Passports
Passports are required for all travelers, including
citizens of the U.S. and Canada, who enter or re-enter the U.S. by air, land or
sea.
There are a few notable exceptions
pertaining to land and sea border crossings:
- U.S. citizens on cruises that begin and end in the same
U.S. port and travel to destinations in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, the
Bahamas or Bermuda are able to re-enter the U.S. with proof of citizenship
other than a passport or passport card. Acceptable proof of citizenship
includes a U.S. state-issued original or certified copy of their birth
certificate (hospital certificates are not acceptable) or a Consular Report of
Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization and a government-issued photo
ID (such as a driver's license). Passports are required for cruises that begin
in one U.S. port and end in another.
- Children under the age of 16 who are citizens of the U.S.
or Canada are exempt from the passport requirement for land and sea border
crossings. In lieu of a passport, children are able to use a U.S. state-issued
original or certified copy of their birth certificate (hospital certificates
are not acceptable) or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of
Naturalization as proof of citizenship for entry into the U.S. by land or by
sea. Children entering or re-entering the U.S. by air are required to have a
valid passport.
- A new, lower-cost alternative to the passport, called a
passport card, is acceptable for entries into the U.S. by land or sea. The
passport card is not acceptable for air travel.
- The following cruise lines require a passport for all
sailings, regardless of destination or port of departure: Azamara Club Cruises,
Crystal, Cunard, Fred. Olsen, Hurtigruten, Oceania, Orion Expedition Cruises,
P&O, Paul Gauguin, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea, Star Clippers, Swan
Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery and Windstar.
- Photocopies of required documentation are not acceptable
in any circumstance.
- Even though passports are not required at this time for
U.S. citizens who sail on cruises to the above destinations that begin and end
in the same U.S. port, we strongly recommend that all cruise passengers travel
with a valid passport anyway. This is because guests who need to fly to or from
the U.S. unexpectedly during their cruise will likely experience significant
delays and complications related to booking airline tickets and entering the
U.S. if they do not have a valid passport with them. For example, a passenger
missing a cruise departure due to a late inbound flight to Miami would need a
passport to fly to meet the ship at the next port. Similarly, guests needing to
fly to or through the U.S. before their cruise ends because of medical, family,
personal or business emergencies, missing a ship's departure from a port of
call, or a mechanical problem of some sort with the ship, would need a
passport. Of course, situations like these are rare, but they can happen.
Passports are not required for U.S. citizens traveling to
or returning directly from Hawaii or a U.S. territory, including Guam, Puerto Rico,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands.
Passports are required for cruise travel to all
International destinations not mentioned above, and for cruises that involve
air travel that begins or ends outside of the U.S. Passports must be valid for
at least six months after the last day of travel.
Legal U.S. Residents (Non-Citizens)
Legal permanent residents of the U.S. must have a valid
passport from their country of citizenship and a valid Alien Registration Card
(Green Card) to enter or re-enter the U.S.
Non-U.S., Non-Canada Citizens
The following countries participate in a visa waiver
program with the U.S., and citizens of these countries must have a
machine-readable passport for entry into the U.S.:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San
Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the
United Kingdom
Citizens of the countries listed above who do not possess
machine-readable passports, and citizens of countries not listed above must present
a valid passport and a valid United States visa upon entry into the U.S. For
those whose travel plans include multiple entries into the U.S., such as a
cruise that begins and ends in a U.S. port, a multiple-entry visa is required.
Visas
All travelers, including U.S. and Canada citizens, are
responsible for verifying visa requirements with consular officials, and
obtaining visas where required, for every country visited during their trip,
including countries visited via connecting flights.
