{"id":1524,"date":"2011-01-29T21:34:39","date_gmt":"2011-01-30T02:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/?p=1524"},"modified":"2019-09-13T15:39:18","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T15:39:18","slug":"us-passport-regulations-for-cruises-leave-many-travelers-confused-stranded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/us-passport-regulations-for-cruises-leave-many-travelers-confused-stranded\/","title":{"rendered":"US Passport Regulations for Cruises Leave Many Travelers Confused"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Conflicting regulations from the US Department of Homeland Security and major cruise lines have left many travelers asking &#8220;Do I need a passport to go on a cruise?&#8221; and not getting a clear answer. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.palmbeachdailynews.com\/news\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Palm Beach Daily News<\/a>, as a result, passengers end up not only confused, but stranded as well.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the skinny: Under Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) regulations, people traveling by boat to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean need one of the following documents:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A US passport book<\/li>\n<li>A US passport card<\/li>\n<li>An enhanced driver&#8217;s license (only available in certain states )<\/li>\n<li>A &#8220;trusted traveler&#8221; card, such as a NEXUS, FAST or SENTRI card<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>HOWEVER, the WHTI also contains an exception for passengers on closed-loop cruises, cruises that begin and end in the same US port. These passengers are eligible to travel with a driver&#8217;s license or other state-issued photo ID and a certified birth certificate.<\/p>\n<p>Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. The Palm Beach Daily News outlined a couple of different issues that frequently confuse travelers.<\/p>\n<p>First, there&#8217;s the birth certificate issue. You need either the original or an official certified copy (ie, a copy you requested from the Department of Vital Records where you were born.) In order for the cruise line to accept it, it must have a raised seal. But beware! A raised seal means nothing if the birth certificate is from the hospital. Hospital birth certificates look official, but they aren&#8217;t accepted as proof of citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>Another tip: your birth certificate might be rejected if it&#8217;s ripped or torn, so if it&#8217;s showing signs of wear and tear, order a fresh copy from your <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/w2w.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">State Department of Vital Records<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Another issue: if you&#8217;re lucky enough to live in one of the four states that issues an enhanced driver&#8217;s license, you might think that you could get away with boarding just with the license and not have to bring your birth certificate. After all, under the WHTI, enhanced driver&#8217;s licenses are valid for land and sea travel to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p>But not so fast! Glenn Ryerson, Celebration Cruises&#8217; VP of sales, told the Palm Beach Daily News that &#8220;even enhanced driver\u2019s licenses aren\u2019t accepted by Celebration, which follows standards of other cruise lines.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Also, be aware that even if the cruise is &#8220;closed-loop,&#8221; passport books may be required if the cruise involves an overnight stay on land at a port instead of on the ship.<\/p>\n<p>Confusing, right? This is why having a passport is the best way to go. That way, you know you&#8217;re covered. Barring that, check government requirements AND check with your cruise line. If the cruise line requirements are stricter than the government&#8217;s requirements, go with the cruise lines&#8217; requirements. If the cruise line requirements are less stringent than the government&#8217;s, something&#8217;s fishy. For example, one customer interviewed in the article claimed that the cruise line had told her she could travel with a driver&#8217;s license only. She got left at port.<\/p>\n<p>If you need a passport at the last minute, RushMyPassport can help. We&#8217;ll personally deliver your documents to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours with no need to make an appointment or wait in line at a passport agency office. That means you&#8217;ll spend less time worrying about your passport and more time packing for your cruise!<\/p>\n<p>Apply for your <a href=\"https:\/\/checkout.rushmypassport.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">US passport<\/a> today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conflicting regulations from the US Department of Homeland Security and major cruise lines have left many travelers asking &#8220;Do I need a US passport to go on a cruise?&#8221; and not getting a clear answer.  According to this article in the Palm Beach Daily News, this has left many travelers not only confused, but stranded as well. US passport<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[88,64],"class_list":["post-1524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government-regulations","tag-cruises","tag-us-passport"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1524"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11528,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524\/revisions\/11528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushmypassport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}