Passport needed for round trip Puerto Rico Caribbean cruise?

[pokerpro5]

I believe I have the answer, but just to make sure...

 

We are a family with 2 adults, 2 kids.

 

We will be on a cruise which starts and ends in Puerto Rico, but stops at ports in between which are foreign countries.

 

Two adults and one child have a passport. The other (a 13-year-old) does not.

 

Is it satisfactory to bring the original birth certificate for the 13-year-old?

 

We are flying in and out of Puerto Rico from the US.

[easyboy]

While the birth certificate may be enough, it is advisable for the 13 y/o to secure a passport in case the child urgently needs to return home from the foreign port.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[don't-use-real-name]

My answer you may not like.

 

If you and the family including the 13 year old are planning to travel anywhere

out of the country in the next ten years get the Passport and at least solve

the problem of the 13 year old not having one.

Too young to get a drivers license Enhanced or otherwise the Passport is the

king-pin of documents.

Also if the 13 year old has an opportunity to travel with a school or associated

related group on short notice you need the Passport NOW - sorry kid you can't go !

What a big disappointment !

Sure; YES! the Passport the first time around is expensive but what things are not.

And consider the Passport may cost more in the very near future.

 

Lastly with everyone in the family having a Passport - you will be able to

breeze thru check-in both on the ship and thru Customs without the red tape

N'th degree of explanation and exception slowing down and perhaps missing

other transportation arrangements.

Say the BC is accepted at one port (country) and not at another - an emergency

occurs and you need to fly home from another country - No Passport -

grounded with delay - complications and frustrations to no end !

The 13 year old may not be permitted to disembark in a country requiring

a valid Passport.

 

So my answer will cost you about $140 and potentially cost you more should

the birth certificate be NOT accepted and your travel plans go awry !

 

Please don't be a party to that - Please !

[sanger727]

I believe I have the answer, but just to make sure...

 

We are a family with 2 adults, 2 kids.

 

We will be on a cruise which starts and ends in Puerto Rico, but stops at ports in between which are foreign countries.

 

Two adults and one child have a passport. The other (a 13-year-old) does not.

 

Is it satisfactory to bring the original birth certificate for the 13-year-old?

 

We are flying in and out of Puerto Rico from the US.

 

I think the more important question is when is the cruise? Because you have to mail the birth certificate in to get a passport so if the cruise is within a month or two, I'd err on the side of keeping the birth certificate than to possibly have to get an emergency birth certificate replacement the week before the cruise. Also, passports for children 15 an under are only good for 5 years. Personally I think the chance of a surprise out of the country trip for a 13 year old isn't likely, and sorry, I refuse to believe that if you have an emergency that the US will refuse a US citizen from returning, it may be more leg-work though. A friend had his passport stolen in France and it was simple to get it replaced at the US embassy in France.

[sunshinechgo]

Yes you do need one.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[pokerpro5]

I appreciate the responses, but none are answering my question (except the last response, which I don't think is correct).

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

 

This says that you do NOT need a passport for a closed-loop cruise.

 

I want to make sure that's still true.

 

I am aware it would be better if the 13-year-old had a passport, but he doesn't, so that's that.

 

I just want to make sure we can cruise.

[Crusin6]

I think the more important question is when is the cruise? Because you have to mail the birth certificate in to get a passport so if the cruise is within a month or two, I'd err on the side of keeping the birth certificate than to possibly have to get an emergency birth certificate replacement the week before the cruise. Also, passports for children 15 an under are only good for 5 years. Personally I think the chance of a surprise out of the country trip for a 13 year old isn't likely, and sorry, I refuse to believe that if you have an emergency that the US will refuse a US citizen from returning, it may be more leg-work though. A friend had his passport stolen in France and it was simple to get it replaced at the US embassy in France.

 

 

Getting a birth certificate replacement is not difficult if you still live near where you were born. Only if you've moved too far away to just drive to get it would it take some effort

 

 

Also

 

 

If a person who already holds a pass port loses it while on vacation the embassy can get you home with a reissued passport

 

However that's a lot different than needing to get home without ever having a passport in the first place

 

 

Plus you've added probably 48 to 72 hours to the trip and hotel and food costs

 

Of course that may or may not be covered by insurance depending on why you are needing to get back

 

 

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Edited November 13, 2016 by Crusin6

[Crusin6]

I appreciate the responses, but none are answering my question (except the last response, which I don't think is correct).

 

 

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

 

 

 

This says that you do NOT need a passport for a closed-loop cruise.

 

 

 

I want to make sure that's still true.

 

 

 

I am aware it would be better if the 13-year-old had a passport, but he doesn't, so that's that.

 

 

 

I just want to make sure we can cruise.

 

 

I don't think asking posters on a message board is your best best

 

 

If it were me I'd call the phone numbers on the link you provided above and get the correct answers

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[thinfool]

To the OP....

 

Your 13 year old will be fine with a BC.

 

There will be many other US passengers on that sailing who do not have passports, and they will be adults, adolescents and children.

 

 

As you have read, there is a plethora of members who want to impose their opinion on you, but almost no one has actually answered your question.

Edited November 13, 2016 by thinfool

[Tee & Chilli]

A passport is not needed but highly recommended. Members of my family have cruised for years (to/from the U.S) with only a birth certificate.

[NCLfamily]

As a Brit it's a bit of an alien concept to not have a passport. Is it really that expensive in the states? We are around £90 ($120) I think.

 

I can't advise on your OP, sorry. Just curious.

 

 

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Edited November 13, 2016 by NCLfamily

[sharonax3]

No passport is needed. A birth certificate is all you need. We just did this same cruise a few months ago and several of us did not have passports.

[Big Chief]

Notwithstanding all the prior comments, if a situation arises in which you must fly home from an intermediate port (sickness, death in the family, miss the ship {it happens}, etc.) you MUST have a passport. You may not fly into the USA without one!

[Sauer-kraut]

Notwithstanding all the prior comments, if a situation arises in which you must fly home from an intermediate port (sickness, death in the family, miss the ship {it happens}, etc.) you MUST have a passport. You may not fly into the USA without one!

 

And that's why there will be consular help to get you home if you don't have one.

[BirdTravels]

And that's why there will be consular help to get you home if you don't have one.

 

If you are leaving in the middle of a cruise, in a foreign country, you probably don't have time to spend hours/days trying to get US Consulate approval to fly home,,,, especially if the US Consulate is not on the same island as you are trying to fly out of.

 

I suppose you could be departing because you got kicked off the ship.

[Lazz]

Due to a family emergency back home in the States, we had to leave a cruise early in a Cozumel. We were with our 14 year old daughter and luckily we all had passports. The cruise line had the Mexican immigration officers aboard ship and the 3 of us had to present ourselves to them with our passports. The ships staff had helped us get airline tickets and we had to present our passports again at the Cozumel airport, and at US immigration when we arrived back in the states. I can not imagine what problems would have occurred without those passports.

[mugtech]

To the OP....

 

Your 13 year old will be fine with a BC.

 

There will be many other US passengers on that sailing who do not have passports, and they will be adults, adolescents and children.

 

 

As you have read, there is a plethora of members who want to impose their opinion on you, but almost no one has actually answered your question.

 

This is true, was announced often.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I haven't been to Puerto Rico so don't know if you can fly there without a passport, but if you can (which appears to be the case based on a couple responses you've received) then a BC will be fine for the 13-year-old on a closed loop cruise. There shouldn't be any issues with boarding the ship as long as you have the correct documentation, meaning not a photocopy of the BC, etc.

 

Of course it's best to have a passport but if it's not required then it's your choice whether to get one for the 13-year-old, of course. I didn't get DD a passport until she was 16 and by then she'd been on more than half a dozen cruises. It just depends on your risk tolerance. There's a small chance that you may have to fly home early (in more than 15 cruises I've never had to) and if you do then there will be some hoops to jump through since the 13-year-old doesn't have a passport. Personally, I was willing to take that risk since I felt it was a very small one. As far as delays through Customs and such, we're usually talking about a few minutes. Only once did they ask my ex-husband and I to step aside so they could talk to my DD and make sure she wasn't being kidnapped. It took maybe 3 minutes.

 

So, the short answer is, yes, you can cruise without a passport on a closed-loop cruise from the U.S. Should you get a passport? That's up to you.

 

Have a fantastic cruise!

[mugtech]

True, passport not required to fly to San Juan.

[ColinIllinois]

I think that perhaps some folks don't realize that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I'm aware it's a U.S. territory but having never traveled there nor to any other U.S. territory I did not know if a passport is needed.

[Lido_Deck]

I believe I have the answer, but just to make sure...

 

We are a family with 2 adults, 2 kids.

 

We will be on a cruise which starts and ends in Puerto Rico, but stops at ports in between which are foreign countries.

 

Two adults and one child have a passport. The other (a 13-year-old) does not.

 

Is it satisfactory to bring the original birth certificate for the 13-year-old?

 

We are flying in and out of Puerto Rico from the US.

 

First Question...Are you American Citizens?

 

.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Lido_Deck

[AlanFromFL]

As a Brit it's a bit of an alien concept to not have a passport. Is it really that expensive in the states? We are around £90 ($120) I think.

 

I can't advise on your OP, sorry. Just curious.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Adult 16 years and older, it's $135 for 10 year issuance term. Children under 16 are $110 but only issued for 5 year term. So it's not an insignificant sum.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/information/fees.html

Edited November 13, 2016 by AlanFromFL

[zqvol]

I appreciate the responses, but none are answering my question (except the last response, which I don't think is correct).

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

 

This says that you do NOT need a passport for a closed-loop cruise.

 

I want to make sure that's still true.

 

I am aware it would be better if the 13-year-old had a passport, but he doesn't, so that's that.

 

I just want to make sure we can cruise.

 

The correct answer is that a passport is not required on an NCL closed loop cruise from San Juan. The birth certificate is an appropriate document for a 13 year old. BTW no pssport is required for any US citizen to fly to PR, and a 13 year old doesn't even need ID.

Edited November 14, 2016 by zqvol

[S.S.Oceanlover]

My answer you may not like.

 

If you and the family including the 13 year old are planning to travel anywhere

out of the country in the next ten years get the Passport and at least solve

the problem of the 13 year old not having one.

Too young to get a drivers license Enhanced or otherwise the Passport is the

king-pin of documents.

Also if the 13 year old has an opportunity to travel with a school or associated

related group on short notice you need the Passport NOW - sorry kid you can't go !

What a big disappointment !

Sure; YES! the Passport the first time around is expensive but what things are not.

And consider the Passport may cost more in the very near future.

 

Lastly with everyone in the family having a Passport - you will be able to

breeze thru check-in both on the ship and thru Customs without the red tape

N'th degree of explanation and exception slowing down and perhaps missing

other transportation arrangements.

Say the BC is accepted at one port (country) and not at another - an emergency

occurs and you need to fly home from another country - No Passport -

grounded with delay - complications and frustrations to no end !

The 13 year old may not be permitted to disembark in a country requiring

a valid Passport.

 

So my answer will cost you about $140 and potentially cost you more should

the birth certificate be NOT accepted and your travel plans go awry !

 

Please don't be a party to that - Please !

 

No such animal on closed loop cruises in the Caribbean.

 

Bill