Passport vs Driving License

[memoak]

52 minutes ago, Boiler Cruiser said:

Ultimately, of course, it's depends on how comfortable you are leaving the ship and setting foot on foreign soil without proof of citizenship with you.  The universally accepted document is your passport.  If you, god forbid, get into a situation where the local authorities want to see your identification and papers, and all you have is your birth certificate or DL, then you have no proof of citizenship, and it will complicate getting back to the ship or, in a worst case scenerio, getting ahold of the US Consolate.

 

I'd rather be accused of being overly cautious, than take the risk.  I never leave the ship without my passport.

Just hope you don’t lose it our get mugged. Those documents are worth a lot on the open market. The cruise line will not advise you to take your passport ashore

[ldubs]

On 5/20/2024 at 11:20 AM, Kay S said:

We have cruised with family many times, often taking just grandchildren.  All of mine had passports as infants.  Renewal is required more often for children than adults.  One funny time was when we needed to get a passport photo for a baby who couldn't yet sit up.  Her dad did contortions holding her so he would not be visible in the picture.  It worked!

 

There was a baby at the post office yesterday.  The PO worker had them leave the baby in the carrier.  She put sheets of white paper behind the baby's head then took the pic.   It was a community effort to get the baby to look towards the camera.  haha.  

[ldubs]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:06 AM, PR-Texas said:

I don't want to sound harsh but if the cost of passports is a significant factor in whether you cruise or not then it's possible that you shouldn't be spending the money on the cruise in the first place.  We don't cruise often but have always considered the cost of a current passport as a necessary expense regardless of where we're cruising.

 

For us the biggest hassle of getting passports was finding/getting certified copies of our birth certificates.  Once we had those in hand getting the passports was easy and it eliminated any questions about whether they would be accepted.

 

On 5/20/2024 at 10:57 AM, DCThunder said:

According to the State Department website, the cost of a new, adult passport is $165 valid for 10 years.  That's $16.50/year.  A renewal costs $130 ($13/year).  A child passport is $135, valid for 10 years or until the kid is 16.  As stated above, if you can't afford that, why are you cruising?

 

You are missing that it isn't just about not being able to afford it.   It is about spending money on something that is not needed.  A family of four has the option to spend $660 on passports that are not required, or use the perfectly legal documents they have on hand.   If they choose the latter, of course they should go on the cruise.   

[Teechur]

8 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

 

You are missing that it isn't just about not being able to afford it.   It is about spending money on something that is not needed.  A family of four has the option to spend $660 on passports that are not required, or use the perfectly legal documents they have on hand.   If they choose the latter, of course they should go on the cruise.   

With the added passport agency fees and pictures, the cost is over $200 pp.

[ldubs]

4 minutes ago, Teechur said:

With the added passport agency fees and pictures, the cost is over $200 pp.

 

Timing on this thread is funny because we just sent in the renewal yesterday.  It was about $225 including the expedited surcharge.  

 

I don't think I should have been charged for the mug shot, but they insisted I pay.    😀

[ldubs]

On 5/20/2024 at 3:56 PM, Teechur said:

A related story from today's news:

 

British tourist stranded in Mexican hospital after collapsing while on holiday with insurers refusing to pay out for heart attack treatment (msn.com)

 

Yikes!  Poor guy apparently didn't pay attention, didn't understand, or elected to take a chance with the PEC clause in his travel policy.

 

I would have not had a reason to think about it before, but now understand the NHS doesn't cover while traveling outside the country.  

[Torfamm]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Just hope you don’t lose it our get mugged. Those documents are worth a lot on the open market. The cruise line will not advise you to take your passport ashore

It's true, the assumption is always that passports are left on the ship. In the rare instances where a passport is required, the cruise line and/or the tour operator make it very, very, clear that you must carry it. Usually with multiple reminders reading something like this statement on the tour description, the tour order form, the confirmation email, and also printed at the bottom of a tour ticket for the Alcazar in Seville.

 

PLEASE NOTE:
In order to participate, EACH GUEST must submit the required passport information at the time of booking, and MUST have a valid passport in their possession on the day of the tour. Guests who do not submit this information and/or do not have a valid passport on the day of the tour will not be allowed to attend the excursion.

[memoak]

Sometimes I think people make assumptions based on what some has posted or said. Not all closed loop cruises can be done with a birth certificate. For example partial Panama cruise RT Fort Lauderdale goes to Columbia. I know that you need a valid passport for that country

[Mark_K]

On 5/20/2024 at 1:57 PM, DCThunder said:

According to the State Department website, the cost of a new, adult passport is $165 valid for 10 years.  That's $16.50/year.  A renewal costs $130 ($13/year).  A child passport is $135, valid for 10 years or until the kid is 16.  As stated above, if you can't afford that, why are you cruising?

Could you post a link to that information?  
 

According to the site I’m looking at passports for children under 16 are only valid for five years.

Child under 16

 

Passports for 16 and 17 year olds are valid for ten years.

 

16 and 17

[Potstech]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Sometimes I think people make assumptions based on what some has posted or said. Not all closed loop cruises can be done with a birth certificate. For example partial Panama cruise RT Fort Lauderdale goes to Columbia. I know that you need a valid passport for that country

And Panama also requires a passport book as friends of our found out a few years ago. The hard way as they, and others, were denied boarding at the pier.  They had a passport card as it was good in the Caribbean according to a State Department passport rep.

Edited May 23 by Potstech

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Sometimes I think people make assumptions based on what some has posted or said.

Exactly.  The port agent or customs officer in some random country or city will not take "I read it on Cruise Critic" for an answer.  Just go look it up in the official record online or call the authorities.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, Mark_K said:

Could you post a link to that information?  

he's already recognized his error in the subsequent posts.

[ilovesalchows]

Child passports are valid for 5 years.  Once they are 16 they are valid for 10.  My kids are on their 3rd passports.

[Torfamm]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

Sometimes I think people make assumptions based on what some has posted or said. Not all closed loop cruises can be done with a birth certificate. For example partial Panama cruise RT Fort Lauderdale goes to Columbia. I know that you need a valid passport for that country

This is true.  You also need a passport for Caribbean itineraries that visit Guadalupe or Martinique.  Document requirements are stated clearly in the Important Notices section near the bottom of the Travel Summary.  The booking confirmation also spells out that if only one adult is traveling with one or more minors, everyone in the party must have a passport.

[DallasGuy75219]

11 hours ago, memoak said:

Sometimes I think people make assumptions based on what some has posted or said. Not all closed loop cruises can be done with a birth certificate. For example partial Panama cruise RT Fort Lauderdale goes to Columbia. I know that you need a valid passport for that country

Actually... no.  "Closed loop" has a specific definition that does not include every round-trip cruise from a US port.

 

"Most cruises beginning and ending in the same location are considered "closed-loop," meaning they begin and end at the same port in the United States and travel within the Western Hemisphere."

[DallasGuy75219]

10 hours ago, Potstech said:

And Panama also requires a passport book as friends of our found out a few years ago. The hard way as they, and others, were denied boarding at the pier.  They had a passport card as it was good in the Caribbean according to a State Department passport rep.

Your friends need a geography lesson... Panama is not in the Caribbean. 

Edited May 24 by DallasGuy75219

[DallasGuy75219]

3 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Actually... no.  "Closed loop" has a specific definition that does not include every round-trip cruise from a US port.

 

"Most cruises beginning and ending in the same location are considered "closed-loop," meaning they begin and end at the same port in the United States and travel within the Western Hemisphere."

Source: US Customs and Border Protection 

https://cbpcomplaints.cbp.gov/s/article/Article1378?language=en_US

[wcook]

6 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Your friends need a geography lesson... Panama is not in the Caribbean. 

Passport threads are fun, aren’t they? For the younger and newer cruisers out there, this exact discussion has been going on for decades, with the same arguments on each side. Anyway…

 

What would you call the body of water on the northern coast of Panama, if not the Caribbean? 

[DallasGuy75219]

3 minutes ago, wcook said:

What would you call the body of water on the northern coast of Panama, if not the Caribbean? 

I didn't say Panama isn't on the Caribbean Sea.

 

I said Panama isn't in the Caribbean, which is a specifically defined geographic area and does not include Panama.

https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/3243-economic-profiles-caribbean-countries

[memoak]

9 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Actually... no.  "Closed loop" has a specific definition that does not include every round-trip cruise from a US port.

 

"Most cruises beginning and ending in the same location are considered "closed-loop," meaning they begin and end at the same port in the United States and travel within the Western Hemisphere."

And all of Central and South America are part of the Western Hemisphere   So by your definition a RT FLL that visits Columbus is a closed loop cruise requiring a passport. Please check the definition of Western Hemisphere 

[DallasGuy75219]

11 minutes ago, Potstech said:

No they don"t as the State Dept rep said it was in the Caribbean. Nice try

It really doesn't matter what the State Dept rep said, because Panama requires a passport book for arrival by cruise ship.  Telling Princess at check-in that the State Dept rep said you could cruise to Panama with a passport card isn't going to get you on the ship.

 

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

And all of Central and South America are part of the Western Hemisphere   So by your definition a RT FLL that visits Columbus is a closed loop cruise requiring a passport. Please check the definition of Western Hemisphere 

That's CBP's definition, not mine. 

 

But what the two posts above show is that the US Government needs to stop trying to tell people the documentation requirements to travel to other countries, because they can't get it right, at least consistently. Just tell them to check directly with the countries they're travelling to.

[memoak]

18 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

It really doesn't matter what the State Dept rep said, because Panama requires a passport book for arrival by cruise ship.  Telling Princess at check-in that the State Dept rep said you could cruise to Panama with a passport card isn't going to get you on the ship.

 

That's CBP's definition, not mine. 

 

But what the two posts above show is that the US Government needs to stop trying to tell people the documentation requirements to travel to other countries, because they can't get it right, at least consistently. Just tell them to check directly with the countries they're travelling to.

I guess you can have your own definition of anything but any google search will tell you that there are 2 hemispheres east and Westley based on the prime meridian 

[DallasGuy75219]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

I guess you can have your own definition of anything but any google search will tell you that there are 2 hemispheres east and Westley based on the prime meridian 

 

22 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

That's CBP's definition, not mine. 

 

6 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Source: US Customs and Border Protection 

https://cbpcomplaints.cbp.gov/s/article/Article1378?language=en_US

 

[ldubs]

26 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

It really doesn't matter what the State Dept rep said, because Panama requires a passport book for arrival by cruise ship.  Telling Princess at check-in that the State Dept rep said you could cruise to Panama with a passport card isn't going to get you on the ship.

 

That's CBP's definition, not mine. 

 

But what the two posts above show is that the US Government needs to stop trying to tell people the documentation requirements to travel to other countries, because they can't get it right, at least consistently. Just tell them to check directly with the countries they're travelling to.

 

Actually, I think the State Dept info on travel requirement is pretty good and would hate to see that resource stop.   I think perhaps some posts are going off track.  The State Dept is not saying one can enter Panama by cruise ship without a passport.   Where Panama is located really doesn't matter and should only be a side discussion.  

Edited May 24 by ldubs

[Torfamm]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Actually, I think the State Dept info on travel requirement is pretty good and would hate to see that resource stop.   I think perhaps some posts are going off track.  The State Dept is not saying one can enter Panama by cruise ship without a passport.   Where Panama is located really doesn't matter and should only be a side discussion.  

Fair enough. I think the lesson is that there are some very specific requirements for both individual countries and islands as well as cruiseline specific rules. Questions beyond, “Do I need a passport for a closed loop cruise?” need to be asked of the right entities.