Should we renew our Passports??

[tinyrose]

I'll renew! I was planning to anyway but just kept wondering. We'll just get it done!

 

Good choice! :)

 

I was going to recommend renewing. :D I would be a Nervous Nellie traveling out of the USA without my passport. My reasoning is a little different than those all ready listed. If something happened to my elderly mom, my adult kids, or my grandkids and I needed/wanted to fly home while cruising, I want the option of catching a flight home asap.

[Saint Greg]

<And you might eventually need them to vote> <sarcasm>.

 

You should need photo ID to vote. It's insane to me that in some states someone can steal your water bill and vote for you. Every time I board they have a picture of me and ask me to take my sunglasses off. It's too bad our votes aren't protected as well as our cruise ships are.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Saint Greg

[karessamom]

You should need photo ID to vote. It's insane to me that in some states someone can steal your water bill and vote for you.

 

That's another issue that I won't get into

[Saint Greg]

That's another issue that I won't get into

 

I didn't start it. I'm not going to let it slide by as "sarcasm".

[mapsmith]

You should need photo ID to vote. It's insane to me that in some states someone can steal your water bill and vote for you. Every time I board they have a picture of me and ask me to take my sunglasses off. It's too bad our votes aren't protected as well as our cruise ships are.

 

Yeah, but here in Arizona, a Passport is not adequate ID to vote. They say it is because there is no address on Passport. They say it should be acceptable to vote for National Office but because it does not even have the State on it, no go.

[RubyGold]

May I add something else.....

 

My hubby and I get a stamp from all the ports we visit in the passports (except cozumel, who refuse to do it anymore)

 

It's a fantastic keepsake to put with all of the 'memories' we collect on our journeys.

 

I live outside the U.S so I need a passport to travel, but I'd get one anyway even if I didn't.

[loohoo1]

I was at the USPS a few days ago to get my 18 yo son a first-time passport and the agent said that US passports actually expire 6 months PRIOR to their actual expiration date. WHAT????

 

I asked her how anyone would possibly know this as I'm sure everyone goes by the expiration date listed on their passport. She told me this when I told her mine expires next year and she said, although each country is different, some countires will not accept a US passport if it is within 6 months of expiring.

 

Crazy but something you should know...

[PalmTreeBound]

From Carnival's website -It is also recommended that all guests travel with a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond completion of travel.

 

I have a friend who recently was going to fly outside the country. Her passport was valid 6 months - LESS 2 days after her return flight. They would not let her on the plane, and she was out the money for her airline ticket.

[Keith1010]

I would renew it.

 

Keith

[mousey]

No way would I leave the U.S. without an up-to-date, valid passport.:eek:

[treasure4two]

Ditto, you really don't have a choice.

 

Totally agree with Kirk. I am 69 and just renews my passport and will again when it comes up. The cost is minor compared to problems if something came up and you need it immediately. I actually, when I was a TWS flight attendant, did not realize my passport was expired when I left the US, so I had to sit in the US Embassy/passport division In London all day to get a new one. Thought I was going to have a heart attack! I was lucky there was a place thereto help me, but with the cruise ports most of us go to, doubt you would have that luck.

[winddawn]

No way would I leave the U.S. without an up-to-date, valid passport.:eek:

Ditto.

 

"U.S. Citizens

 

Carnival highly recommends all guests travel with a passport (valid for at least six months beyond completion of travel). Although a passport is not required for U.S. citizens taking cruises that begin & end in the same U.S. port, travelling with a passport enhances your disembarkation experience, as delays may be expected upon your return to the U.S. if you do not have one. Additionally, passports make it easier for you to fly from the U.S. to a foreign port should you miss your scheduled port of embarkation, or need to fly back to the U.S. for emergency reasons."

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/New_Passport_Requirements.aspx?icid=HSiteSearchPassport

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/renew.html

[sparks1093]

Ditto, you really don't have a choice.

 

Actually for a closed loop cruise there is a choice. Fact is for an open jaw sailing there is also a choice. Whether or not a passport is the right choice for cruising is a judgment call on the part of the traveler.

[sparks1093]

I was at the USPS a few days ago to get my 18 yo son a first-time passport and the agent said that US passports actually expire 6 months PRIOR to their actual expiration date. WHAT????

 

I asked her how anyone would possibly know this as I'm sure everyone goes by the expiration date listed on their passport. She told me this when I told her mine expires next year and she said, although each country is different, some countires will not accept a US passport if it is within 6 months of expiring.

 

Crazy but something you should know...

 

From Carnival's website -It is also recommended that all guests travel with a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond completion of travel.

 

I have a friend who recently was going to fly outside the country. Her passport was valid 6 months - LESS 2 days after her return flight. They would not let her on the plane, and she was out the money for her airline ticket.

 

Some countries do impose a six month rule for visitors but no country in the Western Hemisphere that I am aware of has such a requirement.

[RubyGold]

Some countries do impose a six month rule for visitors but no country in the Western Hemisphere that I am aware of has such a requirement.

 

Actually the United States imposes that very rule for anybody that needs a Visa/ESTA waiver for entry.

[sparks1093]

Actually the United States imposes that very rule for anybody that needs a Visa/ESTA waiver for entry.

 

Yes, the US imposes that rule for visitors, but not for US citizens. A US citizen may enter the US up until the day of expiration on their passport.

[RWolver672]

We use ours any time we fly, even from one state to another and have used it to travel to Canada on a train. We renewed ours when it came up because the way our government works, they could change the rules overnight that you HAD to have one to travel on a cruise. Then everybody would be scrambling to get one.

 

I'll never forget the Customs Agent when coming back to Michigan from Canada on a train. We handed her our passports,and put our luggage on the table for her to inspect. She looked at the passports, said "I wish all travelers had passports. Makes it so much easier for us." Then she waved us on without even inspecting our luggage.

[sparks1093]

they could change the rules overnight that you HAD to have one to travel on a cruise...Makes it so much easier for us

 

Uh-huh, when is the last time our government made any change overnight? The regulations are final and as I understand it any changes would require at least a 60 day notice before implementation.

 

I am not going to spend my money to make a government employee's job easier (and FWIW we spent about that much time with the CBP officer coming back off our last cruise presenting government ID's and birth certificates, so just how much easier would it make their job?).

[Carnival Cutie]

Where do you plan on cruising? I renewed my passport a couple of years ago and got both the passport and the passport card. The card is cheaper if the cost is a factor and it can be used as ID for a cruise depending on where you're going. I know it can be used for Caribbean cruises because I use it all the time. If you plan on going to Europe the standard passport is likely needed. Just a suggestion. The card costs $40.:)

[skiwee]

You should need photo ID to vote. It's insane to me that in some states someone can steal your water bill and vote for you. Every time I board they have a picture of me and ask me to take my sunglasses off. It's too bad our votes aren't protected as well as our cruise ships are.

 

 

I'm in Maryland. I've never even been asked for any ID to vote. They just ask my name and address.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[pungo3]

As others have said, you don't NEED a valid passport to cruise if you are a US Citizen, cruising from and to the US. However, for my own peace of mind, I'd never leave the US without one. The chances are you will never need it, but if you need it and don't have it, life gets extremely complicated. It's just a personal choice, and I choose to be cautious and have my passport.:D

[mzloolue]

 

Also, having a passport makes sudden trips possible. We were able to take advantage of stupid low fares from Arizona to London because we had the passports in hand. (Stupid fares were $400 per person round trip.) Without a passport we would have just been wishing.

 

I keep hoping for something like this.

That something wonderful will come up at the last minute and I will be ready.:)

 

You never know...

[karessamom]

Where do you plan on cruising? I renewed my passport a couple of years ago and got both the passport and the passport card. The card is cheaper if the cost is a factor and it can be used as ID for a cruise depending on where you're going. I know it can be used for Caribbean cruises because I use it all the time. If you plan on going to Europe the standard passport is likely needed. Just a suggestion. The card costs $40.:)

 

Will the cards work for Caribbean?? We're going on Magic out of Galveston on the western itinerary that goes to Cozumel, Jamaica and Grand caymon and if you have a valid book(doesn't expire til march ) can you just renew for the card only?? That would be a whole lot more convenient than the book anyway I thought you had to get the book and the card or just the book??

[sparks1093]

Will the cards work for Caribbean?? We're going on Magic out of Galveston on the western itinerary that goes to Cozumel, Jamaica and Grand caymon and if you have a valid book(doesn't expire til march ) can you just renew for the card only?? That would be a whole lot more convenient than the book anyway I thought you had to get the book and the card or just the book??

 

You should just be able to get the card, but that can't be used for international air travel. You would be able to use the card for open and closed loop cruises in the Western Hemisphere and to cross the land borders.

[CrazyCanuckCruzer]

I would definitely renew - what if you miss the ship in one of the non-US ports? You will need a passport to book flight to the next port or back home...