Passports in Nassau About This Page:

[ffw]

Hi y'all, just a few quick questions! My husband and I are going on the 4-nighter to the Bahamas, and I wanted to know what the deal is with the passports. Do you need to bring your passport off of the ship with you when you enter Nassau? Do they take your passport for holding while you exit onto Nassau? What is the best procedure for this? The idea of bringing my passport into Nassau makes me nervous, moreso because I'm the best at losing things and that would be the worst possible thing to lose (as you can imagine!). I found the link here What do you do with your valuables? but am unsure as to whether the rules have changed. If I don't need to bring the passport along with me, what other indentification would I need? Thanks so much in advance.

[MelissaL]

We have never actually disembarked at Nassau, but I would assume the procedure is the same as for US citizens at Castaway Cay (also in the Bahamas) and all of the other ports. (I don't know if it works differently if you have a non-US passport.)

You do not need to carry your passport. Each passenger does need his or her Key to the World card (aka room key), and adults need photo ID, such as a driver's license. DCL crewmembers will scan your key when you exit the ship, and check ID and scan your key when you reboard. That's how they make sure everyone is back on the ship.

On a 4-night cruise, you should not need to show your passport between the time you board and the time you disembark in Port Canaveral, though you may need the number to fill out the customs form before you disembark. However, it wouldn't hurt to carry a photocopy with you, just in case of emergency. I put copies of all of our passports in the bag I carried around at each port with sunglasses, sunscreen, and such.

The only port on the 7-night cruises that worked slightly differently was St. Thomas on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Because that is a US territory, all passengers, even US citizens, are required to present themselves and their passports early in the morning on the day the ship stops there. You still don't need to carry your passport off the ship, though.

Happy planning,
Melissa

[HeatherD]

Do they take your passport for holding while you exit onto Nassau?

Any country that would "hold" my passport would be a country I wouldn't visit! Your passport is your only truly accepted form of international proof of US citizenship.

[colleymouse]

Although they don't require you to show your passport, as Heather mentioned it is the only real proof of your citizenship. We took ours into port and my DH carried them in an inside pocket to keep them safe.

[dmpyron]

Originally Posted by HeatherD

Any country that would "hold" my passport would be a country I wouldn't visit! Your passport is your only truly accepted form of international proof of US citizenship.

For years and years, it was SOP for hotels to hold the passports of guests. In China, for instance, government inspectors regularly come by and look at the passports. I was asked for my passport in Germany a few years back and said "NO". The clerk didn't know what to do, called the manager, who freaked out. Finally called the national hotel office, who told them (essentially) "it's okay, you don't have to take it".

Non US nationals have their passports collected by cruise lines on embarkation and have them returned when they debark. But only for US originating cruises.

[Dave Marx]

The cruise lines inspect your passports before you board the ship, and "certify" the passenger manifest to the authorities when they enter most ports. It saves everyone a whole lot of time and trouble compared to inspecting passports on the wharf.

On a four-night itinerary you won't encounter it, but when ships call in the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico, US Customs agents board the ship early in the morning and inspect everyone's passports (whether or not they plan to go ashore). It's hardly my favorite thing to do at 6:00am.