FireEater Posted February 24 #1 Share Posted February 24 (edited) I know awhile back, one did not need a passport to cruise Bahamas if leaving and coming back to the same U.S. Port. What's the rule now a days? It has been years since my last cruise. I booked a December cruise out of Port Canaveral and do not have a up to date passport. TIA Edited February 24 by FireEater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton Line Posted February 24 #2 Share Posted February 24 US citizen on a cruise starting and ending in same US port does not need a passport. You do need to prove US citizenship and your identity hence the original birth certificate a d government issued picture ID or equivalent like passport card. You can't fly without passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhorseman Posted February 24 #3 Share Posted February 24 Please note that some cruise lines require all passengers to have a valid passport even if laws and regulations allow the use of a birth certificate and photo ID, as is the case for a closed loop Bahamas cruise. You need to check MSC 's rules just to be sure they are not requiring all passengers to have a passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrown84 Posted February 25 #4 Share Posted February 25 17 hours ago, njhorseman said: Please note that some cruise lines require all passengers to have a valid passport even if laws and regulations allow the use of a birth certificate and photo ID, as is the case for a closed loop Bahamas cruise. You need to check MSC 's rules just to be sure they are not requiring all passengers to have a passport. you know which cruise lines require this? and this is a real question, not a snarky response. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tierun Posted February 25 #5 Share Posted February 25 29 minutes ago, dbrown84 said: you know which cruise lines require this? and this is a real question, not a snarky response. thanks VV has this requirement in place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrown84 Posted February 25 #6 Share Posted February 25 21 minutes ago, Tierun said: VV has this requirement in place. thanks. but I just checked their website and they allow birth certificates. Oh well. I was looking to win a bet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tierun Posted February 25 #7 Share Posted February 25 13 minutes ago, dbrown84 said: thanks. but I just checked their website and they allow birth certificates. Oh well. I was looking to win a bet See the highlighted section. The allowance is only for last minute bookings. And one must call to have the exception in place prior to embarkation day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrown84 Posted February 25 #8 Share Posted February 25 10 minutes ago, Tierun said: See the highlighted section. The allowance is only for last minute bookings. And one must call to have the exception in place prior to embarkation day. yes, this is what I found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhorseman Posted February 25 #9 Share Posted February 25 1 hour ago, dbrown84 said: you know which cruise lines require this? and this is a real question, not a snarky response. thanks In the past upscale and luxury lines like Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Explora Journeys and Azamara have all had this requirement. Without attempting to chase down every cruise line's rules, here are Explora Journeys' rules...which I chose because they're in the MSC family: https://explorajourneys.com/us/en/info/terms-and-conditions "5. PASSPORT AND VISAS 5.1 Guests must hold fully valid passports for the whole duration of the Journey and the expiry date must be at least 6 months after the return date. Certain countries insist on machine-readable and digital photo passports, especially Russia and USA." Although mass market lines generally do not have this requirement there are even a couple of circumstances where they do. For example Princess has this requirement: https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise "We also require a passport for all guests in a travel party when minors are traveling with only one adult (21 years and older).† †We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more members to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all guests traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the cruise or cruisetour fare." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrown84 Posted February 25 #10 Share Posted February 25 24 minutes ago, njhorseman said: In the past upscale and luxury lines like Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Explora Journeys and Azamara have all had this requirement. Without attempting to chase down every cruise line's rules, here are Explora Journeys' rules...which I chose because they're in the MSC family: https://explorajourneys.com/us/en/info/terms-and-conditions "5. PASSPORT AND VISAS 5.1 Guests must hold fully valid passports for the whole duration of the Journey and the expiry date must be at least 6 months after the return date. Certain countries insist on machine-readable and digital photo passports, especially Russia and USA." Although mass market lines generally do not have this requirement there are even a couple of circumstances where they do. For example Princess has this requirement: https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise "We also require a passport for all guests in a travel party when minors are traveling with only one adult (21 years and older).† †We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more members to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all guests traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the cruise or cruisetour fare." Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PTC DAWG Posted February 25 #11 Share Posted February 25 Plenty of time to renew passport for a December cruise…will make it much easier to get home if something goes wrong on the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capriccio Posted February 26 #12 Share Posted February 26 13 hours ago, dbrown84 said: you know which cruise lines require this? and this is a real question, not a snarky response. thanks As @njhorsemannoted luxury cruise lines are more likely to have the passport requirement on all cruises. Oceania: Oceania requires that all travelers bring a passport for all sailings, regardless of destination or port of departure. Passports must be valid for at least six months after the last day of travel. https://oceania.cruiselines.com/cruise_info/passport_requirements.cfm Cruise lines must meet the US and countries being visited minimum requirements (government ID and original birth certificate for those countries in the Western Hemisphere Travel initiative) but can, at their own discretion, impose stricter requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrown84 Posted February 26 #13 Share Posted February 26 40 minutes ago, capriccio said: As @njhorsemannoted luxury cruise lines are more likely to have the passport requirement on all cruises. Oceania: Oceania requires that all travelers bring a passport for all sailings, regardless of destination or port of departure. Passports must be valid for at least six months after the last day of travel. https://oceania.cruiselines.com/cruise_info/passport_requirements.cfm Cruise lines must meet the US and countries being visited minimum requirements (government ID and original birth certificate for those countries in the Western Hemisphere Travel initiative) but can, at their own discretion, impose stricter requirements. Thanks. that link above is not to Oceania. it is to vacations to go, and it sounds like a commercial to get you to go with their passport service. That quote doesn't match up with the requirements on the actual Oceania website. and princess is also a no go on this one. they also allow birth certificates. It looks like my best bet will be with explorajourneys. I had never heard of this cruise line, so I'm glad I found this post and asked because I was ready to concede my bet. now they only offer a handful of US closed loop cruises so it's possible their website just doesn't account for this, and I know my GF will call and ask 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireEater Posted February 26 Author #14 Share Posted February 26 Thanks all. Am cruising with MSC in December just for a 3 day cruise in order to check out the yacht club. Have been on MSC before. . I think since I have plenty of time, I will renew my passport just in case I need an emergency exit. Am only going to Nassau and MSC private Island. Its not like I am going to 5 different countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomUser123 Posted February 26 #15 Share Posted February 26 If cruise starts and ends in same US port then you need either 1) Passport 2) State issued photo ID AND birth certificate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhorseman Posted February 26 #16 Share Posted February 26 (edited) 1 hour ago, RandomUser123 said: If cruise starts and ends in same US port then you need either 1) Passport 2) State issued photo ID AND birth certificate. Or a passport card. Or an enhanced drivers license. Or for naturalized citizens an original certificate of naturalization and government-issued photo ID Or for those who were US citizens at birth but born abroad a consular report of birth abroad plus a government issued photo ID But once again, always check your cruise line's requirements as they may not accept a particular type of documentation despite it being permissible by law and regulation. In addition a closed loop cruise might call on a country that requires a passport, as is the case for some French territories in the Caribbean. Edited February 26 by njhorseman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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