Birth certificate and photo ID is fine, right?

[RuxieGirl]

I spoke to a rep at the Carnival Cruise customer service, but now I'm totally paranoid that we got wrong information, so please affirm that what I understand to be true is actually true!

I have a current passport, but my DH does not, we are cruising out of Miami and will return to Miami. POC's are Grand Turk, San Juan, PR, and St. Thomas. I was told that since it's a "closed loop" cruise and starts and ends in the USA, all he needs to travel is his birth certificate and his driver's license. This is correct, yes?

PLEASE SAY THIS IS CORRECT! Otherwise we're in big fat trouble.

Thanks for letting me know.

[Shmoo here]

Originally Posted by RuxieGirl

I spoke to a rep at the Carnival Cruise customer service, but now I'm totally paranoid that we got wrong information, so please affirm that what I understand to be true is actually true!

I have a current passport, but my DH does not, we are cruising out of Miami and will return to Miami. POC's are Grand Turk, San Juan, PR, and St. Thomas. I was told that since it's a "closed loop" cruise and starts and ends in the USA, all he needs to travel is his birth certificate and his driver's license. This is correct, yes?

PLEASE SAY THIS IS CORRECT! Otherwise we're in big fat trouble.

Thanks for letting me know.

As long as it's a CERTIFIED birth certificate, not the one from the hospital, you'll be fine.

[CapeCodCruiser]

Must be the state issued BC with the state seal - raised or not depending on your state.

[Alliezona09]

https://www.vitalchek.com/birth-certificates also if you are questioning the BC your DH has, you can also order a certified copy of his BC from that site. I ordered one for my DH last year from Florida for $10

[MedicKen]

I assume your husband is a US Citizen also.

[cb at sea]

Yes. That's all he needs.

[dwjoe]

One other point - Puerto Rico birth certifcates issued prior to 7/1/2010 are not acceptable.

[Putterdude]

You will be fine but you need to remember if you missed the ship in one of the ports or had to fly home for some reason you do need a passport.

[Jimnbigd]

I thought a passport was not required to fly out of a USA territory. So flying from San Juan or St. Thomas might not be a problem. Or, am I missing something here? Still, you would need it to fly from a non-USA place (Grand Turk in your case), but this is very unlikely. Have a great cruise.

[dwjoe]

Originally Posted by Jimnbigd

I thought a passport was not required to fly out of a USA territory. So flying from San Juan or St. Thomas might not be a problem. Or, am I missing something here? Still, you would need it to fly from a non-USA place (Grand Turk in your case), but this is very unlikely. Have a great cruise.

Flights from San Juan or St Thomas to the US mainland would be considered domestic, and not require a passport. So as a fallback plan, if you need to fly home due to an emergency, you could do it from one of those ports.

Found this handy link from Dept of State that summarizes documentation requirements for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...a_tw_2223.html

[njhorseman]

Originally Posted by dwjoe

Flights from San Juan or St Thomas to the US mainland would be considered domestic, and not require a passport. So as a fallback plan, if you need to fly home due to an emergency, you could do it from one of those ports.

Found this handy link from Dept of State that summarizes documentation requirements for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...a_tw_2223.html

Handy...but incomplete, as is much of the information published by the State Department on this subject. The summary table omits other WHTI-compliant documents such as Enhanced Drivers Licenses and various trusted traveler cards such as Nexus that can be used for certain types of international travel.

The proper source of such information is the Department of Homeland Security, which makes and enforces these rules, not the State Department. This is a far better source of information:

http://getyouhome.gov/html/eng_map.html

[dwjoe]

Originally Posted by njhorseman

Handy...but incomplete, as is much of the information published by the State Department on this subject. The summary table omits other WHTI-compliant documents such as Enhanced Drivers Licenses and various trusted traveler cards such as Nexus that can be used for certain types of international travel.

The proper source of such information is the Department of Homeland Security, which makes and enforces these rules, not the State Department. This is a far better source of information:

http://getyouhome.gov/html/eng_map.html

State was heavilly involved in crafting WHTI and entry requirements and the info at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...a_tw_2223.html is accurate. I've directed people to getyouhome.gov in the past. But I find the State Dept table much easier to understand at a glance. What people need to know is, if I'm travelling by air/sea/land from country X what basic doc do I need. Listing all possible documents is overkill for most folks... Enhanced DL's are only available in 4 states... Nexus requires fingerprinting and a Canadian security interview.

Here is the State table in text form. Nice and simple.

Returning to the U.S. From Any International Location
Type of Travel Air
Document Required U.S. Passport Book

Returning to the U.S. From Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean Region
Type of Travel Land
Document Required U.S. Passport Book or Card

Returning to the U.S. From Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the
Caribbean Region
Type of Travel Sea
Document Required U.S. Passport Book or Card

Returning to the U.S. From A U.S. Territory
Type of Travel Air, Land or Sea
Document Required Valid Photo ID

[njhorseman]

Nice and simple...and incomplete.

By the way, State's guidance on entry requirements for cruise passengers is a total disaster for most countries covered by WHTI. When you read the listings by country they omit the fact that passports requirements are waived in most cases for cruise passengers. Take their advice and you'll think you need a passport for countries that actually will allow cruise passengers in with a birth certificate and photo ID or other WHTI document.

[njhorseman]

And that table is so incomplete that it omits the simplest and most important documentation allowed for closed loop cruises...birth certificate and photo ID.

[dwjoe]

Originally Posted by njhorseman

By the way, State's guidance on entry requirements for cruise passengers is a total disaster for most countries covered by WHTI. When you read the listings by country they omit the fact that passports requirements are waived in most cases for cruise passengers. Take their advice and you'll think you need a passport for countries that actually will allow cruise passengers in with a birth certificate and photo ID or other WHTI document.

I was only talking about the handy dandy table. Looking at the country-by-country information, it's at least a starting point to look up entry/exit requirements. It has links and contact details from each country's embassy for further research, and State is the best website I've found that compiles it in a central place. Do you have a better one?

Originally Posted by njhorseman

And that table is so incomplete that it omits the simplest and most important documentation allowed for closed loop cruises...birth certificate and photo ID.

Yes, the closed loop cruises is the one thing missing for CCers. Getyouhome.gov has that info, but buried a couple pages in and it usually has to be specifically called out to people asking for help on CC. OTOH, getyouhome.gov is not laid out well. It is organized by document, which isn't a natural way for a traveller to think about it.

[njhorseman]

Originally Posted by dwjoe

I was only talking about the handy dandy table. Looking at the country-by-country information, it's at least a starting point to look up entry/exit requirements. It has links and contact details from each country's embassy for further research, and State is the best website I've found that compiles it in a central place. Do you have a better one?


Yes, the closed loop cruises is the one thing missing for CCers. Getyouhome.gov has that info, but buried a couple pages in and it usually has to be specifically called out to people asking for help on CC. OTOH, getyouhome.gov is not laid out well. It is organized by document, which isn't a natural way for a traveller to think about it.

Yes, last I checked, we are posting on Cruise Critic. The overwhelming majority of posts and posters come from the US, very frequently asking the very question that started this thread...whether a birth certificate and photo ID is adequate documentation for a closed loop cruise, or something very similar.

So what use is a table that omits the options that cruisers from the US actually have? According to that table, a passport or passport card is required for all cruises, which of course is patently false.

So if you think if you think it's of value to Cruise Critic members to refer them to a web page that has incomplete and misleading information, please continue to exercise your right to do so, while I will continue to post complete and accurate information for the benefit of those who would prefer the correct answer to their questions.

[wallie5446]

Unless I missed a post, the OP did not say when they are going. Isa there no time left to get him one?
IMHO.
When in doubt get him a Passport. Go to the local Gov Passport office, pay the extra $$ for the quick return.
Always better safe than 'opps'!

[dwjoe]

Originally Posted by njhorseman

So what use is a table that omits the options that cruisers from the US actually have? According to that table, a passport or passport card is required for all cruises, which of course is patently false.

So if you think if you think it's of value to Cruise Critic members to refer them to a web page that has incomplete and misleading information, please continue to exercise your right to do so, while I will continue to post complete and accurate information for the benefit of those who would prefer the correct answer to their questions.

Patently false? You exaggerate. It gives the general case for all types of travel. Closed loop cruises are an exception and IMO best addressed by specifically calling attention to it when replying on CC. Rather than referring people to a website where it's 3 pages in and buried amidst info on Nexus and other docs that are irrelevant to most CC members. I will continue to post correct info and referring people to useful websites. And I object to your suggesting that I am doing otherwise.

[njhorseman]

Originally Posted by dwjoe

Patently false? You exaggerate. It gives the general case for all types of travel. Closed loop cruises are an exception and IMO best addressed by specifically calling attention to it when replying on CC. Rather than referring people to a website where it's 3 pages in and buried amidst info on Nexus and other docs that are irrelevant to most CC members. I will continue to post correct info and referring people to useful websites. And I object to your suggesting that I am doing otherwise.

You continue to ignore the fact that it's precisely that exception which generates the almost daily threads, such as this one, started by novice cruisers who need to know whether they can use a birth certificate and photo ID rather than a passport for their cruise.

So, when you refer them to that page, you're linking them to misinformation that states a passport or passport card is required. You can object until the cows come home, but you are providing a link to a web page that provides incomplete and misleading information.

By the way, when I refer posters to the "get you home" site, I give them the direct link to the page you're objecting to because it's "3 pages in"...so that means they will get the proper information for closed loop cruises on the first page they see when they follow the link: http://getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/eng_sa.html

[dwjoe]

Originally Posted by njhorseman

So, when you refer them to that page, you're linking them to misinformation that states a passport or passport card is required. You can object until the cows come home, but you are providing a link to a web page that provides incomplete and misleading information.

By the way, when I refer posters to the "get you home" site, I give them the direct link to the page you're objecting to because it's "3 pages in"...so that means they will get the proper information for closed loop cruises on the first page they see when they follow the link: http://getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/eng_sa.html

The concise State table at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...a_tw_2223.html can answer many general questions, like I did in this thread re the side question of what docs are required to fly to the US mainland from US territory. Re the DL/BC exception, IMO the best way to answer is to call it out specifically on CC, rather than just linking. The getyouhome.gov exception page lists half a dozen other mostly irrelevant exceptions, and is not so clear as to require no explanation.

For completeness, the State table at has a link to the main getyouhome.gov page right under the table, and a direct link to the exception page further down, under "Exceptions and Special Circumstances". So it is not "patently false".