Passport Question

[thlarock]

First time cruiser. What is everyone’s opinion on getting a passport book, passport card, or just birth certificate when going on cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay? I guess the risk of not getting the passport book would be if someone got sick and needed to be flown home, with the other two you would not be able to?? The passports are quite expensive for 3 of us so not sure what to do. Opinions?

Thx - Tom

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We got both the book adn the card for each of the 5 of us. As much travel as we do, it's an investment

 

[KashasMom]

I will be extremely surprised if almost everyone responding here doesn't recommend getting a passport book but we've cruised many times with family/friends who didn't have passport books. Yes, emergencies happen so it's really up to you to decide what your comfort level is. (Mine is pretty high.) BTW, in case of an emergency, I'm sure there is a way to get an emergency passport. In fact, I read about someone who missed the ship (left the ship to look for his older child who was already on the ship). I think the only issue he had was waiting for the U.S. Consulate to open on Monday (it was a weekend).

 

[hcox31]

My opinion (we can't travel without them because we are from Canada so take my opinion with a grain of salt): why risk it? You're spending thousands on a cruise. Passports for 3 people would be 300-500? And worth the piece of mind.

 

[JaimeInParker]

I would get a passport - safe rather then sorry

 

[Corwin]

In my opinion, you should always have a passport book in case of an issue in which you have to fly home. This could be due to a medical emergency or missing the ship's departure from a port.

And if you're going to get a passport book, you may as well get the passport card as well. For one, it counts as another form of ID. I use the card instead of my driver's license for TSA identification at airports, and to get on and off the ship in cruise ports. It's certainly more recognizable to foreign security personnel than expecting them to recognize the validity of 50 different state driver's licenses.

Passport books (and passport cards) are also good for employment eligibility verification purposes. If you have one of these, you don't need to show your Social Security card to a new employer.

 

[allison0523]

We all have passports and it's truly a personal decision as you don't need them for this cruise. Everyone here will tell you to get them, better safe than sorry, etc. But I actually wonder how many people have had an emergency where they needed a passport on a closed loop cruise? Yes, emergencies can happen but how many people cruise ever week and what percentage of them actually have emergencies and need a passport to fly immediately? And it's not like you can't get an emergency passport. It would just take time and money. We have been on a couple cruises with my parents, who are older. They didn't want to buy passports so they just used their DL and birth certificate. No problems. What I would purchase though, is travel insurance.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

First time cruiser. What is everyone’s opinion on getting a passport book, passport card, or just birth certificate when going on cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay? I guess the risk of not getting the passport book would be if someone got sick and needed to be flown home, with the other two you would not be able to?? The passports are quite expensive for 3 of us so not sure what to do. Opinions?

Thx - Tom

Passport book for me.

If you don't want to pay for the book, there's really no need to pay for the card, as a birth certificate & government issued photo ID works just as well (since the difference between the passport book and card is that you can't fly internationally with the card), and doesn't cost you anything.

 

[bumbershoot]

Passport book or just BC for a closed loop cruise. The card won’t get me home and will just have been a waste of money that could have gone towards the emergency passport. The BC does the same job as the card. And you already have it.

I personally have a passport. Hope springs eternal for random international trips, so I keep it.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Passport books for us. Although we have not had a medical emergency while on a cruise, I did end up in an Orlando-area hospital while visiting WDW a number of years ago and adult DD had to cancel a cruise just this past summer and fly home from her pre-cruise stay at WDW. Both cases were a result of unexpected and sudden medical issues. Dealing with getting an emergency passport while someone is suffering through a medical emergency is not something we want to do.

 

[celebrationej]

I agree with the other posters - I recommend getting the passport book. I always get anxious about leaving my passport in the room, so I make a photocopy of the photograph page and carry it with me off the ship. I'm not sure how helpful a copy of the photo page is in the event of a true emergency, but I also carry the passport card and my state driver's license off the ship with me, and I figure a CM could bring me my passport book from where it is safely locked in the safe in the stateroom. Hopefully you'll never need the book, but it's a relatively reasonable cost since most passports last 10 years. And renewing is way easier than getting a new passport, so you just have to go through the hassle the first time you get one.