Sailing with non-enhanced driver's license?

[Qchell]

I just noticed that Carnival's website now states that you have to have an enhanced driver's license to sail.  (Yes, I know we should get passports/card - but haven't yet)  We sail next month and I do not have an enhanced driver's license.  North Carolina doesn't even offer one, they have a "Real ID" (no clue what the difference is).  I can drop a bunch of money and get an expedited passport/card if I have to.  The travel laws regarding requiring travel with an enhanced DL are not supposed to go into effect until October 2020.  Has anyone cruised within the last month or so with a regular driver's license (+ birth certificate) and did you have any issues?

 

[sparks1093]

19 minutes ago, Qchell said:

I just noticed that Carnival's website now states that you have to have an enhanced driver's license to sail.  (Yes, I know we should get passports/card - but haven't yet)  We sail next month and I do not have an enhanced driver's license.  North Carolina doesn't even offer one, they have a "Real ID" (no clue what the difference is).  I can drop a bunch of money and get an expedited passport/card if I have to.  The travel laws regarding requiring travel with an enhanced DL are not supposed to go into effect until October 2020.  Has anyone cruised within the last month or so with a regular driver's license (+ birth certificate) and did you have any issues?

 

AFAIK REAL ID will have no impact on cruising so you may continue to still use a drivers license and birth certificate (or other form of citizenship verification). An Enhanced Drivers License proofs identity and citizenship in one document, similar to a Passport Card. A REAL ID compliant license only means that you provided proof to the state that you have legal presence in the US (and the state meets requirements established by the REAL ID Act regarding security, etc.). It would be helpful if you copied and pasted what you are seeing but I find it difficult to believe that they only give an EDL as the alternative. 

[HillBilly Bob]

It was my understanding that Real ID was mandatory for air travel internationally and domestically a of 10/01/20.   Take your passport and your ID for sure....and check with your local DMV for exact requirements.  

[Qchell]

I am good to go.  The info was down below the list of documents you can travel with in a separate paragraph which mentions that a birth certificate and government issue ID would work too.  

 

We keep meaning to get passports and just keep putting it off.  With all these changes to travel documentation and all these different types of driver's licenses, it's time to just take a day and go down to get actual passports and it truly is the smartest thing to travel with.  

[HillBilly Bob]

Direct from CCL as of yesterday, January 23, 2020           https://www.carnival.com/help/3409

[Cruiser Joe]

 

Thanks for that link. This seems new to me.  Someone without a passport can board a ship leaving to/from a US port with either of the following:

 

1.  An enhanced drivers license; or

2.  A regular drivers license PLUS birth certificate.

Edited January 24, 2020 by Cruiser Joe

[sparks1093]

19 minutes ago, Cruiser Joe said:

 

Thanks for that link. This seems new to me.  Someone without a passport can board a ship leaving to/from a US port with either of the following:

 

1.  An enhanced drivers license; or

2.  A regular drivers license PLUS birth certificate.

Nothing new about it, that's what the regulations have allowed since 2009.

[ray98]

EDL's are only issued by 4 or 5 states so they are a rarity, they do stand alone though for ID purposes.  As long as you have a state issued license and a BC you are good to do.

[VentureMan_2000]

 

 

 

[ray98]

1 hour ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

 

 

 

That is the Real ID standard, not the EDL.  Two different things.

[LikeAllCruiseLines]

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article146913574.html

Says North Carolina started offering enhanced Drivers Licenses April 2017??

[ray98]

19 minutes ago, LikeAllCruiseLines said:

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article146913574.html

Says North Carolina started offering enhanced Drivers Licenses April 2017??

 

That is also the Real ID standard all 50 states must enact, completely different than an EDL.

[jimbo5544]

6 hours ago, HillBilly Bob said:

It was my understanding that Real ID was mandatory for air travel internationally and domestically a of 10/01/20.   Take your passport and your ID for sure....and check with your local DMV for exact requirements.  

I have seen nothing about international travel that realid impacts, passport is required as far as I know.  Real I’d will be mandatory (or passport) effective October 2020 for domestic air travel  If you have different info please post 

Edited January 24, 2020 by jimbo5544

[jimbo5544]

50 minutes ago, ray98 said:

That is the Real ID standard, not the EDL.  Two different things.

Bingo

[Cruiser Joe]

1 hour ago, ray98 said:

 

That is also the Real ID standard all 50 states must enact, completely different than an EDL.

Right - I was confused on this.  Carnival's website talks about EDL. I don't know if they mean EDL or the more strict Real ID.

 

But since the website doesn't mention Real ID at all, it's likely they still mean EDL.

[grandmarnnurse]

3 hours ago, ray98 said:

That is the Real ID standard, not the EDL.  Two different things.

But I believe I read that not all states offer an EDL, just Real ID. I live in NY, and have obtained the EDL, which is the most secure, and I may use this to cross Canadian border without showing my passport. I still bring my passport when cruising, as that would be needed if I was to fly home from a foreign port, if any emergency.

[simplelife]

10 hours ago, Qchell said:

I just noticed that Carnival's website now states that you have to have an enhanced driver's license to sail.  (Yes, I know we should get passports/card - but haven't yet)  We sail next month and I do not have an enhanced driver's license.  North Carolina doesn't even offer one, they have a "Real ID" (no clue what the difference is).  I can drop a bunch of money and get an expedited passport/card if I have to.  The travel laws regarding requiring travel with an enhanced DL are not supposed to go into effect until October 2020.  Has anyone cruised within the last month or so with a regular driver's license (+ birth certificate) and did you have any issues?

 

my understanding is that NC's "real ID"
 is an enhanced license

[SERK]

Just use a passport.  They good for 10 years for a cost of about $15 a year.

[coevan]

I was just going to post this, the gold standard for ID

[sanger727]

11 hours ago, Cruiser Joe said:

Right - I was confused on this.  Carnival's website talks about EDL. I don't know if they mean EDL or the more strict Real ID.

 

But since the website doesn't mention Real ID at all, it's likely they still mean EDL.

This is what is in carnival’s faq today. When they say enhanced drivers license they mean enhanced drivers license. The only place i see them mention a real id is in a section about air travel. It seems pretty clear that you don’t need an enhanced drivers license or a real id to cruise...

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, simplelife said:

my understanding is that NC's "real ID"
 is an enhanced license

That is an incorrect understanding. 5 states issue Enhanced Drivers Licenses- Vermont, New York, Washington, Minnesota and Michigan. All other states do not. As has been stated REAL ID is different.

[sparks1093]

12 hours ago, Cruiser Joe said:

Right - I was confused on this.  Carnival's website talks about EDL. I don't know if they mean EDL or the more strict Real ID.

 

But since the website doesn't mention Real ID at all, it's likely they still mean EDL.

Actually the EDL is more strict than REAL ID (and the EDL does satisfy the REAL ID requirements). When you apply for an EDL you go through the same process as you would if you applied for a passport card.

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, SERK said:

Just use a passport.  They good for 10 years for a cost of about $15 a year.

 

10 hours ago, coevan said:

I was just going to post this, the gold standard for ID

No dispute that the passport is the best form of travel documentation but many travelers don't need the best, they can use one of the alternatives and people on a closed loop cruise do have that choice. It's not a choice that works for everyone, but it does work for a good number of people. The full cost is due up front so saying that it's only $15 a year only clouds the issue. (As for being the best form of ID many stores in our area won't accept them as an ID for buying cigarettes or alcohol😉.)

Edited January 25, 2020 by sparks1093

[jimbo5544]

It can be confusing, think of Real ID only for air travel starting on 10/01/20.  

[SERK]

Travelers who don’t need a passport on a closed loop cruise would think differently if they had some sort of emergency that caused them to stay outside U.S. and miss the ship. Then they will need one to fly back. Think of it as added insurance. Without one while stranded complicates everything.