Passport needed?

[FLACRUISER99]

There are several emergencies that will allow you to easily retrieve your passport e.g. sudden emergency at home, sudden illness, etc.

 

Also, since the chance of loss/theft/damage is several times higher than the risk of missing the ship, it makes sense to leave your passport in the safe.

 

It has been reported that if you are going to miss the ship, then ship's security will open your cabin safe, retrieve your passport, and leave it with the cabin safe. This is a mitigating factor to the risk of missing the ship.

All you have to do is call the port agent that is always listed in your Cruise Compass if you think you are going to miss the ship.

[jessicalorene]

Lastly while it probably is a hassle, a foreign country doesn't really have any interest in keeping you there.

 

I think the bigger problem isn't them letting you out but the United States not letting you back in :)

[ahecht]

I think the bigger problem isn't them letting you out but the United States not letting you back in :)

 

If you're a US citizen the government cannot legally deny you entry into the country if your identity and citizenship can be verified. They can arrest you immediately after letting you in, but they have to let you in if you are a citizen.

 

That said, the airline or cruise line doesn't have to allow you onboard without proper documentation.

Edited August 13, 2014 by ahecht

[FLACRUISER99]

If you're a US citizen the government cannot legally deny you entry into the country if your identity and citizenship can be verified. They can arrest you immediately after letting you in, but they have to let you in if you are a citizen.

 

That said, the airline or cruise line doesn't have to allow you onboard without proper documentation.

I would change that to the airline or cruise line won't allow you onboard without proper documentation.

[Mrs_Tiki]

I always travel with a passport, but leave it in the safe when we go ashore. Had read here on CC that some folks take a photocopy of their passport ashore with them in case of unforeseen emergency. Do you think that would help establish identity, or no good since it's not the real thing?

[ahecht]

I always travel with a passport, but leave it in the safe when we go ashore. Had read here on CC that some folks take a photocopy of their passport ashore with them in case of unforeseen emergency. Do you think that would help establish identity, or no good since it's not the real thing?

 

The photocopy will help the local embassy provide an emergency replacement passport, but it isn't a valid ID.

[Don Pedro]

Are you talking about a closed loop cruise like Seattle to Seattle, or a north/south cruise starting in Seattle or Vancouver and ending in Alaska.

 

If it's the closed loop one i didn't think that a passport was required. The only limitation would be that you couldn't take an excursion into the Yukon.

 

I could be wrong but that is my interpretation.

 

Bill

 

Bill, you are probably correct but I don't know for sure. Also, I'm not sure of your premise concerning a Yukon excursion. The rules that apply to Canada and Mexico are quite similar. Like Canada, US citizens making a border crossing into Mexico may do so with a passport or passport card and flights to or from Mexico require a passport. However, Mexico has made special arrangements with the cruse lines that allow passengers and their money to come ashore, regardless of the identification they used. Don't know what Canada has done.

[shirleygallegos60]

My TA advised us to get one on the same cruise as you, because IF there were an emergency and you needed to leave the ship and FLY back, you WILL need the Pass Port!

I dont want the worry so we got ours. My husbands came in 2 and half weeks.

[mollyeilis]

Are you talking about a closed loop cruise like Seattle to Seattle, or a north/south cruise starting in Seattle or Vancouver and ending in Alaska.

 

If it's the closed loop one i didn't think that a passport was required. The only limitation would be that you couldn't take an excursion into the Yukon.

 

I could be wrong but that is my interpretation.

 

Bill

 

There are also closed loop cruises out of Vancouver, and for those, to get into Canada, you need the WHTI compliant ID like a passport book or card or enhanced DL. I think there are other rules, but since I have a passport and just use that (and so do DH and DS) I don't know the ins and outs.

[waterbug123]

Thank you. I figured it was for PR too since it's a US territory, but I didn't want them to get to the airport or port and not be able to go!!

 

For US citizens, flying between PR and the mainland is no different than flying between Cleveland and Little Rock.. it's a domestic flight. And you can get on a closed loop cruise out of PR with the same documents as a closed loop cruise out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale or whatever. Just keep in mind that if you need to fly home mid-cruise, the rules for a PR cruise remain the same, i.e. if you have to fly home from St. Maarten for instance, you need a passport. Cruising out of PR does not negate the need to have a passport for an international mid-cruise flight.

[waterbug123]

The 2 arguments are always this:

1. Keep the passport in the safe to ensure it doesn't get lost or stolen ashore.

2. Keep the passport with you when you go ashore, in case you miss the ship.

 

While there may be a greater chance of having it lost or stolen than in missing the ship, I look at it this way: If it gets lost or stolen, it can be replaced when I get home, and it really won't affect my vacation. On the other hand, if I do happen to miss the ship, I would #1- worry about whether it really was with the port agent, and if it wasn't, then #2- I would have to deal with the embassy (possibly after hours, which means waiting another day) in order to get a replacement ASAP to fly home or to the next port. I'd rather not have that worry and hassle so I keep mine with me. (Again- worst case scenario is I lose it, and have to replace it after I get home.) To each his own.

[FLACRUISER99]

The 2 arguments are always this:

1. Keep the passport in the safe to ensure it doesn't get lost or stolen ashore.

2. Keep the passport with you when you go ashore, in case you miss the ship.

 

While there may be a greater chance of having it lost or stolen than in missing the ship, I look at it this way: If it gets lost or stolen, it can be replaced when I get home, and it really won't affect my vacation. On the other hand, if I do happen to miss the ship, I would #1- worry about whether it really was with the port agent, and if it wasn't, then #2- I would have to deal with the embassy (possibly after hours, which means waiting another day) in order to get a replacement ASAP to fly home or to the next port. I'd rather not have that worry and hassle so I keep mine with me. (Again- worst case scenario is I lose it, and have to replace it after I get home.) To each his own.

Did you ever think you might get mugged for it? :eek:I saw this happen in Rio.(Not the mugging but the results). You are correct that each of us must decide what to do and no one is right or wrong. Edited August 14, 2014 by FLACRUISER99

[TravelerThom]

Bill, you are probably correct but I don't know for sure. Also, I'm not sure of your premise concerning a Yukon excursion. The rules that apply to Canada and Mexico are quite similar. Like Canada, US citizens making a border crossing into Mexico may do so with a passport or passport card and flights to or from Mexico require a passport. However, Mexico has made special arrangements with the cruse lines that allow passengers and their money to come ashore, regardless of the identification they used. Don't know what Canada has done.

If you are on a closed loop cruise out of Seattle you may travel with Birth Certificate and Government issued ID. As an in-transit passenger you may get off in Victoria etc without a passport. Travel to the Yukon out of Skagway AK is a land crossing, not an in-transit port visit, so it does involve a passport. Technically neither Canada or Mexico require US citizens to have a passport, BUT they do require you to have documentation that allow onward travel which is, of course, a passport. Unless things have changed recently, entry from the US into the Mexican Frontier Zone is done without encountering any Mexican Officials (Mexican Customs and Immigration are located where the Frontier Zone meets Mexico proper). So you can walk across the border into Mexico with no papers, but be prepared for an extensive wait to get back into the US.

 

Thom

[Lars2014]

I can never understand why people spend the money for a Passport Card rather than a passport. passport card is too limited, you can do the same with birth certificate and drivers license. You can't fly back from a foreign country with a passport card so why even get one. They were designed to be used for land travel to Mexico and Canada. The reason people do it is because it is cheaper, Our good friends told us they were going to get passport card because it was cheaper but when we explained why it would just be a waste of money and they got regular passports. Now we want to do a European cruise with them and they are so happy they got the passport rather than the card.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Lars2014

[waterbug123]

Did you ever think you might get mugged for it?

 

Given the fact that I don't wave it around in the air while ashore (in fact, it generally never comes out of my bag), I'm not sure why you think I have a greater chance of being mugged specifically for my passport, than that of being mugged in general for money etc. :rolleyes:

[Margy23]

never heard of that actually happening although some insist that it does

We happened to have a "breakfast with a ship's officer" event on the morning after our ship had left four people in Cozumel. The officer at our table, the Human Resource Officer, told us that before we left, security took the missing passengers' passports and wallets from their safes and left them with the port agent. Since an important part of our Cozumel entertainment (I guess this proves we're not very nice) is watching people lurch and fall as they run for the ship after too much liquid refreshment, we can attest that something changed hands just before they lifted the gangway - so we believe it was the passports and wallets.

 

I think this is reassuring in case of an accident preventing our return to the ship, so we always cut the port agent's contact information out of the Compass and take it with us.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Margy23

[m*u*g*]

Even if you leave and arrive at a US port, get left behind in one of the ports and you will wish you had your passport.

[FLACRUISER99]

Given the fact that I don't wave it around in the air while ashore (in fact, it generally never comes out of my bag), I'm not sure why you think I have a greater chance of being mugged specifically for my passport, than that of being mugged in general for money etc. :rolleyes:

 

 

I must of missed the part where I said you had a greater chance of being mugged specifically for your passport. Did I say That?