Any experiences of not having a passport for the Bahamas and needing one?

[Donna M]

I know the advice is to have a passport, but does anyone have a story of not having the passport and then running into trouble, or not when in the Bahamas, especially thinking medical issues.

 

[gottalovepluto]

What are you fishing for here? Reassurance it will all be ok? Pointless. Look up the legal process for yourself of what happens if you get left behind in the Bahamas without a passport and bring the necessary documentation along if you opt for this route.

 

[Genie+]

Technically you can use your birth certificate and state issue ID/license since it will be a ‘closed loop’ cruise, meaning it leaves and returns to the same US port. That’s enough to get on and off the ship.

I haven’t traveled DCL but had this same scenario on a spur of the moment cruise my sisters booked out of Tampa that stopped in Cozumel. I was mid-process of getting a new passport for a different trip to replace my years expired passport and unlikely to come in time.

I ended up bringing 2 official copies of my birth certificate along with ID, leaving one hidden in my room as backup since it couldn’t hurt if the other got damaged/lost.

Everything worked out fine and zero issues for me getting off and on. But I think you also need to be willing to take the chance of worst case scenarios. I wanted to visit Cozumel though it wasn’t detrimental to me personally, so if they said no, OK. If I needed medical attention causing me to miss the boat, would’ve sucked big time even with passport lol. Without was another level of pain, and I still accepted the risk because if push came to shove I had the time and resources to correct without my life/job falling apart. Worth weighing all these worst case scenarios though.

 

[lanejudy]

I know the advice is to have a passport, but does anyone have a story of not having the passport and then running into trouble, or not when in the Bahamas, especially thinking medical issues.

If a member of your party has a medical history that there could be an issue on a cruise, then I can't stress enough how important it is to get a passport. Regardless of the situation, a passport will be required to fly -- whether that is home or to a US hospital or whatever. Delay to obtain an emergency passport could impact treatment. And that goes for both the patient and the family members accompanying the patient.

 

[jwalk03]

Just get a passport. Compared to the cost of a cruise its a drop in the bucket expense and its good for 10 years. (only 5 years for children under 16)

 

[jimmymc]

If you get stuck in The Bahamas for whatever reason, medical or otherwise, you need the US embassy to make you an emergency passport. They are made same-day if you get there in the morning, but only Monday to Friday. I've done it after losing my passport in Germany, and the actual process isn't that big a deal, but it would delay you from getting back to the US in a medical emergency.

 

[Donna M]

As the OP I wanted to know this info for extra members of our party. We have passports but my daughter and her kids do not. I understand they are taking their chances but passports are not cheap for 3 people who will most likely not use them again in the near future.

I lost my ID while going through security to Fl. Going through security to get home was not a problem at all. I actually got escorted through and out the other end before the rest of my party. My carry on was searched but they only used a credit card for ID I believe. With that experience, I was wondering if anyone actually had an experience of having to get back to the US without the passport.

 

[Chemist]

As the OP I wanted to know this info for extra members of our party. We have passports but my daughter and her kids do not. I understand they are taking their chances but passports are not cheap for 3 people who will most likely not use them again in the near future.

I lost my ID while going through security to Fl. Going through security to get home was not a problem at all. I actually got escorted through and out the other end before the rest of my party. My carry on was searched but they only used a credit card for ID I believe. With that experience, I was wondering if anyone actually had an experience of having to get back to the US without the passport.

Losing an ID traveling domestically is a lot less of a big deal than getting back into the country without a passport. (I also once lost my DL traveling.). If nothing goes wrong, no big deal. If they do need to fly home, yes, it is a big deal.

 

[Weedy]

Unfortunately bad things can happen. A woman recently posted on Instagram that her two year old tripped and fell while on the splash pad and severely broke his leg. The ship returned to the Bahamas and they were airlifted out. Fortunately the family of 5 all had passports. Unfortunately they did not have trip insurance.
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