Hurricanes and Passports

The devastation of hurricanes is amazing and sad; we feel for all those who suffer from the effects of Mother Nature. Hurricane Irene provided a nasty lesson for Caribbean travelers too. Some cruise ships were directed to leave port early - - earlier than their scheduled departure times; this required late-arriving passengers to fly to the next port-of-call to meet their ship. So let's back up a minute: A lot of people know that a cruise that originates and ends in a U.S. port does not require passengers to carry a U.S. passport - just some other acceptable picture ID. In emails and earlier posts I have always warned travelers that unexpected events can cause you to need a passport. Let's say you missed you cruise departure in San Juan, a U.S. territory not requiring a passport....and you had to fly to Aruba to meet your ship. STOP! You can't fly to Aruba without a passport. You can't fly to the Bahamas without a passport; you can't fly anywhere outside the U.S. without a passport. And so a bunch of people had to miss their cruise entirely because they did not have a passport. 'Nuff said?