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Panama Canal Partial Transit passport question


osiebosie
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I have booked a cruise for April 2022 on the Carnival Pride which goes to the Panama Canal, a partial transit.  I have searched for a definite answer and cannot find out if an actual passport is required, or, in my case, if the passport card is acceptable.     We sail out of Tampa, hit Limon, Costa Rica, do a partial transit of the canal, and then Grand Cayman.  

 

I have a feeling the complete passport is gonna be required; just a few months ago (before covid and before booking a cruise) I renewed my passport with the passport card.   I think that is gonna be $60 poorly spent.

 

Does anyone know the exact answer?  

 

Thanks,

 

Sharon

 

p.s. I haven't been on CC for years!   Nice to see it's still here, I can still log in, and to see the changes!

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14 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Costa Rica requires a passport. The other countries don't. 

While this is 'true', when I took a partial transit on Carnival Pride I do not recall seeing a notice on their website saying everyone needed a passport because we were visiting Limon, Costa Rica.  Since we always travel with passports, there was no conversation at checkin...  EM

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On 3/31/2021 at 7:10 PM, CruiserBruce said:

Costa Rica requires a passport. The other countries don't. 

Are you sure about this?  Costa Rica is part of the WHTI, and a passport card is sufficient for a cruise under WHTI.

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Since the OP is traveling on what appears to be a closed loop cruise, I was under the belief that proof of US citizenship which can be in the form of birth certificate, etc. is all that would be necessary when boarding the ship the departure port.  When you call at one of the port stops it has been my experience that passengers going ashore are treated as "in transit" and not formally admitted into the country as a visitor.  On the partial transit cruises I have been on (which included Limon CR) I have not been asked for anything beyond the ship's seapass by the authorities.

Edited by BillB48
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1 hour ago, BillB48 said:

Since the OP is traveling on what appears to be a closed loop cruise, I was under the belief that proof of US citizenship which can be in the form of birth certificate, etc. is all that would be necessary when boarding the ship the departure port.  When you call at one of the port stops it has been my experience that passengers going ashore are treated as "in transit" and not formally admitted into the country as a visitor.  On the partial transit cruises I have been on (which included Limon CR) I have not been asked for anything beyond the ship's seapass by the authorities.

The closed loop cruise provision is a US requirement and is inapplicable if one of the ports being visited has not agreed to the lesser documentation. Any country can require a passport and DHS points that out in its explanation of what documents are needed:

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-74?language=en_US

"HOWEVER, it is possible that one or more of the Caribbean Islands on your itinerary, does require you to have a passport to enter their country. In that case, it is very possible that the cruise line will require you to have a passport to board, even if it is not a U.S. requirement."

 

It's not unusual for passengers to not have to present their passports upon disembarkation in a port of call even on far more exotic itineraries than closed loop cruises. The ship provides each country with a passenger manifest prior to arrival and many countries accept this documentation in lieu of individual examination of the passengers' passports. 

 

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