Is passport needed?

[Out to sea!]

You are correct, the only thing that dictates how quickly they will act are the facts and circumstances of each case. I would expect that they would act/react differently if someone overstayed at Senor Frogs versus someone that has had a medical emergency;).

 

I understand your point but this is the point I want to make clear to fellow travelers. I worked for the government for 21 years and have seen this all too often, the government's rules/laws are usually one size fits all and therefore the law and process is the same whether one overstayed at Senor Frogs or has a medical emergency and circumstances rarely affect how quickly the process can be expedited. And like with most things, officials wading though mounds of BS on a daily basis has made them immune to the plight of a person truly in need. So while there is help out there, the best thing to do is CYA so one doesn't have to depend on the help being processed in a timely fashion.

[sparks1093]

I understand your point but this is the point I want to make clear to fellow travelers. I worked for the government for 21 years and have seen this all too often, the government's rules/laws are usually one size fits all and therefore the law and process is the same whether one overstayed at Senor Frogs or has a medical emergency and circumstances rarely affect how quickly the process can be expedited. And like with most things, officials wading though mounds of BS on a daily basis has made them immune to the plight of a person truly in need. So while there is help out there, the best thing to do is CYA so one doesn't have to depend on the help being processed in a timely fashion.

 

I have also worked for the government for a similar period of time and have a healthy cynicism regarding various agencies. In my experience I have found that most agencies/offices are very good at carrying out their primary mission. The primary mission of a US Consulate is to assist US Citizens who have run into trouble. If someone is concerned about any amount of delay in returning to the US if something goes wrong then they absolutely should have a passport (but there still may be delay and expense involved in returning), but the US Consulate will work to get you home (how diligently is of course a matter of opinion but I've read nothing to suggest that Consular officers are anything less than consummate professionals that carry out their duties with pride).

http://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/diplomacy101/places/170602.htm

[cherylandtk]

As has been reported on this forum many times, but apparently bears repeating...

 

1. In true life and earth emergencies (as appears to be the situation noted which started this latest brouhaha) a consular agent can issue a written travel document letter which allows transport by aircraft back to the U.S. without a passport. Both flight attendants who have seen this letter used as a boarding document and a woman traveler who personally had this situation reported it on these forums, and it has been confirmed by a State Dept. consular agent in writing. Missing the ship, being separated from your family, needing to get to an 'urgent' meeting and the like are NOT life and death emergencies. It does require hospitalization of a family member and a doctors prognosis.

 

2. Having a passport does not ensure you will be able to quickly return home in an emergency. Yes, it removes the likely delay factor in getting a passport but one must also consider the delay in traveling and remoteness of the ports. The best example I know of came from two couples traveling on HAL in the Caribbean. About halfway through the week cruise one couple received a call that there had been a serious illness or accident with a family member and they chose to return home and quickly packed their belongings and left the ship. Unfortunately, they were on a fairly remote port stop, flights to the next bigger island only happened once a day, they missed that day's flight, etc. etc. Long story short, three days later they got home only 7 hours earlier than their neighbors who remained on the cruise and travelled as originally planned. The neighbors were rested, had stayed in contact with the hospital while the early departees were much worse off for the harried travel and greatly increased travel expenses (not all of which were covered by insurance). Certainly they would have worried in either scenario. This will not happen in all cases of course, but neither will a passport allow you to return home in hours or even the next day. Something to keep in mind when booking cruises and making informed adult decisions in emergencies.

[nfcu]

He's not mistaken if there are not any closed loop sailings going there now:cool:

 

 

Wrong. We just sailed on the Silver Shadow round trip Fort Lauderdale in March which stopped in St. Barths.

[John&LaLa]

Wrong. We just sailed on the Silver Shadow round trip Fort Lauderdale in March which stopped in St. Barths.

 

Bless your heart

[sail7seas]

Wrong. We just sailed on the Silver Shadow round trip Fort Lauderdale in March which stopped in St. Barths.

 

Thanks for sharing this with us.

I am sure you had passports but were they mandatory?

 

[zqvol]

Wrong. We just sailed on the Silver Shadow round trip Fort Lauderdale in March which stopped in St. Barths.

 

 

The original post that you are discussing said that no mass market lines went to St. Barths. Last time I looked Silver Sea was not a mass market line.

[sparks1093]

As has been reported on this forum many times, but apparently bears repeating...

 

1. In true life and earth emergencies (as appears to be the situation noted which started this latest brouhaha) a consular agent can issue a written travel document letter which allows transport by aircraft back to the U.S. without a passport. Both flight attendants who have seen this letter used as a boarding document and a woman traveler who personally had this situation reported it on these forums, and it has been confirmed by a State Dept. consular agent in writing. Missing the ship, being separated from your family, needing to get to an 'urgent' meeting and the like are NOT life and death emergencies. It does require hospitalization of a family member and a doctors prognosis.

 

2. Having a passport does not ensure you will be able to quickly return home in an emergency. Yes, it removes the likely delay factor in getting a passport but one must also consider the delay in traveling and remoteness of the ports. The best example I know of came from two couples traveling on HAL in the Caribbean. About halfway through the week cruise one couple received a call that there had been a serious illness or accident with a family member and they chose to return home and quickly packed their belongings and left the ship. Unfortunately, they were on a fairly remote port stop, flights to the next bigger island only happened once a day, they missed that day's flight, etc. etc. Long story short, three days later they got home only 7 hours earlier than their neighbors who remained on the cruise and travelled as originally planned. The neighbors were rested, had stayed in contact with the hospital while the early departees were much worse off for the harried travel and greatly increased travel expenses (not all of which were covered by insurance). Certainly they would have worried in either scenario. This will not happen in all cases of course, but neither will a passport allow you to return home in hours or even the next day. Something to keep in mind when booking cruises and making informed adult decisions in emergencies.

 

Thank you, I had missed those threads.

[nfcu]

Thanks for sharing this with us.

I am sure you had passports but were they mandatory?

 

 

 

Passports are mandatory on all Silversea cruises. In fact, they are collected at check in and held by the purser, and then returned prior to debarking on the final day.