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However, anything from engine trouble on your cruise ship to bad weather or an accident in port might necessitate a flight home from a foreign country. This would put you in an awkward position if you didn't have a passport. The long-cruise options consist of 14- to 18-night round-trip sailings from San Diego, LA (Long Beach and San Pedro) and San Francisco.
You can cruise without a passport from Seattle to Alaska
To help eliminate any chance of losing your passport while on the ship, we recommend keeping it in your stateroom or suite. The in-room safes are easy to use and will keep your passport in a secure place at all times. When you’re on your cruise, there is no need to carry a passport on you since you’ll use your Sea Pass card for all transactions.
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The process requires explaining your urgent situation, completing an application, and showing your travel documents, photo identification and proof of citizenship. Be aware that requirements on closed-loop cruises can still change in certain countries, so be sure to check the entry requirements of the specific cruise ports on your itinerary. Some Caribbean nations still require passports or passport cards, like Martinique and Guadeloupe. As luck would have it, you’ve suddenly got a few open days in your schedule and a yearning to travel somewhere exotic. If you take closed loop cruises (meaning your trip begins and ends at a U.S. port), you can sail to a variety of dreamy destinations as a U.S. citizen without a passport.
Do you need a passport if you fly to an international cruise departure port?
From Nova Scotia's famed Peggy's Cove to lobster in Bar Harbor, there's plenty to enjoy about these sailings. The Hawaiian islands are about 3,700 miles from the West Coast, so cruises from the mainland to Hawaii and back involve four or five days at sea in each direction. Closed-loop cruises depart from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and San Diego. There are also cruises that originate in Honolulu and tour the other islands. If your passport has been gathering dust for the last two years, it may be expired. Not necessarily — here’s what you need to know about taking a cruise without a passport.
In general, you are not required to bring your passport with you when you go ashore for the day, either for a tour or to explore on your own. Certain ports are exceptions, such as St. Petersburg, where you’ll need to go through a passport and visa check. However, just because you can go on a cruise without a passport does not mean you should. During the current pandemic, we would argue that it's more important than ever to cruise with a passport. These sailings are somewhat uncommon; however, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) created the concept of closed-loop sailings from U.S. homeports, and these cruises also do not require a passport. Note that the government-issued photo ID must show your photo, name, and date of birth.
Experience the grandeur of icy glaciers, either by boat or seaplane, and keep an eye out for majestic whales. Alaska cruises are a feast for the eyes and soul, perfect for nature enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers alike. Embark from Seattle or San Francisco and journey to the mesmerizing ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’. This route allows you to experience the awe-inspiring Panama Canal without needing a passport.
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You won't need a passport for these closed-loop sailings, but you do need to be prepared for multiple days at sea as you cross the Pacific from California to Hawaii. Passport-free cruises to Bermuda include ample five- to 10-night sailings from the East Coast ports of Baltimore, Bayonne, Boston and Manhattan. Occasional itineraries also pop up throughout the Bermuda season departing from Norfolk, Virginia; Charleston; and the Florida ports of Miami, Port Canaveral (near Orlando) and Jacksonville.
The East Coast: A No-Passport Cruise Adventure
To cruise without a passport, you need to stay in the Western Hemisphere and sail from the United States on a “closed-loop” itinerary, which means you leave from and come back to the same U.S. port. The rules for sea travel were established under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. Cruises to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska, Canada, New England, Mexico, Bermuda, and Hawai‘i all fit these criteria. If you get the urge to cruise and your passport has expired, or you have made a last-minute decision to take the kids and they don’t have passports, you may be wondering, do I need a passport to go on a cruise? In select destinations, you do not need a passport to go on a cruise. Whether you should cruise without a passport is another matter (there are some risks that we’ll get into below).
What other documents do I need to go on a cruise?
Holly Riddle is a freelance travel, food, and lifestyle journalist who also dabbles in ghostwriting and fiction. Her work appears in publications ranging from Global Traveler to Golf Magazine, Mashed to Forbes, and Bloomberg. When she’s not writing, you can find her exploring the mountains near her home in the Adirondacks.
These islands usually offer included food, beach access with loungers, and other amenities. Yes, there are several cruises without passport requirements that you can book. This is welcome news for those whose passports may have expired, for families who want to opt out of buying short-term passports for children, or haven't had a chance to renew their passport. If you are wary about taking advantage of this benefit (perhaps some people in your party have a passport and others don’t), consider a cruise to U.S. island territories instead. Traveling by plane or ship to these island paradise destinations is considered a domestic trip. Each destination offers its unique blend of culture, scenery, and experiences, proving that incredible journeys await just a cruise away, even without a passport.
Cruises departing from Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Australia require passports. If you’re flying to Caribbean islands like Barbados or the Bahamas, or Canadian homeports, such as Vancouver and Montreal, you will need to carry a passport for these cruises as well. Part of America but still exotic enough for an ideal getaway, Hawaii offers black-sand beaches, volcanic vistas, surfing opportunities, amazing food and, of course, hula dancing. A closed-loop cruise to this part of the map often means flying to Honolulu, which you can do passport-free, but airfare can be pricey. Children under 19 can use these same documents only if they are traveling with a school, church group, or other organization with adult supervision.
If an emergency arises, only an official passport will allow you to fly home quickly from a foreign port. If you end up stranded in another country because of unforeseen circumstances, you do still have options, but it will take more time and effort to get home with only a birth certificate and photo ID. You might be surprised to know that certain U.S.-based cruises allow you to cruise without a passport. But just because some cruise passport requirements allow for “no passport cruises” doesn't mean you should sail without one. We break down closed-loop cruises, what happens in an emergency if you cruise without a passport, and what passport rules are for Alaska, the Bahamas and other popular cruise destinations. Staff at the cruise terminal will check your travel documents before they assign you a key card (or RFID bracelet) and send you up the gangway to the ship.
Americans do not need to cruise with a passport on select sailings out of U.S. homeports, though they will have to show proper identification. If you had a passport, you could just leave the cruise during its next stop and hop on a flight from the nearest airport. However, you always need a passport to fly internationally, so if you don’t have one, you’d be out of luck. While not common, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility for a cruise ship to need to make a sudden, unplanned stop at the nearest port.
A U.S. passport book is a government-issued document that allows U.S. citizens to travel internationally by air, land, and sea. We always recommend you bring a U.S. passport onboard, regardless of your cruise itinerary. You won’t run into any passport requirements on tried-and-true routes from U.S. ports such as those that visit Puerto Rico and the U.S.
For a one-week small ship experience, book UnCruise Adventures, from Moloka‘i to the Big Island, stopping on the island of Lāna‘i and Maui. If cruising from California, with most sailings 14 nights or longer, your choices expand to such lines as Holland America, Celebrity, Viking Cruises, and Seabourn. (Foreign-flagged lines are not allowed to sail between U.S. ports without visiting another country under the Jones Act.) You can do a week on the ship from Honolulu and visit five Hawaiian Islands. Virgin Voyages’ ships are limited to age 18 and up and bring you to Virgin’s classy Beach Club at Bimini. For a fancy small ship, check out sailings on the 298-passenger Evrima, the first yacht from the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, sailing to the Bahamas from Fort Lauderdale.
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