Puerto Rico cruise documentation nightmare

[sparks1093]

You're correct...CBP doesn't, but by all rights should include this information. I may be wrong, but I seem to recall that prior versions of their website did.

 

If you are wrong then I am also because it was in their prior versions.

[klfrodo]

1st page of Uncle Google

 

http://welcome.topuertorico.org/reference/demogra.shtml

[njhorseman]

1st page of Uncle Google

 

http://welcome.topuertorico.org/reference/demogra.shtml

 

This page references the unacceptability of Puerto Rico birth certificates issued prior to July 1, 2010 for the purpose of primary proof of citizenship required to obtain a passport. It does not address the issue at hand here...that such birth certificates are also not acceptable for use on a closed loop cruise . You can't just assume that the former being true automatically means the latter is true even though that happens to be the case here.

[sail7seas]

Not to pile on, but how exactly would the PR government do this? Their citizens could live anywhere in the world. I am sorry you are disappointed but i don't see how the govt would notify everyone.

 

 

Outside the U.S. ?

 

Puerto Rico IS U.S.

 

as is Maryland, :)

 

 

Your d.w's passport which expired is U.S., is it no/? Did she originally get it when she was a resident of Puerto rico? Was she not aware for some months that it was expiring?

 

 

I may be mistaken bgt somewhere buzzing arround in my head I seem to recall Puerto Rico's B.C's were being frrraudulently produced and they had to change to a diferrent model in order for those being used couled be assured to be legitimate. In these days of immigration dssues, it is reasonable authorities have to be sure ID's that rae rp resented are legal and appropriately being used by the named persoon the documet n. This is a legal and safety issue in this and otther countires. Any questionable documents are being refused as they should be. iMMO

 

I am very sorry to say you and your DW caused this circumstance and hopefully, lesson learned and it won't happen to you again or to anyone else who may be reading this. . Wishing you all the best.

Edited December 18, 2017 by sail7seas

[Netopr]

Thanks everyone for your contribution to this post, i really appreciate your thoughts and honesty.

 

I didnt really research on the birth certificate much since i called Royal Caribbean one week before the cruise ship departure date and they told me as long as the BC is government issued, you will have no problems boarding the ship. I also called to verify other things such as id for a recent teenager who turned 16 on November.

 

I mean why would RC offer support on travel documentation but then on their policy they specify that we should check with the government travel restrictions. The local government is a mess right now due to hurricane Maria and their lines dont work. The only office that was open on Saturday that could provide the newer BC was closed due to hurricane Maria.

 

Bottom line i have learned a very painful lesson. I will never trust a birth certificate again and will only use passport from now on. The most painful part of all this is that this cruise was planned for the specific purpose of all my family and wifes family to spend quality time with me, my wife and my kids since we are the only ones that live out of PR and we havent seen them since about a year. Some family members didnt even know my one yr old son. Some even wanted to cancel their trip but i kind of obligated them to go! I even made payment plans for some of them since they couldn't pay for the trip all in one..

 

This will never be repaired even if they give me my money back..

 

Thanks

Edited December 18, 2017 by Netopr

[Netopr]

And btw, according to the tsa manager, this still happens every time on cruises departing from PR.

 

I think the PR government did right in issuing new BC in order to take care of these fraud issues but should provide a 24/7 service or at least Saturday and Sunday for issuing BC or some kind of emergency service that would send it via email (which RC would accept according to them).

 

RC should also let customers know about this rule. When you check in online you have to select where the BC is issued. They should provide a warning and more information to those whos BC are from PR.

[Netopr]

Outside the U.S. ?

 

Puerto Rico IS U.S.

 

as is Maryland, :)

 

 

Your d.w's passport which expired is U.S., is it no/? Did she originally get it when she was a resident of Puerto rico? Was she not aware for some months that it was expiring?

 

 

I may be mistaken bgt somewhere buzzing arround in my head I seem to recall Puerto Rico's B.C's were being frrraudulently produced and they had to change to a diferrent model in order for those being used couled be assured to be legitimate. In these days of immigration dssues, it is reasonable authorities have to be sure ID's that rae rp resented are legal and appropriately being used by the named persoon the documet n. This is a legal and safety issue in this and otther countires. Any questionable documents are being refused as they should be. iMMO

 

I am very sorry to say you and your DW caused this circumstance and hopefully, lesson learned and it won't happen to you again or to anyone else who may be reading this. . Wishing you all the best.

 

Yes my wife is a US citizen, and she issued her passport back in 2007 while she was living in PR. We moved to Maryland in 2008 since we where able to get jobs with the us government.

 

I mean we did noticed that her passport expired too late to issue a new one, thats why we went with plan b.

[Netopr]

I am so sorry this happened to you but agree with the others.

 

As for pre-paid items. Call the cruise line. They should return all port fees and taxes and im pretty sure they will at least give you a refund on the drink package since you obviously are not using it. If you pre-paid your gratuity they should also refund that.

 

More importantly - Did you and your family find a place to stay? Can you make a vacation of your time off while there? I know things are not perfect in San Juan right now but the beaches are still beautiful

 

Best of luck to you and your family

Yes, fortunately we are staying in a family members house that is letting us use the house while he is traveling on the ship. Many of the beaches are contaminated, we visited two today and they have red flags so we are concerned on goin in. Going out for dinner, lunch, etc gets expensive (on our side) since we already paid more than $5000 on tickets and cruise and we dont have unlimited funding. We tried booking in the conquistador resort with hilton points but its closed for fema refugees. I mean we understand the island needs and issues they are facing and have no complains on that. We will try to make the best out of our current situation, at least we have time off from work and we are resting well (physically).

 

Thanks for asking

Edited December 18, 2017 by Netopr

[sail7seas]

And btw, according to the tsa manager, this still happens every time on cruises departing from PR.

 

I think the PR government did right in issuing new BC in order to take care of these fraud issues but should provide a 24/7 service or at least Saturday and Sunday for issuing BC or some kind of emergency service that would send it via email (which RC would accept according to them).

 

RC should also let customers know about this rule. When you check in online you have to select where the BC is issued. They should provide a warning and more information to those whos BC are from PR.

 

 

TSA has no participation in cuise shhip ssecujrity or documentation. Whomever represerntred to yhou TSA's involve ment at a cruise ship terminal was mistaken.

[sail7seas]

And btw, according to the tsa manager, this still happens every time on cruises departing from PR. I think the PR government did right in issuing new BC in order to take care of these fraud issues but should provide a 24/7 service or at least Saturday and Sunday for issuing BC or some kind of emergency service that would send it via email (which RC would accept according to them). RC should also let customers know about this rule. When you check in online you have to select where the BC is issued. They should provide a warning and more information to those whos BC are from PR.

TSA has no participation in cuise shhip secujrity or documentation. Whomever represernted to you TSA's involve ment at a cruise ship terminal was mistaken.

[sail7seas]

And btw, according to the tsa manager, this still happens every time on cruises departing from PR.

 

I think the PR government did right in issuing new BC in order to take care of these fraud issues but should provide a 24/7 service or at least Saturday and Sunday for issuing BC or some kind of emergency service that would send it via email (which RC would accept according to them).

 

RC should also let customers know about this rule. When you check in online you have to select where the BC is issued. They should provide a warning and more information to those whos BC are from PR.

 

 

this is what you say RC should do. What should the raveler do? It is always the responsibility oft he traveler to have the proper documents and the onus is on them to learn whatt is required. RC could not know your dw was holding an expired passport .But you and she should have remedied that.

 

The irony is seeing you live 'somehwere' in Maryland, how longg a ride could it be to Wash, D.C . and the Sttate Department? Could y ou have made an appointment and gone there for a renewaL? There is nothing RC needs to do for you to make things right. It is not on them. Sorry, Iknow that is nno wha you wish to hear but..........

[Merion_Mom]

Yes my wife is a US citizen, and she issued her passport back in 2007 while she was living in PR. We moved to Maryland in 2008 since we where able to get jobs with the us government.

 

 

 

I mean we did noticed that her passport expired too late to issue a new one, thats why we went with plan b.

 

 

 

It's too late to help you, but......

 

When did you notice that her passport was expired?

 

I got my new one in 10 days in November. You can get one faster by paying for expedited service.

 

 

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[sail7seas]

And btw, according to the tsa manager, this still happens every time on cruises departing from PR. I think the PR government did right in issuing new BC in order to take care of these fraud issues but should provide a 24/7 service or at least Saturday and Sunday for issuing BC or some kind of emergency service that would send it via email (which RC would accept according to them). RC should also let customers know about this rule. When you check in online you have to select where the BC is issued. They should provide a warning and more information to those whos BC are from PR.

this is what you say RC should do. What should the t raveler do? It is alway he responsibility of the traveler to have the proper documents and the onus is on them to learn what is required. RC could not know your dw was holding an expired passport .But you and she should have remedied that.

[TNcruising02]

I am very sorry that your trip was ruined. I can see how you thought that a certified copy of your wife's birth certificate would be acceptable.That had to be very disappointing to think you were all set for your cruise, only to find out you couldn't go. Hopefully, your post here might help other people who may not realize a PR birth certificate has to be more current to be used to board a cruise ship. That would have never occurred to me. I would have mistakenly assumed, like you did, that a certified copy would be fine.

 

It seems like the safest way to cruise is with a passport. My husband and I both renewed ours and it took only about 10 days for me to get mine and 6 days for my husband's, using the expedited service.

[Netopr]

this is what you say RC should do. What should the raveler do? It is always the responsibility oft he traveler to have the proper documents and the onus is on them to learn whatt is required. RC could not know your dw was holding an expired passport .But you and she should have remedied that.

 

The irony is seeing you live 'somehwere' in Maryland, how longg a ride could it be to Wash, D.C . and the Sttate Department? Could y ou have made an appointment and gone there for a renewaL? There is nothing RC needs to do for you to make things right. It is not on them. Sorry, Iknow that is nno wha you wish to hear but..........

 

Like i said we went with plan b ( birth certificate) since RC said it was propoer documentation. They say that its the travel responsibility to have the propper documentation but they do provide support and guidance..

[Netopr]

It's too late to help you, but......

 

When did you notice that her passport was expired?

 

I got my new one in 10 days in November. You can get one faster by paying for expedited service.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I did but decided to go with plan b since i thought i was too late for issuing a new one.

[Netopr]

TSA has no participation in cuise shhip ssecujrity or documentation. Whomever represerntred to yhou TSA's involve ment at a cruise ship terminal was mistaken.

Sorry i should have said customs. Thanks for clarifying

[whogo]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I guess this is a leassons learned.. my understanding on birth certificates was that they where official documents no matter when they where issued.

This is absolutely bizarre. I have heard of currency being withdrawn from circulation, never heard of obsolete birth certificates. Good thing your wife isn't running for president.

[not-enough-cruising]

Sorry this happened to you. Just my two cents, but I always put reminders in my Google calendar on my phone, even if way out, to renew passports, GOES cards, military ID, nursing license, etc., anything that expires. I put the reminder in early enough to have ample time for renewal before they actually expire. It may be a bit overboard, but at least I have piece of mind.

 

 

 

PLUS 1

 

 

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[sail7seas]

PLUS 1

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Plus 2

,

I don't use a smart phone but just yesterday, I wrote a reminder in my 'paper calendar' that my drivers license needs to be renewed this year.. Maybe this thread gave me th e impetus to write that reminder.

[iancal]

It is also a good idea to renew your passport well before the expiry date.

 

There are some countries that place restrictions on entry based on the passport expiry date. Some one month, some as long as six months from date of entry to the country.

[packer99]

Call me crazy, the day we booked our cruise, we pulled out our passports to check our dates on our passports.

[iancal]

We do the same on a very regular basis. We do a fair amount of last minute travel-sometimes booking only a few days in advance. This requires us to ensure that our documentation is current and that it is stored in a usual place where we know we can access it.

 

DW is the keeper of our passports.

 

When we leave on a trip we have a routine that we follow. I lock the door.

 

Prior to getting into the cab DW checks that she has the passports, Nexus cards, and any supporting visas/approvals/record of vaccinations that may be required. I learned my lesson from an episode with an expired drivers license. I check that we have the correct credit cards, bank cards, etc.

 

It may sound silly but it works for us.

Edited December 19, 2017 by iancal

[LH25]

Call me crazy, the day we booked our cruise, we pulled out our passports to check our dates on our passports.

 

Me too. And we booked over a year out. Mine did expire a month before we were to leave, so I got it renewed a couple of weeks ago. I'm pretty careful about this kind of stuff. One cruise we were leaving from a terminal about 1/2 an hour's drive from our house, and I checked before we left, on the way and when we got there to be sure we had our passports!

[Hlitner]

This is just one more reason why many experienced cruisers/travelers have long urged all cruisers to obtain a valid Passport (with at least 6 months of remaining validity) prior to any trip outside the USA. You could pave a street with the tears of those who have run into documentation issues....and not have a Passport.

 

Hank