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Cruising without a passport


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I would like to find a short cruise that does not require a passport to see if my 3 children will enjoy cruising. Is this possible? Would the 3-day Baja cruise on Carnival work? I don't need advice about why I should get a passport, so please don't flame.

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About 4 years ago, we went on a cruise on HAL out of San Diego to the Mexican Riviera. It was an 8 or 9 day cruise. It was closed loop as it also returned to San Diego.

My son age 28, had no passport and could not board, he did have his birth certificate and drivers licence, and we had been told, prior to the cruise by T/A, that this was all that was necessary. It was a useless endeavor pleading with gov't officials.:mad: I tossed him the car key's and said "see you in a week"

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About 4 years ago, we went on a cruise on HAL out of San Diego to the Mexican Riviera. It was an 8 or 9 day cruise. It was closed loop as it also returned to San Diego.

My son age 28, had no passport and could not board, he did have his birth certificate and drivers licence, and we had been told, prior to the cruise by T/A, that this was all that was necessary. It was a useless endeavor pleading with gov't officials.:mad: I tossed him the car key's and said "see you in a week"

 

Is it a matter of "government officials" meaning border control? Or HAL letting your son on the ship. That's what I don't get. Who decides?

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Another consideration for having a passport when you cruise to another country is the fact that you will be unable to board a commercial airline to return home should you miss the ship or become ill in a foreign port.

 

Yes, the US embassy in the country you’re stranded in will help you obtain one, or a diplomatic pass, but the embassy staff can be scarce on weekends and holidays.

 

Even on weekdays it may take you a few days to get authorised.

 

99.99% of the time you will be just fine with just a birth certificate. But if things take a turn for the worse, a passport is worth its weight in gold.

 

My best wishes to you. :)

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I would like to find a short cruise that does not require a passport to see if my 3 children will enjoy cruising. Is this possible? Would the 3-day Baja cruise on Carnival work? I don't need advice about why I should get a passport, so please don't flame.

 

Firstly, you'll need to take a closed loop cruise. The United States requires the passport for re-entry into the United States for all journeys, except a closed loop cruise. Secondly you'll need to find a closed loop cruise that visits countries that are willing to let an alien [always loved the way the US uses that to refer to a citizen of another country, so it's somewhat appropriate here] to enter their country without a passport.

 

There are a few, but you might have to do some digging

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Is it a matter of "government officials" meaning border control? Or HAL letting your son on the ship. That's what I don't get. Who decides?

It was govt. officials that made the call, I don't know if they were border patrol or homeland security as they were in a separate area, and HAL rep would talk to them, and then talk to me. I never actually saw the govt. official.

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I would like to find a short cruise that does not require a passport to see if my 3 children will enjoy cruising. Is this possible? Would the 3-day Baja cruise on Carnival work? I don't need advice about why I should get a passport, so please don't flame.

Yes...you will only need a "Certified" copy of their birth certificates for this cruise..you can easily verify this with Carnival.

 

Go and enjoy !!

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... he did have his birth certificate and drivers licence, and we had been told, prior to the cruise by T/A, that this was all that was necessary...

That is all that is necessary; so did the government official tell you which of those was incorrect? Was the DL expired, for example? The BC was not issued by the state/county/city? Your son was born outside of the U.S.? Names didn't match? What was it?

Edited by cherylandtk
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Buck, thanks for your story. At least one other CCer recently took a 4-day Baja closed loop from LA on Carnival and didn't have a passport for one of the guests, so I guess it's not uniform. :confused:

 

I hate to waste the $350 on getting passports, but I also don't want to be denied boarding. Ugh!!!

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That is all that is necessary; so did the government official tell you which of those was incorrect? Was the DL expired, for example? The BC was not issued by the state/county/city? Your son was born outside of the U.S.? Names didn't match? What was it?

 

They told us "no passport, no travel" no is's, no and's, and no but's.

His birth cert.was the original and drivers licence was up to date and both from California. We had traveled this way many times prior to this cruise.

We are all native Caucasian Californians .

Edited by Buck Turgidson
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Buck, thanks for your story. At least one other CCer recently took a 4-day Baja closed loop from LA on Carnival and didn't have a passport for one of the guests, so I guess it's not uniform. :confused:

 

I hate to waste the $350 on getting passports, but I also don't want to be denied boarding. Ugh!!!

 

We got about 300 dollars back from the T/A

 

This did happen at a time when the govt. was making changes to required travel documentation and I think I just got a govt. official that was confused about the changes.

Edited by Buck Turgidson
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Buck, not sure when you took that cruise, but if it was around the time of WHTI implementation it would have been shortly after June 1, 2009. I am sorry to hear that they really messed up, but fortunately you received some compensation from your TA. Also fortunate is the fact that the ports have learned a lot about the law in the intervening six years.

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Buck, not sure when you took that cruise, but if it was around the time of WHTI implementation it would have been shortly after June 1, 2009. I am sorry to hear that they really messed up, but fortunately you received some compensation from your TA. Also fortunate is the fact that the ports have learned a lot about the law in the intervening six years.

Thank's, yes it was '09 or '10. I was lucky my son was old enough to be on his own, with my ATM card,:rolleyes: he went to family about 100 miles away .

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  • 1 month later...

The rules are getting more complicated and changing constantly on several different fronts.

 

Although it is still "legal" for US Citizens to take a closed loop cruise from the USA, using only a driving license and birth certificate, cruise lines and Immigration Officials are becoming less and less enchanted with the idea.

 

A closed loop cruise has a more relaxed Immigration inspection status when it returns to the USA. Less paperwork is required by US Officials and less scrutiny is required to clear the ship and passengers. Fewer Immigration Officials are needed to clear the ship quickly. The ship gets cleared faster, and passengers get ashore earlier. Fewer passengers miss their early inexpensive flights, provisions get loaded earlier, the ship is ready for embarcation earlier and easier.

 

But if a closed loop cruise has passengers without passports, re-entry into the USA requires heightened Immigration scrutiny, more paperwork, and slower clearance. This makes more work for Immigration Officials and ship's Purser Department. More disembarking passengers miss their early discount flights, ship's crew has to work harder and faster to get the ship ready, provisions get aboard later, and embark is sometimes delayed.

 

Most people do not realize that US Immigration is divided into distinct districts around the USA, with very little central government control. In each district, the commanding officer has much leeway in how Immigration laws and procedures are executed and conducted. With very limited budgets, some of these Districts choose to reduce manpower and limit their activities. One of the best ways to accomplish this is requiring passports of all passengers on all cruises - including closed loop cruises - which reduces manpower needs in clearing ships that re-enter the USA.

 

In some US ports, US Immigration puts pressure on the cruise lines to require passports for all passengers, regardless of the type of cruise. With the cruise lines and US Immigration both looking to reduce manpower, reduce costs, and improve turnaround time, it is a no-brainer for both to agree to require passports for all cruises from US Ports. Not all cruise lines are doing this yet, but it is coming.

 

It is a wise idea to contact your cruise line to confirm if they are yet requiring passports on closed loop cruises from the USA.

It is even a wiser idea to get a passport to avoid getting caught up in this mess.

Edited by BruceMuzz
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Many people were using BCs in Long Beach in December (Carnival Imagination) and January (Carnival Inspiration). CBP had every window open and an extra officer in front of the booths processing people.

In November our group had a 7yo traveling with her grandmother. The child used a BC. Golden Princess out of San Pedro.

YMMV

Edited by SadieN
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...In some US ports, US Immigration puts pressure on the cruise lines to require passports for all passengers, regardless of the type of cruise. With the cruise lines and US Immigration both looking to reduce manpower, reduce costs, and improve turnaround time, it is a no-brainer for both to agree to require passports for all cruises from US Ports. Not all cruise lines are doing this yet, but it is coming.

...

 

I'm afraid you are hitting the brick wall of anti-passport sentiment that prevails on this board. There are some members who patrol the boards with convoluted logic like:

* "my governement says I can travel like this without one so I will"

* "if I got one when I started cruising like this X years of validity would already be gone"

* "I'm not going to spend that money for the one in a million possible emergency."

And my personal favorite:

* "a foreign country doesn't want to keep you - it may be a hassle but it's a 100% guarantee that you will get home".

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  • 4 weeks later...

A Passport Card is always a good option if money is the reason for not wanting a passport....and it is more convenient since it is the size of a drivers license. A passport card is good for land and sea entry for Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean...you cannot fly using the card. The card for first timers is $55, or $30 if you've ever had a passport before...compared to $135/$110 for a regular passport book.

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