Do you recommend a passport?

[cruisinfanatic]

Amazing to me how many people are more than willing to throw money away on unnecessary cruise insurance, but are too cheap to get a U.S. Passport, one of the most powerful and sought after forms of identification around the world....

 

 

.... Stupid is as stupid does.

only by terrorists

[leisuretraveler223]

only by terrorists

 

How fantastically ignorant of you...

[OCruisers]

So a $55 passport card that you can't use to fly is worth it to you?

 

Yes, to us it is. In addition to our passport books we like to have the passport cards for our government issued photo ID in ports of call. :)

[cruisinfanatic]

Yes, to us it is. In addition to our passport books we like to have the passport cards for our government issued photo ID in ports of call. :)

that's called a drivers license where I live and have all the time anyway. Having only a passport card is useless because you can't fly internationally with it.

[Robb]

There are so many places in the world that you cannot travel to without a passport. You never know when you might want to take the exotic journey. The passport is good for ten years so it actually cost very little to have that extra insurance. The passport can also be used anytime identification is needed. I would not travel without my passport. :D

[OCruisers]

that's called a drivers license where I live and have all the time anyway. Having only a passport card is useless because you can't fly internationally with it.

 

No problem! We have BOTH passport books and passport cards.

Our passport cards are IN ADDITION to our passport books.

Our passport books and drivers licenses stay in our safe on the ship.

The passport cards are cute and convenient to have. :D

LuLu

[Shivdan]

We live in Ireland, can't go anywhere without a passport - living on an island in the North Atlantic is such a pain [emoji12][emoji1132]

 

 

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[MrsKC08]

Amazing to me how many people are more than willing to throw money away on unnecessary cruise insurance, but are too cheap to get a U.S. Passport, one of the most powerful and sought after forms of identification around the world....

 

 

.... Stupid is as stupid does.

 

Thanks for calling those who travel without a passport stupid.

[nealstuber]

Without even looking at the other replies to the poster, hands down says GET A PASSPORT, I can't imagine anyone even THINKING about going overseas without one.

 

The raw deal - let's say you're stranded and the ship leaves without you. You'll be stuck - and, do you think a birth certificate will get you out of that situation overseas? .

 

 

Bottom line is that 50% of Paz who have a passport with them leave them on the ship on port days anyhow. We have them because we need them for other things and we take them ashore on port days.

 

 

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[jcg4550]

I never leave the USA without a passport and have it when I leave the ship.

Edited September 6, 2016 by jcg4550

[Desert Cruizers]

We have never cruised without ours, the importance of having one is in the event of an emergency resulting in your needing to fly home from a foreign port, a passport will be asked for.

[shippmates]

We have had a passport for the last 12 years and would not travel without it or travel insurance for that matter. We know it is not needed but we wanted to fly to Jamaica many years ago and could not due to not having my marriage license to show why my name changed. We had been married many years and I never dreamed I would need my marriage license. That is when we decided to get passports. If you think about it a passport is only $13.00 a year. Take $3.00 a month and put it in a passport account so when you need to renew it you have the cash to do so. Just a thought.

[croozelyfe]

If your're only using it for cruising I would say at least get a passport card, it doesn't cost as much as a passport book. I did not have a passport until recently, I kept putting it off because I thought it would be a big hassle. It wasn't. My appointment with the passport agency was on a Wednesday and by the following Friday (7 business days later), my new passport was delivered to my house. I didn't need it on the cruise, even with a stop in Canada, but it was such a breeze to walk through customs and also through TSA at the airport.

[ColoradoGurl]

A passport only costs like $80, just get one. If you need to fly home, you can't get out of whatever country you're in with a birth certificate. A passport is also easier to carry (and probably easier to replace if lost or damaged) than a birth certificate (I'm just guessing on this though, since it just seems like obtaining a new birth certificate could be difficult since it's usually the document that is used to prove who you are in order to obtain other forms of ID).

 

Lots of people travel without one, but they're so cheap I don't understand why everyone who travels doesn't have one. My daughter has had one for almost her whole life, and has traveled to almost 20 countries, so for us it was a must, but I bought it for her 2 years before she ever even used it.

 

 

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[Nemomof3]

We did our first two cruises without passports and had zero issues. We were customs in seconds both times. We do have two more cruises scheduled in the next 6ish months so I went ahead and got one just for peace of mind. Do I need it? No would I travel without one? Yes no problem. I just figured since we like to travel we may want to go other places and my husband had to get one for work so I went ahead and got one to. Like many others have said it all depends on your comfort zone. Enjoy your cruise either way.

[Biker19]

 

Would you like butter with that?

[twinmommy08]

Me, DH and both kids have passports. We actually just renewed everyone's. Our first cruise we did not have passports and I forgot my wedding certificate to show my name change on my ID. That was a very stressful hour calling anyone I knew to break into my house and go through my files to find it and fax it to the port. I was almost in tears thinking we would miss the ship. We finally boarded around 3:30pm [emoji16] We got our passports as soon as we got back. Never travel without it- even domestically.

 

 

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[danv3]

I never leave the USA without a passport and have it when I leave the ship.

 

Same.

[cruisinfanatic]

A passport only costs like $80, just get one. If you need to fly home, you can't get out of whatever country you're in with a birth certificate. A passport is also easier to carry (and probably easier to replace if lost or damaged) than a birth certificate (I'm just guessing on this though, since it just seems like obtaining a new birth certificate could be difficult since it's usually the document that is used to prove who you are in order to obtain other forms of ID).

 

Lots of people travel without one, but they're so cheap I don't understand why everyone who travels doesn't have one. My daughter has had one for almost her whole life, and has traveled to almost 20 countries, so for us it was a must, but I bought it for her 2 years before she ever even used it.

 

 

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where?

you are wrong. Don't guess

Edited September 7, 2016 by cruisinfanatic

[time4u2go]

A passport only costs like $80, just get one. If you need to fly home, you can't get out of whatever country you're in with a birth certificate. A passport is also easier to carry (and probably easier to replace if lost or damaged) than a birth certificate (I'm just guessing on this though, since it just seems like obtaining a new birth certificate could be difficult since it's usually the document that is used to prove who you are in order to obtain other forms of ID).

 

Lots of people travel without one, but they're so cheap I don't understand why everyone who travels doesn't have one. My daughter has had one for almost her whole life, and has traveled to almost 20 countries, so for us it was a must, but I bought it for her 2 years before she ever even used it.

 

 

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Actually it's $135 for the first one, and $110 for the second one (in the U. S. anyway). But I agree, it's a good idea to get one.

Edited September 7, 2016 by time4u2go

[xpcdoojk]

I am going on a cruise to the Bahamas in March 2017. We don't have passports and I was wondering is it worth it to spend the extra money?

Do we really need them? Have you cruised without one? Opinions? Thanks.

 

A passport is a key to travel the world, if going to the Bahamas is you ultimate plan for your travel life, then no you don't need a passport.

 

There is a lot more world out there, and for that you need a passport, they are good for 10 years that is not a lot of money per year... So if you want to travel, then yes you need a passport.

 

JC

[cruisinfanatic]

If your're only using it for cruising I would say at least get a passport card, it doesn't cost as much as a passport book. I did not have a passport until recently, I kept putting it off because I thought it would be a big hassle. It wasn't. My appointment with the passport agency was on a Wednesday and by the following Friday (7 business days later), my new passport was delivered to my house. I didn't need it on the cruise, even with a stop in Canada, but it was such a breeze to walk through customs and also through TSA at the airport.

It gets you absolutely nothing that a drivers license and BC does. Why spend the money? Not significantly faster going through TSA

[broberts]

Compared to what? I drop a few thousand dollars every time we cruise. I drop a little over $100 every ten years for my passport.

 

Perhaps the entirety of the quoted paragraph should have been assimilated.

 

$100 pp for a SINGLE trip to the Bahamas is an unnecessary expense.

[molsonschooner]

it seems like everyone is assuming the OP does not have to travel to the US in order to get on the ship. I live in Canada and I am pretty sure a passport is needed just to get into the US. i know I have had to produce a passport every time I cross the border, whether driving or flying

[ColoradoGurl]

where?

you are wrong. Don't guess

 

 

It was $80 to renew my daughter's passport, which was the last passport payment I made, excuse me for being inaccurate. It's apparently also $80 to replace if it's lost. I do a lot of volunteer work with the homeless agencies in my area and the lack of a birth certificate causes a ton of problems for people and is really hard for them to get new ones, although there are other issues at play there (no address and no other forms of ID), so it CAN be difficult to replace, but I GUESS maybe easier for the non-homeless. Anyway, $135, still inexpensive, still recommend purchasing.

 

 

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