Has Anyone ever traveled without a passport???

I've asked this many times, but I'm still paranoid....I have my Certified birth certificate. That is acceptable form right? Has anyone else traveled with just their birth certificate...Have they experienced any issues at debarkation??? :confused:

I've asked this many times, but I'm still paranoid....I have my Certified birth certificate. That is acceptable form right? Has anyone else traveled with just their birth certificate...Have they experienced any issues at debarkation??? :confused:

My guess is that you have not been to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America or or Australia. I believe the short hops thru the caribean and alaska trips take a birth certificate. Why not get a proper passport and open up the world?

I've asked this many times, but I'm still paranoid....I have my Certified birth certificate. That is acceptable form right? Has anyone else traveled with just their birth certificate...Have they experienced any issues at debarkation??? :confused:

A closed loop cruise (begining & ending in a US port) a certified birth certificate will do. However, having a passport is recommended for travel by most everyone now...Better safe than sorry and delayed due to unexpected circumstances.;)

I understand that with closed loop cruises, a certified copy of one's birth certificate will do.

A closed loop cruise (begining & ending in a US port) a certified birth certificate will do. However, having a passport is recommended for travel by most everyone now...Better safe than sorry and delayed due to unexpected circumstances.;)

A World cruise from the States is a 'closed loop' but I'd take a passport!

This is my first time traveling anywhere outside the us...It was a last min. Vacation that is much needed. I have my certified bc but not a passport yet. I know it says its.fine from us port to us port. Just curious if anyone can comment that has actually done it.

What about the Local Airport. Phasing out drivers licences, and non drivers licenses,

This is my first time traveling anywhere outside the us...It was a last min. Vacation that is much needed. I have my certified bc but not a passport yet. I know it says its.fine from us port to us port. Just curious if anyone can comment that has actually done it.

Depends where you are going - If India, Indonesia, China, Japan, Egypt, Dubai, Malaysia, etc, they wont let you on the ship without a passport. I know there are round trips to Asia and across pacific to/from US ports but you wont be either getting on (or if on - getting off) without a passport. Is there a problem with getting one?? Our next cruise is 50 days and we updated our passports to have enough pages for visas.

I've asked this many times, but I'm still paranoid....I have my Certified birth certificate. That is acceptable form right? Has anyone else traveled with just their birth certificate...Have they experienced any issues at debarkation??? :confused:

If you want a solid answer to your question, please provide more details.

Specifically, where does your cruise start and end and what is the itinerary.

Keith

A World cruise from the States is a 'closed loop' but I'd take a passport!

In addition to being a closed loop cruise, there are limits on the ports that can be visited without a passport. A world cruise would not qualify.

In addition to being a closed loop cruise, there are limits on the ports that can be visited without a passport. A world cruise would not qualify.

I don't see it mentioned above, but you must also be a US citizen to travel with just a BC & government issued photo ID

Many posters on CC have cruised with just a BC and photo ID such as a Drivers license on a closed loop cruise. That means departing and returning to the same US port to places such as the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and Bermuda.

Is there anything unusual about your BC?

The BC must be government issued. A hospital issued BC won't work.

Puerto Rican BC's issued prior to 7/1/2010 won't work.

Foreign BC's won't work, obviously.

Check your cruise line's web site though - some impose a passport requirement anyway. Princess recently started requiring a passport for all parties where children are traveling with just one adult.

Be aware that a BC will not allow you to fly internationally if something were to happen on your cruise. Your return to the US could be delayed in that case.

I've asked this many times, but I'm still paranoid....I have my Certified birth certificate. That is acceptable form right? Has anyone else traveled with just their birth certificate...Have they experienced any issues at debarkation??? :confused:

We have done it 9 times in the last 12 years with absolutely NO issues either at the ports or at debarkation. You need to be a US Citizen. You need your certified BC and government issued photo ID (for those 16 and older) and your cruise needs to be closed loop to/from a US port.

Many will try to give you horrible "what if" scenarios that you won't get back to the US without it. The truth is the chances that you would have one of those scenarios is extremely small during the brief time you are in a foreign port on a closed loop cruise and it is not impossible to get an emergency passport. You will not be left stranded in a foreign port. It is up to you to access your own level of risk taking vs the value of having a passport.

My guess is that you have not been to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America or or Australia. I believe the short hops thru the caribean and alaska trips take a birth certificate. Why not get a proper passport and open up the world?

Some people cannot get a passport because of old child support fees like from 35 years ago.

A World cruise from the States is a 'closed loop' but I'd take a passport!

Technically, the closed loop exception includes the entire Western Hemisphere, but in practice that is limited to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Bermuda, and Central America. South American cruises usually need a passport, due to foreign port and/or cruise line requirements.

My guess is that you have not been to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America or or Australia. I believe the short hops thru the caribean and alaska trips take a birth certificate. Why not get a proper passport and open up the world?

Some people wait to get a passport until they are actually ready to open up the world. It makes little sense (to some of us anyways) to purchase a passport when our current travel planes only include a closed loop cruise or domestic travel. If my reason for getting a passport was to open up the world, then I would wait until I was ready to open up the world so I wouldn't waste passport years and spend my money until I had too. The "what if you got a last minute deal" doesn't cut it for many either. I personally can not take off at the last minute due to work. I would always have plenty of time to get that passport if it was needed for a planned trip.

This is my first time traveling anywhere outside the us...It was a last min. Vacation that is much needed. I have my certified bc but not a passport yet. I know it says its.fine from us port to us port. Just curious if anyone can comment that has actually done it.

The short answer is yes it can and we have done it 9 times with a family of 4.

I've never done a Caribbean cruise with anything but a BC and DL. I see no need to pay for a passport that I don't absolutely need to purchase.

None of the Caribbean countries require passports from cruise passengers. You won't have a problem entering or leaving those countries.

No, we have never left the U.S. without our passports.

We would NOT dream of leaving U.S. without the internationally accepted ID that enables us to travel freely..... in those places which don't require Visa.

I've never done a Caribbean cruise with anything but a BC and DL. I see no need to pay for a passport that I don't absolutely need to purchase.

 

None of the Caribbean countries require passports from cruise passengers. You won't have a problem entering or leaving those countries.

Hope you never have an emergency which requires you to fly home. Last thing one would need on top of the emergency/illness/accident is to have to cope with trying to get temporary travel documents that would enable you to fly internationally. One would think proper prior planning would prevent added stress if you have a passport in advance.

JMO.....

Some people cannot get a passport because of old child support fees like from 35 years ago.

This is true, but you can't play if you don't pay. You also can't get a driver's license either. Maybe such a person should first pay their back debt before considering a vacation.

This is true, but you can't play if you don't pay. You also can't get a driver's license either. Maybe such a person should first pay their back debt before considering a vacation.

Totally agree.....if you aren't getting a passport because you owe back child support.....nothing but disgust....

Don't know why some posters feel the need to be haughty about traveling without a passport. You want to inform the OP of the risks? Go ahead. But is it really necessary to lecture and judge other posters about their choices?

I have a planning question and hope this is a proper place to start. My DW and I are booked for our first cruise in Dec of this year. It has been of tremendous value to us to plan it over several months time. With that in mind and already thinking that cruising might be something we would like to do again, we are now starting planning for another. This cruise is to the eastern Caribbean. I want to explore new venues so have decided on either southern Caribbean or Mexico for the next. We are on a fixed retirement income and find it most affordable to travel out of the NYC area because we can reach any of the ports by bus with little effort or expense. We would both appreciate any input from those of you having made these trips in recent months. Security in Mexico is a major concern to my DW. Thanks in advance for your help.

Bob

I have a planning question and hope this is a proper place to start. My DW and I are booked for our first cruise in Dec of this year. It has been of tremendous value to us to plan it over several months time. With that in mind and already thinking that cruising might be something we would like to do again, we are now starting planning for another. This cruise is to the eastern Caribbean. I want to explore new venues so have decided on either southern Caribbean or Mexico. We are on a fixed retirement income and find it most affordable to travel out of the NYC area because we can reach any of the ports by bus with little effort or expense. We would both appreciate any input from those of you having made these trips in recent months. Security in Mexico is a major concern to my DW. Thanks in advance for your help.

Please start your own thread for this question. It is considered "off topic" to insert an unrelated question like this in an existing thread. You can do this by going to the "Ask a Cruise Question" page, and clicking the "New Thread" button near the top of the page. Thanks.