Perfect example of why you should get a passport.

[wingnutphl]

I think if there were an emergency, either on my part or a family member at home, that necessitated me cutting my vacation short the last thing I would be looking for is the added stress of loosing time trying to obtain the necessary documents in order to be able to get home..... even if it is a routine transaction that takes about a day.

 

Well said. I agree 100%.

[swissmiss]

I must say this topic has been most entertaining to me. It is just something that is never discussed here. If you never travel outside Canada, you do not need a passport.... if you do leave the Country, to go anywhere, you do.... Just a fact of life, nobody complains about it, nobody argues over the cost (and ours are only good for 5 years), you either have one and can travel, or just travel in Canada.

[wcook]

I must say this topic has been most entertaining to me. It is just something that is never discussed here. If you never travel outside Canada, you do not need a passport....

Does anyone ever insult those people who choose not to get a passport since they aren't traveling places where passports are required?

[boo214]

here's another good reason to get a passport. this was bought up on another of the numerous passport threads (can't remember by who, aqua hound maybe), a passport is not only ID but it provides you with protection under the U.S. government when traveling out of the country.

[Ocean Boy]

here's another good reason to get a passport. this was bought up on another of the numerous passport threads (can't remember by who, aqua hound maybe), a passport is not only ID but it provides you with protection under the U.S. government when traveling out of the country.

 

If you end up in a Mexican jail I doubt that it will protect you from much of anything!;)

[sparks1093]

If you end up in a Mexican jail I doubt that it will protect you from much of anything!;)

 

As in the reality show "Locked Up Abroad" or the movie "Midnight Express";).

[Ocean Boy]

As in the reality show "Locked Up Abroad" or the movie "Midnight Express";).

 

Pretty entertaining at times isn't it??!! :D

[Coralc]

Does anyone ever insult those people who choose not to get a passport since they aren't traveling places where passports are required?

 

Hawaii and St. Thomas and San Juan are actually lovely places to visit. We haven't been to St. Croix, American Samoa or Guam yet, but I'm sure they are nice too. :D:):D

[CruisinIsMyThang]

This is the problem with so many Americans.. their sense of entitlement.. they just assume that they are entitled to come back into the US regardless of their ability to prove that they are US Citizens. Remember, nothing is a given and you are not entitled to anything.. do your part in getting a passport to prove your citizenship and in return the US will allow you back into the country. If you choose not to, and get stranded.. then I hope you'll enjoy panhandling on the streets of some foreign country..

[atush]

Let me see if I have this straight. You are demanding - all caps, multiple explanation marks - that people get a passport. Why? Because if they don't spend the $300 on passports, there is a one-in-a-thousand (one in 10,000? one in 100,000?) chance that they will miss their cruise and lose a few thousand.

 

Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense. There are many good reasons to get a passport. This isn't one of them.

 

No. They are also saying that having a passport will be essential if you are left behind in a port- just watch Youtube for soem examples! Also will help should you need to be left behind for medical treatment. It serves as identification where you need 2 items not just DL (see international money laundering regs).

 

This falls on deaf ears to those like the above poster. Just like my advice to UK travellers who travel to FL (not for cruises but for land based holidays) that under no circumstance should you travel to a foreign country w/o a credit card. You'd be surprised at how many do because they cant or wont get one.

[wcook]

No. They are also saying that having a passport will be essential if you are left behind in a port- just watch Youtube for soem examples! Also will help should you need to be left behind for medical treatment. It serves as identificatio where you need 2 items not just DL (see international money laundering regs).

Please go back and read the post I was replying to. Was in about being left behind it port, etc? Then please see my statement that there are many good reasons to get a passport.

[sparks1093]

This is the problem with so many Americans.. their sense of entitlement.. they just assume that they are entitled to come back into the US regardless of their ability to prove that they are US Citizens. Remember, nothing is a given and you are not entitled to anything.. do your part in getting a passport to prove your citizenship and in return the US will allow you back into the country. If you choose not to, and get stranded.. then I hope you'll enjoy panhandling on the streets of some foreign country..

 

Um, actually it is my right as an U.S. citizen to return home from a foreign country. The only way I can legally be kept from returning home would be if a Federal judge wrote an order to that affect (and I'm not even certain what grounds could be used to make said order legal).

 

If someone chooses to travel with the documents that our government requires and then something happens to keep them from returning on their original mode of transportation then that would allow the government to refuse admission to the home country? I don't think so.

 

There are many reasons to have a passport, but being afraid that your government is going to somehow disown you without one is not one of them.

[Bakincakes]

This is the problem with so many Americans.. their sense of entitlement.. they just assume that they are entitled to come back into the US regardless of their ability to prove that they are US Citizens. Remember, nothing is a given and you are not entitled to anything.. do your part in getting a passport to prove your citizenship and in return the US will allow you back into the country. If you choose not to, and get stranded.. then I hope you'll enjoy panhandling on the streets of some foreign country..

 

 

Not only Americans who feel "entitled".

 

We have millions of illegal aliens in this country and no one seems to be bothering them for documentation. They come and go as they please.

 

Makes me laugh that only American citizens are scrutinized to make sure we belong here.:rolleyes:

[klingoncruiser]

Easy to do, and silly not to at this point.

[Ocean Boy]

Not only Americans who feel "entitled".

 

We have millions of illegal aliens in this country and no one seems to be bothering them for documentation. They come and go as they please.

 

Makes me laugh that only American citizens are scrutinized to make sure we belong here.:rolleyes:

 

No need for me to post. You said it exaclty right.

 

The last time that I flew home from London the snotty guy at immigration, who I guess was having a bad day, looks at me and asks.... and just what do you do for a living.... I felt like telling him I don't work. I'm a bum. If it were not for my welfare payments I wouldn't have been able to afford to go over to London..... But I didn't want to spend two more hours at Logan airport. :rolleyes:

[RZ3]

All four in my family have passports. It makes travel soooo much easier. Having passports for my 9 and 4 year olds makes moving through TSA a breeze. My wife and I also use our passports since they are the perfect size for carrying in our hands as opposed to my DL, which is small and easy to drop.

[atush]

WCook, I read what you wrote, but I still think it is a load of Boll**ks.

 

A passport is a great thing to have, I still remember the pride of getting my first US passport when I was 18 or so. Renewed every ten years.

 

Everyone should have one, and no one should travel out of the USA incl on a cruise w/o one as you never know what will happen.

 

I remember when all you needed was a DL to go to the Bahamas. But I always had my PP.

[wcook]

WCook, I read what you wrote,

 

The question wasn't wether you read what I wrote... the question was whether you read the post I was replying to. The one about which you said, "They are also saying that having a passport will be essential if you are left behind in a port"?

[twoputt.plusone]

I've had a passport for years. IMO it's the responsible thing you do if you're planning a lot of travel. Now it's an absolute necessity for us Canadians. Americans should consider yourselves lucky because ours cost approximately the same amount but are only good for 5 years. I travel back and forth across the border all the time and if I didn't have one, I wouldn't be going. Period.

[Gatorman85]

I am glad I thought of this ahead of time. I am a widowed father of two boys. In 2007 I took them to Alaska for a RCCL cruise tour. We flew to Fairbanks from our home in Florida, took the land tour (which was awesome) embarked Radiance OTS in Seward, disembarked in Vancouver. We stayed in Vancouver for a few days. When were ready to fly home, at the airport in Vancouver, I was questioned as to where my spouse was, and if I had permission of my spouse to be traveling with my boys alone, out of the US. In other words, was I trying to hide my kids, by taking them out of the country and back in ? Apparently this is a problem in Canada, where Americans have tried to hide their children, whether it be a custody battle, patental kidnapping, etc. I was led to a room with my boys in tow. After being interviewed, by the authorities, and my boys being interviewed as well, (at the time they were 14 and 12), I was allowed to fly back into the states. As I said, I had a sneaking suspicion that I may be questioned about this at some point. I am glad to say I had the forethought to bring passports for the three of us, my birth certificate, my boys birth certificates, my deceased wife's birth and death certificates, and our marriage license. Nowhere on a passport does it state the name of parents of a minor. Of course it does on the kids birth certificates. Fortuantely all the documentation I brought with me was sufficient and I had my situation covered from all angles. I was complimented by the Canadian authorites on the proper documentation, and they said it was rare that someone had their bases covered in the way I did. I have always wondered what would have taken place had I not had all these docs with me. When traveling with kids, have that documentation, because you never know what may transpire when not on US soil.

[MSAcruisers]

I am glad I thought of this ahead of time. I am a widowed father of two boys. In 2007 I took them to Alaska for a RCCL cruise tour. We flew to Fairbanks from our home in Florida, took the land tour (which was awesome) embarked Radiance OTS in Seward, disembarked in Vancouver. We stayed in Vancouver for a few days. When were ready to fly home, at the airport in Vancouver, I was questioned as to where my spouse was, and if I had permission of my spouse to be traveling with my boys alone, out of the US. In other words, was I trying to hide my kids, by taking them out of the country and back in ? Apparently this is a problem in Canada, where Americans have tried to hide their children, whether it be a custody battle, patental kidnapping, etc. I was led to a room with my boys in tow. After being interviewed, by the authorities, and my boys being interviewed as well, (at the time they were 14 and 12), I was allowed to fly back into the states. As I said, I had a sneaking suspicion that I may be questioned about this at some point. I am glad to say I had the forethought to bring passports for the three of us, my birth certificate, my boys birth certificates, my deceased wife's birth and death certificates, and our marriage license. Nowhere on a passport does it state the name of parents of a minor. Of course it does on the kids birth certificates. Fortuantely all the documentation I brought with me was sufficient and I had my situation covered from all angles. I was complimented by the Canadian authorites on the proper documentation, and they said it was rare that someone had their bases covered in the way I did. I have always wondered what would have taken place had I not had all these docs with me. When traveling with kids, have that documentation, because you never know what may transpire when not on US soil.

 

 

Sorry to hear of the loss of your wife.

 

But~~ this is the perfect reason, to have a passport~~ when leaving the states.

 

You~~~ never know what will happen when U hit foreign soil, and there is no place like home.

 

If this person has a brain, they will realize "it is better to be safe --than sorry""

 

It is worth the money and time getting one!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Gatorman85, very sorry for your loss.

 

Glad you thought ahead and had all the documents to prove you were not doing anything wrong.

 

Hope you enjoy many future cruises with your sons. :)

 

***

[Bakincakes]

No need for me to post. You said it exaclty right.

 

The last time that I flew home from London the snotty guy at immigration, who I guess was having a bad day, looks at me and asks.... and just what do you do for a living.... I felt like telling him I don't work. I'm a bum. If it were not for my welfare payments I wouldn't have been able to afford to go over to London..... But I didn't want to spend two more hours at Logan airport. :rolleyes:

 

 

And you might have.:p

 

I've run into more than a few TSA employees who have a "God" complex when it comes to dealing with their fellow Americans. Some of them will make you jump through a hoop just because they can.:mad:

[gingerpeaches]

Um, actually it is my right as an U.S. citizen to return home from a foreign country. The only way I can legally be kept from returning home would be if a Federal judge wrote an order to that affect (and I'm not even certain what grounds could be used to make said order legal).

 

 

That's not true. I've lived outside the United States since 1995 and I was told from day 1 by the State Department that it is illegal for any U.S. citizen to attempt to enter the U.S. without a valid U.S. passport.

 

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative states that every U.S. citizen who travels by air must carry a passport book. For sea or land journeys a passport book or card is acceptable. The only time it is permissible to travel on a non-passport, valid photo ID is if you are visiting a U.S. Territory.

[nrdsb4]

That's not true. I've lived outside the United States since 1995 and I was told from day 1 by the State Department that it is illegal for any U.S. citizen to attempt to enter the U.S. without a valid U.S. passport.

 

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative states that every U.S. citizen who travels by air must carry a passport book. For sea or land journeys a passport book or card is acceptable. The only time it is permissible to travel on a non-passport, valid photo ID is if you are visiting a U.S. Territory.

 

There is an exception for cruisers who are US citizens departing and returning to the same US port (whose destinations are Canada, Bermuda Mexico, and the Caribbean). They only need a certified birth certificate and government issued photo ID to return. They DO NOT have to have a passport card or passport book in those circumstances.

 

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.