To passport ot not?

[tedtim]

I agree with everyone else. Spend the money on a passport.

A colleague at work went on a vacation with his family to Costa Rica. Actually, his wife was going to a meeting. He was told that his children did not need a passport because they were travelling with both parents. He even checked a few of those terribly reliable internt sites. The airline hesitated to let them on the aircraft, but eventually did so. He was denied entry to Costa Rica, and had to take his kids back to Florida where they had departed from to Costa Rica. He had a wonderful vacation at Disney World, but not what was expected. He sort of felt like Tom Hanks in the movie "The Terminal" because he was restricted to the airport overnight until the next flight departed.

With the increased checking of identification at airports it is worth the effort to have a passport even for travel within the country.

 

[crpntr133]

Go withthe passports, it makes life so much easier when going through customs. Its little things like Customs agent to my cousins wife: "The name on your drivers license doe not match the name on your birth certificate!" Cousins wife replied "I wasn't married at the time of my birth" Customs agent: "But your name doesn't match your drivers license". Evenutally she got through but it was definatly a hassle. The rest of us had passports and just went right through.

Plus, like Beck said, it gives you a neat record of your travels.

I had a similar incident last year when coming back from a cruise to the Bahama's. The name on my air ticket didn't match that on my license since my license has my "nickname" on it. So instead of Walter it had Wally on it. The customs woman looked at my license my ticket and the told me that she needed another ID since they didn't match. I flashed the passport and she was more than grateful to allow me to pass.
My Uncle also had the fender bender happen to him but he didn't end in jail. The passport help he thought.

IMHO,get the passport. If need be you can get one really quick, can't remember, for a few more bucks.

 

[RP Diver]

Passport, definitely. It's better (less hassle) than going the birth certificate route, and a lot of places require a passport anyway, so might as well be prepared.

 

[ScubaTwo]

My wallet was stolen and the replacement birth certificate dosnt have a raised seal. get the passport.

 

[Giggi]

One more reason to get a passport...(heaven forbid) what if you get a traffic ticket the day before you are due to travel? You're stuck without a photo ID. Get the passport. It's well worth the money, is good for 10 years (that's about $0.56 per month), and like everyone before me has stated, is a wonderful travelogue.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Passports make life much easier.

Don't wait until the last minute. Expedite fees can be steep.

TwoBit

 

[Zeeman]

I'm amazed anyone would even consider going overseas without a passport.

I like to be sure, I take 2

Z...

 

[BurBunny]

While technically most areas (but not all) in the Caribbean basin and the Bahamas don't require passports, you might want to consider future plans. Starting in January, 2006, all entries into the US will require a passport, even from US citizens. So even if the other countries don't change their policies, you'll need a passport to get back home.

Go ahead and get it now. It's good for 10 years. And having that little blue book makes travel so much easier overall. It's the gold standard.

 

[diversteve]

While booking our flights via Jet Blue to the Bahamas a airline CSR highly recommended we get passports. He told us a story of a friend that traveled abroad who found himself in jail after a minor fender-bender while our of the USA because he didn’t have a passport and only a birth certificate with him - thus losing any 'rights' he would have had had he had a passport.

Can anyone elaborate on this and advise? This is our first diving trip outside the USA.

Any advice?

I've got one. Last year going to Cayman I was involved with in a hassle at the AA counter here in the US, the ticketing agent was going to deny me boarding since I didn't have an official birth certificate, only the one from the hospital. So at the last minute I had to get a notarized form to leave the US. Although Cayman didn't care in the slightest, either way, nor did US immigration in Miami. So having learned my lesson, I now have a passport.

I also read somewhere that it's not a bad idea to make copies of your passport and other id's and leave them with a relative. That way should you lose your passport overseas, you can have the copies faxed to you.

 

[kulot]

Never travel out side your country without a passport. It's really the only internationally recognized piece of identification. I always carry my passport with me even when travelling with in my own country.

It's not that difficult to get so might as well besides you'll never know when you'll need it.

While booking our flights via Jet Blue to the Bahamas a airline CSR highly recommended we get passports. He told us a story of a friend that traveled abroad who found himself in jail after a minor fender-bender while our of the USA because he didn’t have a passport and only a birth certificate with him - thus losing any 'rights' he would have had had he had a passport.

Can anyone elaborate on this and advise? This is our first diving trip outside the USA.

Any advice?