Am I crazy 😁

[J458r]

Hello,

 

We are going on our first cruise in January. We will be sailing out of Florida for a 7 day western Caribbean Cruise. Are Passports really necessary? We have a party of 5 so it's going to cost us almost $600+ to get them. I know we can just use a birth certificate and photo which is what I'm honestly leaning towards. We have no plans to travel outside of the US and would only be using them to go on a closed loop cruise. Thanks ahead of time for the advice !!

[Badfinger]

Hello,

 

You are not crazy.

 

Passports are NOT necessary.

 

I have taken my family (two teenage boys) on four cruises without passports. Gasp! On our last cruise we even did adventure excursions (i.e. higher risk of injury than your normal excursion) at each port. So I am not just telling you something I would not do myself.

 

Yeah I understand how a passport makes it easier if you somehow get separated from the ship and need to fly for whatever reason. And you can get through customs a bit faster. But when I calculated the risk vs cost, the decision was easy. Others might less risk tolerant than myself and I understand that.

 

What would be crazy is to get a passport but leave it on the ship when you go ashore. Now that makes less than zero sense!

 

All that said, as soon as our youngest turns 18, I and going to get passports for all of us. Not because of cruises, as I think our cruising days are pretty much over, but because I could see us taking an overseas trips. Plus given the crazy world we live in, I would find some value in having proof of identity.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Badfinger

[Angua]

Well when you take a cruise you ARE traveling outside the US. Are you sure you won't be going on any other cruises in the next 10 years?

 

I personally would never leave the country without a passport. If you are confident enough that there will be no issues on your trip (unexpected illness, missing the ship, other emergency that requires you to leave your trip early) then you will be fine with the birth certificate/photo ID.

 

Up to you on how much risk you are willing to take.

 

 

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[gobben]

You are not crazy, we have taken 3 cruises without passports. It's a chance we have been willing to take of not being able to fly home if needed. To me it isn't wroth the money knowing we are not planing to fly outside of the US.

[bury me at sea]

It's a gamble, but given the number of cruisers who never encounter a problem, the odds are with you.

 

When you step on the ship you are under foreign jurisdiction. None is flagged in the US. Most ports are in foreign countries. Flying home because of an emergency is problematic without a passport.

 

It is a personal decision, as is travel insurance. Many cruisers, it seems, don't have either and have never had a problem.

[volmoma]

Hello,

 

 

 

We are going on our first cruise in January. We will be sailing out of Florida for a 7 day western Caribbean Cruise. Are Passports really necessary? We have a party of 5 so it's going to cost us almost $600+ to get them. I know we can just use a birth certificate and photo which is what I'm honestly leaning towards. We have no plans to travel outside of the US and would only be using them to go on a closed loop cruise. Thanks ahead of time for the advice !!

 

 

No, passports are not a necessity, BC will suffice, on a closed loop cruise. BUT, and it is a big but, if an emergency comes up, whether it is a family member on the ship or back home, and you have to fly back home, this is when the pass ports come into play. You have to have a current passport to fly. Also have heard HORROR stories of accidents and be air lifted to a hospital or back home. This is VERY costly, we always purchase travel insurance. Yes we could have gone on several more cruises for what we have paid for the insurance, but as the saying goes, you don't need travel insurance until you need it. Good luck and enjoy your cruise!!

 

 

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Edited September 29, 2016 by volmoma

[AussieOmni]

If your cruise is entirely in Mexico you could save money by getting a passport card. But again, that would force you to travel by land back home if something happened. That said, you're not crazy, plenty of people do the same thing.

[J458r]

Thank you everyone ! We've got a little more time to decide but I think we are going to pass on the Passports!

[coevan]

Well when you take a cruise you ARE traveling outside the US. Are you sure you won't be going on any other cruises in the next 10 years?

 

I personally would never leave the country without a passport. If you are confident enough that there will be no issues on your trip (unexpected illness, missing the ship, other emergency that requires you to leave your trip early) then you will be fine with the birth certificate/photo ID.

 

Up to you on how much risk you are willing to take.

 

 

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I'm with Anqua 100%. I would never leave U.S soil without a passport. People who travel without a passport probably do not buy travel insurance, mandatory for us. To put a price factor on your safety is not wise. It's not only you or someone in your party getting sick or injured, how about a relative getting gravely ill or dying at home and you have to leave the ship. Passport, check....... Insurance, check........ completely covered for about $200

[Lee & Melissa]

Thank you everyone ! We've got a little more time to decide but I think we are going to pass on the Passports!

 

A passport is not necessary, but if someone has an emergency at home, that person would not be able to fly home from a foreign country without a passport.

[GradUT]

Just a little anecdotal info since people are always talking about the risk of taking a cruise without a passport because you could get stuck in a foreign country without it.

 

My husband was a Foreign Service Officer for over 30 years so he was very familiar with the process of issuing passports overseas. One of his postings was in a U.S. Consulate in a place included on many cruises. During the entire time he was posted there, he NEVER had to issue an emergency passport to someone from a cruise ship so that they could get home. I'm not saying it never happens, but it's really, really rare. (And in case of a real emergency, the staff at the U.S. Consulate will get you the documentation you need to get home fast.)

Edited September 29, 2016 by GradUT

[cruise_mojo]

but I have known someone that had to be life flighted home from Columbia after a bad illness on a panama canal cruise

 

they did have their passports and gold medal insurance ( the flight was 50k! ) the insurance I was looking at for a recent booking only covers 30k for evacuation!

 

we cruised several times with just birth certificates, and like peeps say its a bit of a gamble, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

 

but if you think cruising will be a regular deal, Id get the passorts sometime in the future, maybe not for this specific cruise.....:)

[cb at sea]

I have no intention of going anywhere that requires a passport. We sail with BC and DL...it's fine! If you are trapped on an island, you will not be stranded in some foreign country forever....they will NOT let you stay, unlike our country! They will expedite your paperwork to get you the hell out of their country! No worries!

Edited September 30, 2016 by cb at sea

[maldenmusic]

We always cruise with our passports but we already had them for travel to Europe. However, I've seen lots of people getting onboard with other forms of ID.

[leaveitallbehind]

To be clear, the guidelines are typically any US based closed loop cruise (departing and returning to the same US based port) requires either a birth certificate and a valid picture ID -or- a passport. But that can vary by cruise line so I would check with the cruise line you will be on to confirm their requirements. It also is recommended to carry a passport when on foreign soil to facilitate easy transportation back to the US if needed - not so much to leave the country but to return into the US.

[sparks1093]

Just a little anecdotal info since people are always talking about the risk of taking a cruise without a passport because you could get stuck in a foreign country without it.

 

My husband was a Foreign Service Officer for over 30 years so he was very familiar with the process of issuing passports overseas. One of his postings was in a U.S. Consulate in a place included on many cruises. During the entire time he was posted there, he NEVER had to issue an emergency passport to someone from a cruise ship so that they could get home. I'm not saying it never happens, but it's really, really rare. (And in case of a real emergency, the staff at the U.S. Consulate will get you the documentation you need to get home fast.)

 

Thank you for this!

 

OP, we were in the exact same position as you- passports for the 7 of us would have cost between $800 and $900 for our 4 day cruise so we really examined the issue. While we knew we wanted to travel internationally by air someday we were not sure when that would be nor did we know that the family would like cruising so after looking at all of the possibilities we decided to wait to get our passports. Yes, there is a small risk but a good travel insurance policy covers those contingencies. Millions of people travel on closed loop cruises every year with something other than a passport so no, you aren't crazy:).

[Bonnie J.]

Make sure your birth certificates are official- NOT hospital ones. BCs from the hospital are not accepted! If you can't find one, you can get another from the town you were born in- those are official.

We have over 100 cruses- since 1985- and have NEVER taken our passports off the ship. We have heard many Cruise Directors say, "Leave them on the ship!" Thieves can get a bundle for US passports. Ours stay in our safe.

And remember adult passports are good for 10 years. If you divide the cost by 1o for each year, they are not that expensive.

[NMLady]

Hello,

 

We are going on our first cruise in January. We will be sailing out of Florida for a 7 day western Caribbean Cruise. Are Passports really necessary? We have a party of 5 so it's going to cost us almost $600+ to get them. I know we can just use a birth certificate and photo which is what I'm honestly leaning towards. We have no plans to travel outside of the US and would only be using them to go on a closed loop cruise. Thanks ahead of time for the advice !!

 

The photo, for those over 16, must be a Govt issued ID such as driver license or state issued ID card. Some cruise lines will accept high school photo id for those in high school.

I presume you are all US citizens. Make sure the birth certificate is an official one, not just from hospital.

 

So, yes, if you are US citizen on closed loop cruise you can use official birth certificate and Govt issued photo ID.

[cruise_mojo]

a buddy of mine's coworker was going on a cruise this summer

 

his grandmother had booked the entire cruise for the family, I think 7 peeps in three cabins

 

Id think most likely the typical person booking on explodia or some site where you don't HAVE to interact with an actual person on the phone to book

 

like most typical peeps that never pay attention to airline reps about booking changes, change fees, non refunable etc etc.

 

the poor grandma didn't read the fine print

 

her entire family traveled to their departure porth with NO passport, and NO birth certificates and lost their entire cruise!

 

I really feel sad for the lady, because that must be a terrible burden to bear. Hopefully they are filthy stinking rich and the loss of a few thou doesn't hurt them. only their pride....:confused:

 

I'm not sure anyone has said the OP is crazy, just playing the odds, and if your number comes up, well, some of us TOLD YOU SO!

 

SO DON'T COME CRYING BACK TO US WITH YOUR SOB STORY!:eek:

 

if you leave your BC's in the hotel room, forget ONE of them, someone steals your purse etc etc.

 

we always take our PP and BC's and two sets of travel docs and each has one of the acceptable forms of ID.

 

obsessive compulsive no, paranoid, I don't think so, anal retentive, after too much mac and cheese maybe, but careful and enjoying the no worries of being careful, yes!;)

 

two years ago a buddy of mine and his wife got their rental car broke into in the south of france and their passports and some money and one id stolen - like the song says, they ended up in Marseilles pounding on the door of the US Consulate and did finally get some emergency issued pp and were able to get on their way

 

one thing also helped them was their credit card internal travel protections with spur of the moment cash advances and help contacting us authorities

[TC1957]

The fact that you don't want to get passports for a closed loop cruise does not mean you are not crazy. Just saying :D

[TC1957]

SO DON'T COME CRYING BACK TO US WITH YOUR SOB STORY!:eek:

 

if you leave your BC's in the hotel room, forget ONE of them, someone steals your purse etc etc.

 

we always take our PP and BC's and two sets of travel docs and each has one of the acceptable forms of ID.

 

obsessive compulsive no, paranoid, I don't think so, anal retentive, after too much mac and cheese maybe, but careful and enjoying the no worries of being careful, yes!;)

 

two years ago a buddy of mine and his wife got their rental car broke into in the south of france and their passports and some money and one id stolen - like the song says, they ended up in Marseilles pounding on the door of the US Consulate and did finally get some emergency issued pp and were able to get on their way

 

one thing also helped them was their credit card internal travel protections with spur of the moment cash advances and help contacting us authorities

 

Is it your contention that if you have a passport it is physically impossible to leave it in the hotel room, forget one of them and having a passport makes it impossible to have something stolen.

 

Anything that can happen to a birth certificate can happen to a passport.

 

In my opinion, your post makes you sound like a...never mind.

[sparks1093]

a buddy of mine's coworker was going on a cruise this summer

 

his grandmother had booked the entire cruise for the family, I think 7 peeps in three cabins

 

Id think most likely the typical person booking on explodia or some site where you don't HAVE to interact with an actual person on the phone to book

 

like most typical peeps that never pay attention to airline reps about booking changes, change fees, non refunable etc etc.

 

the poor grandma didn't read the fine print

 

her entire family traveled to their departure porth with NO passport, and NO birth certificates and lost their entire cruise!

 

I really feel sad for the lady, because that must be a terrible burden to bear. Hopefully they are filthy stinking rich and the loss of a few thou doesn't hurt them. only their pride....:confused:

 

I'm not sure anyone has said the OP is crazy, just playing the odds, and if your number comes up, well, some of us TOLD YOU SO!

 

SO DON'T COME CRYING BACK TO US WITH YOUR SOB STORY!:eek:

 

if you leave your BC's in the hotel room, forget ONE of them, someone steals your purse etc etc.

 

we always take our PP and BC's and two sets of travel docs and each has one of the acceptable forms of ID.

 

obsessive compulsive no, paranoid, I don't think so, anal retentive, after too much mac and cheese maybe, but careful and enjoying the no worries of being careful, yes!;)

 

two years ago a buddy of mine and his wife got their rental car broke into in the south of france and their passports and some money and one id stolen - like the song says, they ended up in Marseilles pounding on the door of the US Consulate and did finally get some emergency issued pp and were able to get on their way

 

one thing also helped them was their credit card internal travel protections with spur of the moment cash advances and help contacting us authorities

 

And the moral of the story is know what you need to bring with you and make sure you bring it. Had the gramma in question done this bit of due diligence everything would be fine and they would have gone on the cruise. As for leaving the BC in the hotel room the same could be said of any travel document, including the passport (I did read about one poster that lost her passport from the time she left home until she arrived at the port, a faxed copy of her birth certificate saved her cruise).

[J458r]

Thank you all for your responses! We are just sticking with the bc and photo id. If we decide to take another cruise in the future maybe we will get them then. Thank you again!!

[captainrupertbear]

Don't think you're crazy for a short closed loop.

 

However, I personally wouldn't go anywhere without mine (or travel insurance) but in fairness I have traveled the world extensively so that comes into play.

[BruceMuzz]

Unless you are going on a cruise, you don't even need a drivers license.

I haven't had a license for over 30 years.

I drive cars and have never been pulled over by a policeman.

No insurance either.

I don't need it and have never used it.

I just drive very carefully and do not break the law.

 

I have saved a fortune over all those years.