Passports?

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Can we go on the excursions in Nassau without it? I was looking at the Snorkeling tour. Wed be leaving from Port Canaveral, and Returning to Port Canaveral.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Can we go on the excursions in Nassau without it? I was looking at the Snorkeling tour. Wed be leaving from Port Canaveral, and Returning to Port Canaveral.
Yes. You can do pretty much anything you want as long as you are getting on the ship at the end.

Where you would normally need one is on one of the relocation cruises where you will by flying home from a foreign country of if you had to fly out of one of the ports in case of an emergency, getting arrested or missing the boat.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Ok. SO we dont even need to look at the expense of getting a passport at all then?
You don't need to, but it is a good idea to have them.

We did not have them on our first two cruises and everything went fine. We had them on out third and everything went fine then too.

A friend of my wife's had his and needed it in Nassau, because the moron got himself arrested and missed the boat and had to fly back home.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You don't need to, but it is a good idea to have them.

We did not have them on our first two cruises and everything went fine. We had them on out third and everything went fine then too.

A friend of my wife's had his and needed it in Nassau, because the moron got himself arrested and missed the boat and had to fly back home.
hahaha what a story! We have like a year and a half before we would go, i think once we physically have it booked, we will look at getting one. i rather have it and not need it, than not have it and need it. I guess its my paranoia kicking in.
 

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
Not really paranoia, more like insurance. They will allow you to travel without it, but if there is an emergency and you need it, they will deny any responsibility and you'll be on your own to deal with consulates or embassies in hopes of getting yourself home.

"It'll never happen to me" are inevitably famous last words.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Not really paranoia, more like insurance. They will allow you to travel without it, but if there is an emergency and you need it, they will deny any responsibility and you'll be on your own to deal with consulates or embassies in hopes of getting yourself home.

"It'll never happen to me" are inevitably famous last words.
I highly recommend getting a passport for any international travel, not the passport card. For adults it's good for 10 years and definitely worth it.


For the pretty low cost it seems worth it to me.
 

donsullivan

Premium Member
I've never understood the concept of planning a cruise and trying to 'save money' by trying to find ways to avoid getting a Passport. It has always been my belief that you should not ever leave the borders of the US without a full and valid passport book- no exceptions. While you'll hear countless stories of people who 'got away with it', a little research will give you plenty of others with MAJOR issues because they didn't have one or didn't carry it with them when they got off the ship in the foreign country (yes the Bahamas is a foreign country). The Passport Card was designed solely for those folks who drive across the US and Canadian borders who (barring injury) have full control over their return across the border or as identification for US domestic air travel.

All you need is to have something unexpected go wrong while onshore without a valid passport that results in missing the ship and you are in a world of trouble. Without a full valid passport (you cannot use a Passport Card for international air travel) you cannot fly back home either for an emergency or because you missed the ship. It just doesn't seem worth it to try and save on that item when planning a trip.
 

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
You will need a passport or a birth certificate. They ask to see one when you board and customs asks when you get off of the ship. We got passports for the whole family in case something happened I would not want the hassle of trying to get my kids or myself back into the country. Plus I don't feel right carrying around my birth certificate. If that is lost or stolen that is an easy way for someone to steal your identity.
 

NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
We had relatives that were on a cruise and their child trip, fell, and broke his arm. If they didn't have passports, they would've had a very difficult time trying to arrange a flight home as they were unable to return home on the cruise ship. I agree with everyone else, get a passport! Even if you leave it in your safe (which is what we do, unless instructed otherwise at some ports of call), make sure you always take the ships info in case you need to contact it in case of emergency. We just take the current Navigator with us off the ship, which has all that info on it.
 

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
We had relatives that were on a cruise and their child trip, fell, and broke his arm. If they didn't have passports, they would've had a very difficult time trying to arrange a flight home as they were unable to return home on the cruise ship. I agree with everyone else, get a passport! Even if you leave it in your safe (which is what we do, unless instructed otherwise at some ports of call), make sure you always take the ships info in case you need to contact it in case of emergency. We just take the current Navigator with us off the ship, which has all that info on it.

I also take a picture of our passport picture page so I have that info in case it is lost.
 

donsullivan

Premium Member
In addition to carrying a photo of your passport I strongly recommend taking the Passports with you when in port (with the possible exception of Castaway Cay on a DCL cruise). They'll be useless to you in the room safe if you miss the ship and need to fly to either next port, or home. A photograph a passport will not get you on a plane no matter how much of an 'emergency' it is.
 
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NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
In addition to carrying a photo of your passport I strongly recommend taking the Passports with you when in port. They'll be useless to you in the room safe if you miss the ship and need to fly to either next port, or home.
We take them with us if we're exploring on our own or on a non-DCL excursion for that very reason, otherwise we leave them in our room on a DCL excursion and just take copies. Some areas we've cruised to have had high rates of pickpocketing, hence why we've only had copies and not the real thing. I've also read that in case of the ship leaving without you, the cruise line will leave the contents of your safe with the Port Agent.
 

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