Passport required!

[JF - retired RRT]

Anyone else get this?

Just got a notice from Princess for our Caribbean closed loop (FLL to FLL) cruise in December...passports are now REQUIRED. No longer an option.

Good guess...the passport office is going to be busy.

[voljeep]

wow - we've got ours - but have not received any kind of notice, yet, about our 12/4 sailing on the SKY out of PE/FLL

[JF - retired RRT]

1 minute ago, voljeep said:

wow - we've got ours - but have not received any kind of notice, yet, about our 12/4 sailing on the SKY out of PE/FLL

Yeah. The first thing we did when we started cruising in 2013 was to get passports.

[riffatsea]

21 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Anyone else get this?

Just got a notice from Princess for our Caribbean closed loop (FLL to FLL) cruise in December...passports are now REQUIRED. No longer an option.

Good guess...the passport office is going to be busy.

I wonder what islands you are visiting?? Maybe one of them change their own requirements??

I know that after October of 2020 you will need either an enhanced driver's license or a passport in order to fly domestically here in the USA.

[idahospud]

21 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Anyone else get this?

Just got a notice from Princess for our Caribbean closed loop (FLL to FLL) cruise in December...passports are now REQUIRED. No longer an option.

Good guess...the passport office is going to be busy.

I’m guessing you either stop in Colombia or Costa Rica? Even though it’s a round trip closed-loop itinerary, they are considered international voyages and a passport is required. From Princess' TA system:

Closed Loop domestic voyages
U.S. Citizens Sailing on "Closed Loop" domestic cruises must present proof of citizenship (which can be an original or certified copy - NOT a photo copy - of a U.S. birth certificate, a Consular report of Birth Abroad or a Certificate of Naturalization) AND a valid government photo identification (please note: only photo IDs issued by country, state, or local government qualify. A Student ID is not considered government photo identification). If a birth certificate is used as proof of citizenship and the name on the birth certificate has changed, and does not match the name on the picture I.D. (most likely due to marriage), then it is recommended that a copy of the marriage license be carried by the passenger. If necessary, this will provide verification of the name change. Passengers with questions regarding this topic may contact the National Passport Information Center 877-487-2778 (M-F, 5 am - 5 pm PST)."Closed Loop" cruises are defined as cruises that begin and terminate at the same U.S. port with intermediate stops at Mexico, Canada or most Caribbean islands and Bermuda. These voyages include: 

• Alaska: Roundtrip from Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle (Seattle Cruisetours excluded) 
• California Coastal: Roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco  
• Canada & New England: Roundtrip from New York 
• Caribbean: Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, or New York 
• Hawaii: Roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco (Voyages visiting the South Pacific excluded) 
• Mexico: Roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco

Voyages that call to Central or South America are excluded and only Passports or WHTI compliant documents are accepted. Voyages that call to Colombia, Costa Rica, or Nicaragua are considered International voyages and all guests must have a Passport. 

[ggprincess2004]

Actually, that Caribbean Princess 14 day closed loop doesn't call in South American or Mexican ports. Strictly Caribbean, but the Schengen agreement countries control the ABC islands,  we have St. Maarten, and also Trinidad. Any of these coukd have triggered the requirement. We got that notice fof our early Nov closed loop 14 day, too.

[ScottStacey]

just got the same notice on FTL to FTL cruise Nov 6th - no columbia nor costa rica so that is not the issue - checked travel.cov and 3 cruise lines sites and no updates so very curious too.  we have ours but not being required before for this type of cruise I bet will cause a lot of panic

 

[ScottStacey]

1 minute ago, ggprincess2004 said:

Actually, that Caribbean Princess 14 day closed loop doesn't call in South American or Mexican ports. Strictly Caribbean, but the Schengen agreement countries control the ABC islands,  we have St. Maarten, and also Trinidad. Any of these coukd have triggered the requirement. We got that notice fof our early Nov closed loop 14 day, too.

See you November 6th ggprincess2004 - 

 

[Felix331]

I called Princess about this because we got the notice too and they advised that cruises visiting Martinique or Guadeloupe now require a passport. 

[JF - retired RRT]

41 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

I wonder what islands you are visiting?? Maybe one of them change their own requirements??

I know that after October of 2020 you will need either an enhanced driver's license or a passport in order to fly domestically here in the USA.

Could be one of the islands. I don't have the itinerary in front of me right now (packing for a flight), but it's the Pacific Princess, Caribbean Connoisseur, Dec. 22 2019 

[BarbinMich]

40 minutes ago, Felix331 said:

I called Princess about this because we got the notice too and they advised that cruises visiting Martinique or Guadeloupe now require a passport. 

This is because they're "departments" (like our states) of France, so it's like you're entering France when you get off the ship.  We've been to both but years ago (1990s), before the passport requirement.  Apparently they've gotten stricter about it recently.   I didn't get a passport until 2008 because we planned to do our first TA the following year, having only done Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises until then.  DH already had one because of his business travels overseas.

Edited August 21, 2019 by BarbinMich

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the info.

[PaperSniper4]

3 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Anyone else get this?

Just got a notice from Princess for our Caribbean closed loop (FLL to FLL) cruise in December...passports are now REQUIRED. No longer an option.

Good guess...the passport office is going to be busy.

 

I doubt it. No offense, but I think 95% of the people cruising already have a passport.

 

Doug

[Kingofcool1947]

3 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Anyone else get this?

Just got a notice from Princess for our Caribbean closed loop (FLL to FLL) cruise in December...passports are now REQUIRED. No longer an option.

Good guess...the passport office is going to be busy.

 

Yes.   I always bring my passport.  You?

[pms4104]

2 hours ago, riffatsea said:

I wonder what islands you are visiting?? Maybe one of them change their own requirements??

I know that after October of 2020 you will need either an enhanced driver's license or a passport in order to fly domestically here in the USA.

This is not entirely accurate.  Effective Oct 1, 2020, to board a domestic flight or to visit certain Federal facilities (courthouses and nuclear power plants, for instance),  Real ID compliant ID will be required.  This can be a Real ID driver license or state ID, enhanced DL (issued by only 5 states, passport, global entry card

 

Edited August 21, 2019 by pms4104

[Kingofcool1947]

1 hour ago, BarbinMich said:

This is because they're "departments" (like our states) of France, so it's like you're entering France when you get off the ship.  We've been to both but years ago (1990s), before the passport requirement.  Apparently they've gotten stricter about it recently.   I didn't get a passport until 2008 because we planned to do our first TA the following year, having only done Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises until then.  DH already had one because of his business travels overseas.

 

Do you carry your passports now on your most recent cruise?  I was told if one never intend to go ashore, a passport is not needed.

 

[1025cruise]

The cruise line can have their own requirements to require a passport.

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Do you carry your passports now on your most recent cruise?  I was told if one never intend to go ashore, a passport is not needed.

 

If a passport is required for a port the cruise line will not let you board without one

[pms4104]

45 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

 

I doubt it. No offense, but I think 95% of the people cruising already have a passport.

 

Doug

I think 95% is way high, particularly when you factor in Americans traveling on closed loop cruises using WHTI compliant docs

Edited August 21, 2019 by pms4104

[riffatsea]

48 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

This is not entirely accurate.  Effective Oct 1, 2020, to board a domestic flight or to visit certain Federal facilities (courthouses and nuclear power plants, for instance),  Real ID compliant ID will be required.  This can be a Real ID driver license or state ID, enhanced DL (issued by only 5 states, passport, global entry card

 

R we quibbling over names of ID here?

My POINT was that you'll need something other than your plain old driver's license!!

[pms4104]

11 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

R we quibbling over names of ID here?

My POINT was that you'll need something other than your plain old driver's license!!

Yes, i guess I am quibbling.  My POINT was to clarify the future requirement ... because people read these boards to get accurate info.  EDL and Real ID are not interchangeable terms.  That is the reason I posted ... my jntention was not to be snarky.

[Lucky TGO]

3 hours ago, Felix331 said:

I called Princess about this because we got the notice too and they advised that cruises visiting Martinique or Guadeloupe now require a passport. 

 

Thanks for the info. It’s good to know. We were on the Caribbean Princess in January. We did not receive a notice and we were going to Martinique. Could it be because the ship has the Ocean Medallion and they have a picture of your passport?

Tony

[Pierlesscruisers]

1 hour ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Do you carry your passports now on your most recent cruise?  I was told if one never intend to go ashore, a passport is not needed.

 

 

Not the case. When you cruise into a port in a foreign country, you are already in that country since you are in their waters. If you have ever been on a cruise have you ever seen anybody checking passports when you leave the ship? No. That's because everybody on that ship has already shown documentation that they have correct documentation required for them to enter that country. Can you imagine how long it would take if the crew had to check everybody's documentation before they could get off the ship?

 

Tom

[Daniel A]

5 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Anyone else get this?

Just got a notice from Princess for our Caribbean closed loop (FLL to FLL) cruise in December...passports are now REQUIRED. No longer an option.

Good guess...the passport office is going to be busy.

On a cruise to Canada R/T from New York, I asked at check-in if my NY Enhanced Driver license was acceptable in lieu of a US Passport.  I was told it was fine.  The Enhanced Driver License is good for land and sea border crossings for US, Canada and many (not all) Caribbean nations.  The passenger services rep at the check-in desk did warn me though that if a problem arose during the cruise and I were to need to fly home, a passport would be required to enter the US by air.  My advice is get a passport if you don't already have one.  There is no better form of Identification.  Also make sure you renew your passport if it is getting within 6 months of expiration. 

[Potstech]

I always say if you think you know better than the cruise line then do it your way. It is your trip and money to lose.