Passports

[tyandskyesmom]

Not a RC specific question just a general one but I figured you guys on a cruise related board would be able to give me some experienced answers.

We are cruising with a dance team at the end of June. The last time I cruised was about 20 years ago. At that time you did not need a passport to go to the Bahamas. Now, apparently, you do.

While looking at the site about passports I noticed that there is the book and a card. The card is listed as for travel to Canada, Bahamas, etc.

Our group leader asked about it to her planning contact and she sent the info directly from the cruise line's site that sounds like the card is sufficient but she also said she couldn't officially tell her that the card would be sufficient.

We are not a family that I see travelling outside the USA other than possibly a small cruise again but only to the Bahamas in the forseeable future.

There is a huge price difference between the book and the card and I'd rather not spend the extra $70ish per book if I don't absolutely need it.

From what I understand, the passport is only needed if you need to FLY back from the Bahamas to the USA, is that correct?

Any issues with just having the card for travel like this?

Anything I am misunderstanding?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Pigletpal40]

We got the standard book passport for that reason. Nobody was sure which you could use coming back to the USA. We didn't want the hassle.

 

[Alexle2007]

For an closed loop cruise (meaning you are leaving and returning to the same US port), you don't technically need a passport. A driver's license will suffice. When you are in the Bahamas, you will just need your driver license and cruise ship room key, to get back on board the ship. If you had a passport, the recommendation is to leave it in your room safe. The only time, the passport comes into play is if something were to happen to you in the Bahamas, you would need it to get out of the country. I would definitely go with the regular passport and not just an ID. You never know when you might go out of the country and then you are paying for a passport you could have already purchased.

 

[cedricandsophie]

It might seem like a lot of money now but getting a passport is just a good idea. Not only for cruises but it gives you a lot more flexibility in planning last min trips. You might decide to go to Mexico at the last min or Canada or even win a trip. It's also a good id for kids to have for college etc. My daughter has had one since she was a baby and I've made sure my grandchildren all got one. We are all citizens of the world and it just seems to make sense to me.

 

[nkereina]

For a closed-loop cruise, you need something more than a standard driver's license. You need either a passport, birth certificate, enhanced driver's license, etc. If you can furnish one of these IDs, then you don't need a passport. We just cruised last week and DH did not have a passport but was able to use his birth certificate. On our cruise last week, Bahamas was one of our stops and we only needed to bring our driver's licenses off the ship. We did not need a passport. PP is correct in that a passport is recommended in the event you miss the ship or have an emergency on the island and need to fly out of the Bahamas.

 

[Laz]

On two occasions we had to leave the ship early in a foriegn port due to family emergencies. I don't know what would have happened without passports.

 

[anonymousegirl]

A Passport is like insurance. If you need it, you need it NOW. Or at least quickly. Then you are spending a lot more money and a day at a passport office trying to expedite it. I am on my fourth passport and I appreciate the peace of mind it gives me, plus the ability for a last minute trip.

 

[clten]

Do not WASTE your money on a Passport Card for travel to the Bahamas. Either get the passport book or travel with your driver's license and birth certificate.

A passport card gets you nothing more than what your driver's license with your birth certificate will give you. If you do a closed loop cruise (leaving and returning to the same US port) going only to the Caribbean and Bahamas, you need government issued photo ID and proof of citizenship. Your driver's license covers your government issued photo ID and your birth certificate covers your proof of citizenship. If you have a passport card, you can use it to cover both. But don't buy the passport card if you don't already have it. It provides you no extra security. In case of emergency and you need to fly home from the Bahamas, if you have your driver's license/BC or a Passport Card, you are in the same position and need to get help in getting back home

 

[sam_gordon]

A passport card gets you nothing more than what your driver's license with your birth certificate will give you. If you do a closed loop cruise (leaving and returning to the same US port) going only to the Caribbean and Bahamas, you need government issued photo ID and proof of citizenship. Your driver's license covers your government issued photo ID and your birth certificate covers your proof of citizenship.

This. A passport on for a closed loop cruise is a piece of insurance. More than likely you won't NEED it. If you need it and don't have it (miss the ship or otherwise need to fly back), you will be delayed in coming back, but you will still get back.

Not only for cruises but it gives you a lot more flexibility in planning last min trips.

I can't wait until I have the vacation time and money where I even have the option of taking a last minute trip out of the country.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you are US citizens and this is a closed loop Bahamas cruise, then what's being said is correct for you. If it's not closed loop, if it starts here and ends there, then it's a passport for you. (not the card)

On two occasions we had to leave the ship early in a foriegn port due to family emergencies. I don't know what would have happened without passports.

You would have gotten to sit in a bureaucrat's office, paying through the nose, to GET the passports (often limited expiration time), before getting on a plane.

Do not WASTE your money on a Passport Card for travel to the Bahamas. Either get the passport book or travel with your driver's license and birth certificate.

YES.

I can't wait until I have the vacation time and money where I even have the option of taking a last minute trip out of the country.

Windfalls happen!

 

[DPRincess81]

And must it be the official birth certificate with raised seal/watermark or can it be a photocopy?

 

[SteveMouse]

Here's the link to a US gov site that may be able to answer your question about what constitutes a valid document (hint: it must be state issued): https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise.

 

[DPRincess81]

Here's the link to a US gov site that may be able to answer your question about what constitutes a valid document (hint: it must be state issued): https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise.

Thank you SO much @SteveMouse! I'm so glad I asked! I read "copy of" and was thinking of the giant monster copier that sits outside my office.