Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Should we get passports?

OCMama

By OCMama,
in Ask a Cruise Question

 Share

Recommended Posts

HamSammie

HamSammie

Posted
Posted
One of these days this question will finally be a moot point when they require a passport to fly anywhere. Thought I read that day is coming in 2017?

 

No. That is because licenses from some states may no longer be valid as those states refuse to conform to the REAL ID act. These are mostly red states that believe it is OK to tell people what to do with their bodies but how dare the Government tell us how to license. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
paul929207

paul929207

Posted
Posted
Simply not true about the cost.. It doesn't change, however if you have to get one while you are away the aggravation factor does increase dramatically. Just remember that a US citizen is not going to be denied entry back into the US without a passport, there are just more hoops to jump through.

While a US citizen will not be denied entry to the US because of the lack of a passport, this would apply to people who have lost theirs while in transit. They would be denied boarding if they do not have needed documents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SadieN

SadieN

Posted
Posted (edited)

Only a few itins would we cruise without a full passport, those going to Canada and Mexico. Can get close to the border for both of these.

 

If there's an accident wouldn't want to waste time getting an emergency passport in a foreign country. Why delay if it can be avoided? Many of those islands do not have US presence, it's consolidated.

Edited by SadieN
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nanobot

Nanobot

Posted
Posted

I am a supporter of travelling with a valid passport.

 

That stated, here is guidance I found:

Those US citizens who are closed loop cruises that pass through Canada, i.e., West Coast Alaska cruises or some East Coast cruises, should be aware of the unlikely event that you have to board a flight home from Canada to the US (for whatever reason) you will need to "... present either a valid passport or a valid Nexus card when travelling by air between Canada and the United States." And, "Nexus card holders who are permanent residents of... the U.S. must travel with a passport and proof of permanent residence, in addition to their Nexus card, and may be asked to present these documents upon arrival at the border."

 

Although you may have various methods of gaining entry to the US without a passport, you should be aware that when you want to fly out of Canada, you will need to get onto an airplane first, and for that you need to have the proper identification.

 

Food for thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
capriccio

capriccio

Posted
Posted (edited)

This US State Department note appears on the information pages (http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html) for Caribbean islands:

 

NOTE: Be aware that Caribbean cruises that begin and end in the United States (closed loop cruises) do not require that you travel with a valid passport. However, should you need to disembark due to an emergency and you do not have a valid passport, you may encounter difficulties entering or remaining in a foreign country. You may also have difficulty attempting to re-enter the United States by air because many airlines will require a valid passport before allowing you to board the aircraft. As such, it is strongly recommended that you always travel abroad with your valid passport.

 

In the event you decide you need a passport (i.e, the airlines won't let you board without one), you will need to go to the nearest US consulate which is most likely not located on the island you are visiting (the only two I know of are Bridgetown, Barbados and Willemstad, Curacao) and produce all the documentation needed for a passport (which most folks don't carry around with them) during business hours Monday through Friday (since your emergency is not necessarily and emergency in the eyes of the US government). I'm guessing that you would also be charged the expedited passport fee.

 

All those potential expenses (flight, hotel, expedited passport fee) make the $110 + $25 fee per person you could have invested in a passport worth 10 years look minor. Not to mention the time lost when one is trying to get home due to an emergency.

Edited by capriccio
Link to comment
Share on other sites
olemissreb

olemissreb

Posted
Posted

My first cruise, I didn't have a passport - didn't need one and certainly thought I never would. Heck back in 1989, you could fly to/from Mexico with just your driver's license and birth certificate - that was my first true "international" travel. I had dreams of going to Europe, but never thought I'd have the chance. Then in 1992 my DH at the time, got a job with European travel and I got the opportunity to go to Italy! Thankfully, we lived in Chicago at the time and I was able to go to the Passport Office and get an expedited passport. I haven't traveled without one since. It's just so much more convenient to have to only pull out one piece of documentation than a DL and BC. My sister had to do that on our last cruise (Feb 2016) and she hated it. Didn't add that much additional time, but she just hated having to keep up with 2 different pieces of identification.

 

Get the passport - you never know when/if the opportunity to travel to places you never dreamed of arises. When it does, you'll be ready to go! Plus it also opens up a whole new set of cruise destinations!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thinfool

thinfool

Posted
Posted

Here's a "real world" reminder out of San Juan.

 

A few years ago, during hurricane season, a Carnival ship was due to sail on it's itinerary, leaving at 7pm, or so.

 

There was a hurricane coming and the port ordered all ships to sail immediately. So they closed up the ship and set sail in mid-afternoon.

 

Needless to say, there were a LOT of people not yet on board.

 

Carnival was happy to fly those who missed the ship to the next port....all they needed was a passport. Several did.

 

But, we all know, you don't need a passport for RT sailings in the Caribbean (US citizens). But a lot of folks who wanted to take that cruise had to stay in Puerto Rico or just fly back home because they did not have proper documents to fly internationally.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
Posted
Here's a "real world" reminder out of San Juan.

 

A few years ago, during hurricane season, a Carnival ship was due to sail on it's itinerary, leaving at 7pm, or so.

 

There was a hurricane coming and the port ordered all ships to sail immediately. So they closed up the ship and set sail in mid-afternoon.

 

Needless to say, there were a LOT of people not yet on board.

 

Carnival was happy to fly those who missed the ship to the next port....all they needed was a passport. Several did.

 

But, we all know, you don't need a passport for RT sailings in the Caribbean (US citizens). But a lot of folks who wanted to take that cruise had to stay in Puerto Rico or just fly back home because they did not have proper documents to fly internationally.

 

There is a slight risk of that happening and it was a risk that I was willing to take. If someone is uncomfortable with the slight risk or if they are uncomfortable with the low risk of "something" happening then of course a passport is the way for them to go. Millions of people travel on closed loop cruises every year without any issue whatsoever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
zqvol

zqvol

Posted
Posted
While a US citizen will not be denied entry to the US because of the lack of a passport, this would apply to people who have lost theirs while in transit. They would be denied boarding if they do not have needed documents.

 

 

Since you don't need a passport for a close loop cruise, they would not be denied boarding because they don't have a passport.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
zqvol

zqvol

Posted
Posted
As usual, it appears that some "no passport needed" posters forget that almost every premium and luxury cruise line requires ALL passengers to produce a passport for ALL itineraries.

 

 

the people who cruise on luxury and premium lines know that they need passports. They never raise the issue. You raise this ppoint in every passport thread and it is a moot point for 95% of the people on CC, and the other 5% already know what they need to have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Flatbush Flyer

Flatbush Flyer

Posted
Posted
the people who cruise on luxury and premium lines know that they need passports. They never raise the issue. You raise this ppoint in every passport thread and it is a moot point for 95% of the people on CC, and the other 5% already know what they need to have.

 

 

The "get a passport?" question is generally raised by someone NEW to cruising. Whether their trip will be on a mass market or other type of cruise line is somewhat irrelevant. The important point is that all who are new should know from the outset of their soon-to-be love affair with cruising that government regulations are not the ONLY requirements they need to consider in international travel.

So let's rephrase my repetitive reminder to "SOME cruise lines always require passports" and hope that those folks asking such questions realize that the answers may change with only a moment's notice in today's uncertain world.

And, as for those cruisers who may never even look beyond mass market lines because of a belief that it would be too expensive: look at "net daily rates" rather than cabin prices. You might be very surprised (as was I when I first started "doing the bottom line math" years ago).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
Posted (edited)
The "get a passport?" question is generally raised by someone NEW to cruising. Whether their trip will be on a mass market or other type of cruise line is somewhat irrelevant. The important point is that all who are new should know from the outset of their soon-to-be love affair with cruising that government regulations are not the ONLY requirements they need to consider in international travel.

So let's rephrase my repetitive reminder to "SOME cruise lines always require passports" and hope that those folks asking such questions realize that the answers may change with only a moment's notice in today's uncertain world.

And, as for those cruisers who may never even look beyond mass market lines because of a belief that it would be too expensive: look at "net daily rates" rather than cabin prices. You might be very surprised (as was I when I first started "doing the bottom line math" years ago).

 

People that ask the question generally do so after reading their cruise line's requirements and usually they are asking clarifying questions. So if they've already read their cruise line requirements and said cruise line requires a passport of every passenger what possible clarifying question could they ask?

 

The closed loop exception exists because DHS determined that a US citizen on such a cruise poses a very low risk to the national security and until that assessment changes significantly I doubt very seriously that much will change.

Edited by sparks1093
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Flatbush Flyer

Flatbush Flyer

Posted
Posted
People that ask the question generally do so after reading their cruise line's requirements and usually they are asking clarifying questions. So if they've already read their cruise line requirements and said cruise line requires a passport of every passenger what possible clarifying question could they ask?

 

 

 

The closed loop exception exists because DHS determined that a US citizen on such a cruise poses a very low risk to the national security and until that assessment changes significantly I doubt very seriously that much will change.

 

 

At the risk of getting flamed:

One needs only to look at some of the questions, assumptions and misinformation put forth by both old and new cruisers on CC to know that a significant number of cruisers (and/or other travelers) do not read much of the "terms and conditions" and other information provided by their carrier(s) until those specifics cause that traveler an "after the fact" problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
Posted
At the risk of getting flamed:

One needs only to look at some of the questions, assumptions and misinformation put forth by both old and new cruisers on CC to know that a significant number of cruisers (and/or other travelers) do not read much of the "terms and conditions" and other information provided by their carrier(s) until those specifics cause that traveler an "after the fact" problem.

 

Then that would be their problem. If someone were sailing on Oceania and read on a Carnival thread that they don't need a passport and relied on that information to not get a passport I would have little sympathy for them and you would probably be very glad they weren't on your sailing.:)

 

(Yes, I realize that this is the Ask a Cruise Question forum but for some reason the posts about passports on the CCL forum always get moved here. Questions about passports on other forums generally stay where they are.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
Posted

 

Since the State Department has the authority to waive the passport requirement for an emergency or for humanitarian reasons the article is incorrect that a temporary passport has to be issued. The facts and circumstances of each case are going to dictate how much delay is involved. Good travel insurance mitigates some of the expenses involved in the delay and in most cases the traveler will be on their way in a day or two, and if that is unacceptable than of course the passport will minimize (but not eliminate) the delay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...