Passport for Bahamas and Princess Cays?

[Sea Legs]

Is a passport neccessary for these destinations?

 

 

[BNBR]

Nope. You should almost always leave your passport in your safe onboard unless told otherwise. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

I am assuming you mean US passports.  (I am sure there are a number of green card holders that live in Atlanta, for example, who cruise occasionally.)  

 

Do you mean is it necessary to board the Carnival ship in the first place?  No, you can use Birth Certificates and DLs.  Which means you don't need them when visiting any of the Bahamian ports, or  for the vast majority of the other ports for Caribbean cruises on Carnival.

 

But...if you have them, take them, since it simplifies things greatly for departure and re-arrival back in the US, and are very useful should something go sideways (medical emergency, missing the tender back to the ship, etc) while in port.

[niciediva007]

On 10/19/2018 at 1:06 PM, BNBR said:

Nope. You should almost always leave your passport in your safe onboard unless told otherwise. 

 You do not need a passport for closed loop destinations, however I respectfully disagree with this logic. If you touch down on foreign soil; assuming you have a passport, it does you absolutely no good locked in the ship safe. It cannot be of service to you if not on your person. 

 

My husband and I debated over whether to get passports for our children for our upcoming cruise. You can sail without it, but the price of a passport, as opposed to the extreme  inconvenience of having to prove citizenship in the event we need to be flown home or our citizenship is in question, is much much higher. DHS is not a joke. 

 

If you have time, I would opt to take a passport. Just my two cents. 

[BNBR]

41 minutes ago, niciediva007 said:

 You do not need a passport for closed loop destinations, however I respectfully disagree with this logic. If you touch down on foreign soil; assuming you have a passport, it does you absolutely no good locked in the ship safe. It cannot be of service to you if not on your person. 

 

My husband and I debated over whether to get passports for our children for our upcoming cruise. You can sail without it, but the price of a passport, as opposed to the extreme  inconvenience of having to prove citizenship in the event we need to be flown home or our citizenship is in question, is much much higher. DHS is not a joke. 

 

If you have time, I would opt to take a passport. Just my two cents. 

 

It's been discussed many times on this forum. The best advice is to leave the passport in your stateroom safe.  If for any reason you are going to miss the ship at the port, the cruise line will send security to retrieve your passport from your safe and leave it at the pier with the ships agent. 

 

There is no reason to risk losing it when off the ship at a port where it's not required to have it with you.  It's simply bad advice to take your passport off the ship with you. 

[Teslyn]

Yes, it is best to leave whatever you have on the ship. It' better to have a passport.

[niciediva007]

In a foreign country, if you do not possess citizenship proof on you at all times, you are playing with fire.

 

If you think that the only issue that could arise is missing a ship at port, then the risk is low. If you think with greater depth or experience, you will realize that there are many different reasons that may arise by which you can’t leave an island by boat, or even have time or resource to get back to the ship. If you have to fly home for any reason unexpectedly, you will unable to do so without a passport. 

 

Listen to CC “experts” if you want. I’ve worked professionally with DHS and TSA many times, spent many months over seas for work and pleasure, and my “citizenship” is one I would never leave home, or roam about outside the continental US, without.

 

Again. There’s no requirement so make a choice with your own conscience, worry/stress level, and knowledge in mind. This is basically a personal risk assessment. As others have stated, they perceive low risk. I am of a different mind. 🤷🏾‍♀️

 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by niciediva007

[sparks1093]

4 hours ago, niciediva007 said:

In a foreign country, if you do not possess citizenship proof on you at all times, you are playing with fire.

 

If you think that the only issue that could arise is missing a ship at port, then the risk is low. If you think with greater depth or experience, you will realize that there are many different reasons that may arise by which you can’t leave an island by boat, or even have time or resource to get back to the ship. If you have to fly home for any reason unexpectedly, you will unable to do so without a passport. 

 

Listen to CC “experts” if you want. I’ve worked professionally with DHS and TSA many times, spent many months over seas for work and pleasure, and my “citizenship” is one I would never leave home, or roam about outside the continental US, without.

 

Again. There’s no requirement so make a choice with your own conscience, worry/stress level, and knowledge in mind. This is basically a personal risk assessment. As others have stated, they perceive low risk. I am of a different mind. 🤷🏾‍♀️

 

 

A lot is going to depend on the exact circumstances but the only real risk with not having a passport is a delay in being able to get home. I've read two recent accounts where the passengers were sent to the airport and did indeed board a plane to the US without a passport (both ports in Mexico with no US Consulate near by). They spent some time in secondary inspection and then proceeded on their way. I recently read about a couple in Nassau who had an accident with an ATV and from what I was able to glean from the news reports they were home in two days, which is about how long it would have taken to stabilize his injuries. The fact is millions of passengers travel on closed loop cruises every year with something other than a passport with no issues at all, so it's not just a perception of low risk, it is low risk. As for having a passport and leaving it on the ship, personally for me I don't like carrying things around with me if I don't need to so I do leave mine in the safe unless we need it ashore for some reason (local regulation, needed for a shore excursion). Worse case scenario- the ship leaves with it and has to overnight it back to you.

 

OP, as for your question if you are a US citizen born in the US and going on a closed loop cruise on Carnival (some cruise lines require passports for all itineraries, which I add in case this thread gets moved to another forum) then your government issued birth certificate and government issued photo ID is enough. If you were born overseas you would need your Naturalization Certificate or Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

[zqvol]

On 10/19/2018 at 12:59 PM, Sea Legs said:

Is a passport neccessary for these destinations?

 

 

 

On a cruise? Not if you are a US citizen and it is a closed loop cruise out of a US port. If you are flying into the Bahamas a passport is required.

[cb at sea]

Princess Cays is the private beach...same as being on the ship.

 

Nassau doesn't require a passport from ANY cruiser.  No worries.  None of the actual Caribbean islands require a passport from cruisers, either.  (Bahamas are NOT in the Caribbean....)

[BNBR]

8 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

Princess Cays is the private beach...same as being on the ship.

 

Nassau doesn't require a passport from ANY cruiser.  No worries.  None of the actual Caribbean islands require a passport from cruisers, either.  (Bahamas are NOT in the Caribbean....)

 

Well, that's not exactly true. The Bahamas are not in the Caribbean Sea but they are politically Caribbean. 

[sparks1093]

14 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

Princess Cays is the private beach...same as being on the ship.

 

Nassau doesn't require a passport from ANY cruiser.  No worries.  None of the actual Caribbean islands require a passport from cruisers, either.  (Bahamas are NOT in the Caribbean....)

And you can't say that about every nationality, they very well might require passports of some visitors even by cruise ship.

[broberts]

18 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

Princess Cays is the private beach...same as being on the ship.

 

Nassau doesn't require a passport from ANY cruiser.  No worries.  None of the actual Caribbean islands require a passport from cruisers, either.  (Bahamas are NOT in the Caribbean....)

 

Princess Cays may be a private beach area but it is situated on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera. I expect Bahamas consider it Bahamian sovereign territory.

 

[BNBR]

6 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

Princess Cays may be a private beach area but it is situated on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera. I expect Bahamas consider it Bahamian sovereign territory.

 

 

Yup. It's not like being on the ship. It's very much Bahamian, and staffed by Bahamians.