Top Places to Cruise Without a Passport NCL Travel Blog

Table Of Content

• Cruises Without a Passport: Here’s Everywhere You Can Cruise Without a Passport in 2024
• Worth It? Complete Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Drink Package Guide
• What other documents do I need to go on a cruise?
• Why It’s Best to Travel With a Passport
• Pacific Cruises Without a Passport
• Day Alaska From Seward to Vancouver: Hubbard Glacier & Skagway

Carnival offers many Caribbean cruise options including sailings that depart and return to U.S. ports like Baltimore, Norfolk and New Orleans. These don't require a passport as they are closed-loop sailings. While most closed-loop cruises do not require a passport, there are a few exceptions.

Always Travel With a Passport on Your Cruise — Even If You Don't Need One - Fodor's Travel

Always Travel With a Passport on Your Cruise — Even If You Don't Need One.

Posted: Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Cruises Without a Passport: Here’s Everywhere You Can Cruise Without a Passport in 2024

To make things even more confusing, you can get off the ship in port in Vancouver, British Columbia during an Alaska cruise without a passport, but to cross over into the Canadian province by rail, you'll need one. You can visit Alaska on a round-trip Seattle cruise without a passport. 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.

Worth It? Complete Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Drink Package Guide

As the sun sets, find yourself mesmerized by the bioluminescent bays or the rhythms of bomba and salsa. It’s a place where the Old World romances the new, and your cruise ship grants you a front-row seat to the spectacle. You've decided you want a vacation, but there's a problem -- you're a U.S. citizen and you don't have a passport. Maybe you've never had the time, money or desire to travel abroad previously, or perhaps your old passport has expired. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),” according to Customs and Border Protection’s website.

What other documents do I need to go on a cruise?

With closed-loop cruises, you have a hassle-free option to sail sans passport. These special voyages start and end at the same U.S. port, simplifying travel documents. Understanding the specifics — like when a birth certificate and government-issued photo ID suffice — is key to avoiding a vacation shipwreck.

If travelers get stuck at a port of call, there will be “a lot of red tape you have to get through” to make it home without one, Daly said. The State Department encourages having one "in case of an emergency, such as an unexpected medical air evacuation or the ship docking at an alternate port," according to its website. You can choose to either fly out to Hawaii and take an inter-island cruise, or you can take a cruise all the way from California to Hawaii and back.

We always recommend carrying a passport book or a passport card while vacationing on a cruise. That being said, there are certain types of cruises where you’ll be able to board with other types of documentation if you do not have either a passport book or passport card. 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. However, if you don't have a passport, or don't wish to get one, you can still cruise — you're just limited to North American cruises sailing round trip from U.S. departure ports. Cruise lines recommend that every passenger have a passport when traveling, even on closed-loop cruises when one isn't strictly necessary.

From the famed Atlantis Resort to the natural wonder of the Exuma Cays, there’s never a dull moment. Water sports, duty-free shopping, and yes, those adorable swimming pigs, are all part of the Bahamian voyage. Proximity to the U.S. allows for a whirlwind adventure even for the time-pressed traveler.

Pacific Cruises Without a Passport

Alaska, known for its majestic wildlife, towering glaciers, and charming towns, is a frontier that promises adventure at every turn. Imagine watching a whale breach beside your cruise ship or witnessing the solemn beauty of glaciers calving into the icy waters. If you love the great outdoors and want to surround yourself with nature, an Alaska cruise is perfect. Sail past glaciers; spot whales, moose and bald eagles; capture breathtaking photos on a mountaintop train ride; and cuddle with sled dog puppies. Or just enjoy a meal of fresh salmon or crab while you're ashore -- no passport needed. Cruise lines may require you to have a passport anyway, however.

She tried once before to study abroad but was dissuaded by long wait times, and traveling internationally for fun wasn’t on her radar. 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.

There are sailings aboard Celebrity Cruise Line's Celebrity Summit and Celebrity Eclipse that don't require passports as they depart a U.S. port, travel to Bermuda for a few nights, then return to a U.S. port. Passport cards are an affordable and unquestionable alternative to carrying an ID and birth certificate. Most Caribbean islands participate in the WHTI, but it's always best to check the details specific to the ports of call included in your itinerary. Don't forget that islands such as Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix are U.S. territories, so visits never require passports for U.S. citizens.

Yes, if an adult needs a passport to cruise then a child will also need a passport. If possible, I'd recommend close to six months prior to your vacation. Princess Cruises' 16-day Hawaiian Islands voyage from San Francisco visits Hilo, Honolulu, Kauai, and Maui before five days at sea and a stop in Ensenada on the return to San Francisco. Norwegian Cruise Line offers a seven-day Hawaii inter-island cruise that boards in Honolulu and visits Maui, Hilo and Kona on the Big Island, and Kauai before returning to Honolulu. Florida’s ports of Miami, Port Everglades (in Fort Lauderdale), and Port Canaveral (about an hour east of Orlando) offer the majority of closed-loop cruises to the Bahamas.

Dive into duty-free shopping in Charlotte Amalie, embrace the tranquility of St. John’s untouched forests, or delve into the rich history of St. Croix. Here, the United States feels both familiar and thrillingly different. You can't cruise just anywhere on a closed-loop sailing, but the choices are more interesting than you might expect.

A staunch advocate of cruising as an ideal family vacation, she has, on occasion, banned her own children from cruising with her. It's your responsibility to research the proper documentation in order to cruise, and if you go on a cruise without a passport, you won't be allowed on and risk the entire cost of the cruise. Opponents argue that the chance of you missing the ship is low, and it’s more likely that your passport will get lost or stolen while you’re exploring in port. In that case, your passport is better left in the safe in your cabin. This four-night departure aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas makes a visit to Cozumel before returning back to Texas.