Is a Passport required for Southern Caribbean cruises out of FL or San Juan?

[Skygazer]

I see conflicting information on the web, including the government and cruise websites. Some sites say yes a passport is required if visiting certain countries (Barbados, St. Martin, Martinique, etc). Others say no passport required at all if the cruise starts and ends in the same US port. I'm thoroughly confused.

 

You guys are the experts on this and I trust and appreciate your judgment. :D

 

Also, if a passport IS required, does it have to be valid at least 6 months past your sailing date?

 

TIA

[easyboy]

As long as you depart and return on the same US port. It is considered a closed loop cruise and does not require a passport. A Birth certificate or EDL will do.

 

 

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[Shmoo here]

As long as you depart and return on the same US port. It is considered a closed loop cruise and does not require a passport. A Birth certificate or EDL will do.

 

 

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Depending on the cruise line. Some of the more upscale cruise lines require a passport, regardless of the actual legal requirement.

[Krazy Kruizers]

JMO

I would take a passport. How would you do to get home if there was an emergency? How would you get home if you had an emergency and ended up in foreign hospital?

[sparks1093]

I see conflicting information on the web, including the government and cruise websites. Some sites say yes a passport is required if visiting certain countries (Barbados, St. Martin, Martinique, etc). Others say no passport required at all if the cruise starts and ends in the same US port. I'm thoroughly confused.

 

You guys are the experts on this and I trust and appreciate your judgment. :D

 

Also, if a passport IS required, does it have to be valid at least 6 months past your sailing date?

 

TIA

 

The short answer is no, a US citizens on a closed loop cruise does not need a passport. What is required is a document or combination of documents that prove citizenship and identity. The passport is a document that verifies both and is the gold standard of travel documents. A passport card and Enhanced Drivers License are each stand alone documents that prove citizenship and identity. If you were born in the states you may use your government issued birth certificate coupled with a government issued photo ID. If you were born overseas you would use your Consular Report of Birth Abroad or your Naturalization certificate coupled with a government issued photo ID. As mentioned some cruise lines do require passports of all passengers on all sailing but typically this is limited to the luxury lines.

 

With that said another question is how advisable is it for you, the individual traveler, to have a passport? If something happened that required you to leave the ship early having a passport would facilitate your return to the US by air (there are ways for this to occur without a passport but delay may be a factor). For most people the risks of anything happening is quite small, but it is not zero. You have to analyze your own risk factors and travel patterns to determine if a passport is the right choice for you at this point in time (and deciding not to get one now doesn't mean that you can't change your mind later and get one then). Known health conditions (of yourself, fellow travelers, folks back home), length of cruise (a 3 day Bahamas cruise has less risk than a 10 day cruise), future travel plans, etc. are some of the things to consider.

 

Millions of people travel on closed loop cruises with something other than a passport every year with no issues.

 

ETA- on the Southern Carib itinerary there may be excursions that would require you to have a passport, just as there are on an Alaskan itinerary. If you decide not to get a passport make sure you don't book one of these excursions, which usually involve visits to a nearby island or in the case of Alaska cruises from the US into Canada via land border.

[Flatbush Flyer]

As long as you depart and return on the same US port. It is considered a closed loop cruise and does not require a passport. A Birth certificate or EDL will do.

 

 

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Not necessarily. Don't forget that some cruise lines require that all passengers on all itineraries present a valid passport and may take that one step further by requiring its validity for six months after the date of your return.

 

 

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[Husky61]

I see conflicting information on the web, including the government and cruise websites. Some sites say yes a passport is required if visiting certain countries (Barbados, St. Martin, Martinique, etc). Others say no passport required at all if the cruise starts and ends in the same US port. I'm thoroughly confused.

 

You guys are the experts on this and I trust and appreciate your judgment. :D

 

Also, if a passport IS required, does it have to be valid at least 6 months past your sailing date?

 

TIA

 

Why don't you call the cruise line you are sailing with and ask them?:)

[Kamloops50]

Passport is usually recommended . If you need to fly home due to and ijury or illness requiring hospitalization. Yoi'll need a passport to return home.

[njhorseman]

Why don't you call the cruise line you are sailing with and ask them?:)

 

Never call the cruise lines for this type of inquiry. Their customer service reps are poorly trained and mostly inexperienced.

 

On the other hand most cruise lines have done a pretty good job of presenting accurate documentation requirements on their websites.

 

If we knew which cruise line the OP was on and the exact itinerary a quick look up of the line's documentation FAQs would almost certainly answer the question.

[zqvol]

OP, it seems that you are on Princess. Check on the Princess boards to see if they require passports. If they don't (and I don't believe that they do) then you are fine with birth certificates.

[jollyjones]

If you want to travel, why wouldn't you get a passport? It's the gold standard of travel documents, lasts ten years, and saves you worrying about what would happen if you needed to return home by any modality other than your cruise ship.

Everywhere else in the world people just get one as a matter of course if they want to travel.

 

 

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[sail7seas]

It seems to me that prior to the hurrricanes, St. Maarten said they were going to require passports in order to enter, but I have not read anythting recently. Given they sufferred storm damage, they may have second thoughts in terms of some tourists not going to St.Maarten if they do not have a passport. Will not matter ab out closed loop cruises if any island begins to require passports. closed loop applies to U.S. citizens and U.S. rrules, Every country will do as they wish. They can, may change their laws at any time. Get a passport if you wish to travel out of the U.S. (or your home country) IMO

Edited November 7, 2017 by sail7seas

[cb at sea]

If you're American and on a "closed loop" cruise (start and end in the same American port), then no...no passport is needed at all to cruise.

[Shmoo here]

If you're American and on a "closed loop" cruise (start and end in the same American port), then no...no passport is needed at all to cruise.

Except, as noted, for those cruise lines that require a passport for all cruises, regardless of the actual legal requirements.

 

Yes, OP, is on Princess, and probably won't be required to have one, but the generic "If you're American and on a "closed loop" cruise (start and end in the same American port), then no...no passport is needed at all to cruise" response isn't accurate for everyone.

[Liz54]

Except, as noted, for those cruise lines that require a passport for all cruises, regardless of the actual legal requirements.

 

Yes, OP, is on Princess, and probably won't be required to have one, but the generic "If you're American and on a "closed loop" cruise (start and end in the same American port), then no...no passport is needed at all to cruise" response isn't accurate for everyone.

 

 

Agree. I remember the discussion about Saint Martin planning to require passports. Any and all Countries including small Caribbean Islands can, at any time, decide they will require passports. Unlikely that they would do it without lots of notice, but it is within their rights to do so.

[Herfnerd]

As of now - no, you do not need a passport

 

 

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[geoherb]

On our cruise earlier this year, we had to have a passport even though it was a closed-loop cruise out of Fort Lauderdale because our ship stopped in Costa Rica. It's one of the few Caribbean countries that does require a passport for people on cruise ships. The good news is that it only has to be good for one day from the date you enter the country. DH's passport was only good for around six weeks more--but that was good enough for Costa Rica.

[Keith1010]

As others have said a passport is not required for the cruise but if there was a family emergency or a health issue and you had to fly home you would need a passport.

 

I would look at this cruise as an opportunity to go ahead and get passports.

 

Keith

[sparks1093]

If you want to travel, why wouldn't you get a passport? It's the gold standard of travel documents, lasts ten years, and saves you worrying about what would happen if you needed to return home by any modality other than your cruise ship.

Everywhere else in the world people just get one as a matter of course if they want to travel.

 

 

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Wanting to travel is only part of the equation. The other part is where does one want to travel and by what means. If one just wants to travel within the US then of course no passport is necessary and the US even has nice tropical islands that can be visited without a passport. When we started cruising we knew that someday we wanted to travel to Europe but at that time we didn't know when we would be able to do so. We decided to wait to get our passports until such time that we actually needed them. Turns out it was 6 years before we needed them to travel and that is when we got them.

[sparks1093]

As for getting home in an emergency there are provisions in place for such an eventuality since the State Department has the authority to waive the passport requirements in such cases. Here is a recent thread about someone that had a minor emergency who was allowed to fly home without a passport https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2544751&highlight=vallarta. There may be a delay in getting home and that should certainly be taken into consideration, but it must also be kept in mind how likely is it to happen in the short 7 to 10 days (or less) that you are gone?

[Kamloops50]

As for getting home in an emergency there are provisions in place for such an eventuality since the State Department has the authority to waive the passport requirements in such cases. Here is a recent thread about someone that had a minor emergency who was allowed to fly home without a passport https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2544751&highlight=vallarta. There may be a delay in getting home and that should certainly be taken into consideration, but it must also be kept in mind how likely is it to happen in the short 7 to 10 days (or less) that you are gone?

 

 

 

As a Canadian I don’t have the same options about help from my government.

 

 

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[Husky61]

Never call the cruise lines for this type of inquiry. Their customer service reps are poorly trained and mostly inexperienced.

.

 

I don't agree with you at all. Every time I have contacted the cruise line(which isn't that often) they have been very helpful and accurate with their info. I don't know how many times you have had contact with them where you received bad info.

[sparks1093]

I like Carnival's website. I just did the online check in for our February cruise and when you select one of the options for travel documents it tells you exactly what the requirements are and includes a link to a FAQ for further information (although the link isn't working right now).

[sparks1093]

I don't agree with you at all. Every time I have contacted the cruise line(which isn't that often) they have been very helpful and accurate with their info. I don't know how many times you have had contact with them where you received bad info.

 

I'm one for one for receiving bad information. We obtained our EDLs prior to our cruise on Gem and when I went to check in online there was no choice for that so I called Customer Service to find out what I should do. The CSR said "you would check the block for birth certificate because you have to bring that with you anyway".

[njhorseman]

I don't agree with you at all. Every time I have contacted the cruise line(which isn't that often) they have been very helpful and accurate with their info. I don't know how many times you have had contact with them where you received bad info.

 

I have a lot of negative experience that was accumulated during my years as a travel agency owner.