Perfect example of why you should get a passport.

[sparks1093]

That's not true. I've lived outside the United States since 1995 and I was told from day 1 by the State Department that it is illegal for any U.S. citizen to attempt to enter the U.S. without a valid U.S. passport.

 

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative states that every U.S. citizen who travels by air must carry a passport book. For sea or land journeys a passport book or card is acceptable. The only time it is permissible to travel on a non-passport, valid photo ID is if you are visiting a U.S. Territory.

 

U.S. citizens may travel on closed loop cruises with a certified birth certificate and government issued photo ID under the WHTI (that's were this whole thread started;)).

 

It may be illegal to attempt to enter the U.S. without a passport as a U.S. citizen but all they can do is fine you, they cannot deny you entry because of it.

[wcook]

I've lived outside the United States since 1995 and I was told from day 1 by the State Department that it is illegal for any U.S. citizen to attempt to enter the U.S. without a valid U.S. passport.

 

You were told incorrectly.

 

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative states that every U.S. citizen who travels by air must carry a passport book. For sea or land journeys a passport book or card is acceptable. The only time it is permissible to travel on a non-passport, valid photo ID is if you are visiting a U.S. Territory.

 

Actually, there are many situations when it is permissable to travel into the US without a passport. Here's a better link with more details:

 

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/index.html

[gingerpeaches]

You were told incorrectly.

 

 

Well, if it's alright with you, I'll just stick with the information given to me by Consular Officers at the U.S. Embassy in London.

[Ocean Boy]

I am glad I thought of this ahead of time. I am a widowed father of two boys.

 

Though I do understand the reasoning for requiring all of this documentation I do think it is a shame that a father can't take his children on vacation without having to jump through such hoops to prove that he has the right to have the kids.

[gingerpeaches]

U.S. citizens may travel on closed loop cruises with a certified birth certificate and government issued photo ID under the WHTI (that's were this whole thread started;)).

 

It may be illegal to attempt to enter the U.S. without a passport as a U.S. citizen but all they can do is fine you, they cannot deny you entry because of it.

 

Ah, closed loop. Well that makes sense. Although someone might want to inform the State Department that they are giving American expats some duff information, then. :rolleyes:

[waterbug123]

"They are also saying that having a passport will be essential if you are left behind in a port"?

 

Essential? No. One would not be stranded forever in St. Maarten or the Cayman Islands or wherever, if they happened to lose their passport while ashore.

 

HOWEVER, I have to believe that it would be a heckuva lot easier, faster, and less stressful if one DOES have a passport in that situation. I mean, if something happens and I miss the ship (car accident in a cab, slip and fall requiring visit to hospital for stitches or a cast...whatever), I am going to be stressed enough dealing with the injury, the hospital, the bill, finding and paying for a hotel for the night, finding an available seat on a plane to the next port of call, paying last minute prices for said seat, etc. Having to worry about how to be allowed to board that plane, and ultimately to get home without my passport is something I'd rather not have to worry about on top of al the aforementioned stuff that would be causing enough stress and worry as it is.

[honeybunches]

Besides taking my passport, I also make copies - 1 to leave at home, 1 hidden in my luggage, 1 in my carry-on - just in case I should lose my passport or it gets stolen. It's much easier to replace if you have all your information immediately available.

[dickydonkin]

As long as you leave and return to the SAME US port and are a US citizen you can still sail with a birth certificate and photo ID. If you fly there you must have a passport.

 

Well I have learnt something today!

 

I was not aware of that and thinking about it, for cruising, it makes good sense in some respects, however, I can see the drawback if unforseen circumstances require a change of itinerary in another country.

 

Here in the UK, many of us thought that when the EU was formed, we would not need a passport to travel to other countries within the European Union, unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case.

[nrdsb4]

Ah, closed loop. Well that makes sense. Although someone might want to inform the State Department that they are giving American expats some duff information, then. :rolleyes:

 

Yeah, someone really should, because thousands of US Citizens have been cruising to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean from US ports without passports and returning to the US with just their BC and DL without any problems whatsoever. And it's only been in the last couple of years that US citizens have needed to have a passport when flying back from those destinations.

[sparks1093]

Ah, closed loop. Well that makes sense. Although someone might want to inform the State Department that they are giving American expats some duff information, then. :rolleyes:

 

Yeah, someone really should, because thousands of US Citizens have been cruising to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean from US ports without passports and returning to the US with just their BC and DL without any problems whatsoever. And it's only been in the last couple of years that US citizens have needed to have a passport when flying back from those destinations.

 

State may issue them but it will be CBP Officers asking to see them at the port of entry, not State Department employees.

[crisndeefromde]

Well another reason for us to have a passport...Delaware mandated the real ID system for the drivers license. Many other states have already started this long before us. Now even though you have a drivers license you have to go back and prove who you are....original or certified birth certificate, drivers license and another picture id...ooops you are female and married? certified marriage license...oops another name change> divorce papers...a passport that is valid and also not about to expire (i think a few months before hand) fits this amount of paperwork I have to walk into the motor vehicle division with. All states are going to this at some point. I think the date is 2014 all states must comply. So big help to me. Just another view...lol

[twirlgirl]

Accidents do happen on cruise ships. This year we were on board a ship where the lady fell & cut her head open plus broke her hip. She was taken off the ship in Grnad Cayman. Lucky they had passports because she didn't need any more stress. There are some cases where purchasing a passport is a lot of extra expense. A high school group going on a 5 day round trip out of Ft lauderdale is one example. But you would be surprised how many high scholl students do have passports. Bev

[xpcdoojk]

This thread is going in the usual circles that every thread about getting a passport, or not, goes in.

 

Get one or don't. I wouldn't leave the country without one and it is the easiest form of ID to use in an airport. There is only one US passport. There are 50 State drivers licenses that all look different. Even in RI not every license looks the same depending on what type of vehicles it is valid for. I have little expectation of an airport worker in California having a clue what an RI driver's license looks like.

 

Fortunately, this is one of those issues where the documents that you travel on has little effect on others. Like everything else in life you make your choices and you live with the consequences.

 

Nice to read wisdom, thanks OB.

 

jc

[Ocean Boy]

Nice to read wisdom, thanks OB.

 

jc

 

Where have you been???? Your apprearances here seem to be few and far between.

[xpcdoojk]

Where have you been???? Your apprearances here seem to be few and far between.

 

Well, physically, I have been in Australia and New Zealand until Sunday for 3-1/2 weeks. As far as being here posting.... sometimes I tire of saying profundities that go away...:D, especially in the forum of my last cruise...

 

jc<------ didn't actually say that! jc<---- is sleep typing:eek:

 

PS, Got any good suggestions to waking up at 3am. I have gotten 4 hours and 5 hours sleep per night since I got back. I will be a zombie soon.:D

 

jc

[GalCruzer]

I definitely want to get my passport, this year. I would like to do it with/on my drivers license. Anybody hear of this method? (haven't read the entire thread) Do I just contact my DMV?

 

Also I was reading that the enhanced drivers license is only good for land and sea crossings, not air. So obviously if I am boarding for a cruise to the bahamas or caribbean, in FL this should work?

 

Thanks

[Sue L]

I definitely want to get my passport, this year. I would like to do it with/on my drivers license. Anybody hear of this method? (haven't read the entire thread) Do I just contact my DMV?

 

Also I was reading that the enhanced drivers license is only good for land and sea crossings, not air. So obviously if I am boarding for a cruise to the bahamas or caribbean, in FL this should work?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

The enhanced license unless you live near Canada or Mexico is not worth it. It is NOT a passport. The only true passport that you can go anywhere and fly, cruise, etc is the passport book.

[NewSalt]

 

Even if the turnaround time is only a couple of weeks, I still wonder what people do whose business requires them to travel outside the USA. Do they not travel those weeks when they have to surrender their current passport to renew it?

 

 

They either

 

(A) Have an efficient AA who confiscates their passport as soon as they return from the last trip more than six months from its renewal and immediately begins the renewal process; and/or

 

(B) Use the passport expediting service their company contracts with. The pp and supporting documentation are FedExed or messengered to the service, which "walks" them through the renewal process and FedExes or messengers the new passport back. This is not an inexpensive service.

 

Actually, with travel to certain countries, their visa process is lengthier and less amenable to "rush" services than the US pp process. At least this is true for business visas and not vacation ones.

[Stags14]

Don't get a passport. More room on the ship for me when you are left behind because of unforseen travel emergencies!

[sparks1093]

Don't get a passport. More room on the ship for me when you are left behind because of unforseen travel emergencies!

 

Um, if they have an unforeseen travel emergency they'll be left behind whether they have a passport or not;).

[Stags14]

Um, if they have an unforeseen travel emergency they'll be left behind whether they have a passport or not;).

 

If you have a passport, you cannot travel to a different country by air and return by boat - I think that's what the point of the OP is/was.

 

More room for us! ;)

 

HORRAY!

[atush]

I am not so sure.

 

I think, if you have a passport you can kinda travel anywhere? That your country allows (ie cuba etc) and everywhere a country doesn't require you to have a visa for entry/exit?

 

I

[mzladyt]

We are biting the bullet and buying passports for our cruise next May. We need 4 for all of us and the $540 expense is a hard pill to swallow, but I just don't feel comfortable leaving the country (especially with 2 children) without proper ID to get BACK into the country should anything happen. I look at it this way to make myself feel better about the cost: A passport is good for 10 years. At $135 each that is $13.50 a year. How many times do I go into a store and buy something for $13.50 that I didn't really need or wasn't planning on buying? A lot! $13.50 is a cheap price to pay for safety and peace of mind.

 

Yes I agree. My family is cruising in August. There are 6 of us. My husband and I have cruised before and didn't get passports. Thank God nothing happend on those cruises that we needed them, but traveling with the kids would just feel better if we had them. It's going to cost us 670.00 but will be well worth it.

[KreiderCarter]

If you have a passport, you cannot travel to a different country by air and return by boat - I think that's what the point of the OP is/was.

 

More room for us! ;)

 

HORRAY!

 

??

 

If you have a passport you can travel to another country by horse and return on foot if that is possible.

 

A passport does not restrict your means of travel. A passport only expedites your crossing at ports of entry (airport, seaport, landborder).

 

FWIW if you did not have a passport and were stranded in another country, you are not stuck either, a visit to the local consulate or embassy and you will have temp travel documents to re-enter the US...there of course will be significant delays as opposed to those who had valid passports. They will never deny a US citizen entry back in to the country.

[Stags14]

??

 

If you have a passport you can travel to another country by horse and return on foot if that is possible.

 

A passport does not restrict your means of travel. A passport only expedites your crossing at ports of entry (airport, seaport, landborder).

 

FWIW if you did not have a passport and were stranded in another country, you are not stuck either, a visit to the local consulate or embassy and you will have temp travel documents to re-enter the US...there of course will be significant delays as opposed to those who had valid passports. They will never deny a US citizen entry back in to the country.

 

We're talking about air travel and going on a cruise. Ever try to walk to Aruba?