Do I Need a Passport to Cruise? – Read to Avoid Trouble!
Like most of you, I asked myself if “do I need a passport to cruise?” If you and your wife are taking a cruise from Miami to the Bahamas for your honeymoon, then you need a passport to cruise.
You need a passport anytime you go outside the United States for example. If you apply for a passport, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months because of regulation changes. However, you can cruise with the receipt issued to you once you’ve applied and paid for your passport if it isn’t ready by the time you need to go. You can even print your receipt online if you lose your receipt. Ask the website with regards on how to apply for your passport specifics.
Rules and policies keep on changing so it’s a good idea to be aware of any new rules as they change. For instance, people that went to Guatemala reported that they only needed a government photo ID and a cruise passenger card and no passport. If you’re confused, then you need to listen to your cruise director because the director always announces what to take with you when you get off the ship.
Many cruisers will be cleared from carrying a passport because of some confusion on the rules, but I strongly advise that you register for one. The reason is that you’ll need your passport just in case your plans didn’t go smoothly, such as you missing your cruise and having to fly on your port of call, or having a problem that needs you to get out of the cruise and fly home. You don’t really want to be stranded in a foreign country without any documentation.