What ACTUALLY happens if you miss the ship without a passport?!

[cruising_diva]

Just curious. I know you can't fly internationally without a passport book. So what HAPPENS to you if you miss the ship and do not have a valid passport?

Would you have to GET A passport issued to be able to get home?

[Tapi]

There are procedures to get you back in the USA through the local embassy wherever you're stranded.

 

 

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[bruisin4cruisin]

Depends on where you are, I guess.

If you are in St.Thomas, not a big deal. St.Maarten? Issues and delays.

From what I have heard, you go to the Consulate and get a temporary, which will take a while, to get you back home.

You can carry copies of the important pages of the passport, if you do not wish to carry it off the ship with you. A lot of people keep a copy in a plastic bag for "just in case".

[factotumdeb]

I scan and email myself a copy of our passports so they are accessible from any computer, any where, just in case.

[n6uqqq]

IN Mexico you end up with that marine our government has not brought home. Actually you will find a way back but it will surely be costly and with time delay.

[SadieN]

Depends on where you are, I guess.

If you are in St.Thomas, not a big deal. St.Maarten? Issues and delays.

From what I have heard, you go to the Consulate and get a temporary, which will take a while, to get you back home.

You can carry copies of the important pages of the passport, if you do not wish to carry it off the ship with you. A lot of people keep a copy in a plastic bag for "just in case".

 

 

Don't know what the embassies or consulates are like on the Islands but to get into the US embassy in Rome you cannot take any large bags with you, puny purses only. No cell phones, no keys. Best to have paper copies.

[Orison]

Just curious. I know you can't fly internationally without a passport book. So what HAPPENS to you if you miss the ship and do not have a valid passport?

Would you have to GET A passport issued to be able to get home?

 

You'll still get home. Most people this happens to have no problem repatriating. Look at all the Dream and Triumph passengers that had zero issues when they had their problems a couple of years ago.

[Bookbug53]

Just curious. I know you can't fly internationally without a passport book. So what HAPPENS to you if you miss the ship and do not have a valid passport?

Would you have to GET A passport issued to be able to get home?

 

It could take a few days, and cost big bucks, but they will let you come home. :p

[sparks1093]

IN Mexico you end up with that marine our government has not brought home. Actually you will find a way back but it will surely be costly and with time delay.

 

Not really. The marine violated Mexican law (whether he meant to or not is irrelevant) and is at the mercy of Mexican jurisprudence and there is nothing the US government can do. That's one of the things that they told us constantly when I was in the Navy- if you violate local law you will be put in a local jail and the US government will not be able to do anything for you. We had a pilot violate Greek law when we were in the Med and when we left the Med three months later he was still in jail.

[sparks1093]

Just curious. I know you can't fly internationally without a passport book. So what HAPPENS to you if you miss the ship and do not have a valid passport?

Would you have to GET A passport issued to be able to get home?

 

A lot depends on the facts and circumstances- if you overstay at Senor Frogs you may expect that it won't be treated with the same alacrity as a medical emergency. There are provisions in the regulations that allow the State Department to waive the passport requirements for an emergency or for humanitarian reasons.

[cruising_diva]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

We travel with passport CARDS but don't actually have the books (I HAVE one in my maiden name, just never got it switched to my married name). I know a lot of you think the cards are useless. *shurg. Was just curious but we definitely don't plan on missing the ship!

[sparks1093]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

We travel with passport CARDS but don't actually have the books (I HAVE one in my maiden name, just never got it switched to my married name). I know a lot of you think the cards are useless. *shurg. Was just curious but we definitely don't plan on missing the ship!

 

If your passport hasn't expired you may still use it- either book the travel in your maiden name or bring your marriage license as a bridge document.

[hftmrock]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

We travel with passport CARDS but don't actually have the books (I HAVE one in my maiden name, just never got it switched to my married name). I know a lot of you think the cards are useless. *shurg. Was just curious but we definitely don't plan on missing the ship!

 

I'm sure you are aware that the cards are about as useful as nothing if you need to fly home. They are convenient and cruise ships allow cards to be used as ID instead of the passport books but you still cant fly with it.

[chengkp75]

I'm sure you are aware that the cards are about as useful as nothing if you need to fly home. They are convenient and cruise ships allow cards to be used as ID instead of the passport books but you still cant fly with it.

 

Actually they are better than nothing. You would still have to go to the consulate, but having a passport card would expedite their issuance of a temporary passport.

[hftmrock]

Actually they are better than nothing. You would still have to go to the consulate, but having a passport card would expedite their issuance of a temporary passport.

 

ok, that's true :)

[Tonka's Skipper]

Not really. The marine violated Mexican law (whether he meant to or not is irrelevant) and is at the mercy of Mexican jurisprudence and there is nothing the US government can do. That's one of the things that they told us constantly when I was in the Navy- if you violate local law you will be put in a local jail and the US government will not be able to do anything for you. We had a pilot violate Greek law when we were in the Med and when we left the Med three months later he was still in jail.

 

 

If you agree he broke any laws and this is not a fight between the present administration and the Mexican government.......There seem to be a obvious lack of interest in the present administration in getting him home.

 

The fact is in most counties the US embassy can often get you out on bogus charges, which is often the case in Mexico.

 

 

AKK

 

 

AKK

[bptex]

If the cruise isn't over yet you could meet the ship at the next port, assuming it's the same country. Otherwise as noted you'd need to figure out a way to get to the closest US consulate office or manage to get to one of our borders somehow and plead your case. If you are a US Citizen you will be allowed entry, eventually.

 

Note that in many countries you are only allowed to travel certain distances without a visa so you'd probably be breaking some laws if you try to hit a border crossing.

[bruadhin]

If the cruise isn't over yet you could meet the ship at the next port, assuming it's the same country. Otherwise as noted you'd need to figure out a way to get to the closest US consulate office or manage to get to one of our borders somehow and plead your case. If you are a US Citizen you will be allowed entry, eventually.

 

Note that in many countries you are only allowed to travel certain distances without a visa so you'd probably be breaking some laws if you try to hit a border crossing.

 

Cruises don't go to countries that are unfriendly to Americans. Dropping off 2 or 3 or even 4 thousand American tourists in a city that hates Americans is not a profitable business activity.

 

Were I stranded, I'd call the cruise line's agent in that port, the nearest US Consulate and the local police station in that order. In a town that is dependent on tourism, you are most likely to find the people the most sympathetic to tourists. If you resist the urge to be an ugly American and instead ask for help and treat them with respect, I suspect the local officials would go out of their way to help you in getting you where you need to be to in order to get back to the US.

[YubaSutter]

If you agree he broke any laws and this is not a fight between the present administration and the Mexican government.......There seem to be a obvious lack of interest in the present administration in getting him home.

 

The fact is in most counties the US embassy can often get you out on bogus charges' date=' which is often the case in Mexico.

 

 

AKK

 

 

AKK[/quote']

Ow is this a bogus situation. A dumb guy, who happens to be a Marine, brought guns into a country that that outlaws the importation of firearms. There are many US citizens sitting in South East Asia prisons on drug charges, there isn't a big concern to get them home either.

[sporttrackin]

My friend got her passport card & being overzealous I said let's go to Canada. She had her passport card, I forgot my passport book was at home. Living in Detroit going to Canada is like going to the suburbs for lunch. It was easy getting over there. Just showed my drivers license. Getting back across the border I was told by a border agent to go to immigration. After showing ID & being chastised for 4 HOURS, I was finally let back into the U.S. of A. LOL I haven't been to Canada since for being traumatized. :(

[Tonka's Skipper]

Ow is this a bogus situation. A dumb guy, who happens to be a Marine, brought guns into a country that that outlaws the importation of firearms. There are many US citizens sitting in South East Asia prisons on drug charges, there isn't a big concern to get them home either.

 

However there seems to be a lot of merit to idea he was set up because he WAS a marine!

 

As to the drugs........no sympathy there..............going to be a druggie.???.....you want to sell the poison to others..???........you pay the price

 

AKK

[GradUT]

Was just curious but we definitely don't plan on missing the ship!

 

I seriously doubt that anyone who misses the ship actually planned on it. :)

 

Anyway, as the spouse of a former U.S. consular officer, I know some about the process of issuing temporary passports for return to the U.S. A passenger on a cruise ship who misses the boat (so to speak) and needs a passport to return to the U.S. is not going to be considered an "emergency" case. Therefore, if this happens on a weekend or holiday, you will have to wait until the Embassy or Consulate re-opens in order to apply for your emergency passport. You are going to have to supply as much documentation as possible to prove your identity and citizenship. The application, like all U.S. passport applications, will have to be vetted and this could take more than a day, so it's possible you'd have to return the next day for your emergency passport to return home. And, of course, all the applicable passport fees apply, so be prepared to spend a good amount of money.

[cschultz]

It's not only your passport you have to worry about. We just got off the Pride. We left Baltimore, and spent a day in Port Canaveral at Kennedy Space center. My husband lost his driver's license. He had his ship ID, and his picture ID from the federal government (he is a government employee). The agent at Port Canaveral almost wouldn't let him back on the ship without his driver's license. The information was on the govt ID, but it was encoded, and she would not accept it. She finally gave in. He had to use his passport, which was in the safe, for the rest of the cruise.

Edited October 9, 2014 by cschultz

[RDC1]

Ow is this a bogus situation. A dumb guy, who happens to be a Marine, brought guns into a country that that outlaws the importation of firearms. There are many US citizens sitting in South East Asia prisons on drug charges, there isn't a big concern to get them home either.

 

Having lived in San Diego, the interstate entrance to Mexico is very confusing. It is very easy to miss the last exit. If you miss it there is not a turn around on the US side, you have no choice but to go into Mexico (the only other option is to just stop in place on the highway and block traffic). That is what happened in his case, he entered and turned around at the first place he could to return to the US. He notified the official on the Mexican side that he had entered by mistake and had guns in his car and was returning to the US. The person he notified was going to wave him through, then another one came over and arrested him.

 

This is not the first time this has happened. Comes up every year or two. Usually the Mexican Government holds them for a few days, collects a big fine and they get released.

[sparks1093]

It's not only your passport you have to worry about. We just got off the Pride. We left Baltimore, and spent a day in Port Canaveral at Kennedy Space center. My husband lost his driver's license. He had his ship ID, and his picture ID from the federal government (he is a government employee). The agent at Port Canaveral almost wouldn't let him back on the ship without his driver's license. The information was on the govt ID, but it was encoded, and she would not accept it. She finally gave in. He had to use his passport, which was in the safe, for the rest of the cruise.

 

There is no reason that his government ID should not have been accepted, it's a photo ID issued by a government agency.:confused: