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For small-ship fans, other options include sailings that do not leave Alaska, such as those of UnCruise Adventures, Lindblad Expeditions, and Alaska Native–owned Alaskan Dream Cruises. If you don’t have a passport, you will also run into problems should you miss boarding your ship at the correct time and need to fly home or to the next port of call. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provides a detailed description of the requirements. If you have any questions, check with your travel agent or cruise line. You don’t want to be turned away at the pier for lack of proper identification. If you’re itching for an adventure but don’t want to dig out your passport or deal with all the paperwork, no-passport cruises are your ticket to paradise.
New England and Canada
You cannot leave Miami, visit a few Caribbean islands, go through the Panama Canal and Mexico, and then hop off the ship in California. While, yes, you would have started and ended your journey in the United States, that’s still not good enough. Western Mexico, often referred to as the Mexican Riviera, includes the ports of Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Ensenada, among others.
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4 Caribbean Islands That Don’t Require a U.S. Passport - AFAR Media
4 Caribbean Islands That Don’t Require a U.S. Passport.
Posted: Wed, 10 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Which islands are visited does vary slightly by the cruise ship and cruise line. However, all islands offer a variety of popular activities like beach breaks, island tours, snorkeling, and historic and cultural tours. There will also be adventure activities like zip lining and off-road tours at most ports of call.
Pacific Cruises Without a Passport
Cruises with several major lines depart San Diego, San Pedro port in LA and Long Beach for voyages lasting anywhere from three to 10 nights. What if an opportunity pops up on short notice, and you don't have a passport yet? What if it's only a three-night cruise to the Bahamas, and the passport application fee is almost as much as the cruise fare? Or, maybe you have children nearing age 16 and can't justify paying for passports that will only be good for five years. Carnival’s six-day Bermuda from Norfolk cruise spends two days at sea and three days in Bermuda.
Mexico
But if you wish to book a rail journey excursion on the White Pass & Yukon Route, which takes you from Alaska into Canada, choose the shorter White Pass Summit tour; you'll need a passport for the longer trips. These voyages sail round trip from U.S. ports to destinations in North America such as the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, Mexico, Central America, Alaska and Hawaii. They depart from such home ports as Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, Galveston, Texas and New York City. You may be surprised to learn that U.S. citizens don't need a passport to sail on "closed-loop" cruises with lines like Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and others. Whether you need a passport depends on numerous factors, including where you embark and disembark the ship, where you're sailing to and which line you're cruising with. If you’re trying to fly to an international cruise port without a passport, you won’t get past airline check-in.
You can cruise to quite a few destinations without a passport, as long as you have proof of citizenship and a government-issued photo ID. A variety of documents are accepted as proof of citizenship, including a state-certified U.S. birth certificate. Customs and Border Protection, and their recent publication also explains the requirements for taking a cruise without a passport. Note that enhanced driver’s licenses are issued in very few states at this time, so it’s important not to assume that yours qualifies as identification and proof of citizenship. That being said, we always recommend bringing a valid passport book on your cruise. In case there are any unforeseen inconveniences, a passport book will always work as a valid travel document via air, land, and sea.
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A Bermuda cruise might be the perfect choice for those living in the Northeastern United States as there will be no flying involved. Most Bermuda cruises leave from New York or Cape Liberty, New Jersey. A few also depart from Boston, MA, Baltimore, MD, and occasionally some southern ports like Florida.
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Some U.S. citizens may also be able to use an “EDL” or an Enhanced Driver’s License, which can be used in place of a passport when re-entering the United States after traveling from Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean. However, at this time, EDLs are only available to citizens in certain states. Before booking your Caribbean cruise, thoroughly review the itinerary. You want to ensure that the ship will not stop at any of these islands.
All of the above considered, you should always check with your cruise line regarding what documents you may need for an upcoming cruise. The cruise line will be able to inform you of its policies, as well as requirements that will apply to your specific itinerary. Most cruise lines, however, do greatly encourage travelers to bring a passport as their primary form of ID. Princess, Holland America and Celebrity all strongly recommend passport books, but they allow one of the WHTI forms of identification. Again, the passport card opens up one-way possibilities, assuming you aren't flying and your cruise only includes Canada and the U.S.
The only way you’ll board a ship without a passport is if your cruise does not require one. For any other cruise, a driver’s license would not be sufficient documentation, and you would run into trouble at the airport or cruise port. If you are sailing out of one U.S. homeport and disembarking at the end of your voyage in a different one, you also need a passport for your cruise. For example, a Panama Canal cruise that leaves from Miami and ends in Los Angeles will require a passport. If you’ve given it some thought and plan to use your passport for an upcoming cruise, don’t just assume your trip will be all smooth sailing from here.
So while you don't need a passport of passport card to cruise to Alaska from Seatlle or other U.S. ports, you will need this idenfitication as the cruise must stop in Canada on its way. Without these required documents, you will not be able to board your cruise or get back into the United States. You would still need to adhere to the documentation requirements for your cruise. A passport is an eligible form of identification, but it’s not the only one. (such as a driver’s license) and proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate or certificate of naturalization). Would function like a passport and you would not need additional documentation.
If you’re traveling by land or sea to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean, you can bring a U.S. passport card instead of a passport book. However, a passport card does not work for air travel into Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or the Caribbean. There are two ways to cruise to the volcanoes, tropical forests, whales, and surfing beaches of Hawai‘i without a passport.
However, those with a birth certificate still have to wait in line and have their documents manually checked. That’s because of something called the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, or WHTI for short. Put simply, this rule says that if you embark and debark from a cruise at the same port in the United States, then you can enter the U.S. using only a birth certificate and a driver’s license.
It’s always wise to research your itinerary and find out what kind of documentation each country requires of U.S. citizens in order to enter. In October, Disney does sailings from New York that add the bonus of Halloween activities with special spooky movies and “ghoulish treats” for passengers of all ages. Other lines sailing to Bermuda on closed-loop itineraries include the foodie-focused upscale brand Oceania Cruises, also from New York. Princess Cruises and Holland America require that at least one parent carry a passport, even if you're on a closed-loop sailing.
Most Hawaiian cruises depart from the island of Oahu, visiting the Big Island and Maui. With attractions like Pearl Harbor, Waikiki Beach, and a selection of luaus, Oahu definitely requires a couple days to explore either pre-cruise or post cruise. These itineraries usually include port stops in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway, Alaska. These itineraries can visit Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia as well.
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