Having trouble getting pre-cruise questions answered

[PhoenixCruiser]

Well.. I'll tell ya this much. 2 years ago, I remember 'them' saying that we NEEDED passports for any sea travel that leaves the country. The only reason I have a passport is b/c i was told for a cruise 2 years ago that I wouldn't be allowed to travel w/out one.. either way, I have a passport now :)

 

We do now as well :D

 

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[Scotty G]

If you say so... but when I was on a cruise 2 weeks ago, we needed a passport to board the boat, and to go through customs. Perhaps a birth certificate and gov't photo ID will suffice but they were not asking for either or when we boarded or went through customs. They asked for passports.

 

This is an interesting observation. Despite the closed loop rules, the phraseology used by port uniformed security personnel and RCL contractors at embarkation and upon leaving the ship before going through customs is; "Please have you passports and tickets out for inspection" and, "Please have you passports and customs declarations ready for Customs." That may have led to Stags14's confusion. We have been using passports when traveling out of the country for many years so we always use them on closed loop cruises.

[LESLIEKURZ]

In December people without passports were having problems getting back on the pier in Nassau. I know that people here keep saying that a birth certificate or a license will do the job and probably that is their experience but what I personally saw was hassle and then some for people without a passport. Just wanted to put that out there.

[Sue L]

In December people without passports were having problems getting back on the pier in Nassau. I know that people here keep saying that a birth certificate or a license will do the job and probably that is their experience but what I personally saw was hassle and then some for people without a passport. Just wanted to put that out there.

 

No, they needed a PHOTO ID of which a passport is one but a license would have been just as good.

[Stags14]

In December people without passports were having problems getting back on the pier in Nassau. I know that people here keep saying that a birth certificate or a license will do the job and probably that is their experience but what I personally saw was hassle and then some for people without a passport. Just wanted to put that out there.

 

They certainly make you believe that a passport is required, and I'm sure at times if you travel with a birth cert and license they give you a hard time. Especially since they do tell you to bring a passport. Anyway... I guess you don't need one but it def makes life easier to have it.

[willysgrandma]

We always take our passport and a credit card off the ship with us (and leave a copy of it in the safe in case we should lose the p/p).

 

If we by any chance miss the ship, we need passports and our credit card to travel to the next city the ship will arrive in. You can't fly with a copy of your passport.

 

We have purchased waterrproof pouches to carry our passports in and even take it int he water swimming with us.

 

While you don't "technically" need a passport for a closed loop itinerary, if God forbid you miss the ship whole in port or have to fly home in an emergency, without that passport you are stuck.

[Sue L]

We always take our passport and a credit card off the ship with us (and leave a copy of it in the safe in case we should lose the p/p).

 

If we by any chance miss the ship, we need passports and our credit card to travel to the next city the ship will arrive in. You can't fly with a copy of your passport.

 

We have purchased waterrproof pouches to carry our passports in and even take it int he water swimming with us.

 

While you don't "technically" need a passport for a closed loop itinerary, if God forbid you miss the ship whole in port or have to fly home in an emergency, without that passport you are stuck.

 

It is more of a hassle but there are systems in place to get those who don't have passports back home.

[mbjonsn]

Passports ARE required to get on the ship at the beginning of your cruise and to return at the end of your cruise.

[nature person]

You have all made me feel alot better again over our upcoming cruise and i thankyou so much, I was pretty disheartened after talking to the woman today and my husbands same experiences. I have heard so many great comments over the gracious service onboard the ship and how elegant the Serenade is ,that we were taken back by a nonprofessional feeling customer service that felt like volunteer people that had no clue over anything Royal Cribbean and with an attitude also. They were referring to each other on thier personal past cruise of were and even referancing from different lines. I was near tears. When you spend so much money for a special trip ,one should beable to expect a polite person at the other end. I would love to leave our passports in the room safe. I just had heard some that we had to go through customs on islands that were countries and show it before getting to boarding. In the safe it will stay . Thanks for the dinner night insight also. we wanted to book one specialty restraunt and I did not want it on a formal/captain night. this helps allot. I will try a specialty coffee shop once or twice ,but hope as some say, that i can just grab a quick free cup occasionally to sit by a window with. and chill. My main other reason we called was over birthday gift certificate our daughter gave us for royal Caribbean trip. our cruise was all paid and we were using it for wine package or something excursion wise. Five different personel gave my husband different opinions on how we could or could not use it. One said it could only be used for cruise payment and now we lost out. One said we could not use it once on board...one said we could not use it unless on board...etc.etc etc. They would not let us use it towards the wine package. Said it had to be on a card and even though its their gift certificate and has certificate account number info on our site ,would not apply it to the cost. i dont get it. Better beable to use iit onboard or we will be upset very discouraging when this was a special gift. It would upset my daughter. I know it will be a lovely trip once we are past this stuff.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Passports ARE required to get on the ship at the beginning of your cruise and to return at the end of your cruise.

 

Good gosh, they are NOT required in MOST cases! Did you not read the entire thread :rolleyes:

 

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[Terpnut]

You don't typically need your driver's license either but it's just always good to have some form of ID on ya. Passports are for getting back home.

No, they needed a PHOTO ID of which a passport is one but a license would have been just as good.

As a government-issued passport is the ONLY internationally and officially-recognized form of identification and citizenship, it serves many purposes beyond just "getting back home". And your state-issued driver's license does not qualify as identification. It will usually suffice in most non-emergency situations for ID purposes, but that does not mean it was ever valid ID. So if anyone truly believes "it's always good to have some form of ID on ya", then it really has to be your passport!

 

I'm not taking a position one way or the other on whether to carry their passport in port or not--most people following previous passport threads know my position on that one. However I do want everyone to reconsider the pervasive, and incorrect, assumption that your state-issued driver's license, with or without a birth certificate, is just as useful or valid as a government-issued passport for ID purposes when overseas, or that passports are useful solely for traversing US borders.

[Cruzin-K]

From Customs.gov

 

U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the same U.S. port) are able to enter the United States with a birth certificate and government-issued photo ID. Please be aware that you may still be required to present a passport to enter the countries your cruise ship is visiting. Check with your cruise line to ensure you have the appropriate documents.

 

http://www.customs.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/fact_sheets/travel/whti_state_factsheet.ctt/whti_state_factsheet.pdf

 

"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.

 

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/eng_sa.html

 

 

I personally wouldn't leave the U.S. without a passport. If you have a medical emergency in a foreign country and have to leave the ship, you will need a passport to get back to the U.S.

[wrp96]

Well.. I'll tell ya this much. 2 years ago, I remember 'them' saying that we NEEDED passports for any sea travel that leaves the country. The only reason I have a passport is b/c i was told for a cruise 2 years ago that I wouldn't be allowed to travel w/out one.. either way, I have a passport now :)

 

 

That's because the government changed their mind at the last minute (twice) and decided not to implement the rules. Imagine if they hadn't made the big push for people to get their passports because they might not implement it but then decided to implement it after all. There'd be a bigger mess.

 

The one thing is that those people that did get passports as a result of that push are okay no matter what. And for now the closed loop exception is there for those that don't have a passport.:)

[Sue L]

You have all made me feel alot better again over our upcoming cruise and i thankyou so much, I was pretty disheartened after talking to the woman today and my husbands same experiences. I have heard so many great comments over the gracious service onboard the ship and how elegant the Serenade is ,that we were taken back by a nonprofessional feeling customer service that felt like volunteer people that had no clue over anything Royal Cribbean and with an attitude also. They were referring to each other on thier personal past cruise of were and even referancing from different lines. I was near tears. When you spend so much money for a special trip ,one should beable to expect a polite person at the other end. I would love to leave our passports in the room safe. I just had heard some that we had to go through customs on islands that were countries and show it before getting to boarding. In the safe it will stay . Thanks for the dinner night insight also. we wanted to book one specialty restraunt and I did not want it on a formal/captain night. this helps allot. I will try a specialty coffee shop once or twice ,but hope as some say, that i can just grab a quick free cup occasionally to sit by a window with. and chill. My main other reason we called was over birthday gift certificate our daughter gave us for royal Caribbean trip. our cruise was all paid and we were using it for wine package or something excursion wise. Five different personel gave my husband different opinions on how we could or could not use it. One said it could only be used for cruise payment and now we lost out. One said we could not use it once on board...one said we could not use it unless on board...etc.etc etc. They would not let us use it towards the wine package. Said it had to be on a card and even though its their gift certificate and has certificate account number info on our site ,would not apply it to the cost. i dont get it. Better beable to use iit onboard or we will be upset very discouraging when this was a special gift. It would upset my daughter. I know it will be a lovely trip once we are past this stuff.

 

 

You have a gift certificate? If yes read the fine print, it most likely has to be redeemed ahead of time in order to be used, they apply it to your on board account. If you just bring it with you they will NOT be able to apply it.

 

Here is the link to redeem it. IT MUST BE DONE BY 10 DAYS AHEAD OF TIME, SO TODAY IS YOUR LAST DAY TO DO IT

 

https://www.royalcaribbeancertificates.com/redeem.aspx?

[starlake]

Golly, this whole passport thing.

You do not need a passport on closed loop cruises.

Port authorities all use the term passport, when they are talking about your identification. The reason, most people now carry a passport.

 

Nature person,

You can see from the assorted answers here, what the problem is with questions sometimes. I will say, that I have received a ton of information through the years from Cruise Critic, so if you have more questions ask away, people always are willing to answer. You normally get more correct answers here than you would from some of the RC reps. This has been a problem with RC for years.

I have found with RC that once you cruise and if you become a member of Crown and Anchor Society, their representatives are much more knowledgeable about certain things.

Enjoy your cruise, it will be wonderful.

[roysmith99]

Trying to get any questions big or small answered over the phone by a Royal Caribbean employee has been very nerve racking though.

 

That's the main problem of course, you'll get better answers in CC than from RCI. Also, everythign you need ot know will be available in your cabin when you get aboard.

 

Just ask away, any help that we can give, we will. But avoid asking RCI if you want a practical answer.

 

.

[OttoCal]

What Sue said.

Seriously, get on this NOW, you can't use the gift cert on board!!! You have to redeem it online and it will be applied to your onboard account. And I fear it is 10 business days ahead of the cruise, I hope you are not too late :eek::eek::eek:

 

 

 

You have a gift certificate? If yes read the fine print, it most likely has to be redeemed ahead of time in order to be used, they apply it to your on board account. If you just bring it with you they will NOT be able to apply it.

 

Here is the link to redeem it. IT MUST BE DONE BY 10 DAYS AHEAD OF TIME, SO TODAY IS YOUR LAST DAY TO DO IT

 

https://www.royalcaribbeancertificates.com/redeem.aspx?

[romnan]

We are going on our first cruise with royal Caribbean on April 10th from San Juan to the Southern Caribbean. very excited. We know the Serenade of the Seas is a lovely ship and we will have a great time. Trying to get any questions big or small answered over the phone by a Royal Caribbean employee has been very nerve racking though. We can get five different answers and all think they are correct or mostly no one seems to know any answers and go off to find someone and after being on hold a long time ,they will still not know or act like they care. For instance..asked about passports on excursions.i was told today that it was a personal decision whether to carry mine onto Granada, st Martin etc . Did not know if i would experience any issues coming back onboard without. They should know this. we keep being very patient on these calls,but its getting frustrating.This lack of caring personel we have experienced or knowledge of simple stuff has un-nerved us. Do you get to know the 2 formal nites as i did on past cruise? They could not tell us. has anyone else experienced this? On our first cruise last year on another line..we always could call a friendly person for questions. Taken alittle of the glow off my excitement.

Please understand that you are dealing with RCCL call center.If you have any experience with call centers,you are not always going to get the response to your question in the way you want it.

Truthfully you would be better off in relying on this web site and previous cruisers for general information. I have been cruising for over 12 years and very rare is the occasion that I call the cruise line.

In addition if you have booked thru a Travel Agent the cruiseline will and should direct you to your TA. I hope this helps

[EVALUATOR]

It is more of a hassle but there are systems in place to get those who don't have passports back home.

 

There are definitely procedures in place to get back into the US.:) I know first hand.:mad: I won't give the details on the procedures, but it can be done. :rolleyes:

 

Rule #1 you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your relatives. Although you might have to pick them up at immigrations.

 

Rule #2 staying on ship's time greatly enhances the chances of being on board when the ship leaves port.:eek:

[DB4Tim]

Customer service at RCI ....is horrible, lousy and just plan sucks.....sorry but the truth.:o

We are going on our first cruise with royal Caribbean on April 10th from San Juan to the Southern Caribbean. very excited. We know the Serenade of the Seas is a lovely ship and we will have a great time. Trying to get any questions big or small answered over the phone by a Royal Caribbean employee has been very nerve racking though. We can get five different answers and all think they are correct or mostly no one seems to know any answers and go off to find someone and after being on hold a long time ,they will still not know or act like they care. For instance..asked about passports on excursions.i was told today that it was a personal decision whether to carry mine onto Granada, st Martin etc . Did not know if i would experience any issues coming back onboard without. They should know this. we keep being very patient on these calls,but its getting frustrating.This lack of caring personel we have experienced or knowledge of simple stuff has un-nerved us. Do you get to know the 2 formal nites as i did on past cruise? They could not tell us. has anyone else experienced this? On our first cruise last year on another line..we always could call a friendly person for questions. Taken alittle of the glow off my excitement.

[PrincesScuba]

Customer service at RCI ....is horrible, lousy and just plan sucks.....sorry but the truth.:o

Do you have a specific problem to report, or did that just come out of you spontaneously?

[Gracious Rose]

We must be one of few, we have never had any issues with any reps or vacation planners we speak with when we call C&A at Royal....Actually, we always have a good time talking with them! We're alone on this, i know, lmao. Just had to mention it b/c I read so many posts about bad customer service when you call RCI..:rolleyes: As others stated, Formal nights are the second night on board (or first full day) and 2nd to the last night on board. Wether to you take your passport or not is personal choice. We do, you dont need to, take your drivers license if you're concerned.

 

You are not alone on this, I have had nothing but great people that dealt with my concerns about anything. The woman who booked my cruise, contacts me once every four weeks or so to see if everything is all right and if I need anything. She's wonderful. She emails me from time to time and tells me that I'm getting nervous and to calm down. She's a gem. :)

[broberts]

OP, please, please, please learn to use paragraphs in your posts. A continuous stream of text that spans more than a couple of lines becomes very difficult for some of us to read.

 

With respect to RC's customer service lines. Unfortunately they are like most corporations and see CS as a cost to be minimized. Never trust any answer you manage to get from a rep unless you get two others giving you the same answer. For important things, get them to send you an email so you have some form of proof of what was said.

 

With respect to carrying passports ashore. You will need your SeaPass card and a government issued photo id to re-enter the cruise terminal area in most ports. If for some reason you get left behind in a port a passport will facilitate catching up with the ship or retuning home. (If you don't have a passport and are on an island you will have to obtain some form of emergency travel document to fly.)

 

A photocopy of the id pages of your passport would only be useful in obtaining a replacement passport since it has the passport number. In other words, it is useless to carry ashore.

 

You have to weigh the benefit of carrying your passport in foreign countries against the risk that you might loose it or it might get stolen. Personally I generally carry my passport when I go ashore in a foreign country. But I've always done this, from the age of 16, when I got my first personal passport. (Long, long ago minors were generally included on a parent's passport.)

[LBcruzman]

We are going on our first cruise with royal Caribbean on April 10th from San Juan to the Southern Caribbean. very excited. We know the Serenade of the Seas is a lovely ship and we will have a great time. Trying to get any questions big or small answered over the phone by a Royal Caribbean employee has been very nerve racking though. We can get five different answers and all think they are correct or mostly no one seems to know any answers and go off to find someone and after being on hold a long time ,they will still not know or act like they care. For instance..asked about passports on excursions.i was told today that it was a personal decision whether to carry mine onto Granada, st Martin etc . Did not know if i would experience any issues coming back onboard without. They should know this. we keep being very patient on these calls,but its getting frustrating.This lack of caring personel we have experienced or knowledge of simple stuff has un-nerved us. Do you get to know the 2 formal nites as i did on past cruise? They could not tell us. has anyone else experienced this? On our first cruise last year on another line..we always could call a friendly person for questions. Taken alittle of the glow off my excitement.

I have noticed a deterioration of customer service at RCL over the last year or so. Before that, never noticed it. Some Customer Service Reps are the BEST!!! STILL!!!

 

But wow, some are really getting attitudes, I mean they even say things like, well the cutbacks have everyone upset, etc. The cutbacks not only effect the customers, but the employees as well, probably more so, I mean if as customers we who sail RCL see and notice the cutbacks, think of what it must be like working for them?