Roatan/Passports

[NACH]

Anyone Been to Roatan, Honduras recently and see people get on and off ship without a passport??????:D

[geoherb]

We were there in March and did not need to have our passports with us to get off the ship. We just carried our cruise cards and drivers licenses.

[klfrodo]

I was there last year AFTER WHTI was implemented and had the same concerns as you. (Roatan / Honduras not being specifically included in the wording)

Passengers without passports had no problems.

 

April of this year my kids visited there on a cruiseship and none of the passengers without passports had any issues.

[njhorseman]

No passport needed. Here's the DHS closed loop cruise rule, and Roatan also does not require cruise ship passengers to have a passport:

 

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/eng_sa.html

 

"Closed Loop" Cruises: U.S. citizens who board a cruise ship at a port within the United States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship may present a government issued photo identification, along with proof of citizenship (an original or copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization). Please be aware that you may still be required to present a passport to enter the foreign countries your cruise ship is visiting. Check with your cruise line to ensure you have the appropriate documents.

[Cruzaholic41]

"Closed Loop" Cruises: U.S. citizens who board a cruise ship at a port within the United States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship...

 

Not quite. That definition is not correct, according to CBP. Closed Loop does not include the entire Western Hemisphere. The cruise has to only include adjacent islands or contiguous territories (borders U.S.). Honduras is not a contiguous territory and Roatan is not listed as an adjacent island.

 

For reference:

 

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/inspections_carriers_facilities/closed_loop_faq.xml

[njhorseman]

Not quite. That definition is not correct, according to CBP. Closed Loop does not include the entire Western Hemisphere. The cruise has to only include adjacent islands or contiguous territories (borders U.S.). Honduras is not a contiguous territory and Roatan is not listed as an adjacent island.

 

For reference:

 

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/inspections_carriers_facilities/closed_loop_faq.xml

 

Nope..that's not how they're enforcing it. The material I linked to, also from DHS is how it's actually enforced. All the cruise lines have verified that. Carnival has the best explanation:

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Static_Templates/EMB_travel_document.aspx

Recent guidance received from the Department of Homeland Security indicates the documentary requirements under WHTI for “closed loop” cruises are not limited to cruises that travel only to contiguous territories or adjacent islands. This means U.S. citizens calling on ports in Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Belize will also be exempt from the passport requirement.

U.S. citizens taking “closed-loop” cruises are not required to have a passport, but will need proof of citizenship such as an original or certified copy of a birth certificate, a certificate of naturalization, a passport card, an enhanced driver’s license (EDL) as well as a government-issued photo ID

[klfrodo]

. The cruise has to only include adjacent islands or contiguous territories (borders U.S.). Honduras is not a contiguous territory and Roatan is not listed as an adjacent island.

 

For reference:]

 

And that was exactly my concern last year in the wording.

 

However, wording and implementation are 2 different things. Passengers on cruiseships have and will continue to be able to visit Isla de Roatan without passports.

[thinfool]

Not quite. That definition is not correct, according to CBP. Closed Loop does not include the entire Western Hemisphere. The cruise has to only include adjacent islands or contiguous territories (borders U.S.). Honduras is not a contiguous territory and Roatan is not listed as an adjacent island.

 

For reference:

 

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/inspections_carriers_facilities/closed_loop_faq.xml

 

Funny....I was in Roatan in January '10. All I needed was my ship's card and DL (for photo ID) to access any/all of the island. My passport was safely tucked away in the room safe, as it had been since we left Miami.

[NACH]

Thanks, now you feel my confusion, 1 person says "this" and the other person says "that"..... Anyone cruised the Epic and gone on the western Caribbean, yet??? ;)

[aprilivy]

We cruised in February - no passport needed at any of the ports (including Roatan). Just our ship card and we took a driver's license for a 2nd i.d. just in case. However, we DID have a passport to present when first boarding the ship although even that is not necessary when going to the Caribbean on a ship (different if by air).

[Bonnie J.]

We have been to Roatan a number of times, twice since last fall and have never had to use our passports in any port but.... Key West, docking at the Navy Pier. This is the only place we have EVER had to have our passports to get back on the ship and we have been cruising at least once a year since the mid 80's.

CRUISE LINES

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

Celebrity\NCL

Princess

Costa

[lady_cruiser]

I find that the best way to find out when you need to carry your passport off the ship is to check your ship's daily compass and listen for announcements made by the ship's captain. This way we know that the information we get will be accurate since we are the type of people who do not care you carry our passports with us.

[lady_cruiser]

I find that the best way to find out when you need to carry your passport off the ship is to check your ship's daily compass and listen for announcements made by the ship's captain. This way we know that the information we get will be accurate since we are the type of people who do not care to carry our passports with us.

[Aquahound]

The answer is no. You do not need a passport for Roatan.

 

Referring to Closed Loop cruises, Roatan is not specifically listed as an adjacent island by CBP, but it is. As of now, a Roatan stop does not require you to have a passport for the cruise.

 

As for getting off the ship in Roatan, the answer is still no. You do not need to have it.

[Taxguy77]

Anyone Been to Roatan, Honduras recently and see people get on and off ship without a passport??????:D

 

Never saw anybody around who didn't want you to visit!! Don't need anything but your card to get back onboard.

[Taxguy77]

Thanks, now you feel my confusion, 1 person says "this" and the other person says "that"..... Anyone cruised the Epic and gone on the western Caribbean, yet??? ;)

 

Some are talking about Roatan and others are refering to coming back to the U.S. Confusion on CC is epidemic!

[cherylandtk]

Not quite. That definition is not correct, according to CBP. Closed Loop does not include the entire Western Hemisphere. Actually, most of the time the WHTI supersedes the narrower definition.The cruise has to only include adjacent islands or contiguous territories (borders U.S.). Honduras is not a contiguous territory and Roatan is not listed as an adjacent island.

 

For reference:

 

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/inspections_carriers_facilities/closed_loop_faq.xml

This definition (closed loop when used for modified processing)is not applicable to US citizens; the section quoted here is specific to foreign nationals on visas who left the US, say on a cruise, and return. WHTI includes the entire Western Hemisphere. Adjacent islands and contiguous countries are used in some specialized definitions and situations, but not for US citizens traveling under the provisions of the WHTI.