That's funny. I was thinking the same thing. I have been all over the US but have only been to Canada, Aruba, and the Bahamas all before you needed a passport. I was thinking of getting one just in case someone called me tomorrow and said I have free tickets to Europe, want to go, I am ready. Or if I ever commit a bad crime and need to get out of the country.

 

I'm not gonna lie, been searching for mine for quite a while and looking to leave the country just as much, as soon as I can I will be gone. She doesn't know that yet.

For those who know me, I have to do a cost-benefit analysis on everything :lol:

I'm practical to a fault and I am not a pessimist by nature. Sometimes it is hard for me to go against the odds.

 

A question for those who have cruised to the Bahamas in the last few years, if you had a passport, did you need it for anything at all while on the cruise?

IF someone gets hurt and left you need a passport book not the little card to fly back in. Do yourself the favor and just get, besides they are fun to get stamped when you go places.

IF someone gets hurt and left you need a passport book not the little card to fly back in. Do yourself the favor and just get, besides they are fun to get stamped when you go places.

I know that is the rationale in favor of getting the passport, but the wording posted by Birdsfan above and from the Royal Caribbean website doesn't say you cannot fly home without a passport. It says you will "likely experience significant delays and complications related to booking airline tickets and entering the United States" if you have to return early.

 

I understand under normal circumstances you can't fly into the US from the Bahamas without a passport book, but the ambiguous language above makes me wonder if that is the case with cruise members who otherwise aren't required to have a passport. And if so, why don't they just state that directly instead of beating around the bush?

I should say this, I will very likely get the passports (even if the odds of needing them are very slim) because if there is an emergency the last thing you want is significant delays and complications and the cost of the passports is a small price compared to being able to take care of an emergency, if needed.

 

I am now, however, interested in this issue that I wan't to know the whole story. I am thinking this is just a scare tactic to sell passports Now what did I do with that tinfoil hat?

I got a very generic email response from the NPIC. They basically directed me to their website and did not address my specific questions. Government workers

Last year my son and daughter in law went on a cruise. She had her passport and he didn't. He took his birth certificate and photo ID as that was all he was told he needed. It was very difficult for him to be cleared to get on the ship and they almost didn't let him. Getting ready to book a cruise for this summer and we are all getting ours. Well worth not not taking the risk.