on Dream -no passports

[dwjoe]

In our 30+ years of marriage we have encountered more than 1 of those travel emergencies during a trip. We have experienced the extra expenses of medical flights etc.

 

We also watched a year or so ago during hurricane season when Carnival and RCL had to leave Puerto Rico early because of a hurricane, and head to their next port. Those with passports were flown to the next port to catch up with their ships. Those wiwho only traveled with a birth certificate and photo I'd were sent back home.

 

So, while I won't get "preachy" about other peoples choices. We have decided that for us, our children, and grandchildren a passport and travel insurance are in order. I'd rather pay the passport fee every 10 years than be stuck somewhere fighting a beurocratic nightmare when all I want to do is get home or get on with my vacation.

 

I am glad to know though that when its an issue caused by Carnival, they step up to the plate and do everything they can to work with our government and the foreign governments to get everyone home as comfortably and quickly as possible.

Thanks for your thoughts and examples of where a passport will make a difference. There is a small risk associated with travelling without a passport and each person must decide if they are comfortable with that or whether to buy passports.

[dwjoe]

Well yes, they say I'm cheap.:D

Wait a sec, I thought I was the one who was cheap for entertaining the thought of not buying a passport. :D

 

Tell you what - you buy my passport and I'll buy you a cup of Starbucks coffee, and we'll call it even? ;)

[dwjoe]

As a Canadian, I must have a passport to enter the U.S. As I travel to Vegas three or four times yearly and cruise once yearly I get a lot of use out of it. I don't have a problem with having to purchase one and I renew it every five years. And I know should I become stranded somewhere unexpectedly, I have it tucked away.

From Canada to the US by air, you are correct that a passport is required.

 

By land or sea, you can use an enhanced driver's license if available in your province (QC, ON, BC, MB).

[Snowmeo]

In our 30+ years of marriage we have encountered more than 1 of those travel emergencies during a trip. We have experienced the extra expenses of medical flights etc.

 

 

If I may be so bold to ask and you don't mind sharing, what sort of medical emergencies did you suffer that you left a cruise and flew back instead?

I have seen people say this occasionally as a grounds for needing a passport but no one ever gives details. Usually it's, "saw it happen to someone else.."

 

Just curious because when most people say "medical emergencies" I would think they meant strokes or heart attacks, not minor things like a sprain or a break.

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

[blindrid]

I've got to ask - where in the he!! do people get their information????

 

Agree 100%. There are plenty that think they know or read it all. (I happen to be a French model also ;)).

 

People are just convinced that if you don't have your passport you will be forever banned from re-entering the U.S.

 

As far as that goes, St. Maart is not a bad place to be forgotten anyway..... BonJour.....

[MasterMason]

First off, not having a passport does NOT slow down debarkation. I breeze through every time with my birth certificate and ID. Secondly, It's not a matter of passport cost for everyone.

 

I personally, and many others (believe it or not), simply CAN'T GET A PASSPORT! There are certain restrictions that that can keep an individual from being able to get a passport. The one such restriction that I have, relates to Child Support. Now, this is none of your business, but I'm very tired of the self-righteous on this board forcing their opinions on this issue. There are many of us travelers that simply CAN'T GET ONE. This isn't because I don't pay support, because I do, but there are OTHER ISSUES related to this that keep me from getting one.

 

Does this mean I can't cruise? Not at all. It simply means that I HAVE to use a birth certificate and ID to travel. Am I concerned about emergencies? Not at all. I would much rather travel without one, and have the backing of CCL behind me, than travel with one, and be on my own.

 

So just remember, what works for you may not work for another, and only the cruiseline has the right to say what is REQUIRED, and what is SUGGESTED.

[mochaspresso]

Hypothetically, why would I want do that in a first place?

 

I saved up for my vacation, waited months to a year to go on this vacation and I am finally at a tropical destination.. and I want to fly home? Perhaps I shouldn't have went on vacation to begin with if I am so flaky. A last minute flight on top of the money I wasted by deciding to abandon my vacation sounds really expensive.

 

I am on *vacation*. My cell phone is *off*. So hypothetically I just decide to fly home cause I have the freedom?

 

Uhhhh No. I think I will stay and spend the money I saved on a passport and have a few drinks on the beach. Thankyouverymuch. :cool:

 

I wasn't talking about just abandoning a planned vacation for no reason. I was really speaking in terms of an emergency situation. Ship emergency, weather emergency, health emergency, family emergency, political unrest emergency, captain abandons the sinking ship emergency....

 

In such a situation, you are in a foreign country with no passport. Therefore, you are essentially depending on all of the powers that be to actually be in place ready to help you. Those people weren't just allowed to fly home freely with no red tape. Carnival stepped up and made that arrangement for it's passengers and insulated them from all of the red tape. Very nice of them, but had they not done that AND had that foreign entity not agreed to it, those people would indeed have been stuck. Carnival has been doing the right thing for its customers in the past, but there is no real guarantee that any cruise line will ALWAYS do that.

 

People say they can't afford a passport. That may be so, but I can't afford to be stuck someplace for any longer than I want or intended to be over something so trivial that it could have been avoided by investing approx. $150 on a passport.

 

To each his own, I guess. While it is certainly true that you don't need a passport to cruise, it certainly isn't very wise to do so without one.

[MasterMason]

I wasn't talking about just abandoning a planned vacation for no reason. I was really speaking in terms of an emergency situation. Ship emergency, weather emergency, health emergency, family emergency, political unrest emergency, captain abandons the sinking ship emergency....

 

In such a situation, you are in a foreign country with no passport. Therefore, you are essentially depending on all of the powers that be to actually be in place ready to help you.

 

All of your examples are "beyond your control", and as such, you have the resources of the cruiseline to assist you. This is guaranteed, just read over your cruise documentation, or search the Carnival site.

 

Those people weren't just allowed to fly home freely with no red tape.

 

Yes, they were.

 

Carnival stepped up and made that arrangement for it's passengers and insulated them from all of the red tape. Very nice of them, but had they not done that AND had that foreign entity not agreed to it, those people would indeed have been stuck.

 

But that wasn't the case, so... Next!

 

Carnival has been doing the right thing for its customers in the past, but there is no real guarantee that any cruise line will ALWAYS do that.

 

At which point, I'm sure you will be beaming with satisfaction for being right

 

 

People say they can't afford a passport. That may be so, but I can't afford to be stuck someplace for any longer than I want or intended to be over something so trivial that it could have been avoided by investing approx. $150 on a passport.

 

At this point you are assuming to know everyone's situation, as my earlier post states, there are OTHER situations that can bar a person from getting a passport. Please don't assume on my behalf.

 

 

 

To each his own, I guess. While it is certainly true that you don't need a passport to cruise, it certainly isn't very wise to do so without one.

 

If passport travel was essential, it would be required. All I can say is that I'm very glad the Powers-That-Be decided to allow travel without them.

[blindrid]

People say they can't afford a passport. That may be so, but I can't afford to be stuck someplace for any longer than I want or intended to be over something so trivial that it could have been avoided by investing approx. $150 on a passport.

 

To each his own, I guess. While it is certainly true that you don't need a passport to cruise, it certainly isn't very wise to do so without one.

 

Regarding: "That may be so, but I can't afford to be stuck someplace for any longer than I want or intended to be over something so trivial that it could have been avoided by investing approx. $150 on a passport."

 

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I have a PP but can certainly understand why others don't. For example, family of 4 on a one-time cruise = $600, not $150 (round numbers of course).

 

And some would suggest it is neither wise or unwise. I am continually amazed at those in here think they need to pass judgement as they ignore circumstances or use circumstances to do things their way.

 

The PP that mentioned that some people cannot get a PP is a great example also.

 

Jump off the soapbox and would suggest quitting the attempt to save the world (or better yet, my way is better).

[Dudleydog73]

I've got to ask - where in the he!! do people get their information????

 

 

How about from the US Government Department of Homeland Security website itself?

 

It plainly says that for US citizens entering the US by AIR (as these folks are now) they must present a passport document.

 

If this was a closed loop cruise where they leave and enter by sea at the same port, then a birth certificate suffices.

 

The reason to have a passport on ANY vacation outside the US is for irregular ops (you get sick / injured and require hospitalization or medivac and are required to disembark the ship) where you will be SOL if you don't have a passport.

 

People should plan for the worst, but some will always take the least resistant / cheaper path and expect rules to be bent / broken for them if something goes wrong. I for one will never travel outside the US without my passport.

[carnivalcruiser10]

bump

[dwjoe]

...but some will always take the least resistant / cheaper path and expect rules to be bent / broken for them if something goes wrong...

 

Your post was fine until this part.

 

Where do you get off judging other people's decisions?

 

Leave people alone.

[jackinbox]

Now lets see, an upgraded cabin for a week ($600 down a rat hole) or passports that last 10 years? Sounds like a pretty simple value choice to me. 600/4/10= $15 per person per year; a couple of Starbucks coffees. I'm glad you're not my financial planner.

That was just one example of something they could do with that $600 rather than throw it away on an official U.S. Government souvenir. At least with an upgraded cabin for the week they will be able to enjoy it. I'm not sure how much enjoyment people get at staring at their passport and saying "Cool. I'm official."

 

A group of 6 of us went on the Valor back in January of 2008. 2 of us (my wife and myself) had passports when we booked, the other 4 did not. My travel agent insisted that they had to get them and like a fool, I believed her and had them get them. To this day, none of the 4 have left the country since then. They threw away their money.

 

If I didn't travel by air overseas, I certainly wouldn't waste the money on one.

 

My guess is that pretty soon we will all need them, one way or another. Or, we can wait for our Federally issued travel papers coming soon to a trip near you.:rolleyes:

Needing them "pretty soon" is irrelevant. If they change the rules, then people will have to get them. If this was even up for consideration in the very near future, you might have a point. However, there are ZERO signs from the Government that closed-loop cruisers are going to be required to have passports soon. It's not even being whispered about.

 

If people want to get them for peace of mind, I have no issues with that. What I can't stand are the posters who constantly come onto CC with a sense of superiority and imply that people who cruise without a passport are idiots. In addition they spread numerous falsehoods, some of which played out in this very scenario regarding the Dream

[mochaspresso]

Regarding: "That may be so, but I can't afford to be stuck someplace for any longer than I want or intended to be over something so trivial that it could have been avoided by investing approx. $150 on a passport."

 

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I have a PP but can certainly understand why others don't. For example, family of 4 on a one-time cruise = $600, not $150 (round numbers of course).

 

And some would suggest it is neither wise or unwise. I am continually amazed at those in here think they need to pass judgement as they ignore circumstances or use circumstances to do things their way.

 

The PP that mentioned that some people cannot get a PP is a great example also.

 

Jump off the soapbox and would suggest quitting the attempt to save the world (or better yet, my way is better).

 

 

It isn't about anyone being on a soapbox or being on a quest to save the world. People read these forums to share info and advice on cruising.

 

If this were a used car sales forum and someone said that they'd purchased several used cars over the years without having them checked by a mechanic first and advised others to do the same, people probably would step up and say that this was bad advice.

 

Imo, people here are doing the exact same thing. Just because you can do something doesn't automatically make it a good idea. Cruising without a passport is just plain bad advice.

[noslen3333]

I don't know if it was but I do not fly. Haven't for years. Carnival would have to let me stay or put me on the next ship. Would like to know the answer.

[TPLGT]

I don't know if it was but I do not fly. Haven't for years. Carnival would have to let me stay or put me on the next ship. Would like to know the answer.

 

I am in for the answer too. Shoot...i'd take the ship if i could...

[dwjoe]

Imo, people here are doing the exact same thing. Just because you can do something doesn't automatically make it a good idea. Cruising without a passport is just plain bad advice.

I have yet to see a poster advise another not to get a passport.

 

I do see plenty of posters judging others who choose not get one, however.

 

I think the discussion on Cruise Critic should focus on informing folks of their documentation options and pros/cons, not lecturing them.

[Blurgh]

You'd be flying or it'd probably be out of pocket. Unless it's for a medical reason. I don't fly but understand I may have to when I go on a cruise. Something could happen, I could get hurt and not be able to drive back. I could screw up and miss the boat. The boat could break, etc...

[mochaspresso]

First off, not having a passport does NOT slow down debarkation. I breeze through every time with my birth certificate and ID. Secondly, It's not a matter of passport cost for everyone.

 

I personally, and many others (believe it or not), simply CAN'T GET A PASSPORT! There are certain restrictions that that can keep an individual from being able to get a passport. The one such restriction that I have, relates to Child Support. Now, this is none of your business, but I'm very tired of the self-righteous on this board forcing their opinions on this issue. There are many of us travelers that simply CAN'T GET ONE. This isn't because I don't pay support, because I do, but there are OTHER ISSUES related to this that keep me from getting one.

 

Does this mean I can't cruise? Not at all. It simply means that I HAVE to use a birth certificate and ID to travel. Am I concerned about emergencies? Not at all. I would much rather travel without one, and have the backing of CCL behind me, than travel with one, and be on my own.

 

So just remember, what works for you may not work for another, and only the cruiseline has the right to say what is REQUIRED, and what is SUGGESTED.

 

 

Sorry for whatever issues you have.....but it doesn't change the fact that it isn't advisable to travel out of the country without a passport. Even on a cruise. People who can get one, really should do so.

[mochaspresso]

I have yet to see a poster advise another not to get a passport.

 

I do see plenty of posters judging others who choose not get one, however.

 

I think the discussion on Cruise Critic should focus on informing folks of their documentation options and pros/cons, not lecturing them.

 

Sorry for the semantics getting lost in translation. The same way you say that no one advised another not to get a PP, I didn't see anyone lecturing either. Offering reasons why it is advisable to travel with one is not lecturing, imo.

[Dudleydog73]

Your post was fine until this part.

 

Where do you get off judging other people's decisions?

 

Leave people alone.

 

This board is all about teaching people how to travel smarter, not harder. Traveling with passports can only make travel easier.

 

I am not judging anyone who like to gamble, whether in the casino on the ship, or traveling outside the US hoping everything goes 100% as it should.

 

But if you choose to gamble and lose, don't expect rules to be bent / broken to accommodate.

 

Have a great day!

[3dog]

From Canada to the US by air, you are correct that a passport is required.

 

By land or sea, you can use an enhanced driver's license if available in your province (QC, ON, BC, MB).

 

Though true, they would still need a passport to do a closed-loop cruise, as the government-issued ID is only for US citizens; non-citizens must present a passport.

[wannago35]

If I remember correctly, Triumph was technically closer to Mexico when the fire hit, but Carnival choose to slow drag it 3-4 days back to the US for whatever reason with a boat load full of passengers.

 

I'm thinking this is another lesson Carnival learned from the Triumph situation and worked with the proper authorities to make sure those without passports could travel. Perhaps another reason why the boat sat in St. Maarten for over a day, while they figured this all out.

 

Carnival has enough PR problems right now, they needed to get those folks back on U.S. soil asap and make this whole transition as easy as possible. Can you imagine the cain people would raise if they were stuck in another country unable to leave due to no fault of their own? Especially if they weren't able to wait it on on the beach :)

 

I'd never leave this country without a passport, but I'm glad it worked out for those passengers who did not have one in the end.

[mn311601]

Passports ARE NOT REQUIRED! Period! No matter what you personally feel, that someone should get a passport, if you are a US citizen on a closed loop cruise, passports ARE NOT REQUIRED! Period! End of discussion. It is no one's business what anyone else does, if you want a passport, get a passport. If you cruise without a passport, cruise without a passport. End of the discussion.

 

God, this forum is like a bunch of old ladies who won't let a topic go. According to the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OF AMERICA, closed loop cruises for US CITIZENS YOU DO

NOT

NEED A PASSPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mn311601]

Please please please please, mods post a sticky on all forums for US government rules for passports and then ban all other threads about passports and if they are required.