Old Cruiser

If you have a passport you might as well use it. I use mine even when we fly domestically.

I thought I posted this yesterday but I don't see it so let's try again. I apologize as i misspoke. Instead of Hubbard Glacier I meant Glacier Bay. Carnival used to only visit this Glacier on the first sailing of the Alaska season and the last. Not sure if they do it at all now. As for taking kids on Princess if it were a Caribbean cruise i would agree but on an Alaskan cruise they are pretty port intensive. You are up early anf going all day so you usually head to bed earlier than a Caribbean cruise.

Just check the itinerary you are going on for the requirements. Most closed loop cruises the go to the Caribbean or the Bahamas don't have ports that require a passport. If they did you wouldn't be able to embark with just a birth certificate and govt ID.

I went on Princess cruises for my Alaskan cruise. They have a fair amount of ships in Alaska. I wanted to see the Hubbard Glacier and Carnival didn't do an itinerary that went there when we went. I keep looking for a deal on the Icon or Star but none to be had. I am like you,I'll wait until the prices come down.

We never take our passports. They go into our safe and stay there until it's time to disembark. This is the Q & A from John Heald on 1/30/24 John Heald 12h · Name: D--- Message: Hi John. There has recently been a discussion on what to do with your passport when leaving the ship in port. Some people say you should bring your passport with you at all times in a foreign country, and others have said you are supposed to leave your passport in your cabin's safe. It had been mentioned that Carnival will assume the responsibility of getting your passport to you in the event it is needed (ie a medical emergency) or leave it with someone in port if you miss the ship. People on both sides of the discussion have stated Carnival has an official policy regarding this and each side states the policy backs their argument. Can you provide any clarity to this discussion? What should people do with their travel documents while in port? Thank you! --------------------------------------------------- Thank you so much, it’s a very very good question and when this is asked, it’s always a good time for me to remind everybody what we recommend. You should not take your original passport with you when you go ashore. Most people will take a photocopy of their passport or use a drivers license or something similar to show the local security when returning to the ship. In case of an emergency which meant you could not return to the ship we do indeed have a policy in place. Your passport would be collected from the guest cabin ( including retrieving it from the safe) and by our housekeeping officers, a Guest Services officer and someone from our security team We would then return the passport to the ships agent. We have one in every single Port who takes care of the ships needs during the time there. The agent would return the original passport to you. What do you take ashore with you as documentation? cheers

No we have not. Just the Bahamas, Caribbean, Bermuda, and 1 Alaska. I retired last March and today is my wife's last day. Hopefully we can do Europe now that we don't have to worry about getting more than 7 days off. South Pacific is another I'd like to try but my better half doesn't want to be stuck in an airplane that many hours. I can argue that point. I'm not into that much either. As for the equal opportunity comment we go where we get the most bang for our buck with the itinerary we like. I'd love to go on the Icon of the Seas but those prices are staggering. Maybe someday.

We started doing that when we were on the Horizon a couple cruises ago. Ty for the kind words. Going on cruise #43 next month. We are equal opportunity cruisers so we cruise with most lines.

I read somewhere letting someone board after the cruise sets sail changes the manifest and changes the cruise from closed loop to open at least for the people getting on at another stop.

hate responding to my own post but I see Royal Caribbean has announced cancellations of port calls there

"Foreign-flag vessels like Carnival’s vessels may transport passengers between two different U.S. ports without violating the PVSA if the vessel stops at a distant foreign port and the passenger traveled with the vessel to that distant foreign port." The key part here is that the vessel is not transporting the OP between 2 U.S. ports since they would be embarking in a foreign port. (Bimini) Like this cruise on Discovery Princess which starts in Seattle and ends in Vancouver. Sep 21, 2024 – Sep 28, 2024 Seattle, United States • Juneau, United States • Skagway, United States • Ketchikan, United States • Vancouver, Canada

John Heald recommends leaving passports on the ship.

If the OP boarded in Bimini that would not be a violation of the PVSA as they wouldn’t be transported between 2 different U..S. Ports. Carnival has not let pax board once they miss the ship at-the embarkation port for some time now. The reason I don’t know.

What cruise lines are avoiding the DR?

Our last Carnival cruise on Celebration we neverwaited more than 10 minutes. Usally lobster night is the longest wait. We let the dining room know weare ready right before we leave our cabin.

Depends on when you cruise. Cruised with our Grand daughter who was 3 and we had to pay for her. This was Meraviglia from Brooklyn last June.