Passport needed for shore excursions? (Closed-Loop)

[trevjen7]

Hi, we have our first cruise (MSC) planned. My wife and I have passports but our 8 yr old does not. We have excursions planned (through the cruise site) at almost all ports of call, which are: Nassau, Ocean Maya, and Cozumel. Are we going to be able to go on those excursions with just the kids birth certificates, and our passports, or should we cancel the excursions? 

 

For more info, one of the Ocean Maya Mex, is a temple tour that is like 1+ hrs inland, and one in Cozumel is at a adventure park, my thought is that the Mex ones will be the more restrictive. 

[GeezerCouple]

5 minutes ago, trevjen7 said:

Hi, we have our first cruise (MSC) planned. My wife and I have passports but our 8 yr old does not. We have excursions planned (through the cruise site) at almost all ports of call, which are: Nassau, Ocean Maya, and Cozumel. Are we going to be able to go on those excursions with just the kids birth certificates, and our passports, or should we cancel the excursions? 

 

For more info, one of the Ocean Maya Mex, is a temple tour that is like 1+ hrs inland, and one in Cozumel is at a adventure park, my thought is that the Mex ones will be the more restrictive. 

 

Welcome to CruiseCritic.

 

You MUST check with the requirements of your specific cruise line (MSC), and for this particular cruise as well as their general requirements for "documents".

 

For example, some lines may require (*require*) passports that are valid for at least 6 months AFTER the cruise ends, for all passengers.  Some cruise lines have requirements that are more "strict" than what is minimally required at each port.

IF this cruise is one of those, you will not be allowed to board.

 

It's NOT a matter of "whether you can get off the ship at a particular port".  It's whether you have the proper paperwork for the entire cruise, to get *on* the ship.  (Except for very specific destinations, it is not common for the cruise line to be checking separately for each port about whether passengers can leave the ship.  They may not let you on in the first place if that is not the case.)

It is much better safe than sorry, etc.  Don't risk finding out the hard way.

 

IF MSC very clearly states that regular passports are not needed, and birth certificates are sufficient, etc., then you'd be okay, but if they *do* require passports and you don't all have them, you won't be allowed to board on the day of sailing.

Read all the "fine print" that appears with your cruise documents.

And consider getting travel insurance.  (At a minimum, make sure that you have health care insurance that covers you out of the country.  That's the most important.)

 

Make sure all have the appropriate passports, and then relax and enjoy your cruise!

 

GC

[sparks1093]

5 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Welcome to CruiseCritic.

 

You MUST check with the requirements of your specific cruise line (MSC), and for this particular cruise as well as their general requirements for "documents".

 

For example, some lines may require (*require*) passports that are valid for at least 6 months AFTER the cruise ends, for all passengers.  Some cruise lines have requirements that are more "strict" than what is minimally required at each port.

IF this cruise is one of those, you will not be allowed to board.

 

It's NOT a matter of "whether you can get off the ship at a particular port".  It's whether you have the proper paperwork for the entire cruise, to get *on* the ship.  (Except for very specific destinations, it is not common for the cruise line to be checking separately for each port about whether passengers can leave the ship.  They may not let you on in the first place if that is not the case.)

It is much better safe than sorry, etc.  Don't risk finding out the hard way.

 

IF MSC very clearly states that regular passports are not needed, and birth certificates are sufficient, etc., then you'd be okay, but if they *do* require passports and you don't all have them, you won't be allowed to board on the day of sailing.

Read all the "fine print" that appears with your cruise documents.

And consider getting travel insurance.  (At a minimum, make sure that you have health care insurance that covers you out of the country.  That's the most important.)

 

Make sure all have the appropriate passports, and then relax and enjoy your cruise!

 

GC

A lot of good information here, but it doesn't address the OP's question.

 

OP, you do not generally need documentation for excursions other than what you need to leave the ship in port (typically the cabin card and a photo ID for passengers 16 and up). The only time that you would need passports for an excursion would be if the excursion actually crossed into another country or if the local government requires the documentation. There is a train excursion in Alaska for example that crosses from the US into Canada and there is an excursion in the Caribbean that goes from one island to another (and hence from one country to another).

 

So as long as your documentation allows you to board the ship you will be fine not having it with you on the excursions that you list (although some people do like to take their passports ashore regardless, but that is another discussion in and of itself).

[CruiserBruce]

Assuming you are sailing round trip from a US port? That is also part of the "no passport required" rule.

[Charles4515]

At your ports all the adults will need will need is photo ID like a driver’s license and your ship card.  Your child does not need anything. Your passports won’t be checked. You can leave them in you cabin safe. I always leave them in the safe but that is another discussion. Mexico will only want the adults photo ID and ship card. Same for the Bahamas. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Charles4515

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

A lot of good information here, but it doesn't address the OP's question.

 

OP, you do not generally need documentation for excursions other than what you need to leave the ship in port (typically the cabin card and a photo ID for passengers 16 and up). The only time that you would need passports for an excursion would be if the excursion actually crossed into another country or if the local government requires the documentation. There is a train excursion in Alaska for example that crosses from the US into Canada and there is an excursion in the Caribbean that goes from one island to another (and hence from one country to another).

 

So as long as your documentation allows you to board the ship you will be fine not having it with you on the excursions that you list (although some people do like to take their passports ashore regardless, but that is another discussion in and of itself).

We took that train excursion in Alaska that goes to Canada, and I can confirm that they definitely made you show your passport to take the train. But, for the cruise the OP will take, there should be no problem with needing to show passports for any excursion.

[Mum2Mercury]

9 hours ago, trevjen7 said:

Hi, we have our first cruise (MSC) planned. My wife and I have passports but our 8 yr old does not. We have excursions planned (through the cruise site) at almost all ports of call, which are: Nassau, Ocean Maya, and Cozumel. Are we going to be able to go on those excursions with just the kids birth certificates, and our passports, or should we cancel the excursions? 

 

For more info, one of the Ocean Maya Mex, is a temple tour that is like 1+ hrs inland, and one in Cozumel is at a adventure park, my thought is that the Mex ones will be the more restrictive. 

The cruise line will check your passports as a part of the Embarkation process; once they've looked at your passport (or other documents) once, they will not do it again.  Realistically, the ship just wants to know that you will be able to re-enter the US /won't be stuck in their terminal at the end of your cruise.  They will give you a Ship ID Card, and that's all the ship cares about from that point on. 

 

As you leave the ship (adult or child), you must run that Ship ID Card through a scanner, which will "ping you off the ship".  When you return, same thing -- they'll "ping you back on the ship".  Coming /going for island stops only requires the Ship ID cards. 

 

Excursions don't care about your passport.  Why would they care?  Occasionally you'll have a need for another ID -- maybe because a specific country requires it, maybe because you're going to be driving during the excursion and they want to know you have a driver's license.  But, in general, you need your passport only for boarding the ship and for passing through Customs /re-entering the US at the end of your trip.  

 

You say you're doing ship excursions.  Typically the ship will give you a paper "ticket" that serves as a reminder of your excursion's meeting time /location -- and it lets the ship's representative know you've paid for the excursion.  If you change these to private excursions (which are less crowded, more personalized, and -- as a bonus -- cheaper), you'd exit the ship and meet your tour guide near the pier.  Typically they hold a sign to identify themselves.  But neither a ship excursion nor a private excursion will typically ask for your passport or other ID.  

[jsn55]

The only reason we travel with our passports out of the US is a concern about an 'emergency' .... an event that would cause us to want to fly home (or somewhere) from a foreign country.  And soon our California DLs will be useless to board an airplane going anywhere ... the DMV is still reeling from the virus disaster, so we plan on just travelling with our passports until we can get a 'real ID'. 

[LHT28]

see #6 of the  T & C's  for full details

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/-/media/us/documents/Booking-Terms-and-Conditions-221115-FINAL.pdf

6. PASSPORT, VISAS AND MINORS
Passengers must hold fully valid passports for the whole duration of the Cruise Package with a passport
expiration date at least 6 months after the return date. Certain countries, including the USA and Russia, require
machine-readable and digital photo passports.

[trevjen7]

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

see #6 of the  T & C's  for full details

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/-/media/us/documents/Booking-Terms-and-Conditions-221115-FINAL.pdf

6. PASSPORT, VISAS AND MINORS
Passengers must hold fully valid passports for the whole duration of the Cruise Package with a passport
expiration date at least 6 months after the return date. Certain countries, including the USA and Russia, require
machine-readable and digital photo passports.

This is general terms for a specific cruise. 

They also have a section about US citizens on "Closed Loop" cruises that includes the following: 

"For Caribbean cruises, U.S. citizens must bring proper identification in the form of a U.S. passport or original or certified birth certificate with a raised seal along with a state or government issued photo identification."

....

Tha is also the same information on the CBP.gov website about closed loop cruises, which states that you can travel with only a birth certificate. 

We also called the cruise 3 separate times to confirm that this is for sure ok, and they are good with it. Again, we do have passports, but out young child does not.

[Charles4515]

1 minute ago, trevjen7 said:

This is general terms for a specific cruise. 

They also have a section about US citizens on "Closed Loop" cruises that includes the following: 

"For Caribbean cruises, U.S. citizens must bring proper identification in the form of a U.S. passport or original or certified birth certificate with a raised seal along with a state or government issued photo identification."

....

Tha is also the same information on the CBP.gov website about closed loop cruises, which states that you can travel with only a birth certificate. 

We also called the cruise 3 separate times to confirm that this is for sure ok, and they are good with it. Again, we do have passports, but out young child does not.

You are reading it right. There are always people on Cruise Critic who read it wrong because they can't stand the closed loop cruise exception for cruises out of the US returning to the US. You will be fine and don't worry about the young child going on excursions. The child does not need a passport for excursions in the Caribbean or Mexico. As has been posted a young child does need to show anything and adults only need to show their photo ID and cabin card.

[jsn55]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

You are reading it right. There are always people on Cruise Critic who read it wrong because they can't stand the closed loop cruise exception for cruises out of the US returning to the US. You will be fine and don't worry about the young child going on excursions. The child does not need a passport for excursions in the Caribbean or Mexico. As has been posted a young child does need to show anything and adults only need to show their photo ID and cabin card.

So what's your advice if the child falls down and breaks his leg in 6 places and needs to be evacuated to a specialty hospital in the US?  How do they board a plane in another country?

[Charles4515]

30 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

So what's your advice if the child falls down and breaks his leg in 6 places and needs to be evacuated to a specialty hospital in the US?  How do they board a plane in another country?

I have not given any advice. If advise was asked about whether they should get a passport I would advise that but  OP is asking if a young child needs a passport for shore excursions. Of c ourse those who hate that a passport is not needed for a closed loop cruise are going to spread fear and disinformation as they usually do. I will add though that in the unlikely event that the child breaks their leg in six places and needs to fly back to the US, while it would be preferable if the child had a passport they will have time to get an emergency passport for the child. That can take a few hours or a day. Believe it or not hospitals in Mexico and the Bahamas can care for a broken leg so that would not require emergency evacuation. 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Charles4515

[Markanddonna]

Check the country. In Israel, for example, you always need to carry your passport and special immigration card.

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, jsn55 said:

So what's your advice if the child falls down and breaks his leg in 6 places and needs to be evacuated to a specialty hospital in the US?  How do they board a plane in another country?

The regulations that give us the closed loop exception also give the authorities the ability to waive the passport requirement in an emergency and for humanitarian reasons. 

Federal Register :: Documents Required for Travelers Departing From or Arriving in the United States at Sea and Land Ports-of-Entry From Within the Western Hemisphere

 

9) When the Department of State waives, pursuant to EO 13323 of December 30, 2003, Section 2, the requirement with respect to the U.S. citizen because there is an unforeseen emergency; or

 

 

 

(10) When the Department of State waives, pursuant to EO 13323 of December 30, 2003, Sec 2, the requirement with respect to the U.S. citizen for humanitarian or national interest reasons; or

[ldubs]

On 11/16/2022 at 1:56 AM, sparks1093 said:

A lot of good information here, but it doesn't address the OP's question.

 

OP, you do not generally need documentation for excursions other than what you need to leave the ship in port (typically the cabin card and a photo ID for passengers 16 and up). The only time that you would need passports for an excursion would be if the excursion actually crossed into another country or if the local government requires the documentation. There is a train excursion in Alaska for example that crosses from the US into Canada and there is an excursion in the Caribbean that goes from one island to another (and hence from one country to another).

 

So as long as your documentation allows you to board the ship you will be fine not having it with you on the excursions that you list (although some people do like to take their passports ashore regardless, but that is another discussion in and of itself).

 

I would add that for a couple places on our recent Caribbean cruise we were advised to have a picture ID along with our cruise card.   So, while I might not lose a lot of sleep about it, it is a good idea for a minor to have ID, if not a passport.  

[jsn55]

If I had an injured child that needed medical attention, the last thing I'd want to do is spend even five minutes dealing with the authorities  to get us out of the country without a passport.  Just common sense in my book.  Why would you NOT get him a passport?

[LHT28]

18 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

There are always people on Cruise Critic who read it wrong because they can't stand the closed loop cruise exception for cruises out of the US returning to the US.

If you are referring to me   then I could care less if you can sail without  a passport

As Canadians  we carry our passports  when we leave the Country  & horrors  we buy trip insurance 🤔

 

some lines require passports  even on closed loop cruises  MSC may be one or not

The OP has confirmed they will be fine  without one

Happy sailing

[ldubs]

12 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 

some lines require passports  even on closed loop cruises  MSC may be one or not

The OP has confirmed they will be fine  without one

Happy sailing

 

That is surprising.  Are you talking about closed loop cruises by US citizens out of US ports?

[Charles4515]

10 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

If I had an injured child that needed medical attention, the last thing I'd want to do is spend even five minutes dealing with the authorities  to get us out of the country without a passport.  Just common sense in my book.  Why would you NOT get him a passport?

 

I don't know why OP has not gotten the child a passport but that was not the question that was asked. If it were my child they would have a passport. Sometimes it is poor planing and there is a lack of time to get a passport or maybe it is the expense of a five year passport. Whatever reason it.is the parents decision.  

[Charles4515]

17 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

That is surprising.  Are you talking about closed loop cruises by US citizens out of US ports?

Cruise lines can require passports or six months validity even if the US government or other governments do not. Oceania is one that does. You won't find that to be the case with mainstream cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines lobbied for the closed loop exception because a large percentage of US citizens don't have passports. For families a passport expense can add up so that could discourage bookings. Their potential customer base. Possibly for small niche cruise lines it is simply easier to require passports than check passengers documents other documents or expire dates. The customers of Oceania and other niche lines are also likely to be cruising other than the Caribbean. Also Oceania for example has an older demographic and few children. 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Charles4515

[sparks1093]

25 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

If I had an injured child that needed medical attention, the last thing I'd want to do is spend even five minutes dealing with the authorities  to get us out of the country without a passport.  Just common sense in my book.  Why would you NOT get him a passport?

That's certainly fine, but everyone looks at things differently. I know that when we started cruising it would have set us back around $850 for passports for everyone, so we decided to wait to get them until we actually needed them for the travel. (and the arrangements are made between the port agent and the authorities, you wouldn't have anything to do with it.)

[GeezerCouple]

18 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

That is surprising.  Are you talking about closed loop cruises by US citizens out of US ports?

 

11 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Cruise lines can require passports or six months validity even if the US government or other governments do not. Oceania is one that does. You won't find that to be the case with mainstream cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines lobbied for the closed loop exception because a large percentage of US citizens don't have passports. Their potential customer base. Possibly for small niche cruise lines it is simply easier to require passports than check passengers documents other documents or expire dates. The customers of Oceania and other niche lines are also likely to be cruising other than the Caribbean. Also Oceania for example has an older demographic and few children. 

 

There are some countries that require that passengers on cruise ships have passports, and have passports that are valid at least 6 months beyond the travel date.  (They may require that of any arriving foreigners, regardless of whether the mode is ship or air, etc.)

 

And... a cruise line can have any requirements they wish, as long as the requirements aren't illegal.  So a cruise line *could* require passports that are valid for, say, 2 years past the return date.  Because this probably wouldn't be appreciated by passengers, and isn't needed for any other reason, it's unlikely ever to occur like that. 🙄

 

The point is that what one company does isn't necessarily what other companies do; what one country does isn't necessarily what other countries do...

 

Our children and grands had passports prior to their first trip out of the USA, regardless of age (and the youngest was 18 months old at the time of his first foreign trip).  That made it very easy for other trips; just keep those passports up to date... like with the adults (although when the children are young, the passports need to be renewed more often).  Then there is never a scramble about timing of travel or perhaps finding a last minute bargain trip. 🙂 

GC

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

That is surprising.  Are you talking about closed loop cruises by US citizens out of US ports?

Yes

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Cruise lines can require passports or six months validity even if the US government or other governments do not. Oceania is one that does. You won't find that to be the case with mainstream cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines lobbied for the closed loop exception because a large percentage of US citizens don't have passports. For families a passport expense can add up so that could discourage bookings. Their potential customer base. Possibly for small niche cruise lines it is simply easier to require passports than check passengers documents other documents or expire dates. The customers of Oceania and other niche lines are also likely to be cruising other than the Caribbean. Also Oceania for example has an older demographic and few children. 

 

Thanks.  Nice to have an actual real life example instead of a bunch of could be generalizations.