mind.....

Thanks!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

i was mainly wanting to know, because our granddaughter has a passport, but it expires ( just realized this today) hers is only good for 5 years, ours are good for 10......

if i mail off her birth certificate etc to get her passport, it may not be back here in time for the cruise, then i will be with out passport or birth certificate. So i thought if she didnt need it, i would just wait till we got back to apply for it. Hers expires Sept 13, 2008. We leave the 14th.

 

I think i just read where you can pay extra and get it back sooner, which i might do, then i will have peace of mind.....

Thanks!

 

To answer your original question, No you don't need a passport at this time to cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Birth certificate and govt ID is all that's needed for 16 and older. Under 16 just birth certificate.

 

Bill

[ddunn]

To answer your original question, No you don't need a passport at this time to cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Birth certificate and govt ID is all that's needed for 16 and older. Under 16 just birth certificate.

 

Bill

 

Thanks Bill !

[cherylandtk]

Just because it might say that you won't have to have a passport to cruise ....How do you know Carnival won't implement it on their own to say that you have to to sail?

Because Carnival's passport/documentation page has already been updated to reflect that closed loop cruises won't need them. Cruiselines asked for the exception, they claimed it would be financial suicide if most cruisers had to have passports. It would also leave them in breach of their fiduciary duties to their stockholders if they turned away customers for not having a passport when the government does not require one.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

But what you posted clouds the issue just as much since it mentions the fact that the traveller may need a passport for entry into countries they may visit during the cruise' date=' just not to get back into the US.

 

I get this question all the time from US travellers visiting my company's hotels in Canada. My advice is always to bite the bullet and get the passport. It's called 'CYA'.

 

I'd rather travel with my passport issued by the federal govt than risk whether my birth certificate and/or photo ID get the all clear from whatever officials are looking at them. I don't even use my license and birth certificate at the border when driving from NB to ME, I show my passport.[/quote']

 

That's fine but it was not the OP's question. How you travel is up to you. U.S. travelers only traveling to Canada, land crossings, have a cheaper alternative the "Passcard" which you might want to mention.

[Monty'sMum]

No, I wasn't responding to the OP. I was responding to you and another poster both posting info from the US govt website about passports and trying to decide who's info was more valid. :rolleyes:

 

The OP mentioned in a follow-up post about 'peace of mind'. That's all I'm trying to get at with my posts. I understand the OP's granddaughter doesn't need a passport for this particular trip but 'peace of mind' would be brought by having it for future trips as the OP intends to do.

 

I never mentioned the 'passcard' in my posts because I've heard of nothing but problems and confusion with it and it is my understanding that it won't help you if you're travelling beyond Canada and the US.

[zqvol]

There is a lot of misinformation about the need for passports that appears whenever anyone asks the question. The cruise lines are free to impose any rule that they want to allow you on their ships. Most will go along with the US government in deciding whetehr or not to require passports for entry into the US. (Other countries set their own rules and if they require a passport for a cruiser to enter their contry then that is the rule. At this time no Carribbean countries require cruise passengers to have passports if entering and leaving by cruise ship).

 

The US rule is very clear. Passports are not needed now, nor will they be needed anytime in the future under the current rules for cruise passengers on closed loop cruise (begin and end at the same port).

 

The rule is clearly spelled out in the Code of Federal Regulations which can be accessed here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-6725.pdf

 

The relevant discussion is on page 8 in the right hand column.

 

BTW this has nothing to do with whether you should or should not have a passport when you leave the country. That is another matter entirely and everyone has theor own opinion about that question.