Carnival Cruise Line shares key passport news travellers need

In most cases, on closed-loop sailings leaving from and returning to a United States port, cruisers don't actually need a passport. There are occasional exceptions where certain ports require a passport on a cruise that would not otherwise require one, but that's fairly rare.

"Not needing" is not the same as "forget about it entirely," however. While technically you do not need a passport on most U.S. sailings in the Caribbean and Bahamas, it’s a really good idea to have one.

Related: Carnival Cruise Line shares strict ban passengers must follow

First, it just makes the boarding process faster. Perhaps even more importantly, it makes the disembarkation process easier. In most cases, people with a passport don’t even need to take it out.

They just walk up to a scanner, get recognized, and can move forward.

People who are traveling on an original birth certificate and a qualifying license have to wait in line to see an actual customs officer. That can be a slow process.

In addition, if you get sick, miss the ship, or otherwise need to leave your cruise, a passport is required to fly back to the United States. It’s an absolute nightmare if you don’t have one in those situations.

Given the current cuts at various U.S. government agencies, that process could be even worse, as there are simply fewer workers to handle problems like expedited passports.

If you do have a passport, however, there’s one rule you may not know. Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald recently answered a key passport question. His answer contains some information of which many cruisers may not be aware. It’s something that will absolutely impact you when it’s time to renew your passport.

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American passport holders should never do this

Heald recently fielded a question from "N" that uncovered some surprising (at least to some) passport information.

"Hey, question for you John. I am wondering about the recent instructions from the U.S. government that we must not smile in passport photos. There's an article in The Patriot-News that explains that the new biometric passports will have small computer chips embedded in them," N wrote.

He continued by sharing a little more about passports, then asking a cruising question.

"The photo will be on that chip, as well as other information. Apparently, the photo can't be scanned properly if the person is smiling. Question then, John. Is this the same rule for our boarding pass on and off the ship?" N added.

Heald shared a response in his own style.

"Oh yes, passport photos — it’s the same here in the land of warm beer and steak and kidney pies. Yep, when you have a passport photo taken or a photo for your driver’s license, the picture has to look like all the joy of life has been sucked out of your soul," he wrote. "It’s a shame, therefore, that for the cruise, we are using so many of your passport photos, which definitely do not look like you’re about to have the best of times."

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Carnival does have an exception

In some cases, however, Carnival does allow happy cruise ID pictures.

"If we are not using your [passport] photo and we have to take one of you for your Sea Entry — the one used by security as you get on and off the ship — it is OK to smile and look happy that you are about to have the most FUN ever. SMILE AWAY," he added.

Some passengers embraced the idea of taking a dedicated Sea Entry card photo.

"First, I fully support smiling for Sea Entry photos. In fact, I plan to go full glamour shot — wind-blown hair, cheeky grin, and maybe even a wink if security doesn’t tackle me mid-pose," Phillip Niles posted.

Many cruise lines have passengers take photos. Carnival does something different in most cases.

"The photo for Carnival is the passport photo, unless you are not using one. They no longer need to take your pic...just use your passport photo," Kathleen Henry wrote.

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