Dont need a passport????

[molly5673]

i have called RC 20 times since we booked our cruise to the bahamas to make sure we dont need passports. everytime they say no just our birth certificates and my marriage cert sinced my last name has changed due to marriage. i am so paranoid that i judt dont believe them. LOL Tel me if you have done this and if you have had any problems. please ease my paranoid mind. Never been on a cruise before so i have no prior experience.

Thanks

[Essiesmom]

You do not need a passport. If you are married, it is a good idea to take your marriage certificate to document the name difference between your birth certificate (official cert., not the hospital souvenir with footprints...) and your picture ID. EM

[uppitycats]

i have called RC 20 times since we booked our cruise to the bahamas to make sure we dont need passports. everytime they say no just our birth certificates and my marriage cert sinced my last name has changed due to marriage. i am so paranoid that i judt dont believe them. LOL Tel me if you have done this and if you have had any problems. please ease my paranoid mind. Never been on a cruise before so i have no prior experience.

Thanks

 

You're going to the Bahamas. You're leaving from..and returning to..the same US port. You don't need a passport (assuming you don't need to fly home from the Bahamas). You do need your birth certificate -- the official one from the county courthouse, not the cute one from the hospital, and your marriage certificate.

[RoofingPrincess]

U.S. citizen cruise ship passengers traveling within the Western Hemisphere are permitted to present a government-issued photo identification document in combination with either:

 

(1) an original or a copy of a birth certificate,

 

(2) a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by DOS, or

 

(3) a Certificate of Naturalization issued by US. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),

 

when returning to the United States, under certain conditions:

 

The passengers must board the cruise ship at a port or place within the United States; and

 

The passengers must return on the same ship to the same U.S. port or place from where they originally departed.

 

The source for the above is http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/tools/except.html which takes the information from page 90 of http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/whti_landseafinalrule.pdf

So it's true - if you are a US citizen, and your cruise departs from a US port and returns to the same port, you do NOT need a passport to cruise.

HOWEVER - if something goes wrong in The Bahamas and you need to leave the ship and fly home, you will have problems because you don't have a passport. Only you can decide whether that risk is worth the time and expense of getting yourself a passport.

[brettsmom2004]

Went to the Bahamas in April...all we needed was Drivers License and Birth Certificate. All 4 of us had last names different from Birth Certificates due to marriages, we were not asked for a marriage license. It also might depend on the authority person checking you in or out....be safe and take all 3....Birth Certificate, Drivers License, and Marriage Certificate.

 

gg

[molly5673]

i feel better now

[paul929207]

But if it makes you feel better, you can get a passport and not need the BC, ML or photo ID. It will also get you home should something unexpectedly force you to fly home.

[Hlitner]

Should you feel paranoid leaving the US without a Passport? Yes, we think so. However, as has been posted you will be fine if you are on a "closed loop" cruise and have the proper documents. Make very sure your birth certificates are offical and have a stamp (seal). Copies are usually not accepted nor are non-official copies.

 

Keep in mind that without a Passport you would not be permitted to fly back to the US in case of an emergency (if you have to get home in a hurry from one of the islands).

 

Hank

[Taxguy77]

i feel better now

 

Strange. You feel better after postings by 4 strangers than you did after getting the same answer many times from people who spend all their time answering this type of question?

[molly5673]

is that you felt the need to be a jerk after everyone else has been so nice and helpful. dont worry about what i choose to do.

[Doug R.]

is that you felt the need to be a jerk after everyone else has been so nice and helpful. dont worry about what i choose to do.

 

I don't think he was being a jerk just puzzled, thats all. However, calling 20 times seems quite excessive, especially after getting the same answer every time. I agree with the four strangers that confirm that you got good information. However passports provide a bigger safety factor. Remember no one can predict or expects to get hit by a runaway cab or worse on vacations. Stuff happens.

 

Have a great cruise. :D