Passport question

[bruce85]

Sailing from Port Carnival on MSC. 3-day cruise. Stops Nassau and private island. We are US citizens. I have passports but my son and his girlfriend want to join us. She does not have a passport. Is one needed? cruise is next month. I called MSC they couldn't advise. When I did my check in there was an option to either enter passport info or ID info. They have not booked yet. Want to make sure she can sail without one.

[phissy]

This is a good question for Bret.
He is a TA that books MSC quite a bit. He would know what would be accepted, cruising out of Florida.

Cruiseguyinorl is his CruiseCritic name.

Edited August 22, 2022 by phissy

[publicpersona]

23 minutes ago, bruce85 said:

I called MSC they couldn't advise.

 

Wow. That's really insane. And a search of their website and of MSC cruise documents for a similar cruise yield nothing useful.

 

Typically, a U.S. citizen on a closed-loop (same embark/disembark U.S. port) needs only a birth certificate and a government-issued ID to re-enter the U.S., so a passport is not needed unless a destination port requires otherwise. Here's more info with respect to CBP, but MSC could have additional requirements. Shame on them for not giving you an authoritative answer.

 

Documents - Do I need a passport for a cruise? (cbp.gov)

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by publicpersona

[poohdreaming]

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/before-you-go/travel-documents-visas

https://www.nassauparadiseisland.com/getting-here/passports-entry-requirements

https://covertrip.com/trip-planning/can-you-travel-to-the-bahamas-from-the-us-without-a-passport

 

What publicpersona mentioned is true about a U.S. citizen/resident on a closed-loop cruise not having a passport. A passport is needed when in case you are sick/need to get off board and if necessary, to fly from that port to home. Without a passport, can use birth certificate and ID (real ID).

[kelleherdl]

The CBP info is what you need.  MSC absolutely permits US citizens to sail with a US birth certificate PLUS a picture I.d. If the passenger is a child without a government-issued picture I.d. A parent’s is used.  The birth certificate must be an official government birth certificate, not a hospital one. Puerto Rican birth certificates must be the blue-bordered ones, not the pink-bordered ones.

 

Also as already pointed out this only refers to the closed-loop cruises out of US ports.

 

there are multiple other documents that prove US Citizenship so you can sail, but the question here is birth certificate.

 

Dennis

Edited August 22, 2022 by kelleherdl

[murph1031]

Thanks for the replies and great help. 😀