Passport Debate

I'm going to be calling RCL before our cruise, just to make sure, but.....

It is my understanding that if you are sailing a "closed loop" cruise, you do not need a passport. Is this correct? Our only port will be Cozumel.

Having this debate with my DD whose aunt is insisting that she needs a passport.

Thanks for your help!

I'm going to be calling RCL before our cruise, just to make sure, but.....

 

It is my understanding that if you are sailing a "closed loop" cruise, you do not need a passport. Is this correct? Our only port will be Cozumel.

 

Having this debate with my DD whose aunt is insisting that she needs a passport.

 

Thanks for your help!

No passport is needed.

I believe you are correct, but you will need a government issued photo ID and an " original " birth certificate " no copies. It is always smart to just get a passport

BUT you do need an OFFICIAL Birth Certificate (not hospital issued, etc), government issued photo ID, and documentation of any name changes (eg marriage certificate,etc). The last is often not asked for, but if it is and you can not produce it, you may be denied boarding.

Thom

You really need to call Rc and get info like this from them. Also, it is on the RC website. Official birth cert (no copies) and if married, marriage certificate as a bridge document to your current ID. Honestly, though, I would call RC.

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Just got off IOS, I didn't have my renewed passport so I took my driver's license, birth certificate and wedding certificate, they did ask to see my wedding certificate, glad I had it, but I'm renewing my passport to make it easier.

You really need to call Rc and get info like this from them. Also, it is on the RC website. Official birth cert (no copies) and if married, marriage certificate as a bridge document to your current ID. Honestly, though, I would call RC.

BTW the RCI website says among other things: It is the sole responsibility of the guest to identify and obtain all required travel documents for the entire cruise vacation and have them available when necessary. And RCI specifies that the "current ID" has to be an original government-issued picture ID.

correct you do not need a passport unless something goes wrong

if you need to fly home because ship gets stuck (that hasnt happened lately) or you need to fly back to the usa because of a emergency or medical issue you will need that passport but if nothing bad happens and you stay on the ship and return to usa with the ship you do not need a passport.

My understanding is that you do not need a passport. However, I highly recommend getting one if the cost isn't too much of an issue. It's easier and eventually she may need one anyway so it's good to have.

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RCI agents are notorious for WRONG info. You HAVE to be kidding if you think a phone call to RCI will turn up a more reliable answer than a debate here on Cruise Critic.

 

BTW the RCI website says among other things: It is the sole responsibility of the guest to identify and obtain all required travel documents for the entire cruise vacation and have them available when necessary. And RCI specifies that the "current ID" has to be an original government-issued picture ID.

Gee Thom, thanks for saying that in such a KIND way. I still hold that it's up to people to take personal responsibility for reading the site and contacting RC. This is not information that is new nor has changed. Every agent should be able to answer this question.

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Since you live in Michigan, you can get an "enhanced drivers license" to serve the same purpose as a passport. You can apply right at the SOS office (get the forms & list of required docs on their website). Only takes about 2 weeks and much cheaper than a passport. With this you do not need to bring any other docs with you on the cruise. These are valid for travel ( by car or cruise only) into Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. We have been using ours for years with no issues.

Get the passport. If the unknowable, unplanned emergency occurs you cannot fly home from anywhere outside the US without a passport. Why take the chance.

Every agent should be able to answer this question.

If you are American, you do NOT need a passport for a closed loop cruise in the Caribbean. Period.

If you are American, you do NOT need a passport for a closed loop cruise in the Caribbean. Period.

Not for now. As long as it's allowed, there will be people who choose not to have them. You do have to have appropriate documentation, though. RC follows security guidelines more than other cruise lines.

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And as always - should you have an emergency and need to get home from any foreign port without a passport you will not be able to fly

RC follows security guidelines more than other cruise lines.

How do you know that???

Well, I just know there was a lengthy discussion on the social media site whose name we cannot mention here, and several mentioned that in Carnival they had never had to show a bridge doc, I.e., a marriage license. I asked John Heald about it, spokesperson for Carnival, and he said they would be in violation of the rules if they didn't, yet there were a number of people on our board whom C had never requested it from.

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Well, I just know there was a lengthy discussion on the social media site whose name we cannot mention here, and several mentioned that in Carnival they had never had to show a bridge doc, I.e., a marriage license. I asked John Heald about it, spokesperson for Carnival, and he said they would be in violation of the rules if they didn't, yet there were a number of people on our board whom C had never requested it from.

Unfortunately your are incorrect or your sample group is very small.

My mother who has been married 3x was able to get on RC 2 times with only a birth certificate and nothing else.

They let her right on , nobody said a word.

Just saying..............

Unfortunately your are incorrect or your sample group is very small.

 

 

 

My mother who has been married 3x was able to get on RC 2 times with only a birth certificate and nothing else.

 

 

 

They let her right on , nobody said a word...

All I know is that it was a common happening on C, according to those reporting. That discussion ensued because of a person who had only cruised on Carnival, and they never asked for the license, and she was mad at RC because they told her to bring a license.

The important thing is for people to have ALL documents needed so they won't be denied boarding. Sure would hate for your Mom to have that happen, but maybe she goes prepared so she will present the bridge document which is, by rules, required. Not a cruise line rule, government agency.

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The closed loop exception regulation (WHTI) takes into account that any legal name change, such as by marriage or divorce, nowadays must be proven by marriage or divorce decree in order to change the name on government issued picture ID. Therefore, the regulation does not require bridge documents.

Cruiselines are free to increase their own document requirements if they wish. Some choose to require passports on all cruises, including closed loop. RCI used to list a bridge document requirement, but they have since removed that from their travel documentation page. When using a BC and ID, it may be wise to bring proof of the name change even if not required.

I think that the best place to ask or look is here:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

and make sure do not miss this section that is included in the above link;

"HOWEVER, it is possible that one or more of the Caribbean Islands on your itinerary, does require you to have a passport to enter their country. In that case, it is very possible that the cruise line will require you to have a passport to board, even if it is not a U.S. requirement. You should always check with your cruise ship, travel agent and or destination country to confirm the requirements for entry into the foreign countries you will be visiting. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provides document requirements for entry into the United States only."

OP, if all goes fine on the cruise, you don't need a passport.

If something goes wrong and you need to fly home, yiou'll need a passport. If something goes wrong, I want to be on the plane ASAP. I don't want to be sitting in a bureaucrat's office, waiting for an expedited passport for hours or a day or more.

We travel with passports.

***************

The head honcho being talked to doesn't know how things are being run.

Very very few people on CC (and I am on DCL and RCCL boards) have ever said they needed the bridging document.

I wish they needed them. It freaks me out to think that people can show a birth cert that says Mary Smith and a DL that says Mary Colucci, and the officials just believe that it's the same person without proof. Yes the DMV requires proof, but they are also standing there looking at those extra certificates and there's a strong chance it's the same person. Mary gives them a BC that says Smith and a license with Colucci...where's the proof that there was a name change at all? What if she's really Mary Colucci and the BC wasn't hers at all?

If DH changes his name to mine (seems less likely after 11 years of marriage, but then again his mom is still alive to freak out if he does and she finds out...she still doesn't know we hyphenated DS) it would be because of marriage, and he'd certainly be asked for the official name change documents. So a woman should, too.

I think that the best place to ask or look is here:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

 

and make sure do not miss this section that is included in the above link;

 

"HOWEVER, it is possible that one or more of the Caribbean Islands on your itinerary, does require you to have a passport to enter their country. In that case, it is very possible that the cruise line will require you to have a passport to board, even if it is not a U.S. requirement. You should always check with your cruise ship, travel agent and or destination country to confirm the requirements for entry into the foreign countries you will be visiting. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provides document requirements for entry into the United States only."

Biggest most important super-fun bit about that site is that it does NOT say you need a certified copy.

It says:

U.S. Citizens on closed-loop cruises will be able to enter or depart the country on the cruise with proof of citizenship, such as an original or copy of his or her birth certificate (issued by the Vital Records Department in the state where he or she was born)

You can get a copy from Vital Records, or you can get a CERTIFIED copy from Vital Records. They don't tell you to get a certified copy. :)

The closed loop exception regulation (WHTI) takes into account that any legal name change, such as by marriage or divorce, nowadays must be proven by marriage or divorce decree in order to change the name on government issued picture ID. Therefore, the regulation does not require bridge documents...

"Closed Loop" Cruises: U.S. citizens who board a cruise ship at a port within the United States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship may present a government issued photo identification, along with proof of citizenship (an original or copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization).

Note that this does NOT say that the government issued photo identification has to be yours, so I hope that we can agree that the statement I have quoted is NOT the entirety of the situation. Can you provide documentation showing that bridge documents are absolutely not necessary with a BC and photo ID?

Thom

Thomas, no, because some cruiselines did ask for them and because you are asking to prove a negative. The point here is that some people will be asked for them, but it is not a US government requirement. So most people will not be asked for them. It helps to remember that the BC is not an identity document, only the government issued ID is an identity document. The birthdate on both documents links them as does the first and middle/maiden name in most cases. If that data is different, or if the cruiseline has issued different requirements then bridging documents could be requested.