Cruise with Driver Licence
 

Person has USA Driver Licence.
No Passport or any other document with picture.
Is there ANY cruise they can take?

Maybe Hawaii?

Only if it is an "enhanced" Drivers Licence, acceptable under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

Beginning June 1, 2009, all U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry are required to have documents that comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), most commonly a U.S. passport, a passport card, a trusted traveler card such as NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST, or an enhanced driver's license.

See link below to Homeland security web site.
http://www.dhs.gov/files/crossingborders/travelers.shtm

You will need proepr document that to travel anywhere outside of continetal US.

Only the Circle Line around New York City.

A passport or birth certificate is needed to get on a cruise ship. Birth certificates do not have pictures on them! A driver's license is used geting back on the ship in a port along with the ship's sign 'n sail card.
If they don't have their birth certificate they can get a copy by contacting where they were born. Soom everyone will have to have a passport.

An all-Hawaii cruise on NCL would work quite nicely, as would any cruise that both begins and ends in Alaska and does not call in Canada (there are some itineraries, but they are not common ... most start in Whittier). These would be wholly domestic cruises. There are also a few other cruise lines that operate solely within the U.S., but they tend to be very expensive. There are cruises along the Columbia River (originating in Portland), etc.

The person could also apply for a passport card, then they could take any cruise that originates in and returns to the U.S. that goes solely to the Caribbean. It costs $55 and would be a good investment for an American would didn't plan to go anywhere but on a Caribbean cruise or to drive into Mexico or Canada. But you can't FLY to the Caribbean, Canada, or Mexico with a passport card (unless you are going to Puerto Rico or the USVI, which are considered domestic flights). Well, I guess you could also do a nonstop flight to Guam, but you could do that with a driver's license.

Listen, have this person apply for a passport (it's not difficult and he/she will have it in a couple of weeks) and every cruise itinerary in the world will become available.

She is visiting here and recently lost her Ukrainian passport.
So while she is waiting for the replacement I wanted to go on a cruise with her becauise she had never took one before.
Thanks for your input.

Ok, this is a whole different thing. I would not chance this unless she is a U.S. green card holder.

But why? She can fly with DL. I was sure there is a cruise that owned by US company and doesn't go outside of USA. No?

Every cruise must visit at least one foreign port, the exception is Hawaii (and maybe Alaska as Doug said above?). This has nothing to do with the ownership of the cruise line. You can look into river cruises.

The reason a driver's license is not adequate to re-enter the US is that it says nothing about ones immigration status/legal right to be in or return to the US. In some jurisdictions one does not even have to prove they are in US legally in order to get a driver's license.

She runs a real risk of being denied re-entry into the United States. Immigration has heard every story in the world, true or not, about lost foreign and US passports - they believe none of them. She should be able to get a replacement Ukranian passport at a Consulate or Embassy of Ukraine.

And after she satisfies whatever US regulation/immigration law there is, some cruiselines have even stricter documentation requirements -so check that out before you pay a lot of money and have some big problems.

But if we go to Hawaii - is there 're-entry' issue as well?
Ukraine is dragging a leg and I wanted to do it this year but it is not big deal. Thanks

Take a Mississippi river boat cruise . . . .

Thanks, I had just looked it up. Not for me.
I think if I called agent and asked about Hawaiian cruise - would they know if there is re-entry issue?

There is no re-entry issue if you take the NCL cruise that sails solely in Hawaii, but do verify that the cruise line accepts guests with just a drivers license. There is considerable expense getting to Hawaii, of course.

Maybe this person has overstayed a Visa and is concerned about getting back into the US? If this is the case and without wishing to aid and abet an overstayer, stick to the continental US.

I wouldn't chance it ... no passport equals no travel out of the country in this day and age.

Hey sentrif,

As I see it, you have a foreign national without a passport staying in the continental US and you want to take her out and back in.

You stand a large chance of having your friend deported and yourself detained for longer than you will find pleasant.

Is it really worth it?

((I))

Ira, well said.