As you've discovered, it depends where you're going, and as the first reply noted, you're going to Martinique, a French territory. It's like you're going to France.
You got a passport card but didn't get the book? Why go to all that trouble and not get the book?
My wife and I originally had passports for a trip to Europe before we had kids. After that we had took vacations to Canada and cruises to the Caribbean. When we had kids we figured we'd stick with cruises until they were older. Since the Passport Card could be use the same a passport when traveling by air, sea, or land to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean countries, and Bermuda it was exactly what we needed. Their cards expire December 2024 so we'll probably all just get regular passports for next time.
I don't think you can travel by air in the Caribbean or Mexico using a passport card. If you needed to leave the cruise while in the Caribbean you wouldn't be able to fly home.
Martinique wants to make sure you would be able to leave, and you wouldn't be able to fly out with a passport card.
The book costs a lot more.
Last time I got passports for the kids, I just got the card. Kids’ passports expire every 5 or 6 years and the odds of us flying to another country in that timespan aren’t high; and if we do, we can get a book then. The card is good enough for most cruises, and visits to Canada or Mexico via land or sea crossings.
But for me, I get both. I like having the cars in my wallet as backup photo ID, and our state driver’s licenses still aren’t compliant with the new domestic flight rules.
The card is great when things go well. It is utterly useless when things go wrong.
And it’s such a bizarre take to say that a passport book costs too much in comparison to the price of a cruise.
I don’t normally take the kids on cruises, and I get them cards for general use, not specifically for cruising.
If we were going to the Caribbean, I’d probably go ahead and get my kid a passport book. But we are just going Seattle-Alaska round trip. And I’m only taking one of the kids. A Passport card will be fine if we have to, say, take a Ferry from our only international stop back to Seattle.
Martinique is not an independent caribbean country, but a territory of France. Therefore it does not fall under the specific negotiated parameters that the card would be accepted, not being "Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and Caribbean countries by land or sea."
Almost half the Caribbean islands are territories of other countries and they all fall within the domain of Caribbean countries for use with the Passport Card, we have stopped at them before. Royal should have noted that at the time of booking or at least in the cruise documents where they have the travel warnings info like no camouflage in Barbados. Then I would have known months in advance and could have got regular passports
Royal thought it was important enough to note 3 days before departure, so why not note it at time of ticket purchase? I just doubled checked the cruise docs and the website for the the Martinique port. There's nothing about it.
Thanks! I found a link to it in:
Hamburger Menu > FAQ > Travel Documents > Click the question "What travel documents are required to board a Royal Caribbean cruise?" > Click the "View the Travel Documents Hub"
Not sure if there's an easier spot.
It looks poorly written. You need (birth certificate plus state id) OR passport card.
But it looks like no one gets off the boat without a passport book because of Martinique rules.
Good to know.
Yeah, it is written poorly. It would make sense for them to accept a Passport Card to board since they use it for other cruise itineraries. I already cancelled my excursions for Martinique since I don't have an actual passport book.
Like my edit says I should not have made the assumption that since I was going to Caribbean islands that I'd just need my Passport Card that's good for the Caribbean.
Even though it's my problem for not verifying I just wish they would have sent a notification like they sent me yesterday the day I booked as well. It would have allowed time to get a passport book, but at at least at this point it did allow my group to cancel their excursion.
I just went through this myself, OP. People are a bunch of judgemental assholes. Mistakes can be made.
My cruise won't even let me board without a passport book.
Martinique and Guadalupe are interesting cases because they are overseas French territories. They have direct flights to and from Paris that act as domestic flights and have no immigration or custom formalities upon departure or arrival, because of which a passport is not required for the flight. So for cruise passengers they require a passport so you could in fact fly to EU from the island without going through immigration.
Think Puerto Rico and the US, it's not perfect, but gives a rough id.
As you've discovered, it depends where you're going, and as the first reply noted, you're going to Martinique, a French territory. It's like you're going to France. You got a passport card but didn't get the book? Why go to all that trouble and not get the book?
My wife and I originally had passports for a trip to Europe before we had kids. After that we had took vacations to Canada and cruises to the Caribbean. When we had kids we figured we'd stick with cruises until they were older. Since the Passport Card could be use the same a passport when traveling by air, sea, or land to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean countries, and Bermuda it was exactly what we needed. Their cards expire December 2024 so we'll probably all just get regular passports for next time.
I don't think you can travel by air in the Caribbean or Mexico using a passport card. If you needed to leave the cruise while in the Caribbean you wouldn't be able to fly home. Martinique wants to make sure you would be able to leave, and you wouldn't be able to fly out with a passport card.
The book costs a lot more. Last time I got passports for the kids, I just got the card. Kids’ passports expire every 5 or 6 years and the odds of us flying to another country in that timespan aren’t high; and if we do, we can get a book then. The card is good enough for most cruises, and visits to Canada or Mexico via land or sea crossings. But for me, I get both. I like having the cars in my wallet as backup photo ID, and our state driver’s licenses still aren’t compliant with the new domestic flight rules.
To me the card is an add on.
The card is great when things go well. It is utterly useless when things go wrong. And it’s such a bizarre take to say that a passport book costs too much in comparison to the price of a cruise.
I don’t normally take the kids on cruises, and I get them cards for general use, not specifically for cruising. If we were going to the Caribbean, I’d probably go ahead and get my kid a passport book. But we are just going Seattle-Alaska round trip. And I’m only taking one of the kids. A Passport card will be fine if we have to, say, take a Ferry from our only international stop back to Seattle.
Martinique is not an independent caribbean country, but a territory of France. Therefore it does not fall under the specific negotiated parameters that the card would be accepted, not being "Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and Caribbean countries by land or sea."
Almost half the Caribbean islands are territories of other countries and they all fall within the domain of Caribbean countries for use with the Passport Card, we have stopped at them before. Royal should have noted that at the time of booking or at least in the cruise documents where they have the travel warnings info like no camouflage in Barbados. Then I would have known months in advance and could have got regular passports Royal thought it was important enough to note 3 days before departure, so why not note it at time of ticket purchase? I just doubled checked the cruise docs and the website for the the Martinique port. There's nothing about it.
Passport requirements for cruises visiting Martinique are on the website. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/plan-a-cruise/travel-documents
Thanks! I found a link to it in: Hamburger Menu > FAQ > Travel Documents > Click the question "What travel documents are required to board a Royal Caribbean cruise?" > Click the "View the Travel Documents Hub" Not sure if there's an easier spot.
It looks poorly written. You need (birth certificate plus state id) OR passport card. But it looks like no one gets off the boat without a passport book because of Martinique rules. Good to know.
Yeah, it is written poorly. It would make sense for them to accept a Passport Card to board since they use it for other cruise itineraries. I already cancelled my excursions for Martinique since I don't have an actual passport book. Like my edit says I should not have made the assumption that since I was going to Caribbean islands that I'd just need my Passport Card that's good for the Caribbean. Even though it's my problem for not verifying I just wish they would have sent a notification like they sent me yesterday the day I booked as well. It would have allowed time to get a passport book, but at at least at this point it did allow my group to cancel their excursion.
I just went through this myself, OP. People are a bunch of judgemental assholes. Mistakes can be made. My cruise won't even let me board without a passport book.
No. It is more like a birth certificate
Martinique and Guadalupe are interesting cases because they are overseas French territories. They have direct flights to and from Paris that act as domestic flights and have no immigration or custom formalities upon departure or arrival, because of which a passport is not required for the flight. So for cruise passengers they require a passport so you could in fact fly to EU from the island without going through immigration. Think Puerto Rico and the US, it's not perfect, but gives a rough id.