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Are passports required? What are your experiences with it?


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Hello. Looking to book a cruise for June 10-17th, departing from Cape Liberty NJ and returning to Cape Liberty NJ. It is the oasis of the seas and stops in the Bahamas if I am remembering correctly. 
From what I’ve seen online, I’ve received mixed messages in terms of passports being required or not. Since the cruise is so soon and we unfortunately were not able to pay for it sooner, we are really short on time. It’s five of us going, and I plan on getting my passport next week. However I am nervous that the five of us will not have passports in time for the cruise. I have read online that this type of cruise would allow for birth certificates, and was wondering if anyone could really confirm that they’ve used this ( mainly since Covid) 

Did you experience any issues? Two of them are five years old, and my mom has to get a new birth certificate as well which takes 5-8 weeks alone. Passports seem to be difficult at this point. Just hoping I can get any insight on this.!

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18 hours ago, heythere said:

Hello. Looking to book a cruise for June 10-17th, departing from Cape Liberty NJ and returning to Cape Liberty NJ. It is the oasis of the seas and stops in the Bahamas if I am remembering correctly. 
From what I’ve seen online, I’ve received mixed messages in terms of passports being required or not. Since the cruise is so soon and we unfortunately were not able to pay for it sooner, we are really short on time. It’s five of us going, and I plan on getting my passport next week. However I am nervous that the five of us will not have passports in time for the cruise. I have read online that this type of cruise would allow for birth certificates, and was wondering if anyone could really confirm that they’ve used this ( mainly since Covid) 

Did you experience any issues? Two of them are five years old, and my mom has to get a new birth certificate as well which takes 5-8 weeks alone. Passports seem to be difficult at this point. Just hoping I can get any insight on this.!

It is best for everyone to have a valid passport that doesn’t expire for at least 6 months after your trip.  Should an emergency occur, you cannot just fly home from a foreign country without the passport.  Should someone become sick or injured and have to stay in the foreign country for an extended period, you will probably need to fly home.

Can you cruise without a passport? Yes, In some cases.  You may be too close to your timeframe to get the passport now and if someone needs a new birth certificate, you may not get that back in time either.  From a stress point of view, I would not try to cruise this June and take this time to get passports for anyone that needs ones and plan a cruise for later in the year or next year.

 

good luck.

Edited by Reigert2008
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16 hours ago, heythere said:

Hello. Looking to book a cruise for June 10-17th, departing from Cape Liberty NJ and returning to Cape Liberty NJ. It is the oasis of the seas and stops in the Bahamas if I am remembering correctly. 
From what I’ve seen online, I’ve received mixed messages in terms of passports being required or not. Since the cruise is so soon and we unfortunately were not able to pay for it sooner, we are really short on time. It’s five of us going, and I plan on getting my passport next week. However I am nervous that the five of us will not have passports in time for the cruise. I have read online that this type of cruise would allow for birth certificates, and was wondering if anyone could really confirm that they’ve used this ( mainly since Covid) 

Did you experience any issues? Two of them are five years old, and my mom has to get a new birth certificate as well which takes 5-8 weeks alone. Passports seem to be difficult at this point. Just hoping I can get any insight on this.!

Some years ago, we had a last minute panic when we could not find our passports. We were 24 hours from leaving and had no way to get replacements. So we did use the althernatives.

For me, naturalization certificate, and birth certificate for Sheryl.

Getting on and off the ship, was not an issue as we had the appropriate legal documentation. However, we did feel very uncomfortable the whole time we were outside the USA, and breathed a big sigh of relief when we were allowed back in. Had we needed to disembark, missed the ship, or had any other reason for needing alternative travel, we would have had to jump through hoops to get home.

So my thought would be passport, passport and passport.  (we eventually replaced ours)

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As stated, a Passport IS highly recommended for travel, ANYWHERE.  

However, you don't need one to go to the Bahamas or even the vast majority of the Caribbean countries.  A valid birth certificate and government issued ID is all that is required.  Most Caribbean Countries/islands I've visited don't check for anything anyway, you just walk off and into the market place(s).  It's, for the most part (I haven't been to the Bahamas in years though), getting on the ship on embarkation day that it is required and upon return to the U.S. going through Customs......  Even when you are getting back on the ship in a foreign port, I've only been asked to show my "Set Sail Pass". 

Having said all that, I wouldn't count on all ports and all situations being the same as mine.  So, you never know and a Passport IS always highly recommended.

In addition to having a passport when you travel, I'd make sure you take it with you when you go into any/all foreign ports/countries.

Edited by jay1021
Take passport with you
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You probably have enough time to do expedited passport service by mail (5-7 weeks). If not, there are a number of passport offices where you can make an appointment and do it all in person (your appointment has to be within 5 days of your travel date, though you can call and make the appointment now).

You can probably also expedite your mom's birth certificate (or drive to the county's public health department if relatively close).

 

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I've cruised to Mexico, Roatan, Belize, and Bermuda without a passport and had no issues. However, if you head to the post office asap to apply you should have all of them in time for your cruise. My hubs and I booked an overseas cruise for next summer and didn't do any research except for on the State Dept. website so when I read 8-12 weeks we decided to apply super early and just get it over with. We also didn't want to pay the expedited fee. We both went in the week of Jan 24 and we both had our passports in hand within 21 days or so. I was shocked until I joined this board and saw that everyone talking about getting passports were getting them pretty quickly. lol 

It always worried me to travel out of the country without a passport just in case there was an accident or a glitch in plans but for all 4 of us, it would cost more than the cruise for us to get them. Luckily all 3 of our previous trips were issue free but we are now getting our passports and spreading out the cost over the next couple months so its more manageable. 

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Oasis June 10th ports of call are Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Perfect Day.  If there was ever a itinerary where I would feel comfortable with just a birth certificate, that would be it.  My husband, kids, and I have passports, but my mother in law did this itinerary on Oasis in September 2021 and Anthem in March 2022 both out of NJ with just her birth certificate and license and had no problem.

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