Passport ... Hot Topic

[cruisemom42]

Someone's decision to travel without a passport affects no one else. At all.

 

Well not exactly. It can affect the ship's staff who have to figure out how to make arrangements for the passengers without passports if something happens that requires them to leave the cruise early.

 

And same for the embassy staff who have to drop everything to provide them with a temporary passport to get back home in an emergency.

[sparks1093]

Well not exactly. It can affect the ship's staff who have to figure out how to make arrangements for the passengers without passports if something happens that requires them to leave the cruise early.

 

And same for the embassy staff who have to drop everything to provide them with a temporary passport to get back home in an emergency.

 

That's part of their job and part of what they get paid for. They would provide the same services to a traveler whose passport was lost or stolen.

 

In any event my statement was aimed more at the people who respond to these threads so unless they are in one of two categories of people that you mention my statement still kind of applies;).

[SmoothFlying]

I have participated in many threads regarding passports and I've actually seen more hostility expressed towards those suggesting that one can, under certain circumstances, travel without a passport. And this thread is a great example of that- everyone is expressing angst about those who choose not to use a passport, and sometimes outright hostility, including yourself. Why is that? Someone's decision to travel without a passport affects no one else. At all. It is a legal, legitimate choice to make. The fact is that everyone's travel needs are different. Some need a passport for the type of travel that they do, some don't. It really is as simple as that.

 

What's the OLD (sorry, I'm 67 yoa, couldn't let that pass) saying, 'Ya PAYS yer money, ya TAKES yer chances.' IF someone decides NOT too indulge in da passport thingee, hey, it IS a free country !!" :')

 

Mac

[sparks1093]

What's the OLD (sorry, I'm 67 yoa, couldn't let that pass) saying, 'Ya PAYS yer money, ya TAKES yer chances.' IF someone decides NOT too indulge in da passport thingee, hey, it IS a free country !!" :')

 

Mac

 

Exactly right. (And I am also old enough to remember when that saying was young;).)

[navybankerteacher]

Exactly right. (And I am also old enough to remember when that saying was young;).)

 

Actually, the original saying was: "you pays your money and you takes your choice".

 

I'd like to add that the you look a lot younger than I would have thought - of someone who remembers the 1840's, when that saying was young.

[sparks1093]

Actually, the original saying was: "you pays your money and you takes your choice".

 

I'd like to add that the you look a lot younger than I would have thought - of someone who remembers the 1840's, when that saying was young.

 

Plastic surgery is a marvelous thing.:')

[GUT2407]

Why the hostility on dress threads, tipping threads drinking at 18 threads.

 

Because some people are keyboard warriors.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Plastic surgery is a marvelous thing.:')

 

Even better if you head to Brazil. Oops! That would require a passport (and a visa).

 

 

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[sparks1093]

Even better if you head to Brazil. Oops! That would require a passport (and a visa).

 

 

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Wouldn't be a problem since I have a passport and a visa is easily obtainable.

[sanger727]

It's the same with many aspects of cruising.

 

 

 

Spends thousands for a cruise, but don't want to spend the money for passports.

 

 

 

Want the barebones parking, even if risking safety of the cruisers and the car.

 

 

 

Want cheapest hotel, and smashes 4 into a room for 2, again they don't seem to care what part of town it is in.

 

 

 

Plans ahead of time how they will "share" a drink package, and even tells us about it.

 

 

 

Stiffs the employees by removing gratuity, and again they love telling us about it.

 

 

 

Just to name the ones that come to mind the most.

 

 

 

If you feel the need for all the above, truly due to financial issues, cruising might not be the best vacation choice.

 

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to stay in a $400 a night hotel, but I will find one in a nice part of town. If parking is too high, we look at renting cars one way, also saves on wear and tear of you own vehicle. We compare, but we stay safe.

 

 

 

I think this attitude is part of the problem. Choosing not to get a passport and stiffing the crew/sharing the beverage packages are night and day issues. Per the US government and the major US based cruise lines; cruising with a birth certificate and photo ID is perfectly acceptable and not breaking any rules. I have a passport, but can totally get the family of 5 not wanting to spend the extra money when they don’t know if they will use them again. On my bf’s first cruise he didn’t have a passport and he didn’t want to get one because he had never been out of the country and wasn’t sure if he would like it. He did and has a passport now.

 

The reality is everyone has a budget. And how people choose to allocate funds is up to them. It’s incredibly judgmental to view using a perfectly acceptable method of ID as a cheapskate who is going to cheap out at every opportunity.

 

 

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[CruiseGal999]

I have participated in many threads regarding passports and I've actually seen more hostility expressed towards those suggesting that one can, under certain circumstances, travel without a passport. And this thread is a great example of that- everyone is expressing angst about those who choose not to use a passport, and sometimes outright hostility, including yourself. Why is that? Someone's decision to travel without a passport affects no one else. At all. It is a legal, legitimate choice to make. The fact is that everyone's travel needs are different. Some need a passport for the type of travel that they do, some don't. It really is as simple as that.

 

I haven't expressed hostility in any of my posts. I have expressed curiosity and confusion. I, personally, don't understand why people don't travel with a passport. That is all. I don't understand it and I'm asking why they DO travel without a passport. To ME ... personally ... it's too big of a chance/risk to travel without a passport.

[CruiseGal999]

It's the same with many aspects of cruising.

 

Spends thousands for a cruise, but don't want to spend the money for passports.

 

Want the barebones parking, even if risking safety of the cruisers and the car.

 

Want cheapest hotel, and smashes 4 into a room for 2, again they don't seem to care what part of town it is in.

 

Plans ahead of time how they will "share" a drink package, and even tells us about it.

 

Stiffs the employees by removing gratuity, and again they love telling us about it.

 

Just to name the ones that come to mind the most.

 

If you feel the need for all the above, truly due to financial issues, cruising might not be the best vacation choice.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to stay in a $400 a night hotel, but I will find one in a nice part of town. If parking is too high, we look at renting cars one way, also saves on wear and tear of you own vehicle. We compare, but we stay safe.

 

:D This is great. Just to comment on the $400/night hotel. I am with you on that most of the time. A trip (NOT a cruise, Mon Dieu!) to NY in 2006, we DID pay $400+/night for a hotel room. DH REFUSED to go to a name hotel (I wanted Hilton)... he insisted we go to something different, unique, boutique. So we did. It was a very nice hotel, it was VERY old, in Times Square ... but NOT worth the $$$, in my opinion.

 

https://www.casablancahotel.com/en/

[CruiseGal999]

I think this attitude is part of the problem. Choosing not to get a passport and stiffing the crew/sharing the beverage packages are night and day issues. Per the US government and the major US based cruise lines; cruising with a birth certificate and photo ID is perfectly acceptable and not breaking any rules. I have a passport, but can totally get the family of 5 not wanting to spend the extra money when they don’t know if they will use them again. On my bf’s first cruise he didn’t have a passport and he didn’t want to get one because he had never been out of the country and wasn’t sure if he would like it. He did and has a passport now.

 

The reality is everyone has a budget. And how people choose to allocate funds is up to them. It’s incredibly judgmental to view using a perfectly acceptable method of ID as a cheapskate who is going to cheap out at every opportunity.

 

 

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That's fine. I don't think the issue with passports is solely driven by $$$ and vacation funds/budgeting. THAT's why I asked the question.

[sparks1093]

I haven't expressed hostility in any of my posts. I have expressed curiosity and confusion. I, personally, don't understand why people don't travel with a passport. That is all. I don't understand it and I'm asking why they DO travel without a passport. To ME ... personally ... it's too big of a chance/risk to travel without a passport.

 

I said "angst...and sometimes outright hostility" and I think your responses in posts 12 and 15 could be interpreted as angst at a minimum (it may have been poor word choice on my part, it was early). To you personally it's too big of a chance/risk, to me personally it was not too big of a chance/risk. Does it really need to be more complex then that?

 

I can only speak for myself and personally I don't like spending money on things that I don't need, especially when those things come with an expiration date. When we started cruising it would have cost us $850 for passports for the 7 of us for a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas, which was almost as much as we were paying for the cruise itself. So I did the research and we decided to wait to get passports until the day came when we needed them for the type of travel that we were doing since our risk of cruising without passports was so low. We knew that we wanted to travel by international air someday but we had no idea when that day would be (other than it would be when it was just DW and I traveling) and we also didn't know before that first cruise whether the kids would like it or not so we didn't even know if cruising was going to be in our future.

 

I know that many people have made the decision to not use passports on a closed loop cruise for similar reasons, but even if their reason doesn't make sense to you or I it's still their right to make that decision for whatever reason that makes sense to them.

[CruiseGal999]

 

I know that many people have made the decision to not use passports on a closed loop cruise for similar reasons, but even if their reason doesn't make sense to you or I it's still their right to make that decision for whatever reason that makes sense to them.

 

First, many people cruising with ONLY a BC/driver's license, 'seem' to be heading out with the wrong type of BC. As seen by THOSE posts and questions.

 

And MY asking this question is as valid as ALL of the "how is the pizza on X ship"? "What is the menu on X ship"?

[sparks1093]

First, many people cruising with ONLY a BC/driver's license, 'seem' to be heading out with the wrong type of BC. As seen by THOSE posts and questions.

 

And MY asking this question is as valid as ALL of the "how is the pizza on X ship"? "What is the menu on X ship"?

 

And I answered your question. If someone is heading out with the wrong type of BC then they haven't done their due diligence, which is entirely on them.

[sanger727]

I haven't expressed hostility in any of my posts. I have expressed curiosity and confusion. I, personally, don't understand why people don't travel with a passport. That is all. I don't understand it and I'm asking why they DO travel without a passport. To ME ... personally ... it's too big of a chance/risk to travel without a passport.

 

 

 

It’s actually not that difficult to understand. Proportionally, among cruisers, very very few end up needing to fly internationally unexpectedly and very very few take the wrong kind of BC. It’s not a huge chance/risk. I have a passport and trouble imagining why it would need to return home unexpectedly. We plan ahead to have plenty of buffer time returning to the ship. I don’t have kids at home. I have a small family and there’s really no reason why they would want me to return mid trip. If it’s a medical evacuation I feel like the passport issue will be a less pressing concern. I simply use my passport because I do fly internationally so need one and I prefer taking that than a BC since I have one.

 

 

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[SRF]

so you started yet another thread about passports? :confused:

 

:'):'):'):')

 

rotf, lmao

[SRF]

if you ever get a really good answer to that question, please let us know. I've been here for years, read passport threads again and again and never gotten an answer to which i can attach any value. Imo if one is going to travel outside their country, geta passport, is my mantra. :) it makes no sense to me to refuse to get one.

 

this ^^^^^^^

[SRF]

As I mentioned in the other thread, it is an American thing.

 

Americans seem to have a great aversion to passports. Most people in other countries have passports. And carry them with them most of the time.

 

But then again, you find MANY Americans who have never been out of the country, and never will. Less so in other countries (if no other reason, their countries are smaller :D ).

[sparks1093]

As I mentioned in the other thread, it is an American thing.

 

Americans seem to have a great aversion to passports. Most people in other countries have passports. And carry them with them most of the time.

 

But then again, you find MANY Americans who have never been out of the country, and never will. Less so in other countries (if no other reason, their countries are smaller :D ).

 

I don't actually know anyone that is averse to getting a passport, not in the way as alluded to earlier in this thread (i.e. those that wear aluminum hats). I do know a good number of people that don't get passports because they simply don't need them because as you point out in your last paragraph they don't travel out of the country or it's not needed for the type of travel that they do (such as crossing the border that is 8 miles away from my front door). US citizens have choices and that means that people are going to make different choices from each other.

 

I am surprised that such a simple concept as "everyone's needs are different" is lost on so many.

[lisiamc]

As I mentioned in the other thread, it is an American thing.

 

Americans seem to have a great aversion to passports. Most people in other countries have passports. And carry them with them most of the time.

 

But then again, you find MANY Americans who have never been out of the country, and never will. Less so in other countries (if no other reason, their countries are smaller :D ).

 

I live half the year in Italy, and half in the UK. I have a passport and almost never carry it unless I’m travelling, nor does anyone else I know in either country. Italy issues national ID cards, and I have one, but the only people who ever want to see it are hotel keepers.

[sanger727]

I don't actually know anyone that is averse to getting a passport, not in the way as alluded to earlier in this thread (i.e. those that wear aluminum hats). I do know a good number of people that don't get passports because they simply don't need them because as you point out in your last paragraph they don't travel out of the country or it's not needed for the type of travel that they do (such as crossing the border that is 8 miles away from my front door). US citizens have choices and that means that people are going to make different choices from each other.

 

 

 

I am surprised that such a simple concept as "everyone's needs are different" is lost on so many.

 

 

 

This. America is fundamentally different than Europe. People travel Europe the way Americans travel the states. But to travel internationally from the US, your only choices are Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean or an expensive 8 hour flight to get outside of these. A lot of Americans have never flown internationally and have no plans to. This group of people may take a cruise but don’t really think of it as international travel since a. They don’t need a passport, b. Everyone they encounter will speak English, c. Everyone they encounter will accept USD. They simply don’t see a need to spend hundreds of dollars to get unnecessary documentation that they think they will never need again.

 

My bf is a prime example of this. Prior to us getting together he had never been outside the country and had never planned to. He does have a passport now because I got him to go to Mexico for an all inclusive. But he doesn’t like being in a plane for longer than a few hours so we are limited on how far we can travel.

 

 

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[biker@sea]

WHY are questions regarding Passports, getting one/renewing it/bringing it or leaving it at home, create such hostility? Whenever a person starts a thread about passports ... it gets as heated as a gratuity/tipping thread!

 

Exactly, what is the opposition of obtaining/ maintaining and traveling WITH a passport?

 

 

For real.

Some folk get their panties in a wad if ya just ask about getting a stamp in your passport.:rolleyes:

[mjkacmom]

As I mentioned in the other thread, it is an American thing.

 

Americans seem to have a great aversion to passports. Most people in other countries have passports. And carry them with them most of the time.

 

But then again, you find MANY Americans who have never been out of the country, and never will. Less so in other countries (if no other reason, their countries are smaller :D ).

The US is huge, leaving the country almost always involves a long flight. Many others can travel to different countries by car, bus, or train. I don’t think anyone in Europe is going to be without a passport, it’s like traveling to other states here.