Residency Discount Questions

[SusieV]

What exactly is necessary to prove a residency discount, and does your ID have to match where your home address is?

 

For example, snowbirds. We have friends who live here in Canada most of the year and live in Florida during the winter. They have Florida driver's licenses. Can they claim a Florida residency discount even though their registered address with Celebrity is in Canada?

[greeneg]

A residency discount is a discount that is applied for the benefit of cruisers who live in specific states that Celebrity wants to target. You do have to have government issued documents that prove you live where you say you do ( drivers license, etc). If you can't prove where you live you may be not allowed to board or, I suppose, be forced to pay full freight.

 

Hope that's helpful.

[Orator]

What exactly is necessary to prove a residency discount, and does your ID have to match where your home address is?

 

For example, snowbirds. We have friends who live here in Canada most of the year and live in Florida during the winter. They have Florida driver's licenses. Can they claim a Florida residency discount even though their registered address with Celebrity is in Canada?

 

Do your friends have a FL license or a FL ID card? Only a FL resident can get a FL driver's license. The key question is: What do they claim as their legal residence? To be a legal FL resident requires that you reside there at least 6 months and 1 day.

[cruisestitch]

Do they have Canadian or US passports?

[kitty9]

If they use a Canadian passport, they will not be able to use the discount. At least that's what happened to our friends who are snowbirds from Ottawa. Despite having a Fla driver's license, they have a Canada passport.

[Oville]

If they use a Canadian passport, they will not be able to use the discount. At least that's what happened to our friends who are snowbirds from Ottawa. Despite having a Fla driver's license, they have a Canada passport.

 

This is a bit confusing. There are many people who live in the States full time but have foreign passports. I would think that if you're a a full time resident Of FL (6 mos, 1 day) you would get the discount.

 

Susie, since your friends are residents of Canada and part time in FL, I don't know how the cruise lines would treat them. My advice, give the line a call and see what they have to say.

 

We live in FL for 7 months and Massachusetts for 5, and we would not be able to take advantage of a Mass discount.

[Orator]

Can you vote in FL? Do you qualify for a FL Homestead Exemption? Can you be called for jury duty in Florida? Can you obtain a legal Florida drivers license? If you can't do at least one of these things legally, you're not a Florida resident and do not quailify for a Florida resident discount. I live in PA 5 months per year in a house I own. I cannot vote in PA, Get a PA driver's license. Serve on a PA jury, or get a real estate exemption (if there would be one). Therefore, I am not entitled to a PA resident rate if one is posted. Clear? There will always be cheaters (never on this board of course) and I guess if there's a will and a lack of good character, there is a way.

[smtcan]

If they use a Canadian passport, they will not be able to use the discount. At least that's what happened to our friends who are snowbirds from Ottawa. Despite having a Fla driver's license, they have a Canada passport.

 

We travel on British passports but live permanently in Ontario. We have used Ontario resident discounts on several cruises and have never been asked to show any documents. We do have Ontario drivers licenses, Social Insurance cards and book our cruises with our Canadian address where we have lived for the last 30 years.

Sheila

[CathyCruises]

We live part time in California and part time in Idaho; DH and I have Idaho licences which we will show to claim our residency discount on our next cruise, even though the address X has for us is California.

[SusieV]

Can you vote in FL? Do you qualify for a FL Homestead Exemption? Can you be called for jury duty in Florida? Can you obtain a legal Florida drivers license? If you can't do at least one of these things legally, you're not a Florida resident and do not quailify for a Florida resident discount. I live in PA 5 months per year in a house I own. I cannot vote in PA, Get a PA driver's license. Serve on a PA jury, or get a real estate exemption (if there would be one). Therefore, I am not entitled to a PA resident rate if one is posted. Clear? There will always be cheaters (never on this board of course) and I guess if there's a will and a lack of good character, there is a way.

 

I don't think they are trying to cheat the system- they just asked me if their driver's licenses would qualify them for FL residency discounts even though their "main" address is in Canada.

 

Cathy- does that mean you are able to get discounts either from California or from Idaho? That sounds like a similar situation.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

All I could find on the X website was that "A valid driver's license or state-issued ID will be required for validation at the pier" under the "Why do you need to know this?" info box next to the "What state or province do you live in?" dropdown box on the departure information page found while booking a cruise online. A search of the cruise contract for the word "residency" turned up nothing, nor did a quick perusal.

 

As Orator said, if a cruiser can produce a valid DL or ID, that's what makes them a resident of that state in the eyes of X. However, he's incorrect in stating that only Florida residents can obtain a Florida DL-- here's a link to the Florida DMV website page regarding licenses for non-US citizens--http://www.dmvflorida.org/drivers-license-nc.shtml And it wouldn't be a requirement to have actually lived in the state for at least six months, just 30 days. In fact, you're required to get a FL license within that time-- http://www.dmvflorida.org/drivers-license-oos.shtml This would not apply to snowbirds who are in Florida for over 30 days but have not established residence there; that is, actually moved and changed their address. Probably not worth the trouble to establish residency by renting a cheap apartment in Florida for a month and switching licenses just to get a residency discount, but, as X defines residency, it would not be cheating.

 

X doesn't care if you actually live or have lived 51% of the time in that state or not. The question came up on another thread about what happens if someone moves between the time they book the cruise and when they sail, and the answer was that their residency is defined by X as the state showing on their DL or ID when they board. It simplifies the boarding process immensely. No need to do government database searches or require affidavits, just "Let's see your card."

 

So if someone considers themselves to be a resident of another state, actually spends more time in another state, or is a citizen of another country, it's immaterial. It's what's on their DL or ID. I would think kitty9's friends' experience may have been an aberration and smtcan's experience more typical.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Regarding the subject of cheating-- our definition and X's definition may not always be the same. I learned a while ago that two couples from two different states, only one of which qualifies for a residency discount, can book one person from each couple in each cabin to claim the discount for both. They can then switch cabins once aboard. Guest Services will recode the SeaPass cards for the two people switching to open the doors of the "correct" cabins, or else will issue a separate card that will only open the door (reports vary on what they will do). No need to sneak around or misrepresent your intentions, they are perfectly fine with this. I would have considered it cheating, but was told by four different Celebrity reps, including reps from Captain's Club, that this was perfectly acceptable. One even suggested something similar (actually, it was booking one Captain's Club member and one non-member in each cabin so both could take advantage of the CC upgrade for inside and OV cabins, but it was in the same vein as the question I was about to ask) before I could finish posing the question. For our upcoming cruise, I now have myself and DFIL booked in one cabin, DW and DMIL in the other, in case a senior discount pops up.

 

The gist of what I'm trying to say is that we might look on it as cheating if someone is not an honest-to-goodness bona fide actual resident of the state, but X may not. Their only concern, apparently, is whether or not they have a driver's license or other ID, figuring this will be adequate in at least the vast majority of cases.

[Orator]

All I could find on the X website was that "A valid driver's license or state-issued ID will be required for validation at the pier" under the "Why do you need to know this?" info box next to the "What state or province do you live in?" dropdown box on the departure information page found while booking a cruise online. A search of the cruise contract for the word "residency" turned up nothing, nor did a quick perusal.

 

As Orator said, if a cruiser can produce a valid DL or ID, that's what makes them a resident of that state in the eyes of X. However, he's incorrect in stating that only Florida residents can obtain a Florida DL-- here's a link to the Florida DMV website page regarding licenses for non-US citizens--http://www.dmvflorida.org/drivers-license-nc.shtml And it wouldn't be a requirement to have actually lived in the state for at least six months, just 30 days. In fact, you're required to get a FL license within that time-- http://www.dmvflorida.org/drivers-license-oos.shtml This would not apply to snowbirds who are in Florida for over 30 days but have not established residence there; that is, actually moved and changed their address. Probably not worth the trouble to establish residency by renting a cheap apartment in Florida for a month and switching licenses just to get a residency discount, but, as X defines residency, it would not be cheating.

 

X doesn't care if you actually live or have lived 51% of the time in that state or not. The question came up on another thread about what happens if someone moves between the time they book the cruise and when they sail, and the answer was that their residency is defined by X as the state showing on their DL or ID when they board. It simplifies the boarding process immensely. No need to do government database searches or require affidavits, just "Let's see your card."

 

So if someone considers themselves to be a resident of another state, actually spends more time in another state, or is a citizen of another country, it's immaterial. It's what's on their DL or ID. I would think kitty9's friends' experience may have been an aberration and smtcan's experience more typical.

 

You are essentially correct. A non-citizen can and must get a FL license; however, a U.S. citizen cannot unless they surrender their license from another state. That's what happened in my case. My guess is that it has to do more with insurance requirements than anything else. A foreign company may not cover claims in the US.They took and mutilated my PA license. A US citizen can get a Florida ID which permits them to drive in FL. The question is really mmot since most people can figure out where they are legal residents. Hope to sail with you soon.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Yup, I was aware that they will confiscate/destroy your old license when you get the new one. I believe that's pretty much standard in all states, more so for regulatory purposes than insurance. I'm an ex-trucker, and it used to be a common practice for a driver (not me) to have driver's licenses from multiple states. Rack up too many speeding tickets with your Ohio license? Just show Smokey (yes, truckers have talked and still talk like this) your Indiana one. Computer records have done away with that, but you can still only have one license, period, to avoid confusion and possible identity problems.

 

The point is that one does not need to have resided in Florida for six months, or even be an American citizen, to legally obtain a Florida DL. It still comes down to the original question-- if you have a Florida DL or ID, can you legitimately claim a Florida residency discount? The answer would seem to be yes, regardless of what your legal status is. The only proof of residency X requires is a DL or ID, so their idea of residency is not necessarily the same as ours. It could be that if one spends enough time and/or effort in the state to have been able to obtain the necessary ID, that's good enough for them to consider you enough of a resident for the purposes of marketing a lower fare to you. I doubt actual legal status has any direct bearing on their ability or willingness to offer a lower fare.

 

And we'd enjoy sailing with you again, someday, as well!:)

[CathyCruises]

I don't think they are trying to cheat the system- they just asked me if their driver's licenses would qualify them for FL residency discounts even though their "main" address is in Canada.

 

Cathy- does that mean you are able to get discounts either from California or from Idaho? That sounds like a similar situation.

 

Well, if the discounts had been better (significantly) in California, I probably would just have gotten a new license--we lived in Idaho the last 6 years and weren't sure if we were going back or not; we probably won't be but still aren't 100% sure.

 

I don't think I would have been able to get a CA discount without some sort of official state ID, however.

[RodPat]

We have booked many times with a NJ resident discount and never were we once asked to show ID. Also booked with a military discount and brought my husband's DD214 with us and again was not asked to produce it. I am not saying that someone won't ask for id but since we have never lied, I really did not care if they asked or not.

 

Pat

[cruisestitch]

We should also note that Celebrity might have a certain mailing address on file, but that doesn't need to correspond to your place of residency. Ask yourself, where do you vote? If you were in the National Guard, what state would you represent? Where could you serve on a jury? Do you have a US passport and what address do you have listed there? If you have a non-US passport but have a green card, what address does that list? What did you put down on the most recent census as your home address? Where would you be eligible to pay in-state university tuition?

 

To many non-US citizens, it seems odd that residency is so often ill-defined, but that it how it is in the States -- every citizen is supposed to have one place of residency, but sometimes it's a bit fluid. If you own two homes, for instance, it should be the place where you spend one more day than at the other place. But with so many people traveling, even that's a hard criterion to meet.

[SusieV]

Yeah, this is too confusing for me. I'll just tell them to email X with the specifics and see what they say. I'm guessing it'll be OK since they do have valid ID but they generally use their Canadian passports for the Set Sail pass so maybe they have to use the DL instead, I don't know.

[Oville]

If you own two homes, for instance, it should be the place where you spend one more day than at the other place. But with so many people traveling, even that's a hard criterion to meet.

 

We do own two homes and trust me, the individual States are quite diligent making sure you are not staying in your non-resident home beyond 6 mos. less 1 day. It's pretty easy to track where you are using you credit cards and making and receiving phone calls.

 

Susie, I'm sure someone will be able to help your friends when they call Celebrity. Call often enough and no doubt there will be a few different answers.;). You're a good friend giving them a hand with this.

[SusieV]

We do own two homes and trust me, the individual States are quite diligent making sure you are not staying in your non-resident home beyond 6 mos. less 1 day. It's pretty easy to track where you are using you credit cards and making and receiving phone calls.

 

Susie, I'm sure someone will be able to help your friends when they call Celebrity. Call often enough and no doubt there will be a few different answers.;). You're a good friend giving them a hand with this.

 

Thanks. LOL I'm the "travel planner" for my family and friends since I actually like doing all the little details.

[cruisestitch]

Actually I think it can be quite difficult to track "residency" in some cases if the two potential residences are close to each other. I live near the border of my state. I have a second home in the neighboring state. I can go back and forth in a matter of a couple of hours -- figuring out where I spend the majority of time is nearly impossible. I know because I tried to work out which of the two would be most advantageous to declare as my "home" state tax-wise, and realized that it would be quite easy to orchestrate it either way, being in one place more than another. I picked the one that created the best tax situation, no surprise! If the second home is a longer distance away, it's not so hard to show which is a primary and which is a secondary residence, but with close proximity, it can be tricky. There were implications for insurance as well, that I had to take into account, and things like which state to register a car in (one turned out to be LOTS cheaper than the other in that regard!)

[Oville]

But of course that can happen but if the residences are not all that close it can be a nightmare. My SIL and hubby have homes in Manhattan, CT and FL with Florida being their primary residence They also have a son and family living in Paris who they visit a few times a year for multiple weeks. Although FL is there primary residence both NY and CT have come after them for taxes owned. Fortunately they've won both cases but it is not difficult to track down where people are spending their time.

 

Of course Susie, none of this applies to your Canadian friends, so pardon the interruption.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

We should also note that Celebrity might have a certain mailing address on file, but that doesn't need to correspond to your place of residency. Ask yourself, where do you vote? If you were in the National Guard, what state would you represent? Where could you serve on a jury? Do you have a US passport and what address do you have listed there? If you have a non-US passport but have a green card, what address does that list? What did you put down on the most recent census as your home address? Where would you be eligible to pay in-state university tuition?

 

As far as the census test-- I worked for the Bureau of the Census as a field enumerator, more commonly known as a census taker. Their criteria is where you spend the majority of your time. I interviewed an attorney whose office was a converted residence, but it still had living quarters. He told me that he often spent the night there while working on cases, probably an average of four days a week. He was very surprised and a little upset to find out that that was his residence, not his expensive home in the suburbs. Some snowbirds who said they spent May 2 through October 31 in Wisconsin (183 days) were not happy when I told them that Florida was not their usual home, at least for the purposes of the census, even though they purposely stayed in Florida for "six months plus a day."

 

But that's the census, not Celebrity. At the risk of repeating myself, I believe subjecting residency to a series of possible tests is unnecessary, for the purpose of determining whether or not one qualifies for a residency discount. Since the criteria X is going by is (legally and legitimately, of course) possessing a driver's license or ID issued by the state in question at the time of boarding, any other considerations are moot.

 

A disclaimer-- this is what I have surmised from seeing what I could find on X's website. Since we've had one report of someone with a Canada passport but a Florida DL being denied the residency discount, I would suggest calling X directly and speaking to one of their world-famous agents for confirmation that that episode was an aberration.