No passport cruises
 

Where can you cruise that doesn't require a passport? Which port would you select to leave from that is easiest to get to.

Your questions doesn't make a lot of sense. Which port? Where are you going? A little clarity, please. You still do not need a passport if returning VIA land or sea from the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada. HOWEVER, and this is a very BIG HOWEVER, if you are forced to leave a cruise early and had to return via air -- you would have increase difficultly coming back to the US. HLS says that you would not need a passport BUT you would be subjected to "addditional screening" to determine your identity. Whatever that means !!!! Go get a passport -- it is not worth the potential hassle not to have it.

fmpden is so correct. Why do people ponder, and wonder, and must know every detail of the rules and what they are or are not. Seems to me if would behoove anyone in this day and to get the passport and--------BE DONE WITH IT ALL READY!!. That is the best thing to do.

While it is true that you may not need a passport for some cruises. Its not going to last long. Since 9/11 a lot has been changing. I just booked a cruise to Alaska for myself and parents. The cruiseline informed me that passports were not required yet (a nice grace period) but they will be by next year.

The U.S. Customs Service (now DHS) has issued a notice in January of 2007 that passports will be needed for any travel outside of the USA (again this is being phased in). So what does this mean to the common traveller?? It means that if you plan to take a trip to Canada, Mexico, or the Carribean, you will need that passport in the near future.

In planning the trip for my folks I had them go ahead and get their passports. The price has gone up since I got my first one years ago, and now they are about $100 bucks, for a newly issued one, and I think around $85 for re-newals. This is money well spent if you travel at all outside of the good old USA.

Lee

No cruise currently requires a passport if it leaves from a U.S. port (I'm assuming you are a U.S. citizen who lives here.) This will be true throughout 2007 but will change in 2008. But all the caveats below are true and should be considered. My frank opinion is that if you want to travel outside the U.S., you should get a passport. You just never know when something might happen while abroad, and you need the passport to fly home if you disembark the ship early for some reason.

However, if you don't want to do that, then there is a reasonable option for you. Cruise in Hawaii. Several ships do week-long itineraries in the Hawaiian islands. There are all fully in the U.S. and require no passports.

All cruises except Hawaii go to a foreign country - I think there is a law about it. You can cruise Hawaii from Honolulu. There are cruises to Hawaii round-trips from Los Angeles and San Diego, but they stop in Mexico.

Hi bel,

Would you mind telling us where you are, where you might wish to go, your age, your budget, your interests?

This is 3 year old posting, that Dayenu woke for what reason I do not know. There is no law requiring cruises to go to a foreign country. That doesn't make any sense.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passeng...es_Act_of_1886 - yes, there is a law about it for foreign flagged vessels.

You can look at USA State Department info here:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html#
Or try allthingscruise.com

HUH? Surprised myself... normally I only read 1/2 page of latest posts... something is not right here!

Maybe I was searching for something? My apologies for bringing it up!

It is always a good idea to have and carry a passport when traveling. Why wouldn't you?

Passports are still not required for US citizens going on closed loop cruises, that start and end in the same US port, no matter whether they stop in foreign ports or not. Of course, passport is preferred.

spurs - see http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html - you need a WHTI-compliant document to return to the US if you're on a cruise.

Does your comment really apply to South America, if you want to get off the boat, or just the Caribbean?