Passports????

[cruise_gal21]

And since you don't see a risk then there must not be one? :rolleyes:

 

I'm simply agreeing with the decision DHS and CBP have already made... that US citizens on closed loop cruises pose a very low risk. When a US citizen decides to commit a terroristic act upon a cruise ship, or upon returning from a closed loop cruise, I will change my mind. As far as other countries allowing US citizens on their soul without a passport... Their decision, not ours. It just happens to benefit us as travelers, as well as them as a tourist port.

 

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[rolaur]

I'm the one that said it only comes to $15 a year (if you average it out). I just can't understand how folks on here that spend THOUSANDS on cruises, find it difficult to pay for passports. You talk about how Carnival cuts back to save and how you hate the new shows or menus but in the same breath complain about passports? That's your cutback. Walk the walk and pay up. It's a passport. You travel, you get one. Not tough. Get over it. If you can't afford or don't want to spend the money, maybe you should reconsider whether you should be cruising or investing your hard earned money into something more important like your mortgage (this from a stock holder as well).

[cruise_gal21]

Why do the people who are pro passport even care what those who are not are doing or what they're spending their hard earned money on? Why be so judgemental and assume that because we don't want to pay the expense we'll skimp on our gratuities, cannot manage our finances, or do not have any common sense? We understand the risk of not traveling with one, but it's up to the individual to decide for themselves. Personally, my family doesn't want to spend the money on something that is not required and won't otherwise be used because our individual risk levels for having to return to the US via air is minimal at best. When we decide to travel outside the US to a non-WHTI country we'll pay the expense. Until then, unless the law changes, we'll stick with our BC's and State ID's. A choice that doesn't hurt or concern anyone else.

 

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[sparks1093]

Which just goes to prove the security aspect I have been speaking of. Do you think I want someone who has a warrant out for their arrest on my cruise with my family on board? You couldn't have provided better proof for my argument if you had tried.

 

Thing is even if they had a passport that person with a warrant would probably still be on a cruise with you an your family if the warrant was issued after the passport was issued (and how many people with outstanding warrants are on the plane with you and yours as you fly to the port). The discussion is about National Security, not your family's security and a person with a warrant isn't ipso facto a threat to the National Security, picking them up is gravy to the authorities.

[sparks1093]

I'm the one that said it only comes to $15 a year (if you average it out). I just can't understand how folks on here that spend THOUSANDS on cruises, find it difficult to pay for passports. You talk about how Carnival cuts back to save and how you hate the new shows or menus but in the same breath complain about passports? That's your cutback. Walk the walk and pay up. It's a passport. You travel, you get one. Not tough. Get over it. If you can't afford or don't want to spend the money, maybe you should reconsider whether you should be cruising or investing your hard earned money into something more important like your mortgage (this from a stock holder as well).

 

Why should I spend money that I don't have to spend? I am making a legal choice that has no impact on you at all.

[Warm Breezes]

I'm the one that said it only comes to $15 a year (if you average it out).First off it is not an averaged out expense....its a one time out of pocket expense times the number of people in the family. That can add up to me a huge part of the vacation budget for a family. I just can't understand how folks on here that spend THOUSANDS on cruises, find it difficult to pay for passports. Then that is your problem not ours.You talk about how Carnival cuts back to save and how you hate the new shows or menus but in the same breath complain about passports? You don't see me complaining about the shows or menus and I don't complain about passports either. It is a choice to purchase or not.That's your cutback. How is an optional purchase a cutback when you choose not to purchase it?Walk the walk and pay up. It's a passport. You travel, you get one.Why is it so hard for you understand that it is not required for closed loop cruises so people do not have to "pay up". Not tough. Get over it.Back at you. Not tough to understand "not required". Get over it. If you can't afford or don't want to spend the money, maybe you should reconsider whether you should be cruising or investing your hard earned money into something more important like your mortgage (this from a stock holder as well).

I pay my mortgage just fine. It will be paid off in a couple of years...not that it is any business of yours how I choose to spend my money. People have every right to choose to get a passport for closed loop cruises or not....whether they can afford it or not. Their reasons and their choices are none of your concern....so why do you care so much that you feel the need to lecture them for their decisions? Edited December 29, 2013 by Warm Breezes

[Taxguy77]

For us to cruise we have to fly to a port in the US except Alaska . Even then if you want to go from Skagway across the Canada/US border you'll still need a passport. The US under the WHTI program requires that returning from Canada or Mexico a passport is required.

 

We live next to the Mexico border near a town that has not seen any violence. People cross there all the time, but we feel sorry for our favorite waiter (and the other waiters, cooks, etc.) who no longer have any dinner trade.

The difficulty of getting back home (remember to take the passports!)with the long inspection cuts down on traffic except for low-cost meds.

 

[Taxguy77]

My grandchildren have had passports since they were pre-school, as they lived in China. When we visited them we babysat while our kids enjoyed the company condo in Hong Kong (Independent then).

The kids gave us the grandkids passports and said if we got a "Bug OUt call, we had 15 minutes to get things and be ready to be picked up in front of the house.

DW slept with her clothes on!

[AKman2495]

Why should I spend money that I don't have to spend?

 

Good question here is why:

 

 

1) say you're on a cruise and something happens medically (god forbid). They put you off in a foreign port and you have to fly home from there to the US. Guess what? You need a passport. Of course, that never happens.....

 

2) The ship breaks down (again, like that ever happens :roll eyes:) again, they sail to a foreign port for a free fly home. Guess what? you will need a passport....

 

3) Say you accidentally miss the ship in a foreign port (of course, that will never happen to you...) to fly home...you will need a passport.

 

Same thing with travel insurance. Many people say the exact same thing about it. But do a search about "no insurance and had to cancel cruise or had a medical emergency" and you will find it happens a lot.

 

I always carry a passport. Since I have it, I use it and I don;t have to worry about not having one if something bad happens....

[Cruisin' Chick]

...

 

If it wasnt for the Jones Act thing you have then those who could not afford passports to cruise overseas would possibly quite happily cruise from one US port to another along the coast...

It's actually the PVSA that has to do with cruise passengers; the Jones Act is concerned with cabotage.

 

I could care less about someone else having a passport, but the whole BC thing is a joke. There is NO WAY the cruise representative or the border control officers have any idea of what is a real birth certificate and which is a fake. Not all states use the same formats, paper, water marks or raised seals. And I would guess all states have changed the appearance of the certificates over the the last 50 years.

 

I know I thought I had lost my BC about 15 years ago and sent away for a new one. Got it, then when moving, found the old one. There are completely different. In reality, the people at the pier are taking our word for the fact the BC is legit.

 

Why not eliminate the requirement completely? Same for taking a child out of the country when both parents are not present. The cruise lines tell you on their websites to bring a notarized letter, etc, but when I took my ex wifes daughter on a cruise, they never asked for it. We don't even have the same address or last name.

 

The same with a photo ID. Why is it needed? As a previous poster said NO terrorist has ever entered the country via a cruise ship! Just let people state their name, show their ticket and board the ship.

 

Yes, I have a passport and would never leave the country without it but I do it by choice plus it's required for most travel out of the country unless I am on a cruise.

 

I would think that requiring paperwork with the non-present parent's okay has to do with the possibility of child abduction. Unfortunately, it does happen that one parent has taken off with the kids after leaving a spouse. So even if it may be a pain for some parents to get the authorization, it's for the protection of kids in general.

 

After we took our girl on her first cruise (at 23 months of age) and saw that she enjoyed cruises as much as we do, we decided to get her a passport before taking her on her second one. Since then, we have renewed her passport a couple of times, and the next time, she'll have an adult one. We do like having that photo ID for her, which a birth certificate doesn't provide. And she has even enjoyed it when we hand over to a security person our passports to get through a cruise terminal. When registering her for a new school, that passport comes out of our locked box. The last time I took it out was so she can use it as a photo ID when taking the SAT (yes, she could use her school ID, but in many other cases, a school ID can't be considered as an official ID, just more for on-campus use and for getting student discounts at local places).

 

So for us, we might cringe when writing out a check for passport renewals (the last time mine was coming due too), but it gives us some peace of mind. For other families, they might feel otherwise.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Good question here is why:

 

 

1) say you're on a cruise and something happens medically (god forbid). They put you off in a foreign port and you have to fly home from there to the US. Guess what? You need a passport. Of course, that never happens.....

 

 

2) The ship breaks down (again, like that ever happens :roll eyes:) again, they sail to a foreign port for a free fly home. Guess what? you will need a passport....

 

3) Say you accidentally miss the ship in a foreign port (of course, that will never happen to you...) to fly home...you will need a passport.

 

Same thing with travel insurance. Many people say the exact same thing about it. But do a search about "no insurance and had to cancel cruise or had a medical emergency" and you will find it happens a lot.

 

I always carry a passport. Since I have it, I use it and I don;t have to worry about not having one if something bad happens....

 

#2 is not correct. Pax that were on the Dream that had to fly home from St Maarten were granted waivers.

 

I'm sure not every pax on that cruise had a passport but they still made it home just like the pax that had passports.

 

Bill

[fishtaco]

Do USA Military service people need a passport when serving overseas?

[Out to sea!]

Do USA Military service people need a passport when serving overseas?

 

I served overseas in Europe for 13 years and traveled from the US many times on temporary duty as well. Your military orders (when PCS'ing (Permanent Chance of Station)) to that country is considered your "passport" to that country. If you wish to travel outside the country you are stationed in (for pleasure), you can use a DD Form 80 that has certain countries listed on it and that becomes your passport along with your military ID. If a country you wish to visit is not on your DD Form 80, you must have a passport. Note, while many countries in the EU for the most part no longer have border patrol, you are still required to have proper documentation to travel to that country. If travelling TDY (Temporary Duty) from any country to another, you will be issued a red military passport.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Out to sea!

[sparks1093]

Good question here is why:

 

 

1) say you're on a cruise and something happens medically (god forbid). They put you off in a foreign port and you have to fly home from there to the US. Guess what? You need a passport. Of course, that never happens.....

 

2) The ship breaks down (again, like that ever happens :roll eyes:) again, they sail to a foreign port for a free fly home. Guess what? you will need a passport....

 

3) Say you accidentally miss the ship in a foreign port (of course, that will never happen to you...) to fly home...you will need a passport.

 

Same thing with travel insurance. Many people say the exact same thing about it. But do a search about "no insurance and had to cancel cruise or had a medical emergency" and you will find it happens a lot.

 

I always carry a passport. Since I have it, I use it and I don;t have to worry about not having one if something bad happens....

 

I have considered those risks and addressed them in post #10 but here it is again:

1) yes, there is a slight possibility of a medical emergency happening but for my family it is slight enough that it is not an overwhelming concern and travel insurance is sufficient to cover this particular risk. The State Department and CBP have authority under the regulations to waive passport requirements for a medical emergency, so I would not need a passport only a document from State allowing me emergency travel.

2) the last time a ship broke down was a CCL ship I believe in St Martin. Someone posted a copy of the CBP letter that was issued to non-passport holders allowing them to fly back from the port and they did so at the same time as passport holders with no reported problems or delays. Another consideration- since this scenario is on the cruise line they would be responsible for getting me home and if for some reason I needed to wait a week for a passport guess who would foot that bill?:)

3) The risk of me missing a ship is also slight, and if we do happen to miss a ship it would be for reasons covered by our travel insurance (and if I have miscalculated then I would say that I deserved the consequences, but the consequences would only pertain to me and my family and no one else).

 

Two other notes- it is important when choosing travel insurance to choose a policy that does not provide coverage if the policy holder does not have the correct travel documentation. And finally not having a passport is not just about spending money that I don't have to spend it is also about the time factor- passports are good for 10 years. Had I purchased a passport in 2008 it would be halfway to expiration by now and we are still several years away from being able to undertake travel that requires a passport.

[hillbilly73]

My lovely wife has been a corporate travel agent specializing in international travel for more years than we care to mention in offices that also house leisure agents many of those years. She has heard every horror story about being stuck in a foreign country you can imagine. We would never leave US soil without one. With her back ground she is often asked about this for closed loop cruising and her response is always. “You don’t have to have one but if you have the time before your cruise is leaving to get one, it would be a good idea”.

 

 

On a personal note I took a simple fall in Cozumel (never again go there and drink only Sprite nothing to deaden the pain) and broke my shoulder with ligament and tendon damage the on board personnel did the best they could but they were unable to determine the full extent of my injuries. After much discussion and insistence to go to the hospital, we stayed on the ship. That really was not the best solution looking back going the hospital and then to the airport home getting home 2 days earlier would have been best and very easy since we had passports no other stops or paperwork would have been needed. Like others have said it’s your choice but personally we look at it like our travel insurance added cost worth it if only needed once and worth the peace of mind if not.

[Warm Breezes]

I have considered those risks and addressed them in post #10 but here it is again:

1) yes, there is a slight possibility of a medical emergency happening but for my family it is slight enough that it is not an overwhelming concern and travel insurance is sufficient to cover this particular risk. The State Department and CBP have authority under the regulations to waive passport requirements for a medical emergency, so I would not need a passport only a document from State allowing me emergency travel.

2) the last time a ship broke down was a CCL ship I believe in St Martin. Someone posted a copy of the CBP letter that was issued to non-passport holders allowing them to fly back from the port and they did so at the same time as passport holders with no reported problems or delays. Another consideration- since this scenario is on the cruise line they would be responsible for getting me home and if for some reason I needed to wait a week for a passport guess who would foot that bill?:)

3) The risk of me missing a ship is also slight, and if we do happen to miss a ship it would be for reasons covered by our travel insurance (and if I have miscalculated then I would say that I deserved the consequences, but the consequences would only pertain to me and my family and no one else).

 

Two other notes- it is important when choosing travel insurance to choose a policy that does not provide coverage if the policy holder does not have the correct travel documentation. And finally not having a passport is not just about spending money that I don't have to spend it is also about the time factor- passports are good for 10 years. Had I purchased a passport in 2008 it would be halfway to expiration by now and we are still several years away from being able to undertake travel that requires a passport.

 

Ditto...sailing without passports is a calculated risk. That risk is different for each and every person, but for most it is an extremely small risk. Each person has a different level of risk they are willing to take. Some people would have nervous breakdown sailing without their passports...others don't even think about it because the risk is so small. The government allows them to legally take the risk if they so choose. Their choice affects no one but themselves. I don't get why so many on CC get so worked up about the personal choices people make to not get one. It shouldn't matter to them the personal risks others are willing to take or how they choose to spend their money. It quite frankly is none of their business.....and the lectures on how they should spend their money are not only rude but unnecessary.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Warm Breezes

[Ethel5]

What is nominal to you might be a lot to others...............................

 

29 cruises and haven't needed a passport to fly home yet.

 

It only takes once. You've been lucky and I hope it continues. Just think that it might be the illness of a family member not traveling that could force you to fly home unexpectedly.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

It only takes once. You've been lucky and I hope it continues. Just think that it might be the illness of a family member not traveling that could force you to fly home unexpectedly.

 

It won't affect me one way or the other as i have had a passport for the last 15 years.

 

I just don't like the fact that the people that don't have passports are called names like they shouldn't cruise if they don't have a passport, they'll remove their tips, etc.

 

It doesn't affect anybody else but the people that choose not to get a passport.

 

If they know the consequences of their choice then if they have to fly home for whatever reason that is their problem.

 

Bill