Passport Question

[SadieN]

The OP wanted the friend's to have passport and for one reason or another it didn't get done, so this isn't really a post about someone wanting to cruise without a passport. That said travel to the Caribbean really hasn't changed and for many people the small risk of something happening is acceptable. One doesn't need a passport to obtain consular services, they are available to any US citizen. As for needing it to get home quickly that too is a judgment call and there are provisions in the regulations for waiving the passport requirement for an emergency or for humanitarian reasons. Some people don't travel often enough to warrant the cost of a passport given their modes of travel and alternatives exist.

 

 

 

Passport hours are limited in embassies and consulates. Why add the stress of trying to get an emergency passport/ travel documentation in addition to whatever trauma has occurred to need such documentation. Some islands share these with other islands.

[sparks1093]

" I don't want to chance getting to port with someone else's child and find out something about their birth certificate isn't acceptable"

 

 

 

 

This is not even possible, it's a closed end tour. The only people who care about your ID is Carnival. You will never need ID to get off a ship unless it's Cuba.

 

I believe they were talking about getting to the "embarkation" port and finding out the birth certificate isn't acceptable which is actually quite possible.

[sparks1093]

Passport hours are limited in embassies and consulates. Why add the stress of trying to get an emergency passport/ travel documentation in addition to whatever trauma has occurred to need such documentation. Some islands share these with other islands.

 

If the risk of that stress is worrisome than of course the answer is to get a passport. I never saw the risk as being great enough to worry about. (Which of course has nothing to do with the OP's situation, if I were going to be traveling with someone else's child for whom I was responsible I would insist on them having a passport.)

[coevan]

There a few cruises where passports are necessary. Out of the U.S. I can think of 3 Cuba, Alaska if you are stopping in Canada, and St.Thomas if you are doing a shore excursion to BVI.

[sparks1093]

There a few cruises where passports are necessary. Out of the U.S. I can think of 3 Cuba, Alaska if you are stopping in Canada, and St.Thomas if you are doing a shore excursion to BVI.

 

Cuba is the only one. The other two the passports are only required if you are doing a particular excursion, they aren't required for the cruise itself.

[mikesteg]

I believe they were talking about getting to the "embarkation" port and finding out the birth certificate isn't acceptable which is actually quite possible.

 

Right, and it's not Carnival's concern. It's those border protection folks.

 

Realistically, Carnival's only real interest is making sure they don't get their posterior handed to them (and probably a big fine) for letting someone board who can't legally reenter the country. To that end, they are likely to err on the side of caution.

[mikesteg]

Cuba is the only one. The other two the passports are only required if you are doing a particular excursion, they aren't required for the cruise itself.

 

Yes, for Alaska we were required to have passports because we did a land crossing on our tour. They were very explicit that we needed to have passports and have to bring them on the tour. This was Seattle to Seattle, so we did not cross the border to get to the ship or back home.

[SadieN]

If the risk of that stress is worrisome than of course the answer is to get a passport. I never saw the risk as being great enough to worry about. (Which of course has nothing to do with the OP's situation, if I were going to be traveling with someone else's child for whom I was responsible I would insist on them having a passport.)

 

 

 

I’m coming from a different perspective than most on this thread. We HAVE HAD major medical emergencies when traveling abroad. When you’ve broken an ankle the last thing you need is the added stress of figuring out how to get an emergency passport.

Another source of stress is finding a place to take a passport photo.

[sparks1093]

I’m coming from a different perspective than most on this thread. We HAVE HAD major medical emergencies when traveling abroad. When you’ve broken an ankle the last thing you need is the added stress of figuring out how to get an emergency passport.

Another source of stress is finding a place to take a passport photo.

 

Yes, these things do happen but the risk for most is low enough to be a non-issue. (And there's nothing to prevent a well prepared person from having the passport photos with them.)

[TNcruising02]

You’ll be fine. Passports aren’t required. Last year we were headed to the port of Miami and I realized I didn’t have my birth certificate and there was no turning back to get. When we got there they took me to a room that had quite a few people in the same situation. I had my mother who was staying at my house text me a picture of it which I then emailed to an email a carnival agent gave me. She printed it off and gave it to me which I then used to check in for our cruise. Cost us about an hour of time.

 

This is interesting. I took a picture of my passport so that I would have it on my phone. It's good to know that there is a possibility that a picture would be accepted in case the original is forgotten or misplaced. I am very OCD about my passport so I don't think it will ever happen, but it's still good to know. I will also scan my birth certificate and passport and save the scans to my phone.

[sparks1093]

This is interesting. I took a picture of my passport so that I would have it on my phone. It's good to know that there is a possibility that a picture would be accepted in case the original is forgotten or misplaced. I am very OCD about my passport so I don't think it will ever happen, but it's still good to know. I will also scan my birth certificate and passport and save the scans to my phone.

 

Scanning the passport won't get you on the ship whereas scanning the birth certificate will. The reason is that if you are using a passport to board it needs to be the original, whereas the regulations allow copies of birth certificates to be used to demonstrate citizenship. There may be other reasons for having a scan of your passport but boarding isn't one of them.