by Rhonda Moffit, Moffits-Mad Hatter Adventures    June 7, 2017

One of the most popular questions we are asked by our Mad Hatter family is- do I need a passport for a Disney Cruise? This question can be answered quite simply if you follow the guidelines put in place.

In short, if you are a US citizen, you do not need a passport to board and depart the ship if your cruise is what is known as a “closed loop”. This simply means that the cruise begins and ends in the same location. In addition, if it is a closed loop cruise and it travels to Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Bermuda, or the Caribbean, you do not need a passport. But wait- there is a reason to consider it.

If you are cruising and your journey takes you to the Panama Canal or South America, you do need a passport- period.

We advise every one of our Moffits-Mad Hatter Adventures family to obtain a passport for what we think are some very good reasons.

If someone in your party has an accident and is injured, immediate medical care can not be given on board other than primary lifesaving methods. This means you must take a trip that you did not count on- to a hospital for care. The ship will not wait for you to return and will stay on schedule, so what do you do? If you do not have a passport, this can be very bad news. If you do have one, you can book your return flight to the US to journey home. You will be able to go through customs with your passport and prove your US citizenship. Many people avoid getting the passport because of the additional cost, but think about this- the cost of an emergency without one will be FAR worse.

You won’t need additional identification if you use a passport, and a good idea to be prepared should you disembark the ship for an afternoon is to take a photo of your passport to keep on your phone but leave your original locked in your room safe on board. You can carry your driver’s license with you for these short adventures in port. Just don’t be late getting back to the ship- I recommend being back an hour early.

What are your thoughts? Share with us and leave a comment.

Image courtesy of Disney Cruise Line

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