Purchase Passport or No

[firemanbobswife]

I live 8 miles from the Canadian border and can thus leave the country very easily. If the only type of travel that I can do is to go across that border why would I spend any money on a document that I don't need when less expensive alternatives are available for that travel (such as a passport card or Enhanced Drivers License). I know many folks in this border town that fit that description to a T. If the only type of travel that I can or want to do is a closed loop cruise again, less expensive alternatives are available. When we started cruising everyone we cared about, that we would even consider cutting our trip short for, traveled with us and we could only travel on 4 day closed loop cruises so we analyzed the risks, looked at ALL of the what ifs and decided to wait to get passports until our risk level changed or we actually needed them for the travel we were doing. We were finally able to fly to Europe in 2015 and that is when we got our passports.

 

I consider driving a few miles to/from Canada quite different than flying from the Caribbean. But again, the only con is cost and it’s really not that much when you break it down. There is no other reason not to have a Passport when leaving the country especially when the only way back is via ship or plane. I’ll leave it at that. [emoji846]

[vinsanity339]

It’s ok right now to go on a certain type cruises with just a birth certificate . If you ever had a emergency and had to get back to the states you can only get back by boat . You would not be able to fly back and that goes the same with the card. It could be a gamble .

 

 

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[dreadpirate3]

I consider driving a few miles to/from Canada quite different than flying from the Caribbean. But again, the only con is cost and it’s really not that much when you break it down. There is no other reason not to have a Passport when leaving the country especially when the only way back is via ship or plane. I’ll leave it at that. [emoji846]

 

I agree 100%. It is fine to answer that yes, you can cruise without a passport, but caveats should be mentioned.