"Due to a (fill in the blank...terrorist attack, hurricane, computer failure onboard, or whatever), we have been redirected to TinBuckTwo Island off the coast of Central America. For those of you with passports, please come to Deck 10 where you will be met by US Embassy officials who will help you with your travel iteneraries and will help you travel to friendlier territories. Those of you without passports, please proceed to Deck 1 where that we will determine which kind of fish bait you are best suited for. Have a good day."
For me, it's not about government requirements or cost, it's about safety abroad. I don't know, I guess we're overreacting; however, the thought of leaving the borders of the USA without a passport never crossed our minds. Now, if we were driving into Canada for the day, we might consider it, but to be at the mercy of a cruise ship? No way. Maybe this stems from having clients on a Mediterranean cruise and colleagues abroad during the 9/11 attacks...