sparks1093

They might. I got insurance when we traveled sans passports for the same reason I get it now- to protect against the potential cost of a medevac. Would the policy have covered taxi's and meals? I don't know but my expenses for either would be minimal, even now that we use passports. And yet again we still butt up against the same problem- the decision they make affects neither of us so why worry about it?

There will be a delay, certainly but if that delay ordinarily took days I a certain that we would have read about it by now. I've read of three instances where passengers without a passport needed to disembark early from ports without any type of US government presence. It took a few hours for a waiver to travel without a passport to be issued. This was worked out between the cruise line and US authorities. The passengers boarded a plane directly to the US and when they landed they were sent to secondary inspection before they could continue their journey. Will it always be that easy? I don't know because every circumstance will be different but I have no reason at all to doubt that it is the normal procedure.

These are all valid things to consider. We were traveling with teenagers and had no one at home we would need to return for.

In our situation (as I've already said) we had no plans for any other travel. We knew we wanted to, but didn't know when. Besides cost passports also come with expiration dates and we didn't want to start that clock ticking if we didn't need to. We first cruised in 2009 and our first international air trip was in 2015, so had we gotten passports when we didn't need them they would have had six years gone by the time we actually needed them for the travel we could do. As it is we're renewing them next year.

Of course, IF it is actually needed. Spending $850 for a 4 day cruise for our family when we didn't need to spend it didn't make sense for us. Another family may have determined otherwise. Both options were legitimate.

Nope, it's roughly $150 per person payable all at once. When it involves a family it adds up very quickly.

I think the majority of people have mortgages but in any case the cost of a $200k plus loss is still far greater than a delay in returning home from a cruise IF something goes wrong.

Not quite the same since it is usually mandated and the potential loss is so much greater. If you want to compare travel to insurance a better example would be comprehensive auto coverage. If you have a loan you are required to have it. If you don't have a loan then it's entirely up to you whether to carry it or not and that decision is driven by many factors including how much your car is worth.

I was in the same position when we first cruised except it was 4 days and $850. We knew that we wanted to travel internationally by air one day but we also didn't know when that day was, so we decided to wait to get passports until that day came, which was in 2015. I'm sure many will be disappointed that nothing happened to us dunderheads.

It was the conversation from my understanding and I apologize for misunderstanding. Substitute happy for thankful then- if you aren't happy with your status as it is you won't be happy as you perceive it should be.

Yes, passengers are required to have proof of identity and citizenship in their possession throughout the voyage.

I'm sure they don't care about your opinion. People make choices every day and sometimes they choose wrong. A 3 day cruise to the Bahamas is far different than a 14 day cruise.

They pat their fare for the requisite number of cruises, same as you do, so they are paying for the experience the same way you do. Their age has no relevance. If you can't be thankful for your current status now then you will never be thankful.

Yes they did but so what? That's fodder for a different thread.

Yes, many people do that, but so what? If things go badly for them it only affects them. It is still a legitimate choice to make regardless of what decision making process is used. Instead of saying something like "if you can't afford a passport you shouldn't take a cruise" give posters food for thought instead- "before deciding that you should forego a passport think about this" (which may result in a counter point being made, but that's how CC works). And even intelligent people can look at the decision and after careful thought make a different decision based on their travel needs. The passport is king of travel documents most definitely. But some people only need a queen or jack for the type of travel they are undertaking.

They are charged for it in the fare they pay to bring them along.

I would not for one second feel bad about a Veteran's service dog being honored, or any other bona fide service dog for that matter.

When the regulations were written DHS determined that a US citizen on a closed loop cruise (as defined) presented a very low risk to the national security and it was that determination, and that determination alone, that led to the exception for closed loop cruises. I don't think there is any danger of it changing until something happens to change that determination.

"...willing to possibly subjecting themselves to immense difficulties..." might be a more appropriate way to put it, because the difficulties are only going to arise if something goes wrong. Some people have no choice when it comes to taking the red eye flight, they don't have the ability to travel the day before. So they aren't being shortsighted at all, just living their own reality. I'm not going to laugh at you for having all of that documentation, it's your money and you can spend it as you choose. As long as you feel good about your decision that is all that matters. When we started cruising it would have cost us around $850 for passports for a 4 day cruise. DW and I knew we wanted to travel internationally, but we didn't know when that would be so after doing all of the research we decided that the risk was low enough to warrant going with passports. That was in 2009. We finally got passports in 2015 when we finally had the opportunity to travel internationally by air.

Actually it is a joint function between CBP and State, but this would be something worked out between the cruise line/port agent and their government liaison. As I understand it the traveler waits for that process to conclude. Yes, people should educate themselves and I am sure that there are people (probably many people) who find out they don't need a passport and do no further research to determine if it is something they should actually do, but fortunately for them the odds still work in their favor. If they make the wrong choice that's on them.

It's still low risk and a personal decision to make.

A dog I could certainly agreed with. I'd be envious of the toddler. I wouldn't see it as mocking.

If I'm Carnival I have to ask myself- is having so many loyal customers really a bad thing?

OBC is king and may be used for anything (although you can't designate what it is used for onboard, it just reduces your folio balance by that amount. I'm not sure if it may be applied to gratuities before the cruise.).

No, not really. The only requirement is the number of days sailed. Every loyalty program I'm aware of awards points to the traveler, not the person who pays. If that were the case I'd be Diamond and DW would be Blue.