Flatbush Flyer

In nil sapiendo vita iucundissima est.

Your supposition is incorrect. The “bread and butter” of those cruise lines requiring passports includes regularly scheduled “closed loop” itineraries. Perhaps the informed decision-making that keeps them afloat trumps the “reading” and limited experience of some occasional passengers who erroneously believe that legitimacy is more important than common sense. One only needs to peruse the daily news to see the fallacy of that belief.

And yet, with very few exceptions, the bulk of two entire cruise industry segments (premium and luxury) steadfastly refuse to accept a passenger (on any itinerary) without a passport even though your “reading” says there’s “no problemo.”

And, yet, there are plenty of cruise lines that actually “would never allow the birth certificate as a valid document” (for all of the obvious reasons). It appears that you are the one who may be “exaggerating” with a baseless claim. in any case, International cruise travel without a passport, travel/medical insurance and adequate credit card limits remains a recipe for disappointment and inconvenience to self and others.

It appears that you seem to think that folks without a passport will get an automatic (and immediate) OK to their request to CBP et al. to fly home to the US without a passport. Not as easy as you may think. There can be significant time and associated expense to the unprepared passenger in making that “pass” happen (if it happens at all). Add to that the reality that there’s not a US embassy/consulate readily available in every port city. Worse still, the rest of us may experience delay of the ship because of one person’s bad travel choice (e.g., no or inappropriate passport for someone wanting/needing to leave the ship, fly home, etc.). And, yes, requiring all passengers on all itineraries to bring a valid passport actually does save ship’s personnel normally unnecessary support efforts to accommodate the ill-prepared passengers. And it’s that “worse still” scenario that is one of the main reasons why premium/luxury lines require them. It avoids the creation of potentially negative delay consequences for all the other rules-abiding passengers as well as for their staff. On the other hand, the practice of/incentive to those (mostly mass market) cruise lines that don’t require passports of all passengers on all itineraries is obvious. They don’t want to lose the revenues created by every last passenger - particularly those struggling to afford their product. And their concern for the burden it may place on their staff may not be all that important to the line’s management (after all, just look at their unfavorable crew:passenger ratios for evidence of that reality).

When it comes to unexpected problems while traveling abroad, a better observation might be “pay now or pay later.” (hopefully not followed by that other observation: “we told you so.”😳) Seriously: Have you ever given any thought to the reason why most (if not all) premium/luxury cruise lines require ALL passengers on ALL itineraries to have a valid passport? Could it be because their travel abroad knowledge/experience demonstrates that doing so eliminates all sorts of related and potentially significant problems for their passengers?

+1 😎

Traveling to ANY foreign country without a valid passport (just to save $$) is the poster child for “pennywise and pound foolish.” And if some folks who do (or want to) cruise/travel a lot aren’t preparing for unexpected emergencies that might include unplanned international flights, it’s a good bet that they’re not buying travel insurance either. Passports and Travel Insurance? Not necessary….. ……until it’s needed.😳

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/cruise-ship-rescues-68-migrants-finds-5-bodies-111274018

OOPS! I should’ve instead asked if they like those items - expecting the answer to be something like “too exotic.” (Of course, either could pass for a version of “chicken fried steak.”😎) The point I had hoped to make is that “picky” eaters sometimes never get past the name of a dish on a menu.

Some here might say that, perhaps, you should follow your own advice.

Did you not enjoy either the Wiener Schnitzel or Milanese di Vitello on O?

Regardless of what a cruise line’s advertising may say about not leaving without passengers on one of the ship’s tours that returns late, the truth is found in the fine print of your cruise Ticket Contract and Terms & Conditions. I’ve yet to see or hear of a cruise line that truly “guarantees” the performance of its contracted services (which can include ship’s shore excursions, pre/post cruise flights they arrange, etc). As the old saying goes: “Time and Tide wait for no man” (or woman). All sorts of things from weather to sea conditions to port labor issue and ship traffic can (and do) impact the ship’s time flexibility. And let’s not forget that the person with the final say about any changes to port arrival/departure times is the Port Captain (not the ship captain).

Oceania has solo cabins.

This is the Oceania forum. That said, I doubt you’re going to find all the menus online for any cruise line’s meal rotation (which can be longer than 2 weeks). Even then, there’s occasional variation in the rotations and specials, including the regional menus in the Terrace Café at certain ports. And, remember too that, with advance notice, O chefs will make custom dishes for you if the ingredients are readily available.