No passport and western caribbean cruisers, any problems?

[ramrax4]

We are sailing w. caribbean itinerary, departing 10/18. Anyone recently cruised this itinerary without passport and if so were there any problems?

I've already read all the info regarding passport requirements, just want to hear from recent cruisers and their experiences.

Thanks,

Robin

[TrentS]

The biggest problem arrises if you have an emergency, get hurt, miss the ship, anything that would require you to get home via air, etc. Face it, stuff happens, and in today's world it's crazy to leave the US without a Passport.

[ramrax4]

:eek:I don't mean to be rude but I've read the same remark on several different postings.

As I said I am quit aware of the problems associated with not having a passport in possesion while cruising.

My original question was for those who have recently sailed and their experiences if any re:this matter.

Thanks

[cherylandtk]

There are numerous posts from folks who travelled with just BC's post June 1 and had no trouble at all. Go to the forum of your cruiseline ( I cannot see your ticker) and search "passport" and you will find them.

 

There are two posts from friends who know of somebody who got left on the docks. Three young men because they were not back on the ship in time. Many $$$ and two weeks later they were back home. The other is in regard to a woman who had to return home due to medical emergency at home; she got a travel letter from the embassy and was home 2 days later with a 2-3 hour delay at the airport from immigration while they checked out her and her story.

 

Then there are numerous posts and threads from people who just say get the passport to be safe (about 95% of respondents) but who then turn around and leave the passport in the ship safe (about 70%) where it is nearly useless if the ship should leave without you. One of the young men mentioned above had this problem....

[crzycick]

The rules from the passport site clearly state that if you're leaving out of one port and returning to the same port (closed loop cruise) you are perfectly within the rules to only carry a state certified birth certificate and an ID like a driver's license. Because our next trip will probably be 5+ years away we opted to do this. We got on the cruise no problem but when we were getting off the jerk who was helping us at customs told us repeatedly that what we were doing was illegal and we were never allowed to board the boat. He's basically full of crap and doesn't know his own job but I had heard of this happening to one other person on here so I just kept my mouth shut. After telling us 5 or 6 times how wrong and illegal we were were, he let us through with no problems. Basically he just wanted to tell us we were bad people.

 

Had he given us a harder time or tried to say we wouldn't be allowed to leave, I would have put up a fight and pulled up the website on my phone to show him he was wrong, but I knew he just wanted to be a jerk so I let him do so. It might help if you print off the rules from the passport site before you go just in case you get a nutcase like we had.

[paul929207]

As long as you return to the US on the same ship you are departing on, there is no problem. As noted above, if for some reason you have to make other arrangements, yo wil have problems and they will likely cost vastly more to solve than the cost of a passport.