W. Caribbean and cruising without passport

[ramrax4]

Anyone recently returned from a cruise using only BC and DL? Did you encounter any probelms, what were they?

[KruznKel]

Anyone recently returned from a cruise using only BC and DL? Did you encounter any probelms, what were they?

 

If you look at the top of this board there is a thread for closed looped cruises.. if you are flying from another country you NEED a passport if you are NOT you do not...

[Cruzman]

There will not be a problem as long as the cruise begins and ends in the same U.S. port.

[misguidedangel]

What everyone is forgetting to say is if you suddenly have to get off the ship at a foreign port a passport will be needed to get out of that country and back into the US. If you don't plan on having a sudden illness/death in the family (meaning you need to fly home right away), a medcal crisis where you need to stay behind and be evacuated home, or miss the ship in port then you don't need a passport.

 

A passport may not be necessary if none of the above happens, but what if it does.....

 

I will leave it up to you to decide for yourself if a passport is vital or not.

[jbroons]

What everyone is forgetting to say is if you suddenly have to get off the ship at a foreign port a passport will be needed to get out of that country and back into the US. If you don't plan on having a sudden illness/death in the family (meaning you need to fly home right away), a medcal crisis where you need to stay behind and be evacuated home, or miss the ship in port then you don't need a passport.

 

A passport may not be necessary if none of the above happens, but what if it does.....

 

I will leave it up to you to decide for yourself if a passport is vital or not.

 

Tha Angel is correct. I would get a passport....No question.

[ramrax4]

:eek:I understand the risks involved and have read the other postings, but the question is, have any recent cruisers to the w. caribbean had any problems w/using BC and DL?

Not too sure why this gets people so riled up, just would like an update from those who have recent experience.

[cb at sea]

We don't have a passport, and use the BC and DL...no problems whatsoever. Even if you should have to fly home for some reason, you WILL get home...it may be a bit of a hassle, but you WILL get home!

Don't worry----no need to spend that extra money right now, for a passport!

[rednose83]

Anyone recently returned from a cruise using only BC and DL? Did you encounter any probelms, what were they?

 

I'll start by saying that I do have a passport so nobody flames ME!

 

However, in July my family and I took a cruise (closed loop) to the Bahamas. My sister and father do not have a pp and traveled with their BC and DL. There were not any delays and they were waived through just as fast as we were.

 

However, I think everyone that leaves the country should have a pp. If there would have been an emergency, it may have caused a problem. Fortunately, there wasn't.

 

On my most recent cruise my tablemates missed the ship in San Juan. Luckily for them our next stop was St. Thomas and they were able to get a quick charter the next island. If they would have missed the ship in St. Thomas- they wouldn't have been able to get a quick charter to the next stop, Tortola, but they could have flown back to the US. So instead of taking a $40 charter they would of had to spring for last minute flights from St. Thomas.

[xitappers2bx]

Anyone recently returned from a cruise using only BC and DL? Did you encounter any probelms, what were they?

 

 

my daughter had NO problem traveling with just her BC, and i had NO problem traveling with my BC and DL...

 

but please, note this... when my stepdad adopted me, i got a new BC, and it was dated 2000, not the year i was born, so I brought the adoption papers to show why it wasn't dated within a year of my birth. the VIP agent DID check that paper... so if your name changed (my last name did when i was 5, and that caused problems when i applied for a passport a few years back), or your BC is dated AFTER the year you were born, just bring documentation and you should be fine.

[Gamecock]

i've posted this before and I will continue to post it, ask anyone in a position to know (in my case my brother in law who works in international relations for the federal government) and they will tell you to never under any circumstances to step foot on foreign soil without your passport. Don't leave the country without it, don't carry just a copy with you, always carry your actual passport no questions asked.