Passport

[Doncin]

do we need a passport for our cruise to Aruba curaçao and Bonaire? Thank you. 

[njkruzer]

34 minutes ago, Doncin said:

do we need a passport for our cruise to Aruba curaçao and Bonaire? Thank you. 

If a closed loop cruise either a passport or your government issued photo id, i.e. driver's license and government issued birth certificate. 

 

Saying that, we always travel with passport because in an emergency requiring you to fly home from a foreign country you will need your passport. 

[Merion_Mom]

Required, no.  Strongly recommended, yes.  I agree with njkruzer's explanation.

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, Doncin said:

do we need a passport for our cruise to Aruba curaçao and Bonaire? Thank you. 

Depends what country you're a citizen of.

[njkruzer]

7 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Depends what country you're a citizen of.

Correct. My comments were for US citizens and leaving and returning to the same US port.

[PolicromaSol]

Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Because if you don't have it, that boat is your only way home.

[mjkacmom]

7 hours ago, PolicromaSol said:

Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Because if you don't have it, that boat is your only way home.

True, think about all of those cruisers who had to spend the rest of their lives in a foreign country because they didn’t have a passport or a boat.

[matj2000]

My patiently waiting for that person to chine in saying

 

" What If you need to fly back home"...........

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

True, think about all of those cruisers who had to spend the rest of their lives in a foreign country because they didn’t have a passport or a boat.

Or have to wait for the ship to deliver your passport to fly home, in emergency situation(s) or wait on the State Department to Okay your flight home.  Unnecessary and possibly unhealthy/fatal delay if you have a passport but don't have it with you.

[Tree_skier]

11 hours ago, brillohead said:

Depends what country you're a citizen of.

Important distinction.  Often this question is asked and the answer given doesn't take into consideration the myriad of immigration circumstances that could cause someone to need to a passport.  Sometime people don't ask the right questions, then are upset the right answers weren't given. 

 

As just one example of an exception to the OP's question... If you are on an Alaskan cruise leaving out of Vancouver, you aren't getting on a cruise without a passport because you aren't getting into Canada without a passport. Trying to enter without one will leave stranded at the airport or in Blaine WA.  

 

 

 

 

[PolicromaSol]

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

True, think about all of those cruisers who had to spend the rest of their lives in a foreign country because they didn’t have a passport or a boat.

 

Nah, I'm not that crazy.

 

I'm more thinking of if you break your leg...well, I suppose there's worse places to be laid up than a cruise ship room.

[mjkacmom]

44 minutes ago, PolicromaSol said:

 

Nah, I'm not that crazy.

 

I'm more thinking of if you break your leg...well, I suppose there's worse places to be laid up than a cruise ship room.

I suspect a broken leg would have you off the ship regardless of having a passport, my family of 7 adults all have valid passports, worth the expense for us, especially since real Id is a PITA to get here, but plenty of folks don’t travel internationally often. I imagine only a very small amount of travelers run into issues cruising without a passport.

[orville99]

Passport books are required for cruises making port stops in Columbia.

[crzndeb]

I never assume that posters even know what a closed loop cruise is. So to simplify for OP, if you embark and disembark from the same US city, you don’t need a passport. Then all the other “what ifs” can come into play.

[orville99]

1 hour ago, crzndeb said:

I never assume that posters even know what a closed loop cruise is. So to simplify for OP, if you embark and disembark from the same US city, you don’t need a passport.

Unless…

Dear Guest,

We're counting down the days until our Serenade of the Seas February 22, 2023sailing. We have some important information to share with you about required travel documents for your sailing.

As our sailing visits Colombia, all guests are required to present a passport book valid for at least 6 months after the sailing's return date in order to board. Colombian Customs and Immigration requires all visitors to have a valid passport book and will not accept any other travel documents for entry. Unfortunately, any guests without a valid passport book will be denied boarding.

[Ret MP]

35 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

I never assume that posters even know what a closed loop cruise is. So to simplify for OP, if you embark and disembark from the same US city, you don’t need a passport. Then all the other “what ifs” can come into play.

99.9% right-on!  Closed loop cruises and passport requirements only apply to U.S. ports of departure and entry, to be a closed loop cruise they must be the same port.  The U.S. State Department doesn't control the countries you visit during the closed loop cruise, other countries make their own rules for entry and may require passports to enter. 

[fsjosh]

30 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Unless…

Dear Guest,

We're counting down the days until our Serenade of the Seas February 22, 2023sailing. We have some important information to share with you about required travel documents for your sailing.

As our sailing visits Colombia, all guests are required to present a passport book valid for at least 6 months after the sailing's return date in order to board. Colombian Customs and Immigration requires all visitors to have a valid passport book and will not accept any other travel documents for entry. Unfortunately, any guests without a valid passport book will be denied boarding.

But since the OP listed their ports, that doesn't apply here. 

[orville99]

4 minutes ago, fsjosh said:

But since the OP listed their ports, that doesn't apply here. 

It is however relevant to where the follow on comments in the thread morphed..

[fsjosh]

2 minutes ago, orville99 said:

It is however relevant to where the follow on comments in the thread morphed..

The first time you posted it, sure. The second time you quoted and replied to someone simplifying it directly for the OP. At that point, it's not relevant. 

[orville99]

1 hour ago, fsjosh said:

The first time you posted it, sure. The second time you quoted and replied to someone simplifying it directly for the OP. At that point, it's not relevant. 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I am equally entitled to dismiss it as irrelevant.

[Woody14]

On 11/24/2022 at 6:24 AM, matj2000 said:

My patiently waiting for that person to chine in saying

 

" What If you need to fly back home"...........

Kind of was mentioned in post #2.  

 

 

[jencruzin]

On 11/24/2022 at 8:28 AM, mjkacmom said:

True, think about all of those cruisers who had to spend the rest of their lives in a foreign country because they didn’t have a passport or a boat.

I'm just wondering if anyone has read this, and said to themselves, "wow, what a nightmare that might be."😆

[Ret MP]

On 11/25/2022 at 11:33 AM, jencruzin said:

I'm just wondering if anyone has read this, and said to themselves, "wow, what a nightmare that might be."😆

Post #9

[zeroed]

Imagine getting injured severely enough to warrant emergency medical attention and overnight hospital stay in someplace like Labadee Haiti and not having a passport. Now imagine trying to deal with being a “wealthy” American in their eyes and needing to rely on locals to help your loved ones get in touch with the US Embassy in Port au Prince (long way from Labadee) to try to get home since you don’t have a passport. Then there’s getting you to an airport capable of getting you to the US, etc. 
 

 If that doesn’t terrify you then you don’t know Haiti.  

Get a passport. 
 

ps…always be careful in foreign countries. Some despise Americans and the smiling faces you see at the port aren’t always sincere. 

 

 

[not-enough-cruising]

On 11/24/2022 at 11:03 AM, mjkacmom said:

I suspect a broken leg would have you off the ship regardless of having a passport, my family of 7 adults all have valid passports, worth the expense for us, especially since real Id is a PITA to get here, but plenty of folks don’t travel internationally often. I imagine only a very small amount of travelers run into issues cruising without a passport.

Real ID wouldn’t help you anyway.