When searching for information about your next summer vacation, you may have encountered the concept of closed-loop cruising. And although its definition may seem rather obvious, some nuances may be very interesting for you, especially if you are planning your next vacation on short notice.
A closed-loop cruise is exactly what it sounds like: a boat trip aboard a cruise ship that starts and ends at the same point. You may stop at different destinations, even in other countries, but your cruise entry and exit will be at the same place.
This can have advantages and disadvantages depending on the person you are looking for and your conditions. Today we will tell you the defects and virtues of this cruise and why you need the right information regarding documentation.
What does it mean for travel documentation to do a closed-loop cruise?
One of the main reasons why many people are interested in closed-loop cruises is that these types of trips make preparing travel documentation much easier. And this is basically because if the closed-loop trip departs and returns from a U.S. port, it is unnecessary to carry a passport as if it were an international trip, even though it is.
Sometimes, a person may want to take a trip to see other countries and places, but the passport and documentation to get in and out of many countries take a long time, and it is impossible to plan an impromptu trip. Thus, an American can take a closed-loop cruise simply by carrying his or her identification and even his or her driver’s license.
We will put an example into practice so that you understand it well. If you are a person with small children, and you are planning a family trip with little time in advance, trying to get to know other places in the world, with this type of cruise, you can do it without too many complications.
There is a cruise to get to know the entire Caribbean from the Disney cruise company that departs and returns from the Port of Canaveral in Florida. Since the departure and arrival are from the United States, your whole family could travel simply with their American ID without having to deal with any paperwork.
But of course, there are some exceptions to be aware of if you are determined to go on one of these cruises. First, a closed-circuit cruise is only considered when the departure and arrival are in the same port in the United States. If a cruise ship leaves Florida but returns to San Diego, for example, even though both are part of the United States, it would not count as a closed circuit.
Therefore the entire documentation issue would be different. And in addition, there are places that, regardless of whether or not they are part of a closed circuit cruise, will require a visa or special permission or the use of a passport to enter. One of those places is the Martinique, which requires a visa on some U.S. circuits to get off the ship.
Advantages and disadvantages of closed circuit cruises
It is clear that not having to think about the passport or the documentation to be able to travel outside the United States is an advantage. For all those people who never know when they will have their vacations and must plan them in record time, this can also mean the possibility of taking an exotic trip.
Another advantage, in this sense, is that you do not have to spend much time thinking about how to get home from the chosen destination because the return will be the same as the arrival.
But it’s not all pretty, and many people don’t like closed-circuit cruises. This is because some take advantage of the departure and arrival of different places to learn a little more about other sites in the United States. And they even make a one-way trip to other areas, such as Mexico, and then return to another means of transport so that their journey is longer and takes them to other more interesting places.
It is evident that variety is the spice and that there is no objective answer as to whether or not a closed-circuit cruise is worthwhile. There will be some who will consider it perfect: you can get to know other places outside the country, you don’t have to do paperwork, and the whole path is organized by the boat because at the end you get back to the same place where you started.
Others, however, will prefer other types of cruises, but what is important is that you make sure that you can travel on one of these cruises if you do not have an updated passport and that you will not have any problems when enjoying the holidays.