Last minute Mexico cruise -- ID and passport questions.

[kath00]

We are looking to book a cruise in 3 weeks on the Mariner with our children. DH and I have drivers' licenses but our passports have expired. Kids have no id since this is their first time out of the country.

 

Do we need to get passports for ourselves renewed ASAP (We'd have to pay rush for it) and do the kids need some sort of ID or birth certificate?

 

DD #1 just turned 10 and DD #2 is 5. Thank you!

[Cruisin' Chick]

As long as you don't have to fly home from Cabo or one of the other ports, you may be okay with just your photo ID. But you will need to have the official copy of your kids' birth certificates (you should have them anyway). Make sure they have the raised seal.

 

I would check on the offical website for the US Passport agency anyway to double check.

 

After my first cruise (Mex. Riv), I applied for my first passport and I know that in the next several months, I should renew mine (expires this year). Also have to get my daughter's renewed this year too (got her last one in September 2005). Which will mean planning for when she's off of school --or waiting til early summer, and when hubby and I can both go with her.

[yogi2929]

As Cruisin'Chick says make sure your kids have the correct birth certificate. An Affidavit of Live Birth or hospital one will not work.

[kath00]

OK thanks. So I just called RCCL and they said that I need MY birth certificate in addition to driver's license??? I have no idea where my BC is, let alone my DH's. Probably in a vault someplace with his parents in Illinois. Is that right?? Do they really want adult birth certs??

 

I do have both kids' real BC's so that's not an issue...

[andreadan]

Yes, birth certificates need to comply with the newest Homeland Security requirements. In other words, here in California, our legal documents like birth and marriage certificates are on official and uniformly the same "State of California" paper, etc. Not the county issued documents. Check with the state in which you and your husband were born.

[yogi2929]

You need valid passports or BC & DL.

 

vitalcheck.com is a great resource for birth certificates, etc.

 

You can use your expired passports (I used my 15yr expired passport) to get new ones.

 

What are you going to use in May?

[kenish]

Sorry but I'm not sure where everyone is getting their information, as it's largely incorrect or outdated. The BC option was only viable until last June for adults (still OK for your kids). Here is the official source courtesy of our friend, Google: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html You need at least a Passport Card to travel to Mexico by land or sea, and a full Passport to fly. There's a few other uncommon documents that will work as well but most people don't have them. Since you're from CA and we don't have enhanced DL, that will not work.

 

Also as pointed out earlier, if you need to fly home unexpectedly from Mexico it will either be a royal pain to re-enter the US or you may be completely denied re-entry. Chances are your cruise will probably be great, but what if there's an illness or injury, a family or property emergency at home, or a business issue?

 

I renewed my son's passport during a busy period when people were trying to meet the June 2009 deadline. We were not in a hurry, but his renewed passport arrived in 3 weeks (although they said to allow up to 6 weeks).

 

Last comment, it's the responsibility of the carrier (cruise line, airline, etc) to ensure your paperwork is complete and correct. If you're denied entry they must return you to your point of origin at their expense. Therefore it's not uncommon for them to impose requirements that exceed the governmental ones. For example last spring/summer some cruise lines were requiring either a passport or passport card before the June deadline.

[jayk59101]

this is copied and pasted from the official us governement website.

 

"Closed Loop" Cruises: U.S. citizens who board a cruise ship at a port within the United States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship may present a government issued photo identification, along with proof of citizenship (an original or copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization). Please be aware that you may still be required to present a passport to enter the foreign countries your cruise ship is visiting. Check with your cruise line to ensure you have the appropriate documents.

[kath00]

OK shoot so we need a DL AND a BC. Since I was born in Europe, I am going ot have to get my passport renewed and put it in express move. SIGH. Plus DH has no idea where his BC is so I guess he'll need his passport renewed in a rush also.

 

Better head to the post office Monday...

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Katherine

[Rellyrooly]

Kenish-I actually thought that was true as well. In fact, I found out I was wrong when I called the passport agency and was advised of the closed loop exception. There was a time that they were going to change the law but they kept this loophole. The agent did advise me, however, that the cruise lines can, at their discretion, require a passport. She did say that she hasn't heard of them turning people away if they have their BC but they hold the power to do so.

 

I am a firm believer of having passports anyway. People say "Oh, what is the likelihood of getting stranded and needing it?" I am here to tell you of someone I know being on a cruise, getting sick, went to the hospital, had to stay for 3 days, and obviously missed their ship. This occurred in Mazatlan and he had to fly home from their using his trip insurance. If he didn't have his passport, he would have had a real hard time getting home and probably would have had to contact the US embassy. Lesson is, passports are $$ well spent for piece of mind.

[kenish]

I stand corrected as I wasn't thinking of closed-loop cruises. However the points about unexpected interruptions should be considered.

[kenish]

I stand corrected as I wasn't thinking about "closed loop" cruises. That said, the comments about a passport being golden in case of emergency should be considered.

 

kath00- Definitely give the State Dept website a good read. It sounds like the documents may be different depending on whether you were born as a US citizen, were naturalized later, or are a resident non-citizen in the US under some other status. One of the sub-links has a good "flash card" showing what is accepted for different citizenship and travel situations.

[kath00]

Thank you guys. We are probably going to move our cruise to March just in case. DH and I both would feel safer if we had our Passports.

 

I moved to the US from Europe in 1980 (I was a kid back then) so I really don't have any other form of ID aside from a DL and our expired passports. I believe my parents and I were naturalized in 1985 or so. NO idea where any of that paperwork could be. I think we are just going to renew our passport and get it overwith.

 

I should also get the kids passports too while we are at it, huh?

 

Katherine

[mjesf]

Thank you guys. We are probably going to move our cruise to March just in case. DH and I both would feel safer if we had our Passports.

 

I moved to the US from Europe in 1980 (I was a kid back then) so I really don't have any other form of ID aside from a DL and our expired passports. I believe my parents and I were naturalized in 1985 or so. NO idea where any of that paperwork could be. I think we are just going to renew our passport and get it overwith.

 

I should also get the kids passports too while we are at it, huh?

 

Katherine

 

Definitely get the kids passports too. It will make life so much easier for them (and you!)

 

I would also suggest that you ask for expedited processing.

[Rellyrooly]

I would definitely get the kiddos theirs as well. I just got our kids done; submitted on Jan 4th and got them Jan 21st! They originally told us to expect to receive them around Feb 14th. It was incredibly quick! I would still maybe not count on that though. What sail are you looking at? We are sailing Mariner March 21st.

[kath00]

Mariner March 21st!!!!

 

We were going to do Feb but will delay due to the Passport issues. I think if we submit the renewals this week, we should have them back by the 21st of March, right?

 

I think we are gonna leave the kids behind this time. It's not their Spring break yet and DH and I wanna get away. Plus, he is all excited about playing basketball on deck with all the college kids who will be on. :) He is young at heart, even if he is an out of shape 40 year old...

 

Katherine

[Rellyrooly]

Katherine-

 

If you do wind up booking the 21st, make sure you join the roll call under the meet and mingle section. We will have our kids with us as it is their spring break. We will be driving in from PHX. My SIL and BIL will be with us as well. Sounds like we are around the same age as you guys. You should definitely have your passports back by then but I wouldn't wait much longer to get it done. Let me know if you do wind up booking that date so we can keep in touch as the time approaches.

[kath00]

Sounds good. We love kids (and don't mind seeing a bunch of them on the cruise) but we would prefer not to have ours to worry about/babysit and cater to 24/7 for a change, if you know what I mean... ;)

 

Looks like the 21st is a go. DH is going to talk to his boss tomorrow about getting away. My schedule is clear for that week so I think we are game.

 

Looks like we will get an Owner's Suite too! YIPEEE. :D We'll sign up for the roll call as soon as we hear back. RCCL allowed us to put a 24h "tentative hold" on the cabin, which is very nice of them given that the sail date is less than 2 months away. But we need to give deposits tomorrow.

 

Katherine

[Rellyrooly]

Yeah, I hear ya, it sure would be nice to get away without kids for a change. Our kids are really easy actually, especially on cruises. They never seem to want to be near us and always want to go to the kids clubs. Ours are a little older at 13 and 9.

 

Good luck on confirming your res!