What You’ll Need to Board your Bahamas Vacation Cruise
If you will be cruising to the Bahamas on a Paradise Cruiseline, you must ensure that you have the proper travel documents so that you will be able to get on and off of the ship at each port. Below is a detailed explanation of what you will require.
Travel Documents Required For Overnight Stays
If you have selected one of the Bahamas vacation cruise and stay options, where you will spend 2-nights on the ship—and additional days in a beachfront resort in the Bahamas, then you will be required to have a passport for your cruise.
Travel Documents Required For Cruise-Only
Sometimes the best price cruises, are the 2-night 3 day cruises that port at the Bahamas allowing you a full day of excursions off of the ship. For this cruise, a passport is an adequate form of identification, but is not the only acceptable form of identification for US citizens. US citizens can use a government issued birth certificate, and a government issued ID—such as a driver’s license or state ID card. The birth certificate must have a raised seal, and may not be a photocopy. Green cards are an acceptable form of ID for resident aliens, along with a government issued photo ID. Those traveling from other countries are required to have a passport. Keep in mind, that a passport is always the fastest and easiest form of ID when going through customs.
Other Important Travel Document Information
Once you have gathered your travel documents, there are a few other factors you should keep in mind:
- It takes an average of 4 to 6 weeks to process a passport, so plan your trip accordingly. You can pay extra to expedite your passport for delivery in approximately 3 weeks.
- All passports and government ID cards must be current and/or have not expired.
- All children 16 years or older are required to have travel documents, but it is not a bad idea to have ID for younger children as well.
- If you are traveling with minors who you are not the legal guardian of, it is wise to travel with a letter of permission from their parent or legal guardian.
- It is a good idea to keep photocopies of all travel documents in the safe of your cabin or hotel room, or to keep electronic copies that you can access in case of emergency, loss, or theft.
The last thing you want is to book your Bahama cruise, and be left scrambling for the required travel documents. To make cruising and all forms of international travel easier, keep a current passport at all times.
