Are Passports needed?

[Dave]

Closed loop voyages do not require a passport. Look at my post on this topic, located here

[29dawgs]

I thought that you either had to have a passport or a passport card to go on all cruises leaving a US port. Is that not the new law that started 6-1-09.

[Dave]

No, it is as noted in my linked post above. Closed loop voyages (begin and end at the same U.S. port) do not require a passport. However, it is our official policy in the forum to recommend everyone get a full passport.

[wooddon]

We stop at several Caribbean last December and two of the ports requested to see our passports before allowing us back on the ship, so please be careful as lots of people were having a hard time getting back on. We always carry ours passports everywhere we travel and at every port. What is the big issue of not getting a passport. The rules changes on June 1st, that everyone must have one including US people if they want to get back into the US. This should had been in place years ago.

[Bem1962]

short answer,, Yes,, you spent all this money on the vacation spend the money on the passport to be safe, you might not have then "required" but what if you get ill on a island and end up ina Hospital, or have a Emergency at home and need to fly back,, no passport no flight,, so be on safe side and have a passport

[Dave]

<ahem> How many times do I have to mention the closed loop exemption? I didn't fabricate it and make up a fake website to detail it. Google "close loop cruises".

So let me restate:

For U.S. citizens or legal residents, passage on a closed loop cruise does not require the person to have a passport. Look here

U.S. citizens require a passport to return to the U.S. via air or land - or if on a cruise that does not meet the requirements of the closed loop ruling. But for closed loop voyages if they leave and then re-enter the U.S. from the cruise ship, a passport is not needed. A photo ID and proof of citizenship (certified birth certificate) is still accepted.

I've never been asked for a passport in the Caribbean, either by port security or ship's security.


As I said earlier, it is strongly advised that everyone obtain and maintain a passport for all travel.

Since this topic has been answered (again), I'll now close it.