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Passport requirements


Joy34

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39 minutes ago, Joy34 said:

Me and my fiancé will be cruising to The Bahamas next month. His passport expires 1 month after cruise date. I see some places require 6 months left on the passport. Has anyone ran into any issues with this? 

Bahamas Visa and Passport Requirements"  To enter the Bahamas, you must have a passportvalid for at least six months from the date of departure. British and American passport holders can enter with less than sixmonths remaining on their passports if visiting for up to 21 days.

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1 hour ago, Deerman6040 said:

Technically,  there's no need for a passport on a closed loop cruise originating in the U.S.A...(same embarking and debarking port)

... but you need a picture I.D. (i.e.: passport , driver's license, etc.) to enter and leave Bahamas from the pier when travelling on a cruise ship when doing excursions, etc..

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13 hours ago, Deerman6040 said:

Technically,  there's no need for a passport on a closed loop cruise originating in the U.S.A...(same embarking and debarking port)

On our last cruise, we could not leave or board the ship without our passports when we docked in the Bahamas...with the travel restrictions in place right now I wouldn't be surprised if they tightened up on those requirements 

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2 hours ago, RCIDreamer96 said:

On our last cruise, we could not leave or board the ship without our passports when we docked in the Bahamas...with the travel restrictions in place right now I wouldn't be surprised if they tightened up on those requirements 

If you are an American citizen, embarking from a US port, this is not a true statement. 

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15 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

Bahamas Visa and Passport Requirements"  To enter the Bahamas, you must have a passportvalid for at least six months from the date of departure. British and American passport holders can enter with less than sixmonths remaining on their passports if visiting for up to 21 days.

When on a cruise, you never “enter” the country; you are considered “in transit”. These passport rules have no bearing in this circumstance. 

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18 minutes ago, TXcruzer said:

When on a cruise, you never “enter” the country; you are considered “in transit”. These passport rules have no bearing in this circumstance. 

Be careful with a broad statement like this.  Not all countries have the same definition of "in transit". 

Many short Bahamas cruises begin with a stop in Nassau followed by a stop at CocoCay.  During most of the cruise you are in the Bahamas which is how people are able to legally be married on CocoCay since Bahamian regulations require a stay of at least 24 hours before you can.  Some non-WHTI cruise ships guests may require a VISA to take a cruise that stops in Nassau.  They don't consider it an in transit situation or else a VISA wouldn't be required.  

New Zealand is another example of a country that has declared cruise ship visitors to not be in transit.  Their rules limit in transit to people moving between flights where the visitor doesn't sightsee in New Zealand.  

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15 hours ago, Deerman6040 said:

Technically,  there's no need for a passport on a closed loop cruise originating in the U.S.A...(same embarking and debarking port)

U.S. does not require a passport for a closed loop sailing but the foreign country you may be visiting on the sailing may require it. In that case you will need it or you could be denied boarding. Best advice is to get one.

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1 hour ago, TXcruzer said:

If you are an American citizen, embarking from a US port, this is not a true statement. 

What I am saying is that I had to have my passport with me, this is what I was told when I was boarding the ship in the bahamas- they took our SeaPass and our passport, and then gave it back to us. I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but this is what they did for us. @twangster has this ever happened to you? 

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

Be careful with a broad statement like this.  Not all countries have the same definition of "in transit". 

Many short Bahamas cruises begin with a stop in Nassau followed by a stop at CocoCay.  During most of the cruise you are in the Bahamas which is how people are able to legally be married on CocoCay since Bahamian regulations require a stay of at least 24 hours before you can.  Some non-WHTI cruise ships guests may require a VISA to take a cruise that stops in Nassau.  They don't consider it an in transit situation or else a VISA wouldn't be required.  

New Zealand is another example of a country that has declared cruise ship visitors to not be in transit.  Their rules limit in transit to people moving between flights where the visitor doesn't sightsee in New Zealand.  

100% Correctly stated!!!!

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55 minutes ago, RCIDreamer96 said:

What I am saying is that I had to have my passport with me, this is what I was told when I was boarding the ship in the bahamas- they took our SeaPass and our passport, and then gave it back to us. I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but this is what they did for us. @twangster has this ever happened to you? 

Nassau requires ship seapass card and government issued photo ID.  It does not have to be a passport.  I've used a DL (with my passport in the safe on the ship), I've used a passport card (with my passport book in the safe on the ship) and I've used a TWIC card for ID purposes (with my passport in the safe on the ship).

The photo ID is to verify the Seapass card is valid for that person otherwise if someone found a Seapass card on the ground they could try to access the port facility and make it onto the pier.  The Nassau terminal security workers are there to prevent that from happening.  By matching ID and SeaPass card they validate everyone on the pier is supposed to be there.   That is a requirement of any secure marine facility and in theory all ports in all countries should be checking for government issued ID along with a SeaPass card.

This isn't for immigration purposes.  Immigration is handled in mass for all guests when ships are cleared upon arrival based on the manifest.

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1 hour ago, RCIDreamer96 said:

What I am saying is that I had to have my passport with me, this is what I was told when I was boarding the ship in the bahamas- they took our SeaPass and our passport, and then gave it back to us. I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but this is what they did for us. @twangster has this ever happened to you? 

Are you saying that you embarked in Nassau ?  If so, then yes, you would have to have your passport.  If you are saying that you just reboarded the ship after getting off for the day, then no.  No passport is required. 

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Each time I have cruised, I have never had a passport.  I just had my Drivers License and SeaPass each time we got on and off the ship.  We have cruised to Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, Mexico and Grand Cayman.   I am going to Alaska/Canada in June and looking into the passport card because we are going to Canada. 

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9 hours ago, twangster said:

Be careful with a broad statement like this.  Not all countries have the same definition of "in transit". 

Many short Bahamas cruises begin with a stop in Nassau followed by a stop at CocoCay.  During most of the cruise you are in the Bahamas which is how people are able to legally be married on CocoCay since Bahamian regulations require a stay of at least 24 hours before you can.  Some non-WHTI cruise ships guests may require a VISA to take a cruise that stops in Nassau.  They don't consider it an in transit situation or else a VISA wouldn't be required.  

New Zealand is another example of a country that has declared cruise ship visitors to not be in transit.  Their rules limit in transit to people moving between flights where the visitor doesn't sightsee in New Zealand.  

Thank you for the education 

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20 hours ago, twangster said:

Nassau requires ship seapass card and government issued photo ID.  It does not have to be a passport.  I've used a DL (with my passport in the safe on the ship), I've used a passport card (with my passport book in the safe on the ship) and I've used a TWIC card for ID purposes (with my passport in the safe on the ship).

The photo ID is to verify the Seapass card is valid for that person otherwise if someone found a Seapass card on the ground they could try to access the port facility and make it onto the pier.  The Nassau terminal security workers are there to prevent that from happening.  By matching ID and SeaPass card they validate everyone on the pier is supposed to be there.   That is a requirement of any secure marine facility and in theory all ports in all countries should be checking for government issued ID along with a SeaPass card.

This isn't for immigration purposes.  Immigration is handled in mass for all guests when ships are cleared upon arrival based on the manifest.

Thank you! That explains why they took my passport- for verification. I was told by someone at guest services that a passport was preferred- didn't even think about my DL and she didn't mention anything about an alternative since I had my passport with me!! 

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1 hour ago, RCIDreamer96 said:

Thank you! That explains why they took my passport- for verification. I was told by someone at guest services that a passport was preferred- didn't even think about my DL and she didn't mention anything about an alternative since I had my passport with me!! 

Maybe I'm being dense but you've said multiple times they "took" your passport.  I've been interpreting that as they actually took it from you (as in they kept it while you were in Nassau) which doesn't make any sense to me.  Are you saying "took" as in took it out of your hands, looked at it, and immediately handed it back?  That's just going through a security checkpoint.  I thought you were dealing with something more serious!

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21 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:

Maybe I'm being dense but you've said multiple times they "took" your passport.  I've been interpreting that as they actually took it from you (as in they kept it while you were in Nassau) which doesn't make any sense to me.  Are you saying "took" as in took it out of your hands, looked at it, and immediately handed it back?  That's just going through a security checkpoint.  I thought you were dealing with something more serious!

Yes, they took it to look at it and then handed it back, not that they held it from me. Sorry I should've been more clear on that portion ! My apologies

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