Do I need a passport??

[paac11]

Do I need a passport to go to Cozumel, Cayman Islands and Jamaica?? I live in Texas

[Scrapnana]

If it is a closed loop cruise from an American port and you have the proper state-issued birth certificate and photo ID (driver's license ), probably no.

 

That said, I would only cruise with a passport in case something happened and I had to fly home.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Scrapnana

[corpkid]

Do I need a passport to go to Cozumel, Cayman Islands and Jamaica?? I live in Texas

 

If you are leaving the US and coming back to the US on the cruise, then NO, but you'll need your birth certificate with a driver license or state ID.

 

If you don't have your birth certificate, I got mine at vitalcheck.com. The prices were pretty reasonable and turnaround was fast.

 

However, a passport is a good investment. :)

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/do-i-need.html

 

 

 

"Closed-Loop" Cruises: If you are a U.S. citizen, and you board a cruise ship at a U.S. port, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship, you may present government-issued photo identification, along with proof of citizenship (an original or certified copy of your 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.

[wassup4565]

Most people here will disagree with me, they will tell you you don`t need a passport to travel to a foreign country if you leave from an American port and return to an American port (they call this closed loop). They are counting on the country you go to to abide by a gentleman`s agreement. If you feel safe traveling this way, go ahead.

 

I am Canadian. Here is what the inside cover of my passport says:

"The Minister if Foreign Affairs of Canada requests, in the Name of Her Majesty the Queen, all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely and without hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary."

 

Your American passport will carry a similar message from your president or senior officer of your government. This is diplomatic language that says, "We expect you to treat our citizens properly. We will take steps if you don`t."

 

Your drivers license or your birth certificate don`t afford you this kind of protection. These documents do not speak to a foreign government on behalf of your nation`s government.

 

Probably your trip will be uneventful and you won`t have any problem. But if you get hit by a bus and end up in a hospital, or you get accused falsely of a crime and get thrown in the slammer, and you don`t have a passport, you`ve never asked for your government`s protection, and it will take a lot longer to get it.

 

For that reason, I do not lock my passport in a safe when I go ashore. I take it with me and protect it like my wallet and my cellphone. Because if it hits the fan in a foreign country, I want to produce my original document where my country asks for me to be treated properly or else.

 

It`s your choice. You can travel closed loop without it.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Do I need a passport to go to Cozumel, Cayman Islands and Jamaica?? I live in Texas

 

Most, if not all, premium cruise lines require that all passengers on all itineraries have a passport. The government of country x may or may not require a passport. But you must also fulfill the cruise line's requirement.

And anticipating your next question: NO - you should not take your passport ashore (in fact many of the premium lines require that you surrender it at embarkation for secure storage with the purser).

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[corpkid]

I think the moral of the story is you'd be pretty crazy to leave the US without a US Passport. I wholeheartedly agree with Flatbush Flyer and wassup4565....

 

They cost $165 and last for 10 years. Takes about 2-4 weeks to get one but you can rush it for a few more $$$ if that's an issue.

Edited August 27, 2014 by corpkid

[Keith1010]

As others have said if you start and end your cruise in the same USA city and you are a USA citizen no passport is required but if you have to fly home from a non-USA country you cannot and it's always best to check with the cruise line about this requirement.

 

Keith

[corpkid]

Almost every cruise I've been on has required me to drop my passport at check in. Russia was the exception where we had to do their rediculous passport control system.

 

What we do is twofold:

 

- Trim our wallets down to the bare minimum before leaving, and then take a scan/photocopy print of each side of our cards/ID's/Passports on one sheet of paper. Make 2 copies (one for the carryon (which goes right into the safe be it hotel or cruise) and one to keep at home)

 

- Upload that scan/document to our online "cloud" storage - we can always get to it that way if a crisis happens.

 

Either way - I think everyone should have a passport.

[wassup4565]

Sorry to disagree. The cruise line has never asked me to give up my passport to them. I have cruised several times in the Caribbean and once in the Med. Cannot speak for any other destinations.

 

If I am skillful enough to keep my i-phone, cash and credit cards safe while ashore, I can also keep my passport safe with me. You will never convince me that, in a foreign country where I might not have any useful language, if I get into trouble, I should leave the words of my minister of Foreign Affairs locked in a safe on a ship. Let alone the full weight of Her Majestys wrath if anyone should meddle with me. They have my back.

[sparks1093]

is you'd be pretty crazy to leave the US without a US Passport.

 

Nope, my doctor has stated that I'm perfectly sane, but thank you for minding my mental health for me:). Since our government allows US citizens traveling on a closed loop cruise options regarding travel documentation it comes down to assessing ones personal risk of having to fly back from the cruise early for some reason (usually because something happens back home, the ship is missed, or a medical emergency happens on the cruise). For the vast majority of cruisers this is a low risk proposition and many of the risks are easily mitigated. This is a decision that is personal and has no impact on anyone else. (And you may feel that everyone should have a passport but our government feels differently;).)

 

OP, unless you are sailing on one of the premium lines the cruise line will allow you to travel with a government issued birth certificate and government issued ID and only you can assess your personal risk in doing so.

[lisiamc]

Are you required to have a passport if you are a US citizen taking a closed loop cruise to certain ports from the US? No, you can use the correct sort of birth certificate and a government-issued photo ID.

 

Is it a good idea to always travel with a passport when you leave the USA? Yes, definitely. That way, you have made the best preparations for any circumstances.

 

But opinion is split about 50/50 on whether to carry the passport with you or leave it in the safe in your cabin or hotel room. I'm a "leave it in the safe" person. Others, like wassup, are "take it with you" people.

[Floridiana]

I never leave the country without my passport. Sometimes, the ship informs her passengers that the passport is needed to go ashore. In some destinations, the purser keeps the passport. In others, I leave it in the safe.

 

If something were to happen and I needed the passport ashore, the ship has to be notified anyway. The purser will then open the safe in the cabin and somebody will take your passport to you. As a precaution, I always take the ship's shore side rep's phone number and address. It is printed in the currents or whatever your ship calls the daily information sheet.

[Warm Breezes]

Do I need a passport to go to Cozumel, Cayman Islands and Jamaica?? I live in Texas

 

Having sailed to these islands on multiple occassions without one, I can say from experience that the answer is no you do not need a passport.

 

If you are a US Citizen sailing to/from the same US Port then you will only need your Government Issued Photo ID, ie Drivers License (if over 16) and your Government Issued Birth Certificate (not the hospital issued one), which as someone mentioned before can be ordered from vitalcheck.com for a reasonable amount.

 

If the above applies to you then the decision to sail with or with out a passport is totally up to you and the amount of risk you are willing to assume. The risk of needing a passport is extremely low for most people and it is not impossible to get home without one.