Passports

[GrandmaneedsAcruise16]

OP here, Thanks for ALL the answers.

1. OP asked OQ as to cruise closed loop not flights

2 OP is a US born citizen

3. Thank you PomsaysOm for your added questions, as they helped me realize I have different names too.

4. I think it may be easier to just get a passport.

Your ALL right...........thanks everyone.

[JuliaNicker]

And you will require a passport to go ashore in some European ports, it is a requirement when in Croatia that you must carry a passport, well it is for us Brits:)

 

Is Croatia in the EU ?

 

I think the OP was asking about US Citizens visiting the caribbean.

[serene56]

Re-read the OP. this thread is talking about what is required for a closed loop CRUISE, nothing about flying.

Also, that 2014 requirement for parents names on bc was for getting a passport, nothing to do with closed loop cruises.

 

It had everything to do with a closed loop cruise when using a birth certificate and a drivers license.

[sparks1093]

One does NOT have to be a "natural born US citizen" to cruise a closed loop cruise with BC and ID rather than passport. One CAN be a naturalized US citizen.

 

Yes, but a naturalized citizen would use their naturalization certificate and not a birth certificate. If a citizen were born abroad to American parents they would need a Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

[sparks1093]

Get that passport.

 

What would you do if you got sick on the ship and had to go to a hospital in a foreign port and then had to fly home?? You need a passport.

 

What if someone from home called and said that you needed to get home right away? You need a passport.

 

In that case the passenger would need to visit the Consulate and obtain their assistance in getting home. Since the State Department has the authority to waive the passport requirement in an emergency this could be quickly handled. The pertinent question is what is the risk of getting sick/injured enough to have to return home early or the risk that someone at home would get sick enough to warrant an early return and the next question is how comfortable is the traveler with that risk. (While the OP has already decided to get a passport others may visit this thread that still need to make up their mind.)

[Flatbush Flyer]

The OP appears to be a US citizen, and asked about a closed loop Caribbean cruise. Given those circumstances, was my original answer wrong?

 

 

 

I feel sorry for the OP. The drift on this thread must be very confusing to the OP.

 

 

Your original answer was incomplete. Government regulations are only one part of the equation. Cruise lines may have additional documentation requirements and, as aforementioned, most (if not all) premium and luxury cruise lines require passports on all itineraries.

[donaldsc]

You do not need a passport unless something bad happens that requires you to come back to the US by some other method of transport other than the ship you left on. Then you need one. Just get the passport to make your life easier.

 

One other thing - if I understand it correctly, after the year 2020 you will not be able to board an airplane without an enhanced drivers license or a passport. Having a passport will save you the trouble of getting an enhanced drivers license.

 

DON

Edited August 21, 2015 by donaldsc

[sparks1093]

You do not need a passport unless something bad happens that requires you to come back to the US by some other method of transport other than the ship you left on. Then you need one. Just get the passport to make your life easier.

 

One other thing - if I understand it correctly, after the year 2020 you will not be able to board an airplane without an enhanced drivers license or a passport. Having a passport will save you the trouble of getting an enhanced drivers license.

 

DON

 

I believe that you are referring to the REAL ID act which sets forth specific requirements for states and the issuance of identification. Drivers licenses issued in compliance with the REAL ID act are not enhanced drivers licenses (only 5 states issue those). If your individual state does not comply with the REAL ID act than any ID's issued could not be used to enter any property under Federal jurisdiction (such as airports).