US Passport card for Eastern Caribbean Cruise

[Disturbia]

Has anyone used a passport card to travel to Tortola, B.V.I.?

 

[insureman]

I don't think it will work if you need to fly in an emergency from the Caribbean.

 

[SuperDry]

I don't think it will work if you need to fly in an emergency from the Caribbean.

That's generally true, but Tortola might be an exception. In an emergency, you could take the ferry over to St. Thomas (which is something like 15 miles away) using your passport card and from there you could fly back to the US mainland using your passport card (or even driver's license) since St. Thomas is in the US.

 

[Disturbia]

I don't think it will work if you need to fly in an emergency from the Caribbean.

We are not planning on any intense excursions like snorkeling, baths, canoeing, fly boarding as we have young kids. We will just take a taxi to a beach and come back.

We did take the Disney insurance (flights have been cancelled with very little notice last year) and booked our trip with Citi Mastercard (have emergency medical insurance exceeding Disney’s).

 

[auntlynne]

 

[stkgator]

If your question is if you can use a US Passport Card instead of a Passport (booklet) for DCL check-in and to initially board the ship, the answer is YES - I have done it several times.

For port-visits, you only need a government issued ID, like a driver's license, which you sometimes must show when returning to the ship. We leave our passports in the room-safe the entire trip.

 

[Disturbia]

If your question is if you can use a US Passport Card instead of a Passport (booklet) for DCL check-in and to initially board the ship, the answer is YES - I have done it several times.

For port-visits, you only need a government issued ID, like a driver's license, which you sometimes must show when returning to the ship. We leave our passports in the room-safe the entire trip.

I was hoping to avoid taking 5 passports and 5 passport cards. The only stops are Tortola and St. Thomas and with a 3 year old we are limited in terms of activities.

From what I understand you only need a passport for flying from B.V.I. We would need to carry IDs (passport cards) for our 3 kids (3, 6 and 14). Do you carry birth certificates as well?

 

[MomOTwins]

From what I understand you only need a passport for flying from B.V.I.

Correct.

We would need to carry IDs (passport cards) for our 3 kids (3, 6 and 14).

No. You only need an ID for over 16 y olds. The children can leave and reboard the ship with you with just their stateroom keycards—they can leave their passport cards on the ship.

Do you carry birth certificates as well?

No. If you have their passport or passport cards there is zero reason to bring along birth certificates on the ship.

 

[stkgator]

I was hoping to avoid taking 5 passports and 5 passport cards. The only stops are Tortola and St. Thomas and with a 3 year old we are limited in terms of activities.

From what I understand you only need a passport for flying from B.V.I. We would need to carry IDs (passport cards) for our 3 kids (3, 6 and 14). Do you carry birth certificates as well?

You need their passport (card or booklet) or birth certificate for check-in and initial embarkation and debarkation in Florida.

When visiting the different Caribbean ports, passengers 18 and older are the only ones required to have a government issued ID (which can be a passport booklet/card or driver's license/ID). Since many of the port adventures involve getting wet, a driver's license or passport card is better to use. Passengers younger than 18 are not allowed to disembark without an adult.

The Passport card is only valid for the land borders of Canada and Mexico, and cruises that start and end in the US. It is not valid for use at airports to fly to or from the US. For Florida DCL Caribbean cruises, you can use either the passport card OR booklet - you do NOT need both.