Is a passport required for my cruise?
This question was answered on our Cruise IQ show on September 4, 2017.
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When cruising internationally, you will absolutely be required to have a valid passport and depending on the ports you’ll be visiting, a visa as well. There may also be restrictions that your passport has at least 6 months left before expiration as of your last travel day. If you are considering a cruise to Alaska, Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean or Canada and New England, there are some exceptions to passport requirements with certain conditions. Generally, if a cruise departs from and arrives back to the same U.S. cruise port (called a closed-loop), then U.S. citizens would be able to travel with just their original birth certificates and state-issued photo identification. This exception would apply to adults and children traveling. Non-U.S. citizens and permanent residents living in the United States would need to confirm their requirements. While many guests embarking from domestic cruise ports will qualify for the passport exemption, it doesn’t they should. Having a valid passport is always the safest and recommend document to travel with. In case of emergency requiring you to disembark the ship early and fly back home or if you were to miss the ship and need to fly to another cruise port, you would be required to have a passport. Not having one would involve getting an emergency one issued aboard and that will take time and money.