Passports Needed??????

[Marks friend]

Hello
I am booking a cruise for a lrg group from our church, and my travel agent just called me and said that we will all now need passports starting on Dec 29th to go to the bahamas. Do any of you know about this? Is it an Immigration thing, or a DCL thing? I have a passport so not a problem for me, but a lot of the people going do not have one. Any ideas?

[OKWTink]

Near as I can recall it's an immigration thing. They are necessary for the Canadian border now too, something that was never necessary before. I had my passport with me last fall when I was cruising in the Caribbean.

[uscwest]

I don't know if 29 December is the date or not, but Homeland Security mandated this and now you will need a passport to re-enter the US from any cruise ship, not just DCL. You may not need it to get into Canada or Mexico but you'll need to get back into the US.

[OKWTink]

Passports are needed to cross the Canadian border. It's a new policy.

[Marks friend]

Thanks for all your info! I haven't stayed abreast on all the new homeland security issues!

[Cinderella]

Here is the official information
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2224.html

[Steamboat Willy]

Just got off the phone with the Disney Cruise Line agent and she said that as of todays date, one does not HAVE to have a passposrt to travel outside the US, as long as they have their Birth Certificate and a picture ID, but as of 2006 the government will require ALL travelers going outside the US to have a passport.

BTW if you are looking for FAQ's on getting a passport, (cost, locations, ect.) Click Here (http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html)

[BevW]

I got a passport, mainly because I don't want to use my birth cert. It's not exactly your every day ordinary birth cert...it comes from the consul of Japan, and I think it's made of rice paper...very very delicate...not like me at all :lmao: