Passport question

[glo1]

Do you need a passport for the Caribbean? Eastern or Western? I can see needing one for the Western if you are going to Cozumel, Mexico, but do you need one for St. Thomas and the rest of the Islands?

[Mark_K]

They are strongly recommended but not required for those itineraries.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits" Mark Twain

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's formal night attire, poolside attire, child rearing practices, walk-talkie usage, chair hogging, seat saving, line cutting ..." Mark_K

[glo1]

Thank you Mark, so if you are going to Mexico it is required though right?

[imsulin]

Where did you hear that you needed a Passport for Mexico? You don't need one - just the standard certified copy of your birth certificate and your driver's license. St. Thomas is one of the [B]US[/B] Virgin Islands, and is on the Eastern/Southern itinerary. Cozumel, Mexico, is on the Western itinerary.

Having said this, I never travel anywhere without my Passport, and haven't for years. $85.00 will buy you ten year's worth of your guarantee of citizenship.

[glo1]

Thank YOU [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[banderboo]

While you don't need one for either of those itineraries I would get your passport. Check in and clearing customs is so much easier with a passport.

Diane
Legend of the Sea 9/12/04
Voyager of the Sea 8/24/03
Sovereign of the Sea 07/01

[cruzin2paradise]

And while we're on the subject, . . .

We have our passports, and my two kids do too. Should they sign themselves? Should I sign on behalf of them? They are 13 and 8 . . . will be 14 and 9 when we go . . . never thought to ask when we sent in the applications.

If anyone knows, PLEASE respond.

Thanks!!

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=1683059817&m=913106321"]11/20/04 Voyager Roll Call[/url]
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=dc143c&cdt=2004;11;20;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
till my Voyage of the Seas

[banderboo]

We had my DD sign herself.

Diane
Legend of the Sea 9/12/04
Voyager of the Sea 8/24/03
Sovereign of the Sea 07/01

[Mark_K]

Anybody old enough to do so should sign their own name.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits" Mark Twain

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's formal night attire, poolside attire, child rearing practices, walk-talkie usage, chair hogging, seat saving, line cutting ..." Mark_K

[karfest]

We had always used drivers license/birth certificate and it worked fine, but this year we got passports. What a difference- from check in at the airlines to embarking to customs & immigration it seemed to go much faster. You just don't seem to be scrutinized as much with a passport. The kids are going with us next time so I will be getting them passports as well.. The day may soon be here that passports will be required so you might as well avoid the rush.

Karen
Carnival Inspiration-So Carib
RCCL Grandeur of the Seas-East Carib
NCL Sun-West Carib
Dawn Princess-Mexican Riviera
up next- NCL Star to Mexico!

[hambone1205]

just go get one make your life simple with all the crap thats going on you can't go wrong

[luv2camp]

Cruzin2paradise:

I got this direct from U.S. Department of State website on the question of how to sign for a minor.

=================
My child is too young to sign his/her own passport. How do I sign my child's passport?

In the space provided for the signature, the mother or father must print the child's name and sign their own name. Then, in parenthesis by the parent's name, write the word (mother) or (father) so we know who signed for the child.
======================
I would highly recommend that you review the U.S. Department of State website at [url="http://www.travel.state.gov/passport_services.html"]http://www.travel.state.gov/passport_services.html[/url]

This will give you the official list of countries that require passports. We recently were on the Serenade S. Carib itin and was never asked for passport. On CCL Miracle Western we did have to show at a few ports. You never know when "the rules" will change...be prepared.

Carnival Pride 06/08/2002
Carnival Glory 09/06/2003
RCCL Serenade 04/17/04
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=a0522d&cdt=2004;09;19;20;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
Until VOS New England/Canda

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=a0522d&cdt=2005;08;28;20;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
Until SOS Alaska Inside Passage

[Moeve]

Please don´t get this the wrong way but do you know just how absurd this sounds to some of us? Your country is going to finger print & photograph the rest of the world as of Oct because they no longer consider machine readable passports as safe enough and then we hear about soo many of you willing to LEAVE your country on a scrap of paper with a seal on it. I don´t think some of you don´t realize that if something happens & you need to leave the ship some where in the Carib to fly home then you cannot do so without a passport!! Don´t believe me ? Well then I would suggest you do a small search on this very board and read the terrible experience of another RCCL cruiser from last year... Her husband passed away on the cruise and they had no passports. This poor lady not only had to deal with the trauma off lossing her lifemate but was also having to deal with a lot of additional red tape.

Ok I´m off my soap box now.

[HappyStamper]

Moeve,
Point well taken. While I am a very frugal traveller, I consider the $85 for a passport a wise investment in peace of mind.