Benefits to Having a Valid Passport

[SRF]

I don't understand the thought pattern that says, I will never use a passport again, just this cruise.

 

Hmm, you can tell what you will be doing for the next 10 years? Really?

 

10 years ago, did you know you were going to take this cruise? And are you so sure you will not take another one? Or that you will fall in love with one of the ports, and want to go back for a week or more?

[sparks1093]

The Passport topic is often discussed here on CC among mostly US Citizens who are permitted to take some cruises ("closed loop) without a valid Passport. Most frequent travelers recommend having a valid Passport, but there is resistance among many Americans because of the cost. Today I came across an interesting web article about some benefits of having a Passport which I will admit never occurred to me:

 

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/features/the-benefits-of-a-passport.html

 

Just some fruit for thought. And by the way, it looks like the cost of Passport Execution Fee is increasing, effective April 1, 2018, by $25-$35. This Execution fee generally applies to only those obtaining a Passport for the first time, or replacing a lost/stolen Passport.

 

Hank

 

So getting a passport makes one look "sexier"? That is one that I hadn't heard before, but to be honest I don't think anyone thinks that I'm sexy even though I have a passport.:') Some thoughts, some in response to what's been posted:

 

1. A passport is the best form of travel documentation one can have, no dispute there by anyone.

 

2. Not everyone needs a passport for the type of travel they can undertake now or in their foreseeable future.

 

3. A passport does have the benefit of removing some red tape if you miss the ship or have to return from the cruise, but one can still get home without one. The State Department has the authority to waive the passport requirement for emergencies or for humanitarian reasons.

 

4. The couple that flew back from Mexico did have a passport card, but I believe the result would have been the same had they not had one. It is the easiest way to get a US citizen home and their identity and citizenship can be verified at CBP secondary inspection.

 

5. Passports can be expensive for a family. When we started cruising it would have cost around $850 to get passports for all of us and most of them would have only been good for 5 years. For a 4 day cruise that didn't cost that much more than $850 the benefit just wasn't there. We knew that we wanted to travel by international air one day, but we also didn't know when that day would arrive. Certainly not with the children at home. So we decided to wait.

 

6. If you use a naturalization certificate or a consular report of birth abroad the cost to replace either document if something happens to them (such as spilling a glass of water on it) justifies the expense of a more durable form of citizenship verification, either a passport card, passport or EDL. (Naturalization certificate is $350 to replace, CRBA is around $75). You have to bring the original so having a copy in order to protect the original is out of the question. We opted for EDLs because 1) we carry our license all the time anyway and 2) we live 8 miles from the border.

 

7. Spur of the moment travel is a wonderful dream but it is not the reality for most people. With children and jobs a certain amount of planning and lead time is always required.

 

8. Passports can be lost or stolen, even on the way to the port for a cruise, so knowing what the alternatives are can certainly help save the cruise (one can't always rely on the cruise line reps to know the alternatives).

 

9. Yes, having a passport in a drawer gathering dust (wasting years) is a concern for some people. Why buy a passport now if you aren't going to be traveling for several years? We started cruising in 2009, we traveled to Europe for the first time in 2015. For those that like to amortize the cost of passports that's $66 wasted.

 

10. You can have any reason you want to buy a passport, it doesn't matter to me. You can get one because it's just the right size to keep Aunt Matilida's coffee table from wobbling if you want to. Just don't expect me to use the same reasoning. I don't have an Aunt Matilda;).

 

So at the end of the day each traveler has to pick the documentation that works for them and everyone has different travel needs. Some will pick a passport. Good for them. Some will pick a passport card. Good for them. Some will pick an Enhanced Drivers License. Good for them. Some will use a birth certificate/gov't issued ID. Good for them.

[sparks1093]

I don't understand the thought pattern that says, I will never use a passport again, just this cruise.

 

Hmm, you can tell what you will be doing for the next 10 years? Really?

 

10 years ago, did you know you were going to take this cruise? And are you so sure you will not take another one? Or that you will fall in love with one of the ports, and want to go back for a week or more?

 

It's more "this cruise is the only travel I see myself being able to do for the foreseeable future". If their future changes there is more than enough time to get a passport at that time.

[sanger727]

Traveling 'internationally'? Any time you cross the border of the US you are traveling internationally. EM

 

 

Many Americans don’t look at a closed loop Caribbean cruise as traveling internationally. Yes, they technically leave the US and go to other countries. But,

1. A passport isn’t needed,

2. English will appear to be the predominantly spoken language in port (even if it’s not),

3. USD will be accepted in port, and many places will price things in USD,

4. On the ship you will have access to the comforts of home with an English speaking crew, American food and drinks, and drinkable tap water

 

These things make this style of travel much less intimidating than going off to Europe where you’ll have to adapt to English not being the primary language, need to get another currency, and various cultural differences.

 

This attitude appears on this website a lot and I always get a chuckle when people are upset that they drink coke but the cruise line serves Pepsi or similar issues. People like that are in for a shock if they really travel to some place like Europe where a small can of room temperature soda sells for $3-$4 and they choices are very limited.

 

I don't understand the thought pattern that says, I will never use a passport again, just this cruise.

 

Hmm, you can tell what you will be doing for the next 10 years? Really?

 

10 years ago, did you know you were going to take this cruise? And are you so sure you will not take another one? Or that you will fall in love with one of the ports, and want to go back for a week or more?

 

 

Well, that’s easy. No, you don’t know what you’ll want to do in the next ten years but that argument works just as well for not wasting money on a passport. Say you are 40 years old and have teenagers and are planning your first cruise. If you’ve gone 40 years without needing a passport, why would you think that you’d need one again in the next 10.

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

It's more "this cruise is the only travel I see myself being able to do for the foreseeable future". If their future changes there is more than enough time to get a passport at that time.

 

Can you always count on the future changing at a leisurely enough pace to always allow enough time?

[sparks1093]

Can you always count on the future changing at a leisurely enough pace to always allow enough time?

 

#7 in my first post. Most leisure travel is planned out well in advance for the vast majority of people so yes, if someone decides they have the wherewithal for an international flight they factor getting the passport into their planning. (When we first discovered we had the ability to fly to Germany plans for the trip started 12 months prior to the trip and we determined that applying for our passports 3 months prior to the trip would be a prudent thing to do, allowing extra time for an delays. In fact we had time to get the passports and then get a corrected passport for DW because I had misspelled her middle name on the application. Something I haven't heard the end of yet.)

[martincath]

There are a couple of stories here that have made me think back to my own ever-more-distant youth - specifically the opportunity to travel internationally at short notice arising.

 

The first such and single most important travel experience of my life was also the first cruise I ever took - since the Falklands conflict had just finished, and the SS Uganda had been repurposed as a hospital ship during that, many parents had made alternate plans (not knowing how long the ship would remain unavailable). Once the ship was released from military service a whole bunch of schools that would never have gotten the opportunity to take part normally were offered places - with a whole 48 hours to say Yea or Nay to the opportunity! In my tiny village school 5 of us jumped at the chance to go, aged all of 10-11. I flew for the first time ever, cruised (in horrible huge rooms packed with sets of bunks that we had to clean daily with officers reviewing how well we did so), and ate god-awful food that made me long for the school canteen.

 

However all of that was irrelevant because I got to see some awesome places around the Med - Malta, Greece (mainland and some islands), Israel - so had my very first foreign holiday, no family, only 4 other kids I knew and hundreds of random strangers who mostly seemed to be fancy Home Counties sixth formers twice our size who wanted nothing to do with us. We got lectures pitched years above our current educational age and a crash course in basic Greek so it was a real mental workout too.

 

This trip did more than any other experience I ever had for my academics, my independence, and basically spurred my curiosity about the world and other cultures. Despite everyone in my family having passports forever (totally normal for Brits) none of them would ever choose to do anything other than a cheap beach & booze holiday given their druthers. If I had not taken that chance that fell in my lap, I would very likely be still living in the UK and almost certainly would never have visited anywhere in Asia or Africa.

 

The second was not as personality-shaping, but was even more important in some ways - my wife and I, at that point dating for less than a year at Uni, were chatting over a few beers and realised we both had ~8-9 days until we actually needed to start our summer jobs. So we packed our suitcases and walked down to the nearest travel agent and said "Where can you send us by tomorrow for less than 250 quid?" We ended up splurging 258 for a week on Lesbos - could have saved 20-30 and gone to Spain but since I'd been to Greece on the Uganda I thought it would be worth the extra few quid to go back. Tiny fishing village, no tourist hotels yet, stayed in one of a handful of guesthouses run by widows near the one village square.

 

We ate what the single resto cooked for the other locals, brushed-up on my Greek (the guy who owned the bar spoke decent English, otherwise it was the one very unhappy tour rep who got stuck in the middle of nowhere while her colleague were living it up in bigger resorts and a handful of fellow tourists we ever spoke English to), rented a scooter and pootled around the island to various old castles and churches on our own, then finished up our last day by getting run off the road by an a**hole (and rescued by the nice person following him, who stuffed our twisted scooter in his truck and drove us to 'the city' to a pharmacist - fortunately no bones broken but I donated a lot of blood & skin to the road gods and never drove a two-wheeler again!)

 

If I hadn't had a passport available immediately, neither of these trips - nor a few others since that were less groundbreaking for me - would have happened. Maybe I'd still be well-traveled, though I'd have been years behind in getting going. I'd almost certainly still have married my wife, assuming she still wanted me if I had not broadened my horizons by the time we met! In short both of these travel experiences were foundational to making me who I am today. Which may be in many ways a total a**hole, but at least I'm a more interesting one;-)

[navybankerteacher]

#7 in my first post. Most leisure travel is planned out well in advance for the vast majority of people so yes, if someone decides they have the wherewithal for an international flight they factor getting the passport into their planning. (When we first discovered we had the ability to fly to Germany plans for the trip started 12 months prior to the trip and we determined that applying for our passports 3 months prior to the trip would be a prudent thing to do, allowing extra time for an delays. In fact we had time to get the passports and then get a corrected passport for DW because I had misspelled her middle name on the application. Something I haven't heard the end of yet.)

 

Circular logic. Of course leisure travel has to be planned well in advance by those with no passports: you need time to get the passports, so you cannot plan spontaneously - in reaction to unexpected opportunity. So, as long as you have to plan well in advance, you will have time to get them.

[sparks1093]

Circular logic. Of course leisure travel has to be planned well in advance by those with no passports: you need time to get the passports, so you cannot plan spontaneously - in reaction to unexpected opportunity. So, as long as you have to plan well in advance, you will have time to get them.

 

Even if one doesn't have to plan well in advance a passport may be obtained by most in less than a week. It might be a valid concern for some and of course if it is they should get a passport but again, it's not a concern for most non-passport holders. You may have the ability to travel at a moments notice but that is a luxury many don't have. I think people have a better idea of what they can do vis a vis last minute travel then someone on these boards that doesn't even know them.

[sanger727]

Circular logic. Of course leisure travel has to be planned well in advance by those with no passports: you need time to get the passports, so you cannot plan spontaneously - in reaction to unexpected opportunity. So, as long as you have to plan well in advance, you will have time to get them.

 

 

 

I have a passport and still plan my leisure travel well in advance. It takes time to save money for a trip, have to request vacation time from work well in advance, and generally can save money by booking flights well in advance. It’s nice it someone has a schedule where if a deal pops up they can run off on the spur of the minute; but many, with or without passports, don’t have that luxury. I would wager that MOST leisure travel is planned well in advance.

 

 

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[Barrheadlass]

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/fees.html

 

According to that site $110 US + 25 execution fee. Renewal costs the same but no added fee. Passport is good for 10 years. Amortization- $11-13.50 per year.

 

Pretty cheap compared to the overall cost of a cruise. Waiting for someone to complain they could buy X number of drinks at the Sunset bar for that. But if some Americans are happy to restricting their international travels to only closed loop cruises from US ports, that's their prerogative.

 

I always have to renew mine early. So many countries require we have six months left on our passport to enter the country. Plus, last time I ran out of pages and some countries require, supposedly, blank pages.

[squick64]

53 percent of passport holders say they are content with their lives just as they are, compared to only 34 percent of non-passport holders

I'd venture to guess that there's an overall income difference between the two groups. Of course, there are low-income people who travel and rich people who never do, but for many families that are struggling financially, paying $100 (plus increasing fees) for a passport isn't really on the radar, nor is taking a long and expensive trip. And we know that income (up to a certain point) is associated with one's general contentedness and happiness.

[jagsfan]

My DH and I were beneficiaries of a trip to Jamaica that my brother paid for and couldn’t take. First trip out of North America for us. We had a week’s notice, paid $25 each to change the names on the tickets and off we went. Glorious! Jamaica had its ganja sellers that popped out from behind bushes and vendors who would follow you for a mile trying to sell you something, but we felt safe, just annoyed. Even rode a local bus to Montego Bay.

Then we flew into Miami and had a minor hassle at passport control because all we had was our driver’s licenses. The guy finally laughed and said our accents got us in.

As soon as we got home we applied for passports even though we’d reached our late 40’s never going farther than Mexico and Canada.

Three months later I decided to train to be a travel agent, out of the blue. Three months after that, I had the opportunity of a really cheap weekend in London and jumped on it.

We keep our passports up to date, and travel every chance we get. I retired in 98 at the age of 62.

Up until the age of 48, I had no expectation of ever leaving the continent. Our passports have certainly been worth the effort and expense to get them.

 

 

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[cruisemom42]

I'm going to limit myself to the population of cruisers, since a) this site is for cruisers, and b) those who cruise have at least some discretionary income for travel/vacations.

 

I have to agree with an earlier post that there are two schools of thought regarding travel, but I'd put it somewhat differently as:

 

Those who feel travel is a priority and who allocate a higher amount of their budget for it, and those who don't see it as a priority.

 

I grew up in a small town, middle class family -- but a family that was always interested in travel. We didn't spend a lot on some things that others in our income bracket did -- e.g., no new car every couple of years or so, very little $$ spent dining out or on home electronics or other gadgets. My dad mowed our large lawn with an old rotary mower and took his lunch to work every day.

 

But we traveled. My parents took me to Europe and on cruises from around the time I was 10 or 11. Travel was also on the cheap -- 4 of us in an inside cabin on the lowest deck of the ship, or we stayed in cheap hotels and went to local markets for lunches and dinners rather than sit-down restaurants.

 

I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything, and I made sure to do the same with my son.

 

I sometimes wonder if a love of travel tends to develop mostly in those who are exposed to it as a "way of life" early. :confused: Although I've known a number of folks who got the travel bug later in life as well.

[navybankerteacher]

I have a passport and still plan my leisure travel well in advance. It takes time to save money for a trip, have to request vacation time from work well in advance, and generally can save money by booking flights well in advance. It’s nice it someone has a schedule where if a deal pops up they can run off on the spur of the minute; but many, with or without passports, don’t have that luxury. I would wager that MOST leisure travel is planned well in advance.

 

 

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A bit off topic - we are talking about reasons for having a passport, and I was responding to a contention that it did not matter if you had one because international travel requires advance planning - which allows getting the passport. Believe it or not, sometimes opportunities arise with short lead time.

[sparks1093]

A bit off topic - we are talking about reasons for having a passport, and I was responding to a contention that it did not matter if you had one because international travel requires advance planning - which allows getting the passport. Believe it or not, sometimes opportunities arise with short lead time.

 

Yes, they do, but not for everyone. Most people are pretty good judges about whether or not it is a possibility for themselves since they know their personal situation much better than anyone on this board. If they happen to misjudge they miss out on a trip, not the end of a world.

[crzndeb]

I know, at my age, I have felt much sexier running on the beach in Bora Bora, than I have in Nassau. LOL

[DRS/NC]

I know, of course, that this is a forum for cruisers & cruise issues. However, I always think of my passport as the ultimate proof of citizenship. Granted, I work with refugees, immigrants & new US citizens, so my thoughts go there concerning official documents.

 

I always advise new citizens to get a passport for him/herself & any children who acquired citizenship w/parents as proof citizenship. The naturalization certificate is too big & too costly to carry around, even to the kids' school as proof. Children don't get a certificate when mom or dad naturalize. They can order one but it's about $500.00! A passport or passport card is lots cheaper. It's always good for proof of citizenship! Unfortunately, currently, a naturalized citizen may need to provide proof of status. A passport card can be carried easily.

 

This is also true for native-born citizens. Yes, US citizens are not required to carry proof, but just last month, ICE agents boarded a Greyhound Bus in FLL & an Amtrak train in the NE and demanded proof of citizenship of all riders! While that action may/may not have been legal, arguing was probably not a good idea at the moment.

 

When I travel domestically, I'v never carried my passport, but that may change (or I'll get a passport card). A driver's license only proves residency. Just a thought...........

[SadieN]

Daughter broke her ankle on a hike overseas. She didn’t need the added stress of having to figure out a passport on top of trying to pack while being nonweight bearing.

Had to fly out the next day to get the other daughter when she had mono in Italy.

 

 

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[sanger727]

A bit off topic - we are talking about reasons for having a passport, and I was responding to a contention that it did not matter if you had one because international travel requires advance planning - which allows getting the passport. Believe it or not, sometimes opportunities arise with short lead time.

 

 

 

My point was that i disagree with the argument that the possibility of travel with short notice is a good reason to have a passport. You can get an expedited passport in a relatively short period of time. The bigger hurdle for most adults is getting vacation time from work and family commitments. I wouldn’t consider not having a passport to be very relevant to being able to jump on a trip with a short lead time. Per the passport website you can get a passport in as little as 2 weeks.

 

 

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Edited February 10, 2018 by sanger727

[navybankerteacher]

My point was that if an opportunity does pop up with short lead time, for many people whether or not they have a passport is besides the point. You can get an expedited passport in a relatively short period of time. The bigger hurdle for most adults is getting vacation time from work and family commitments. I wouldn’t consider not having a passport to be very relevant to being able to jump on a trip with a short lead time. Per the passport website you can get a passport in as little as 2 weeks.

 

 

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Of course, it CAN be done -- but the fact remains: having a passport makes it easier to take advantage of last minute opportunities.

 

This thread is about "Benefits to Having a Valid Passport" -- why is it so hard for people to accept that not needing to hustle, and pay extra, to get a rush passport is such a benefit?

 

There seems to be a number of people who are simply against the idea of having a passport.

[sanger727]

Of course, it CAN be done -- but the fact remains: having a passport makes it easier to take advantage of last minute opportunities.

 

 

 

This thread is about "Benefits to Having a Valid Passport" -- why is it so hard for people to accept that not needing to hustle, and pay extra, to get a rush passport is such a benefit?

 

 

 

There seems to be a number of people who are simply against the idea of having a passport.

 

 

 

The article was a complete load of BS though. It was A, mostly about perceptions of passport holders - and if you get a passport you never plan to use simply so people think better of you, that is just silly. B. Other reasons they gave are more related to people who have passports tend to be higher income.

 

I’m not against having a passport. I’ve had one since I was 15. I simply know enough people who don’t have them that I understand they aren’t for everyone. I’ll give an example. I have a coworker that is 34, married to a woman in her twenties, with 2 small children. No passports and have never left the country. I tried to talk him into taking a big trip before they had kids but he prioritized having kids. His wife was just diagnosed with cancer so is out of work and they are spending a lot of time and energy on that. Getting a passport isn’t on their radar and probably won’t be for another 10+ years. So for them, it would truly just be a waste of money.

 

 

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[cruisemom42]

I know, at my age, I have felt much sexier running on the beach in Bora Bora, than I have in Nassau. LOL

 

This! :')

[Ronnie1a]

A simple answer: with very few exceptions if you have a passport they will let you on the ship. If you do not have one they will not let you on board.

[mom says]

A simple answer: with very few exceptions if you have a passport they will let you on the ship. If you do not have one they will not let you on board.

 

You've just made a blanket statement about all cruisers and all cruises from all embarkation ports. There are more holes in it than there were in the sliced cheese I had at lunch.