Are passports worth it?

[sparks1093]

We took several cruises without a passport, but we will never look back on getting one and keeping it current now. First, I think they misunderstood your question on the birth certificate. Your passport has to have 6 months left before expiration. Maybe that's the 60 days they are talking about. Second, I can think of a couple of circumstances that prompted us to get a passport way back when we really booked closed loop and it wasn't required. If for whatever reason, you got injured or ill enough to need to return to the U.S., you wouldn't be able to fly there from another country (even many of the Caribbean islands) without a passport. Freedom of the Seas had a fire today. No one was injured, but should they have had a ship that couldn't sail, you wouldn't have been able to fly home as an option until they could get an emergency passport issued by the embassy in that country. If you had an emergency back home and needed to interrupt your cruise to fly back home, you would need a passport. With all the information, the decision is up to you and what risks you feel are high risk and what is low risk.

 

Actually it is a lot easier if it is the entire ship that is impacted by an emergency. The last time it happened (CCL in St Maarten I think) CBP issued all of the passengers that didn't have passports with a letter that allowed them to board flights home. No delay, no hassles. And as I mentioned earlier if an individual has an emergency the Consulate will assist them in getting home.

 

Yes, a passport is a ticket to the world but for many people it's the lack of time or money that prevents them from traveling, not the fact that they don't have a passport (and one can obtain a passport in as little as a day if the need is urgent enough).

Edited July 23, 2015 by sparks1093

[Teeara]

Actually it is a lot easier if it is the entire ship that is impacted by an emergency. The last time it happened (CCL in St Maarten I think) CBP issued all of the passengers that didn't have passports with a letter that allowed them to board flights home. No delay, no hassles. And as I mentioned earlier if an individual has an emergency the Consulate will assist them in getting home.

 

Yes, a passport is a ticket to the world but for many people it's the lack of time or money that prevents them from traveling, not the fact that they don't have a passport (and one can obtain a passport in as little as a day if the need is urgent enough).

 

Personally, I find it one of the best investments I've ever made.

 

And having to waste your time at a consulate to me makes a passport worth it. Why add to the stress?

Edited July 23, 2015 by Teeara

[Bradtez]

Having been to every continent on earth, I would definitely say that a passport is worth it. If I as an Aussie didn't have one, I would not get to see any of the world. $250 for 10 years of adventure = priceless

[sparks1093]

Personally, I find it one of the best investments I've ever made.

 

And having to waste your time at a consulate to me makes a passport worth it. Why add to the stress?

 

Then that works for you:).

[sparks1093]

Having been to every continent on earth, I would definitely say that a passport is worth it. If I as an Aussie didn't have one, I would not get to see any of the world. $250 for 10 years of adventure = priceless

 

Fortunately US law does allow US citizens to see a little bit of the world without a passport under certain circumstances.

[chocolatetraveler]

Personally, I find it one of the best investments I've ever made.

 

And having to waste your time at a consulate to me makes a passport worth it. Why add to the stress?

 

Exactly.

 

Why fool around with it? Obtain a passport. You may find your travel borders will broaden to places where a passport is required.

 

If you're spending hundreds (or thousands) on travel, the piddly fee for a passport shouldn't give one pause.

Edited July 23, 2015 by chocolatetraveler

[wowzz]

Fortunately US law does allow US citizens to see a little bit of the world without a passport under certain circumstances.

 

But it is a really little bit of the world [in the cultural rather than geographic] sense. There is so much to see and do out there in the wide world - why restrict yourself to just the American bits?

[sparks1093]

But it is a really little bit of the world [in the cultural rather than geographic] sense. There is so much to see and do out there in the wide world - why restrict yourself to just the American bits?

 

No money to see the other bits up until now, and I am sure others are in the same boat. If someone has the wherewithal and time to travel at the drop of a hat more power to them, but many people don't enjoy that option.

[charmed101]

At the end of the day it comes down to how much are you willing to pay for the "peace of mind" that you get if you have one, sure lots of people go without it but it only takes once

 

 

serene56 serene56 is offline

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Do NOT even look into buying the passport card. This serves the same purpose as the DL and BC.

 

 

As long as your DL is the same name as your married name- which is the name on the cruise boarding pass- you do not need a marriage license

 

you proved the name change on the dl

 

a marriage certificate is needed for someone who just got married and did not have enough time to change the DL to the married name

 

I would not buy a passport for a 3 day cruise.

 

We have cruised 26 times and use a BC and DL

 

We have no intentions of missing the ship[/color]

[/color]

Sorry Serene, but this made me laugh,,,,,, I don't think any of the people that have ever missed a ship over the years had any intentions of doing it !

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Edited July 23, 2015 by charmed101
forgot to highlight it

[BlueRiband]

Click here for the Differences Between Passport Book and Passport Card

[kitty9]

I've never, ever heard that a certified birth certificate must be less than 60 days old. Before I got a passport, I used a birth certificate that was at least 20 years old, and never had a question about it---not on Royal Caribbean, or Celebrity or Carnival or any other cruise line.

 

While bringing a marriage license is OK, I've never, ever been asked for mine, or my divorce decree in more than 30 cruises on a lot of different lines. That's not to say that some eager beaver check in person might not try and flex his/her muscles and ask for that stuff, but I've not experienced that and I've never known anyone who has.

 

BTW, a passport card is only basically good for car travel to Canada or Mexico. It cannot be used to get back from any other country such as the Bahamas or Bermuda. If you fly to or out of Canada, you need a passport.

[sparks1093]

It cannot be used to get back from any other country such as the Bahamas or Bermuda.

 

A passport card may certainly be used to get back from the Bahamas or Bermuda, as long as it is by sea;). A passport card is not good for international air travel.

Edited July 23, 2015 by sparks1093

[Tora_Oni]

I'd recommend the passport card if you don't want to spend the extra money but want to be able to travel Canada and Countries just south of the US, Mexico and most of the islands accept passport card which is much cheaper; though I went for a passport because I want to travel to Japan, but you can get the card without the book. It's about 55 plus the some processing fees. {photos and such} I'm thinking about getting the card just because it looks like it might be nice to have something I could easily carry for a cruise.

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/card.html

Edited July 24, 2015 by Tora_Oni

[silver surfer 2010]

In UK we cannot board the ship without a passport.

It is just a way of life that we accept that we need a passport to enter another country.

We also need travel insurance in case of an incident that requires medical attention.

[sparks1093]

In UK we cannot board the ship without a passport.

It is just a way of life that we accept that we need a passport to enter another country.

We also need travel insurance in case of an incident that requires medical attention.

 

That is, of course, in the UK. The countries that a US citizen can travel to on a closed loop cruise are the same countries we could get to with just a drivers license not too long ago.

[serene56]

I'd recommend the passport card if you don't want to spend the extra money but want to be able to travel Canada and Countries just south of the US, Mexico and most of the islands accept passport card which is much cheaper; though I went for a passport because I want to travel to Japan, but you can get the card without the book. It's about 55 plus the some processing fees. {photos and such} I'm thinking about getting the card just because it looks like it might be nice to have something I could easily carry for a cruise.

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/card.html

 

 

Passport card works the way a birth certificate/ Drivers license does.

It will not help you to fly out of the country.

for 55.00 come up eith the 40 more and get a real passport.

[sparks1093]

Passport card works the way a birth certificate/ Drivers license does.

It will not help you to fly out of the country.

for 55.00 come up eith the 40 more and get a real passport.

 

The passport card fills a niche for some travelers and shouldn't be overlooked as an option. It actually will help you to fly out of the country because your information is already in the State Department's system so it's easier for a Consulate to assist you. If all one does is cruise out of US ports it then it can be used for open jaw sailings in addition to closed loop sailings. Try doing that with a birth certificate;).

[Floridiana]

The passport card fills a niche for some travelers and shouldn't be overlooked as an option. It actually will help you to fly out of the country because your information is already in the State Department's system so it's easier for a Consulate to assist you.

 

Other countries do not know what the US State Department has in its system. You need a passport to fly to another country.

 

The OP wanted to know about a Caribbean cruise if I am not mistaken. You think that s.o. might miss the cruise ship and then needs to contact the US Consulate on the island to have a passport issued, so this poor s.o. is able to fly back to the US. Yes, the passport card might be helpful to the US Consulate on the island with the emergency issue of a US passport.

[srlafleur]

A passport is just easier, and accepted everywhere as identification.

Plus,even now, after quite a lot of travel and at my somewhat advanced age, I still get a little thrill showing my passport at the airport, instead of a driver's license.

Makes me feel more "worldly". :D

Plus, you'll have it, just in case.

If you plan a trip abroad and something happens that delays applications and issuance of passports, you could run in to problems. Happened to my daughter. It was (24?) years ago, and I don't remember the exact circumstances, but we were holding our collective breath that it would be available in time, even though we had applied in more than enough time.

[sparks1093]

Other countries do not know what the US State Department has in its system. You need a passport to fly to another country.

 

The OP wanted to know about a Caribbean cruise if I am not mistaken. You think that s.o. might miss the cruise ship and then needs to contact the US Consulate on the island to have a passport issued, so this poor s.o. is able to fly back to the US. Yes, the passport card might be helpful to the US Consulate on the island with the emergency issue of a US passport.

 

Yes, you do need the passport to fly to, I'm talking about having to fly back. If you miss the ship at the port of embarkation you are SOL without a passport.

[ReneeFLL]

.....Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

Totally agree. A lot less added stress if you do need to use it.

[serene56]

The passport card fills a niche for some travelers and shouldn't be overlooked as an option. It actually will help you to fly out of the country because your information is already in the State Department's system so it's easier for a Consulate to assist you. If all one does is cruise out of US ports it then it can be used for open jaw sailings in addition to closed loop sailings. Try doing that with a birth certificate;).

 

if the OP is stuck in Beleize or Grand Cayman-- that passport card will not help her fly home at all.

 

THey are only good for cruises-- or flying in the states.

[lahlah57]

Oh phooey.....just get the passports. That way you will not be limiting yourself for travel because you have no passports. There could very well be a time in the near future where passports will be required no matter where you travel.;)

[sparks1093]

if the OP is stuck in Beleize or Grand Cayman-- that passport card will not help her fly home at all.

 

THey are only good for cruises-- or flying in the states.

 

Missed the point- they would help because the travelers data is already in the State Department's system so it would take the Consulate less time to process the traveler and issue the document necessary to fly.

[AprilJ]

DH & I opted to get passports for our 1st cruise, but we also have future plans to use them again, cruises and Europe, so it made sense for us.