Western Carribean Passport Needed?

[litehouz70]

I was told that the problem with not having a passport would be if you got stuck at a port or maybe the authories not allowing somebody into port if u did not have a passport. I knew nothing of there being a problem when returning back to the states & being detained in customs. This was not brought up ever. I did call Princess & told them about the Roatan problem but they said "they would look into it", however; I never heard anything. There is so much confusion about the passort situation. I wish all cruise lines would just make it mandatory to have one.

[pablo222]

Not true.

 

Not true ** 2

 

Princess doesn't send docs out to you whether or

not you have a passport.

[Renmar]

I was told that the problem with not having a passport would be if you got stuck at a port or maybe the authories not allowing somebody into port if u did not have a passport. I knew nothing of there being a problem when returning back to the states & being detained in customs. This was not brought up ever. I did call Princess & told them about the Roatan problem but they said "they would look into it", however; I never heard anything. There is so much confusion about the passort situation. I wish all cruise lines would just make it mandatory to have one.

No confusion needed, get a passport when setting even 1 foot outside your own country. No matter where you live.

Theo

[98Charlie]

If you do get left at a port for any reason you will need a passport to get on a plane out of that country. Not because you really need a passport to exit a country but because you will need one at the other end of the flight to enter a country. Without proper documentation you are the problem of the airline.

 

Princess may look in to the need for a passport for Central American cruises. If they decide it is not worth the risk of being responsible for passengers with birth certificates only then they will change. And when they do you can just bet that someone will not get the word and be denied boarding.

 

Charlie

[cherylandtk]

The Cruise exception (closed loop) is not limited to the Caribbean basin. The WHTI regulation specifies the area as WESTERN HEMISPHERE. Therefore, Central America is included as far as the US is concerned. At this time, Belize, Honduras and Costa Rica do not require passports of cruise visitors. While that is not likely to change, it could, particularly since it is foreign countries we are dealing with.

 

Princess' website is confusing on the issue, as it says

 

US and Canadian citizens ages 15 years and younger may present an original or copy of their birth certificate, a naturalization certificate or citizenship card in lieu of the above documents on Domestic sailings^ only. US citizens traveling on U.S. roundtrip or “closed-loop” voyages may also travel with an original certified birth certificate presented together with a valid government-issued photo identification. These voyages include:

 

 

•Alaska roundtrip from San Francisco or Seattle (roundtrip Seattle cruisetours excluded)

 

•Canada/New England roundtrip from New York

 

•Caribbean roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale^, New York or San Juan

 

•Hawaii roundtrip from Los Angeles

 

•Mexico roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco

^Voyages that call to Central or South America are excluded and only Passports or WHTI compliant documents are accepted.

 

This is a circular argument, as it says you cannot use a BC and ID on Central/South America closed loop cruises but can use WHTI compliant documents. A BC and ID ARE WHTI documents. So Princess is just making it worse with this 'explanation'. As a travel supplier, Princess is allowed to specify passports only, but they did not limit it to just a passport, they included 'or WHTI documents'. I honestly don't know if they are just trying to push people towards passports (their right) or just don't know the rules. My best guess is they prefer passports (read the rest of the page, they hint pretty loudly) and are slow to correct their document webpage. Princess was LAST to include updates when the WHTI went into effect and as late as 2009 they still had wording to the effect that "as soon as 2008 passports will be required".

 

Other cruiselines do not have this self-imposed passport limit and weekly take people on RT cruises out of Florida to Central America destination (Roatan, Honduras and Costa Rica) using just a BC and ID.

[98Charlie]

Try as I might I cannot find a reference in Customs and Border Patrol or Homeland Security that indicates a BC/ID combo is WHTI compliant.

 

Here's the link to the list of compliant documents provided by CBP.

 

Charlie

[cherylandtk]

From your link, click on Special Groups, scroll down to Closed Loop cruises, and the list of the documents allowed in that special case is there.

 

The WHTI legislation made changes to the Code of Federal Regulations, and this is how the section regarding the cruise exception reads.

22CFR § 53.2 Exceptions.

 

(b) A U.S. citizen is not required to bear a valid U.S. passport to enter or depart the United States:

 

(2) When traveling entirely within the Western Hemisphere on a cruise ship, and when the U.S. citizen boards the cruise ship at a port or place within the United States and returns on the return voyage of the same cruise ship to the same United States port or place from where he or she originally departed. That U.S. citizen may present a government-issued photo identification document in combination with either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before entering the United States; if the U.S. citizen is under the age of 16, he or she may present either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; or

 

Therefore, the BC and ID are "WHTI Documents".

 

eta- Technically, the passport card and EDL's are only good for Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and Caribbean land and sea travel. Although I know policy is to allow them on RT Central America cruises, this is by policy rather than regulation. The BC and ID have no such limitation.

[jeffstew]

From your link, click on Special Groups, scroll down to Closed Loop cruises, and the list of the documents allowed in that special case is there.

 

The WHTI legislation made changes to the Code of Federal Regulations, and this is how the section regarding the cruise exception reads.

 

 

Therefore, the BC and ID are "WHTI Documents".

 

That is exactly how I read it as well.

[robgvic]

The US may not require a passport for US citizens but what about the other no US ports the ship stops at.

I don't see why I should have to have a passport to enter the US if US citizens do you require them to enter my country.

By the way, I always travel with a passport.

[FLACRUISER99]

Just get a passport! no you don't have to have one for a closed loop cruise today, however things could change at any moment and no one on this board can say with abslout certainly what the future holds.

[schittenden]

My wife and I are surprising my parents with a cruise (their first) in December on the Crown. We debated what to do since neither of them had a passport. We considered the Passport Card as opposed to the Book, but ultimately decided to to go with the Passport Book. They're in their mid-to-late 60s and we were worried about them potentially having a medical issue and needing to fly back to the U.S. Ultimately, we just thought it made more sense to cover any potential issues and made up a story about visiting Niagara Falls (I know, in December?) when they were coming up to visit us. What they don't know yet is that their flight is not to BWI, but to FLL. :-)

[Lancer1568]

If you go to the state department site, and look up Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Passport Requirements, it states: Returning to the US from the Caribbean Region on a commercial cruise line REQUIRES a US Passport book or card.

 

Read the special acception about North American "closed loop" cruises

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Just get a passport! no you don't have to have one for a closed loop cruise today, however things could change at any moment and no one on this board can say with abslout certainly what the future holds.

 

Cherylandtk posted this last week on another passport thread. It pertains to your mention of the rules can change at any moment.

 

Here is what she posted:

The difference here being a change in policy vs. a change in the regulations. The TSA can make a policy change overnight, and they did with liquids. But the closed loop passport exception is in the Code of Federal Regulations, and literally requires an act of Congress and two 60 day public notice periods to change. Not going to happen overnight.

 

But I agree that it is more prudent to travel with passports. (end of Cherylandtk quote)

 

Bill

 

Bill