I went on the Disney Cruise Line website today and it looks like the requirements to the Bahamas are now a bit more complicated. I also confirmed this with the Bahama and US websites. For travel to the Bahamas here is what you need:
From the Disney Cruise Line Website:
U.S. Citizens
All Guests claiming U.S. citizenship, including children, who board a cruise ship within the United States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship may present one of the following documents as proof of U.S. citizenship for each member of their party:
A valid, unexpired U.S. Passport
A valid, unexpired U.S. Passport Card
State Issued Enhanced Driver's License - this is a special type of license that provides proof of identity and US citizenship; not all states offer Enhanced Driver's Licenses please visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. (Texas does not offer this type license.) I also double checke the WHTI site and it agreed with the Disney site.
I know up until this year people were traveling to the Bahamas with the birth certificate (When I looked it up earlier this year and things were not as strict) - but it looks like they are finally enforcing it.
We just renewed our kid's passports - they expired in July. It was like doing it all again for the first time even though they had valid passports. Both Alan and I had to go together with the kids - the passport documents will tell you what needs to be provided - we had to both sign documents and also have proof (original birth certificates) that Anna and AJ were ours even with their current valid passports. Children's passports are only valid for 5 years - adults are for 10 years. If you get the Passport Card, it is a bit cheaper, but only works for driving or cruising into other countries - and the countries are limited to a hand full. If you had to fly back due to an emergency you would have trouble getting back into the US. I agree with Disney's recommendation to go ahead and get the regular passport. We went to our local post office to get our passports - they even took the photos there. It was very easy!
I called Disney Cruise Lines twice today to verify what I saw on all the websites and both people I talked to said they were not aware of the change in laws and they didn't think the government was enforcing the passport requirement. Both said the original birth certificate and Drivers License should work. I don't know why all the websites have changed and show the law like it is being enforced, but neither person I talked to said they had received information that changes have taken place. They said that the would recommend a person traveling outside the US have a passport, but at this point it is not required at ship check in.
ReplyDeleteIt is up to you what you want to do - if the agents in Florida are saying you can get on the ship without a passport, I think this is true. I can't believe such a major policy change would take place and it not be a big deal. Whether all the websites are a sign of something in the air that has not come down the pipeline yet, I don't know.
Sorry for the mixed messages. I don't want to create a panic for passports or passport cards, but I also don't want to be caught off guard if something is changing. I would think an official announcement should come out with a deadline the policy is being enforced so as to not cause problems for travelers - but I have seen some things recently that make me think the government may not plan ahead very well. Bottom line, if you don't have the passport or passport card it should not be an issue at this point - but this was all verbal.