Pass Ports

[Fitnessmaniac]

My MIL and a friend are sailing out of Galveston on the Voyager. It's a 7 days cruise to Caribbean.

My MIL has a passport..but...her friend does not. The friend has a birth certificate. Will this be enough?

Thanks

[GTO-Girl]

My MIL and a friend are sailing out of Galveston on the Voyager. It's a 7 days cruise to Caribbean.

My MIL has a passport..but...her friend does not. The friend has a birth certificate. Will this be enough?

Thanks

 

She can board with a "certified" birth certificate (must have a raised seal) and her drivers license.....

[Gonzo70]

If the cruise starts and ends at the same port, all that is required is a state issued birth certificate (not the souvenair type certificate the hospital sometimes gives you) as well as a valid photo ID such as a driver's license. If the friend missed the ship in a foreign port or had to leave the cruise in a foreign country due to medical reasons though, it would make for much more work (and time) to be able to get back to the U.S. - as such if it is possible for him/her to get a passport, that is advisable, though not required.

[TravelerThom]

Note that the Government issued photo ID [eg Driver's License] needs to be in the same name as the OFFICIAL birth certificate, or the names should be tied together through certified official documents [such as marriage certificate]. These documents are not always asked for, but that's what the rules say, and you could be denied boarding if they are not in hand.

 

Thom

[reeran]

If she has time to get one I suggest she get a passport. They are good for 10 years (I think) and she will not have to worry.

[Bulldog3777]

According to the State Dept website, as of June 1, 2009, you must have a passport to enter the US by air, sea or land. I dunno. Just getting ready to renew my passport after my Feb 21 Mariner cruise. Have another one scheduled for June 6. My question was, if it doesn't make it back in time I can always use a certified copy of my birth certificate? The answer given to me was "No".

[Mango Tango]

Note that the Government issued photo ID [eg Driver's License] needs to be in the same name as the OFFICIAL birth certificate, or the names should be tied together through certified official documents [such as marriage certificate]. These documents are not always asked for, but that's what the rules say, and you could be denied boarding if they are not in hand.

 

Thom

We were on the Majesty a couple of weeks ago. We have passports, but our friends (first time cruisers and married for 32 years) did not. While they were getting checked in at the port, RCCL asked them for their marriage certificate. They didn't bring it with them, so RCCL was going to deny them to board the ship. :eek:

 

They were sent to the Pier coordinator's lounge. They made some phone calls and were able to get a copy of the marriage certificate faxed to the port in Miami. During the hour that it took to get the documentation, about five other couples were sent to the pier coordinator for the same reason. One couple had been married for 52 years and was being denied boarding because of no marriage certificate with them! I wonder how many others during the afternoon were in the same situation.

 

What makes me mad is that I called RCCL a few days after booking this cruise to ask if our friends needed a passport. They said just a drivers license and a certified birth certificate. They never mentioned a marriage certificate.

 

PLEASE BE AWARE...If you don't have a passport and your name on your birth certificate is different from your drivers license or ID, BRING YOUR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE!

[yakdaddy42]

why have all the headache just break down and get the passport its good for 10 years, you need it to go to Canada or mexico

[reeran]

why have all the headache just break down and get the passport its good for 10 years, you need it to go to Canada or Mexico

 

 

Passports will probably be needed for all cruises in the very near future. It just saves you a lot of aggravation!

[andrzej5914]

If the ONLY international travel they plan on doing is US, Canada, Mexico Bermuda and all the Caribbean nations and it will be by land or sea, then they may opt for a Passport Card. It's $45, so some significant savings over the $100 plus for a passport book, but they would need to be reminded that it can't be used for international air travel, only travel by land or sea between US and it's closest neighbors that agreed to Western Hemisphere travel agreement.

 

The passport card is also good for 10 years and is the size of a DL.

 

Here is the info:

 

http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html

 

 

Just another option.

[Hobiecat01]

We were on the Majesty a couple of weeks ago. We have passports, but our friends (first time cruisers and married for 32 years) did not. While they were getting checked in at the port, RCCL asked them for their marriage certificate. They didn't bring it with them, so RCCL was going to deny them to board the ship. :eek:

 

They were sent to the Pier coordinator's lounge. They made some phone calls and were able to get a copy of the marriage certificate faxed to the port in Miami. During the hour that it took to get the documentation, about five other couples were sent to the pier coordinator for the same reason. One couple had been married for 52 years and was being denied boarding because of no marriage certificate with them! I wonder how many others during the afternoon were in the same situation.

 

What makes me mad is that I called RCCL a few days after booking this cruise to ask if our friends needed a passport. They said just a drivers license and a certified birth certificate. They never mentioned a marriage certificate.

 

PLEASE BE AWARE...If you don't have a passport and your name on your birth certificate is different from your drivers license or ID, BRING YOUR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE!

 

Mango Tango is right regarding having the same name on all docs. My DW had one heckofa mess with her GA Drivers License having her first birth name, her last maiden name as her midddle name and her present last name. Her US passport had her birth middle name (The name she goes by), maiden last name and present last name as did her Social Security Card (Not used for ID... just noted).

 

The state of GA required that her GA Drivers license carry her birth names... period - end of discussion. After having issue after issue (and almost being turned away from a cruise once), she had her name legally changed to match her US Passport and in turn had her name changed on her drivers license as well.

 

These name issues differ greatly from state to state (we had no issue when we lived in SC), but after discussing it, we decided to match everything up to her one (now legal) name on her passport. Case closed... after costing $200 for a name change.

----------------------------

Sea ya!

Ron and Lee

Canton, Ga

Proud RCCL Platinum Member

"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,

in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

We are proud Oasis Camel Cruiser – April 17, 2010

The Oasis Camels Website

Previous Cruises – 59 Days at Sea!

Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982

Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999

Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002

RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005

RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006

RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08

Planned Cruises

RCCL Oasis of the Seas – Our Friends Cruise - April 17, 2010

RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011

The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?

Princess Cruises - The Med – 14 day – 2013?

[andrzej5914]

Mango Tango is right regarding having the same name on all docs. My DW had one heckofa mess with her GA Drivers License having her first birth name, her last maiden name as her midddle name and her present last name. Her US passport had her birth middle name (The name she goes by), maiden last name and present last name......

 

.......(and almost being turned away from a cruise once)

 

I don't get it. If she has a passport why is she showing her DL to the cruise people?

[fumelkin]

As long as it is a closed looped trip you leave and start in the US it will be ok for now. However, if something happens to you outside the US it will be very difficult to get you back into the US. I would suggest getting a Passport or Passport card. The turn around is pretty quick now do it shouldn't take more than 4 to 6 weeks. Yes always bring marriage cert or divorce cert with you!

[Jimnbigd]

Passports will probably be needed for all cruises in the very near future. It just saves you a lot of aggravation!

 

I predict passports will eventually be required for all air travel including solely within the USA. I use my passport for ID at airports.

[reeran]

I predict passports will eventually be required for all air travel including solely within the USA. I use my passport for ID at airports.

 

So do we, it is just easier.

[lcguy]

Depending on the itinerary, passport cards will not work... ie. Belize and Honduras and Colombia.

[ikirumata]

Invest in the passport. Its really no hassle. Considering its good for 10 years, its not that expensive. Just make an appointment at your local post office to get your picture taken and forms filled out. I got mine in about 3 weeks...and that was around holiday time!

[negc]

Passports will probably be needed for all cruises in the very near future. It just saves you a lot of aggravation!

 

On what solid source of information do you base your statement?:confused: The government has been changing, adjusting, making exceptions to the passport regulations for years now but the latest regulation allows cruisers who are departing from and returning to the same port to travel with only a government issued ID and a certified official birth certification. That has been in effect for approximately one year and no changes are imminent (which is what I take "the very near future" to mean). Any further changes to the passport regulations require that the proposed changes be published in the Federal Register, a period for public comment provided, and only after that period can such changes go into effect. This is a time-consuming process and since none of those steps has been initiated, I believe that your assumption of a change in "the very near future" is pretty much without credibility.

 

Having a passport is a very good idea but rushing to get one based solely on an imminent change to the rules which isn't going to occur in even the remote future isn't necessary for the type of cruise being discussed.

[RooksWS6]

Depending on the itinerary, passport cards will not work... ie. Belize and Honduras and Colombia.

 

lcguy, i'm wondering where you got this information. I would love to read up on it. My family is booked on a cruise that goes stops in Belize and Honduras in May. We were planning to get the passport cards as they seem to be the most economical and reasonable option (IMHO) for us. We are fairly avid cruisers, but currently that's about as much travel outside the US that we do. I spoke with a Carnival rep and was told that the passport card would eliminate the need for a BC and that the only thing it does not cover is air travel, which I was already aware of. Would love to know where you are getting your info on these specific ports. TIA

 

Lindsey

[newbiecruiser09]

then they may opt for a Passport Card. It's $45, so some significant savings over the $100 plus for a passport book, but they would need to be reminded that it can't be used for international air travel, only travel by land or sea between US and it's closest neighbors that agreed to Western Hemisphere travel agreement. .

 

However, if something happens to you outside the US it will be very difficult to get you back into the US. I would suggest getting a Passport or Passport card.

 

The Passport card CANNOT be used to return to the US by air, only land or sea port. I can't understand why you would bother with the passport card for cruising when your DL will do about as much good (neither will help if you need to return by air). Get the full passport!

[GXmanDC]

If the cruise starts and ends at the same port, all that is required is a state issued birth certificate (not the souvenair type certificate the hospital sometimes gives you) as well as a valid photo ID such as a driver's license. If the friend missed the ship in a foreign port or had to leave the cruise in a foreign country due to medical reasons though, it would make for much more work (and time) to be able to get back to the U.S. - as such if it is possible for him/her to get a passport, that is advisable, though not required.

 

My youngest brother joined us for a cruise last month, he never got his passport despite my numerous reminder messages. His check-in process took longer. The RCI rep gave him a speech about the difficulty of getting back to the US should he miss the ship. For the first time in 24 years he arrived early, getting back to the ship long before he had too at every port. :)

[imsulin]

To reiterate what Hobiecat01 posted: For some reason down here in the South it was/is very common for a woman to get her DL under First name/Maiden name/Married name. I'd never seen this before, and I never understood it. It created problems when I worked as a TA here for several years. The only thing the DL and the BC had in common was the First Name. Legal middle name was replaced by Maiden name. I always advised getting the DL re-issued with the Legal first and middle names (instead of maiden name) and married last name, and to bring along the marriage certificate. After a few years of this, I just advised getting a Passport.

[TravelerThom]

To reiterate what Hobiecat01 posted: For some reason down here in the South it was/is very common for a woman to get her DL under First name/Maiden name/Married name. I'd never seen this before, and I never understood it. It created problems when I worked as a TA here for several years. The only thing the DL and the BC had in common was the First Name. Legal middle name was replaced by Maiden name. I always advised getting the DL re-issued with the Legal first and middle names (instead of maiden name) and married last name, and to bring along the marriage certificate. After a few years of this, I just advised getting a Passport.

maiden name n. A woman's family name before she is married. Used of a surname that is replaced by a woman when she marries. Also called birth name.

 

Are you saying that the maiden [aka birth] name was not on the BC:confused::confused: That's rather hard to believe.

 

Thom

[lindabythesea]

Please be aware that Royal Caribbean is enforcing the rule regarding the name matching if you are bringing birth certificate and driver's license. If the names are different, you must bring a copy of a document tying the two names together. Best choice is passport (register for the cruise exactly as your passport reads). If Birth Certificate, bring everything you can.

[Citizen Jane]

Invest in the passport. Its really no hassle. Considering its good for 10 years, its not that expensive. Just make an appointment at your local post office to get your picture taken and forms filled out. I got mine in about 3 weeks...and that was around holiday time!

 

In fact, as I posted elsewhere I paid the extra $$ for expedited service for my passport renewal and received mine back in 8 days (they quoted 2-3 weeks for expedited). I wanted to make sure I had it in time for our March 8th cruise...no problem!:)

 

ITA agree with everyone here about the passport. For some reason my SIL has never become a citizen (despite living here for at least 25 years, having two kids here and having a husband who is a naturalized citizen). It was a total PITA for the rest of the family (except for us...we traveled down separately :D) to get onto the ship and off the ship again because she was traveling with a Green Card (she is Korean). All her documentation was in order, but anything other than a passport really can slow you waaaaaaay down.

 

And, my biggest fear is missing the ship and having trouble leaving a foreign country by air because I don't have a passport.