passport

[ShannonR]

I am sure this have been asked before, so please forgive me I was wondering if it is an absolute must to have a passport to cruise? My kid's passports have expired and I need to renew them for our upcoming January cruise. However, I was reading that you DON'T have to have a passport if you are sailing in and out of the same port?? Passports are expensive when you have 4 kids, so if I don't have to renew their passports, I would rather save and spend that money on the ship!

Shannon

 

[maria-fan-22]

You DO NOT need a passport on closed loop cruises to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, or Canada if you are laving from a U.S. Port.

However, if for any reason you need to return to the U.S. from The Bahamas, etc. You will need at least a passport card.

If you choose to not have a passport, you will need a valid birth certificate with everyones name on it(i.e. mom and dad)

Be safe, get a passport…

 

[kerstfan1]

u dont need it but if u have to leave by air from the bahama's u need a pasport

 

[lbgraves]

The passport card won't get you from the Bahamas to the U.S., or anywhere via air so those are not worth it to cruise with. If something happens, you will be issued a temporary passport by the U.S. consulate to follow up with once you are home. You are not going to be left stranded in another country if you are ill. That's what emergency repatriation is in place for.

 

[cyclenut]

I am sure this have been asked before, so please forgive me I was wondering if it is an absolute must to have a passport to cruise? My kid's passports have expired and I need to renew them for our upcoming January cruise. However, I was reading that you DON'T have to have a passport if you are sailing in and out of the same port?? Passports are expensive when you have 4 kids, so if I don't have to renew their passports, I would rather save and spend that money on the ship!

Shannon

You unknowingly asked one of those questions that always seems to strike a debate. To answer your question directly, no, you don't NEED a passport on a "closed loop" cruise. That is any cruise leaving a US city and returning to that same city. You can disembark in a foreign port without one as well. About the only trouble you will have is if you need to return directly to the US from a foreign country and what you do then is you work through the US Embassy to get you back to the US. You won't be stranded, but it will take you more time.

There are situtations where you do need a passport to cruise. If you are flying into a foreign country and departing from there, you'll need a passport (e.g. Alaska cruise departing from Vancouver). If you are taking a one way cruise such as a repositioning cruise, Panama Canal or Trans Atlantic, you'll need a passport.

The debate is whether or not you *should* get a passport. That is a personal preference.