caribbeanboundinfeb Posted October 4, 2022 Report Share Posted October 4, 2022 If I'm a US citizen departing from a US port and returning to that same port, is a passport necessary? How about entering other countries, will I need a passport?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted October 4, 2022 Report Share Posted October 4, 2022 1 hour ago, caribbeanboundinfeb said: If I'm a US citizen departing from a US port and returning to that same port, is otpassport necessary? How about entering other countries, will I need a passport?? Not for any country in the Caribbean I've ever been to. You can cruise with a DL and official birth certificate. Your only issue would be if you somehow wound up stuck in a foreign country without a passport; then you will have to jump through quite a few hoops to get back into the US. This is highly unlikely, of course, but there is a nonzero chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid4c4 Posted October 4, 2022 Report Share Posted October 4, 2022 While you can cruise with your DL and Birth Certificate the question is should you? If for any reason you end up in a foreign country because of a medical emergency, missed the ship or family member with medical emergency you will have difficulty getting back to the USA. For the cost and little effort I feel passports are a great investment, IMHO. Bill tjcruisers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcruisers Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 I look at it as the passport is good for 10 years, the cost works out to $16 a year. It’s a great investment/cheap insurance policy if you happen to need to return home from one of the ports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanHardlyWait Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 Basically doing this with birth certificate, drivers license, etc is a very very bad idea. So many things can go wrong. tjcruisers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luly Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 Depending on the cruise terminal, I’ve seen the lines for those with birth certificates ridiculously long and sooooo slow, while the passport line zips through with the new facial recognition systems that some terminals have. Time and risk of missing your flight home is enough for a passport in that case. But like others said, you don’t want to end up stuck in an emergency situation in another country without a passport. tjcruisers and KJones 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 9 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said: Basically doing this with birth certificate, drivers license, etc is a very very bad idea. So many things can go wrong. Just playing devil's advocate and bringing some statistics into the conversation... There's an extremely low chance that anything goes wrong. You're far more likely to get into a serious car accident just driving to work or the supermarket but you likely don't think twice about driving. I agree, you might as well just get a passport, the downside is a relatively small expenditure spread over 10 years, but calling the DL/BC option a "very very bad idea" is hyperbole IMO. Pooch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 Perhaps, but I think taking unnecessary risks is unwise. We each assess our own risks. Passports are recommended by travel experts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 38 minutes ago, ChessE4 said: We each assess our own risks. Pretty much this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zacharius Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 It's kind of like the Jurassic Park line to me - "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." In your case, yes, you could. But as many others have stated before me...should you? I would not feel comfortable leaving the country without one or even both (I'm a dual citizen) of my passports. Doesn't matter how close or how far, to me, there are too many risks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorntor Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 DW forgot her passport once. RCCL's "official response according to the person who answered our phone call" was "you can board the ship, but will be unable to leave the ship in foreign ports." Another day and another RCCL agent might tell you something different. We all know that the port security seldom check for passports and that a sail pass is all they look at. However, as pointed out by other contributors, there is always a chance of something out of the ordinary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcruisers Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 39 minutes ago, Thorntor said: DW forgot her passport once. RCCL's "official response according to the person who answered our phone call" was "you can board the ship, but will be unable to leave the ship in foreign ports." Another day and another RCCL agent might tell you something different. We all know that the port security seldom check for passports and that a sail pass is all they look at. However, as pointed out by other contributors, there is always a chance of something out of the ordinary. I always take my passport when leaving ship, even though they say you only seed your sail card. There was one place that was checking passports getting back on (think it was Bahamas) by the Bahamas authorties. Fortunately we had them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl_nj Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 4 hours ago, tjcruisers said: I always take my passport when leaving ship, even though they say you only seed your sail card. There was one place that was checking passports getting back on (think it was Bahamas) by the Bahamas authorties. Fortunately we had them. I've never had an issue just showing my driver's license at the port. I almost always leave my passport on the ship. 5 hours ago, Thorntor said: DW forgot her passport once. RCCL's "official response according to the person who answered our phone call" was "you can board the ship, but will be unable to leave the ship in foreign ports." Another day and another RCCL agent might tell you something different. What a strange thing to say; it's always wonderful when customer service agents just make stuff up if they don't know the correct answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TessOR Posted October 6, 2022 Report Share Posted October 6, 2022 The issue would be if you needed to fly home for any reason from a non-US port. For that, you would need a passport. That being said, I lost my passport in St Thomas a few years ago and while it was a lot of weirdness to overcome, we were still allowed to ultimately come home. All of that aside - I always recommend people get their passport, make copies and leave them in the safe and with a family member at home. I know this is overkill, but again - I am someone that lost a passport once upon a time. Besides...... you can get stamps in it to show where you have been Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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