Cruising without a passport?

[Iamthesea]

DH and I are starting to think about cruising again.  Our last cruise was in May of 2019.   Although we did travel by air to London and Paris over the summer, we have not considered a cruise because of all things related to Covid - illness, quarantine, service issues, etc.  From reading recent trip reports, it appears that some of these issues are improving.

 

We did come back from Europe with a nasty case of Covid, so know that it is easily picked up.  Even so, we would like to get back on a ship perhaps before the year is up. Or maybe in January or February.   The problem is that our passports expire in March of 2023.  We need to get them renewed and not sure how long it will take to get them back, so thinking we would send off for new passports, but book a cruise where one is not needed.  We have not kept up with cruise regulations of traveling without a passport.  Can it still be done with a DL and birth certificate?  If so, where would we be allowed to go?

[jwlane]

https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/travel-documents

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

Alaska, but since you are asking this question at the tail end of the Alaska sailing season, book Alaska for the upcoming 2023 season and get your passports renewed!

 

[Dthomas1]

5 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

DH and I are starting to think about cruising again.  Our last cruise was in May of 2019.   Although we did travel by air to London and Paris over the summer, we have not considered a cruise because of all things related to Covid - illness, quarantine, service issues, etc.  From reading recent trip reports, it appears that some of these issues are improving.

 

We did come back from Europe with a nasty case of Covid, so know that it is easily picked up.  Even so, we would like to get back on a ship perhaps before the year is up. Or maybe in January or February.   The problem is that our passports expire in March of 2023.  We need to get them renewed and not sure how long it will take to get them back, so thinking we would send off for new passports, but book a cruise where one is not needed.  We have not kept up with cruise regulations of traveling without a passport.  Can it still be done with a DL and birth certificate?  If so, where would we be allowed to go?

For U.S. Sailings only, U.S. Citizens may cruise using an official Birth Certificate and a supporting Government Issued Photo ID, like a driver’s license or an identity card. However, we highly recommend that all U.S. Citizen’s cruise with their U.S. Passport book that is valid at least 6 months.

[cruisestitch]

Your only choice is a closed loop, that is a round  trip, Caribbean Cruise

 

alaska cruises require passports

Edited September 24, 2022 by cruisestitch

[canderson]

You have time for passport renewal.  That said, here's what you can do without one:

 

U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the same port in the U.S.) will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship, such as a government-issued birth certificate and laminated government issued picture ID, denoting photo, name and date of birth. A U.S. citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original or notarized or certified copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issues by DOS, or Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Note: Baptismal papers and hospital certificates of birth are not acceptable. Voter registration cards or Social Security cards are not considered proof of citizenship.

[Ferry_Watcher]

6 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

alaska cruises require passports

My friend, sailing to Alaska from Seattle is also a closed loop cruise, so no passport required.

Acceptable proof of citizenship for a Alaska bound closed loop cruise.

US birth certificates for US born citizens + Govt issued photo ID 

US Naturalization Certificate for our naturalized citizens (accepted) + Gov't issued photo ID

Consular Report of Birth Abroad for those born overseas to US parent(s) + Gov't issued photo ID

Enhanced Driver's License available only from these 5 northern border states - MI, MN, NY, VT & WA 

US Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)

[Jim_Iain]

One additional requirement, as I've seen it mentioned before, is that a woman who changed her name when married may have to have a Marriage Certificate that links her name on DL to her Birth Certificate.

[Moonarino]

2 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

We need to get them renewed and not sure how long it will take to get them back . . .

Renewals (not expired) are the quickest turn-around. But in no case should it be expected to take more than 2 months. A few months ago I had to get a replacement "consular report of birth abroad" for a family member, and even that complicated process only took a couple of months.

 

In case you haven't seen this on the State.gov website, you'll need to submit your current passport with the renewal application. (I also renewed ours 3 years ago and had to do that.)

[Iamthesea]

Thanks all!  I believe we will wait for our passports!   I was under the impression that it may take more than a couple of months and did not want to take a chance booking something before we could get them back. After 44 cruises, there are only a few places left that we have not cruised to.  We would really like to do the Norwegian Fjords. 

 

If we do anything without the passport, we will play it safe and just take a Caribbean cruise before Christmas.  Thanks to Jim for mentioning the marriage certificate.  Now I have to figure out what I did with the birth and marriage certificates after a recent house move. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

An enhanced DL on a closed loop Caribbean cruise is fine until something goes wrong.  Sickness out of the US.  An accident or ??

Then you are dealing with the US Embassy.

Not for me.

[njguy_south]

45 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

An enhanced DL on a closed loop Caribbean cruise is fine until something goes wrong.  Sickness out of the US.  An accident or ??

Then you are dealing with the US Embassy.

Not for me.

This is true. If one should get hurt while off the ship or sick and needs to be off-boarded to an island hospital, there is the problem of trying to return to the US without a passport. As you mentioned, that means dealing with the local US Embassy. This was the issue a couple of years ago when the closed-loop Carnival cruise had to end in Mexico, and passengers were stuck.

 

The US Passport agency states, "We recommend that everyone taking a cruise from the United States have a passport book. Though some “closed-loop” cruises may not require a U.S. passport, we recommend bringing yours in case of an emergency, such as an unexpected medical air evacuation or the ship docking at an alternate port. " https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html 

[cangelmd]

2 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Thanks all!  I believe we will wait for our passports!   I was under the impression that it may take more than a couple of months and did not want to take a chance booking something before we could get them back. After 44 cruises, there are only a few places left that we have not cruised to.  We would really like to do the Norwegian Fjords. 

 

If we do anything without the passport, we will play it safe and just take a Caribbean cruise before Christmas.  Thanks to Jim for mentioning the marriage certificate.  Now I have to figure out what I did with the birth and marriage certificates after a recent house move. 

There were some bigger delays during Covid, but IIRC, we sent ours in 2020 during the height of the shutdown for the very reasons you are discussing (the date of expiration vs when we thought we would need it again), even in summer 2020, we got them back in about 2 and 1/2 months.

[Mr. Click]

DW's passport went MIA at the height of the pandemic and a lot of offices were shut down and things were really backed up.  I reported missing online, made an appointment at our local post office to apply for a new one, had new pictures taken.  The whole process took about a month.  Play it safe and allow 8 weeks would be my plan.

 

[Iamthesea]

I am a little rusty about regulations and procedures since Covid and the fact that we have had a passport now for almost 20 years.  I had forgotten about the fact that we could be 'up a creek' should we have a problem in the Caribbean and need to get back to the U.S.  Just what I needed to hear to pause this idea.   Thanks for the reminder!    Getting those passports renewed as soon as we get back from an upcoming trip.  We leave next week, so I am in Disney planning mode for the next few days.  

[Guindalf]

I’ll grab my popcorn. 
 

My two cents FWIW. I would NEVER cruise without a passport, no matter what some say!

[TomTN]

FWIW, we were on the Summit Canada/NE cruise 8-31to 9-11, and Covid was very bad.  We both had Covid and DW is on steriods now to clear up lung congestion. It was like a bad cold for me.  Both of us are multi-vaccinated.

I think it is kind of the luck of the draw.  You might have a problem, you might not. Quarantine in a cruise ship cabin is not fun.

We booked at least a year out believing Covid would likely be over, Ha. On the other hand, at some point you choose to take a chance. 

 

If you go to the last few pages, and you will read about many people that had covid during and immediately following the cruise:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2770301-august-31st-2022-boston-maine-canada-celebrity-summit/#comment-60719938

 

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by TomBeckCruise

[cruisestitch]

Somehow my reply was truncated.  It should have read

 

”your only choice is a closed loop, that is a round-trip, Caribbean Cruise or Alaska Cruise.

 

One-way Alaska cruises require passports.”
 

[kenb]

My passport was going to expire 3/23. I sent in my wife's and my renewal on 8/17/22. We got our renewed passports in 2 weeks without expedited service.  We were totally surprised since everything we read on the website said 7-10 weeks. 

[Z'Loth]

I sent my passport book & card for non-expedited renewal on August 10th via priority mail, it was received on August 11th (per tracking, since Irving, TX is very close to where I live), and put into the system on August 15th. I just received both yesterday (September 24th) in the mail. 

 

You don't need to put in your passport information until much closer to your cruise departure date. Having said that, I would never cruise without a passport. In case of a medical evacuation back to the United States, the flight would require a passport. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by Z'Loth