sparks1093

Highly doubtful for a couple of reasons. First is the fact that the cruise line has to accept only documentation that is ultimately acceptable to CBP. Secondly while the cruise is ongoing CBP will be vetting all passengers through a multitude of databases. That is the check that is going to matter and those checks are done solely with the information that is on the passenger manifest. As long as those checks confirm that the passenger in question is a US citizen there won't be a problem. When we returned from our last cruise CBP didn't even make a show of checking anyone's documents, they stood outside their cubicles and watched everyone go by.

I can't do a comparison with X, but I did just price out a Princess vs Carnival cruise. Both left in 9/2024 going to Alaska. Princess leaving from Vancouver, Carnival from Seattle. Princess price for a forward balcony $4206 which includes the drink package, Wi-Fi for two, tips and a few other amenities. Carnival's price for an aft balcony was $3363. Add in gratuities of $203, Cheers at $991, Wi-Fi at $202 and the total is $4759. That's a $553 difference, so yes, it pays to shop around. Of course if someone doesn't buy Cheers the price difference may not be so much, but one should definitely look at all such factors in deciding. We will likely be looking at Princess as a possibility from now on.

Someone said that they took their passport off the ship with them and if it got lost or stolen they would sort it out once they got back aboard. I was pointing out that it may not be as simple as that since once the ship finds out that your travel docs are gone they will disembark you.

I wouldn't do it without first clearing it with the crew and I would abide by what they say.

It means that you will have available (not necessarily carrying with you every minute) the travel documents you need to be on the cruise- if you are using a passport, your passport. If you are using birth certificate/government ID then those. If you are using a passport card then that. Now, it is possible on a closed loop cruise that a passenger might have more then one form of identity/citizenship. My DW and I both have Enhanced Drivers Licenses and we bring our passports with us, so if we lost our passports we would still be able to remain on the ship since we have another acceptable document. Here is what one cruise line has to say (bolded for emphasis): Proper travel documentation and eligibility to travel is required at the embarkation and throughout the cruise. In addition to immigration and customs requirements, the U.S. government and others place restrictions on the carriage of Guests whose names appear on government watch lists or who are deemed legally ineligible to travel. It is the Guest’s sole responsibility to ensure his/her legal eligibility to travel and to bring and have available at all times all required travel documents.

All cruise lines require passengers to carry the required documentation throughout the cruise. If one loses their documentation then the cruise will likely put the passenger ashore where the passenger will have to sort things out. One could potentially hide the fact their passport is gone but I suspect that would make sorting things out more difficult.

Maybe @Ferry Watcher can chime in but for the purposes of a closed loop cruise I don't see why it wouldn't be accepted since photocopies are sufficient. (It is best to bring the original but it's also good to know what alternatives might be available just in case.)

I just read a thread (on the Ask a Cruise Question board I think) where the OP's TA passed away. The TA was a sole proprietor of a franchise and it will probably take a bit of work to get things sorted out. I have also read recent threads where a TA went out of business and left clients in the lurch. These things do happen. I tend to book my own travel although I do check with some of the online TAs to see if they can offer a better deal before dropping the hammer on a cruise.

Embossing isn't used by all issuing authorities and as long as it is legible it should be fine. Since the regulations do allow the use of copies (and Carnival's FAQ spells this out) there is no requirement for using only an original and of course the copy wouldn't have any embossing on it. As stated it needs to be issued by a government entity that shows his birth in the US. I would advise next time to not wait so long to verify what is sufficient (and I recognize that he may have just told you). And in the event that this gets moved from the Carnival board to the Ask a Cruise Question board I will add that some cruise lines won't accept birth certificates even for a closed loop cruise and they require every passenger to have a passport (and these are typically the more upscale cruise lines).

Same to you! Thanks for the info, it is always appreciated to hear first hand how things work. 🙂

When we sailed with our step granddaughter I did get a bit nervous. Mom's ex had been all for her going on the trip with us when we booked it, but changed his tune once the cruise got closer and tried to tell mom not to let her go. Fortunately we had a copy of the court order giving mom full legal custody but I still worried about him calling TSA or something claiming that we were taking his daughter against his will. He did contact the court and a couple of other things but of course since mom had full legal custody it didn't amount to much, but I was still glad that we had the copy of the court order.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned- it is likely that the child will be asked at some point who he or she is traveling with and the person asking the question doesn't want to hear the answer from anyone other than the child. You may want to discuss this with the child ahead of time so they are ready for it. My step granddaughter passed the test readily but a shy child might have difficulty answering a stranger.

I wouldn't worry about it either, but I would bring it.

A short cruise is a good way to know if one can tolerate being at sea. That's one thing I hear frequently from non-cruisers- I don't know if I would like being at sea/I don't know if I would like the motion of the ship. A short cruise could be just what they need to answer those questions without committing to 7 days.

A lot of people prefer to have it notarized, but I don't think that it matters.

Thanks for the thoughts. Could you elaborate on why you thought the buffet was horrible? We are looking at Princess because as mentioned Princess Plus brings the two lines very close together pricewise.

If the child has a passport there is no need for the birth certificate. A signed letter from the dad granting permission to travel is a good thing to have as well as the court documents outlining custody. We brought the court docs with us when we took our step granddaughter on a cruise but her mom has full custody (and we didn't need to show it to anyone but had it just in case).

If it's an option sure but the cruise line will still need to know that and the port agent would be the one to tell them.

I would say that if you do have to do a short cruise then keep your expectations reasonable. Our first 3 cruises were short, a 2 night CTN and two 4 dayers. On the 2 night people were telling us "this isn't this cruise line's best product" and our thought was "if this is them at their worst we can't wait to see them at their best" and on the 4 night people kept telling us that a 7 night cruise is very different. Yes, a 4 day cruise is not a 7 day cruise and it definitely has a different feel, but if it is all that one is able to do it's better than no cruise. In our case we had to drive to the port because we couldn't afford air so we spent 3 days on the road each way from Vermont to Miami. It all counted as part of the vacation and the kids got to see things they normally didn't.

And related, related if you do end up missing the ship don't just head to the airport if you have your passport with you, make contact with the ship's agent. You'll need to coordinate your plans with the agent so the cruise line knows what your plans are. If you were just going to fly back to the States the cruise line would need to advise CBP that you will be returning that way instead of with them. (It wouldn't be the end of the world but you would probably spend time in secondary inspection since CBP records show you are on a cruise ship.) The agent would probably have good info about flights and hotels as well.

We can put them away on vacation so the numbers don't matter too much. When we cruised last November we kept track of the bar spending and if we wanted something we would get it (like a specialty coffee). Our total was $1300 so that convinced me that Cheers is worth it, even at just under $1k. Once Princess has published their itineraries we'll take a look at the offers and do the math. We'll add the fare, Cheers, wifi and tips for Carnival and compare it to Princess Plus. I'm thinking if it's within $500 we're likely to pull the trigger on it.

Let's be honest, there are a ton of people in this country exhibiting financial behaviors that some of us would cringe at, but so what? It's their money.

Maybe, but some people do purchase onboard for any number of reasons (in the past it was probably to use up a big chunk of OBC but now we can use OBC before the cruise so that reason has evaporated, although there may be some that don't know that and still stick to the old way).

Now that I think about it I have received reminders that final payment is due about a month or so before hand and it includes the reminder that I have autopay turned on. What I don't recall seeing is an email requesting any sort of payment a year prior to a cruise (and we usually have one or two booked out that far).

Did the PVP retain his business after that?