Passports. When are they not required?

So I understand that closed-loop cruises do not require passports. Are there any exceptions? We are looking at the 3/3/18 magic out of canaveral: belize, cozumel, costa maya, and mohagany bay.

I'm assuming birth certificates will work, but I want to make sure. We have passports, but this will be a family group cruise and some don't have passports already.

Thank you,

Anything close looped going to the Caribbean is going to be fine with just a BC. As long as you don't have to fly back for some unforeseen reason. We are doing progresso and Coz next month and noticed the kids passports have expired. I am not going to bother renewing them before we go. Their BCs will be all they need. I do prefer to travel out of country with a passport so I will get them renewed before our April cruise.

So I understand that closed-loop cruises do not require passports. Are there any exceptions? We are looking at the 3/3/18 magic out of canaveral: belize, cozumel, costa maya, and mohagany bay.

 

I'm assuming birth certificates will work, but I want to make sure. We have passports, but this will be a family group cruise and some don't have passports already.

 

Thank you,

No , there are no exceptions to the closed loop rule. You are fine.

So I understand that closed-loop cruises do not require passports. Are there any exceptions? We are looking at the 3/3/18 magic out of canaveral: belize, cozumel, costa maya, and mohagany bay.

 

I'm assuming birth certificates will work, but I want to make sure. We have passports, but this will be a family group cruise and some don't have passports already.

 

Thank you,

It is not required but when possible, better to have one when the need comes.

The only exceptions that I can possibly think of are if the cruise line requires it (some do, but Carnival does not) or if one of the ports required it and I don't believe that any port that is on a closed loop itinerary does. Anyone 16 or older will also require a valid government issued ID in conjunction with the birth certificate.

Other exceptions include:

- Passengers who are not US citizens require passports for all cruises.

- Passports are required for cruises that visit countries that are NOT part of the Western Hemisphere Initiative. As an example, there was a cruise round trip Fort Lauderdale that circled South America. Passports were required.

I don't think either of these would apply to OP

Ok thank you for the replies! :)

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So I understand that closed-loop cruises do not require passports. Are there any exceptions? We are looking at the 3/3/18 magic out of canaveral: belize, cozumel, costa maya, and mohagany bay.

 

I'm assuming birth certificates will work, but I want to make sure. We have passports, but this will be a family group cruise and some don't have passports already.

 

Thank you,

Remember that you are asking about something that is 18 months away, but right now passports are not required for US citizens on the cruise you mentioned. There is no indication that the rule will change, but with the upcoming election and the rhetoric about immigration you cannot be sure that the rule will be the same in March of 2018.

As of today US citizens can make the cruise you mention without a passport, none of the scenarios that people postulated about are applicable in this case.

I would suggest that you have everyone get passports, and not for the reason that most will spout off about, but because of the uncertain political climate.

Remember that you are asking about something that is 18 months away, but right now passports are not required for US citizens on the cruise you mentioned. There is no indication that the rule will change, but with the upcoming election and the rhetoric about immigration you cannot be sure that the rule will be the same in March of 2018.

 

As of today US citizens can make the cruise you mention without a passport, none of the scenarios that people postulated about are applicable in this case.

 

I would suggest that you have everyone get passports, and not for the reason that most will spout off about, but because of the uncertain political climate.

Personally, if I were in OP shoes and contemplating having family go on BC and photo ID, I would not rush off to get a passport due to uncertain political climate with a cruise over a year away. I would wait to see if the rules changed first before making the decision to spend money which may not need to be spent. The rules would not change overnight and I am positive they will have plenty of time to make the purchase if they did change and it became required.

Personally, if I were in OP shoes and contemplating having family go on BC and photo ID, I would not rush off to get a passport due to uncertain political climate with a cruise over a year away. I would wait to see if the rules changed first before making the decision to spend money which may not need to be spent. The rules would not change overnight and I am positive they will have plenty of time to make the purchase if they did change and it became required.

Ditto. A lot of people rushed to get passports that they didn't need when the rules changed last time.

This is interesting. I was under the impression that Carnival requires a passport in case of the unforeseeable need to fly out from one of the ports (due to illness, ship trouble, etc..). We are going out of San Juan on Fascination next May...going to St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts and St. Martin, ending back in San Juan. My husband and son do not have passports but were planning to get them. Will they not need a passport?

This is interesting. I was under the impression that Carnival requires a passport in case of the unforeseeable need to fly out from one of the ports (due to illness, ship trouble, etc..). We are going out of San Juan on Fascination next May...going to St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts and St. Martin, ending back in San Juan. My husband and son do not have passports but were planning to get them. Will they not need a passport?

Carnival is not one of the cruise lines that requires a passport for US citizens regardless of the law.

Carnival does "recommend" a passport for all cruises, but doesn't require them for closed loop cruises.

I just read a very interesting tale of woe on Christopher Elliot's blog (he is a well known travel advocate). The history here on CC is that there are some who have long argued that obtaining a Passport for a closed loop cruise is not necessary (true) and a waste of money (false). A group of 4 was booked on a 7 Day Carnival cruise to the Western Caribbean and departing from Galveston. While in transit (the day of the cruise) to Galveston their Southwest flight was delayed many hours (in Memphis) due to a major mechanical problem. Southwest was unable to get them to Galveston in time for their cruise but finally agreed to fly them (for no additional charge) to Cancun where they could make their way over to Cozumel and catch their ship at the first port. However, one of the Group (we think it was a family) did not have a valid Passport. As a result, they could not fly to Mexico (you must have a valid Passport) and missed their cruise. Southwest assumed no liability since they were willing to fly the group to their first port. Not sure if these folks had any trip insurance (not mentioned in the story).

Hank

Excellent point, I recently faced a similar situation with closed loop cruise going from NYC to Bermuda I was assured that I didn't need passport (true) but at the end I paid the extra money to have the passport expedited as mine had been expired

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So I understand that closed-loop cruises do not require passports. ... I'm assuming birth certificates will work, but I want to make sure. We have passports, but this will be a family group cruise and some don't have passports already. Thank you,

Just make sure that those in family group without passports have official birth certificates, not ones from hospital.

Also, each person over 16 must have govt photo id.

I just read a very interesting tale of woe on Christopher Elliot's blog (he is a well known travel advocate). The history here on CC is that there are some who have long argued that obtaining a Passport for a closed loop cruise is not necessary (true) and a waste of money (false). A group of 4 was booked on a 7 Day Carnival cruise to the Western Caribbean and departing from Galveston. While in transit (the day of the cruise) to Galveston their Southwest flight was delayed many hours (in Memphis) due to a major mechanical problem. Southwest was unable to get them to Galveston in time for their cruise but finally agreed to fly them (for no additional charge) to Cancun where they could make their way over to Cozumel and catch their ship at the first port. However, one of the Group (we think it was a family) did not have a valid Passport. As a result, they could not fly to Mexico (you must have a valid Passport) and missed their cruise. Southwest assumed no liability since they were willing to fly the group to their first port. Not sure if these folks had any trip insurance (not mentioned in the story).

 

Hank

For every one of the examples given of someone not making the cruise because of flight delays, Bad Weather, Zombie Apocalypse, etc. There are hundreds of thousands of people who cruise without issue with just a BC and driver's license.

If you are a family of four travelling on a cruise and will most likely not travel internationally, getting Passports is a significant expense (~$600) which has no real payback.

Using that logic about getting a Passport 'Just in Case' would also mean you should purchase thousands of other things 'just in case'

For every one of the examples given of someone not making the cruise because of flight delays, Bad Weather, Zombie Apocalypse, etc. There are hundreds of thousands of people who cruise without issue with just a BC and driver's license.

 

If you are a family of four travelling on a cruise and will most likely not travel internationally, getting Passports is a significant expense (~$600) which has no real payback.

 

Using that logic about getting a Passport 'Just in Case' would also mean you should purchase thousands of other things 'just in case'

We noticed from your posting history that you cruise on RCI (we used to love this line). Perhaps it is interesting to read RCI's own recommendation:

"Royal Caribbean International strongly recommends that all guests travel with a valid passport during their cruise. This greatly assists guests who may need to fly out of the United States to meet their ship at the next available port should they miss their scheduled embarkation in a U.S. port; guests entering the U.S. at the end of their cruise; and guests needing to fly to the U.S. before their cruise ends, because of medical, family, personal or business emergencies, missing a ship's departure from a port of call, involuntary disembarkation from a ship due to misconduct, or other reasons.

Guests who need to fly to the United States before their cruise ends will likely experience significant delays and complications related to booking airline tickets and entering the United States if they do not have a valid U.S. passport with them. For additional passport information visit http://www.travel.state.gov"

Personally, we have been fortunate to have spent more then 3 years on cruise ships traveling to and from 6 continents. But we still love the Caribbean and take 1 or 2 cruises a year to that part of the world. On our many journeys we have seen more then our share of onboard emergencies which necessitated folks leaving a ship at the next port. We have also witnessed, more then once, passengers left sitting at the port (in Florida) because their Birth Certificates or other documents did not pass muster! We have also met a couple on a Caribbean cruise who were really hysterically upset because they could not get off a cruise to go home to deal with a very sick sibliing. The problem was that the only remaining ports were St Maarten and a Bahamian out island. They wanted to fly home from St Maarten....but could not do it for lack of Passports. These things do happen and it always seems to happen to those least prepared.

But we do see your point and agree it is a calculated risk (not to get Passports) for folks with budget issues. In the case of my original post those folks lost the entire cost of their cruise....but I guess they could sleep soundly knowing they had not shelled out the much smaller amount for a Passport. The really sad thing for them was that they did nothing wrong....but still lost the entire cost of their cruise. Not sure if Southwest finally refunded their airfare (they are under no obligation to issue a refund). We wondered if they had cruise insurance, but then realized that even cruise insurance might have not helped them. Most policies have a clause requiring flights to be scheduled to arrive at least 6 hours (a few policies might still allow 4 hours) before required boarding. Many same day flights (we always recommend flying in at least one day early) do not meet that requirement...which invalidates the payoff provisions of the trip policy.

By the way, just noticed that you are located in Mass! Have you ever considered driving to Canada (we were just in Ontario 2 weeks ago)? You cannot do it without a Passport or Passport Card.

Hank

I understand that a passport in this situation is an expense you may not need but I suspect most of these souls take out auto insurance, never planning to get in an accident, home owners or renters even though they are not likely to have a fire or be burglarized and health insurance in spite of the fact that they will not visit the hospital this year. Look at a Passport as a form of protection as well as ID when you travel. In that respect it is a cheap policy especially if travel becomes a common venture. Like Hank I have been lucky in over 18 cruises to never have an untoward experience however on at least 3 I have been aware of others having to leave for medical reasons and I suspect that it has also happened when I did not know..

Do I take trip insurance? Yes for an extended vacation to a distant venue but often no for a shorter cruise in relatively local seas. That is a risk I also understand and am willing to take.

To all my friends and associates who begin to travel I always recommend passports. In fact 2 weeks ago friends were surprised when I used mine on a local flight from San Jose to vegas. As I told them it is just so much simpler to show your best form of ID in any situation.

There is NO need to pay for a passport for a US citizen going on a CRUISE to the Caribbean. None!

> Look at a Passport as a form of protection

Exactly. My daughter, who has never travelled internationally, got a passport when she realized that was the first choice of most agencies when ID was required for some reason. When we cruised the Caribbean three years ago, DH and I both got passports even though it looked like we didn't need them. (And we didn't - but I'm still glad we had them with us.)

I am also not sure that the post above, than non-US citizens have to have a passport, is correct. DH is a Canadian citizen but a permanent US resident, and we were told all he needed was his birth certificate, green card, and driver's license. He did have a passport and used it at Customs so I cannot say from personal experience whether he would have needed it.

Sorry, CB, I disagree that there is no reason to get a passport. There are certainly valid reasons to not bother, but there are also valid reasons (that have been discussed here) to get one.

Bottom line: if it wouldn't be a financial hardship, IMNSHO it's good insurance.

There is NO need to pay for a passport for a US citizen going on a CRUISE to the Caribbean. None!

Wonder if you told that to the family I mentioned in the OP?

Hank

You don't really need a passport - until you really need a passport.

It's the same story with lifeboats.

After 10's of thousands of cruises in the Caribbean - with many, many millions of passengers - over many decades - no cruise ship has ever sunk there.

The lifeboats on those Caribbean cruises have been completely useless. An unnecessary expense.

A typical lifeboat costs over US$500,000.

Why are the cruise lines so foolish to spend all that money for nothing?

They should petition the Coast Guard for a waiver, and spend all that money on better food.

Bruce, love your logic but suspect it is lost on some.

Hank

There is NO need to pay for a passport for a US citizen going on a CRUISE to the Caribbean. None!

Wrong again :roll eyes:

No need to pay for a passport IF

1) you have a state-certified birth certificate and accompanying government-issued photo id (or if a child over a certain age, a school ID),

2) your cruise starts and ends at the same US port,

3) none of the ports visited require a passport anyway,

4) you plan to show up at the embarking port on time,

5) you are willing to jump through whatever hoops are put in front if you if you need to leave the cruise early...

6) your cruise line is one that does not always require a passport

These may need some tweaking, but they are all applicable for a US Citizen going on a CRUISE to the Caribbean...

You don't really need a passport - until you really need a passport.

 

It's the same story with lifeboats.

After 10's of thousands of cruises in the Caribbean - with many, many millions of passengers - over many decades - no cruise ship has ever sunk there.

The lifeboats on those Caribbean cruises have been completely useless. An unnecessary expense.

A typical lifeboat costs over US$500,000.

Why are the cruise lines so foolish to spend all that money for nothing?

They should petition the Coast Guard for a waiver, and spend all that money on better food.

Maybe they spend all that money because the law requires it. The law does not require passports in all circumstances.