Historically, all you need to board a domestic plane in the United States is a valid photo ID, such as a driver's license. Cruise ships, however, are stricter, and if you fail to provide proper documentation, you will be denied boarding.
For example, when I was boarding Margaritaville at Sea's Islander in Tampa, I saw a family get pulled to the side because someone in their party had only brought a driver's license. While driver's licenses can be used to check in for a cruise, there are additional requirements, including a state-issued birth certificate for closed-loop cruises from U.S. ports.
The requirements for one-way and international cruises are stricter. Without a valid passport, you cannot set sail as planned.
In other words, while a driver's license and state-issued birth certificate may let you embark on a round-trip cruise to the Bahamas from Miami, you'll need to invest in a passport for one-way sailings from Whittier, Alaska, to Vancouver, Canada, or round-trip cruises in Europe from Barcelona, Spain.
That said, having a valid passport on closed-loop cruises can help prevent documentation mishaps. Recently, one family was denied boarding due to one child using their student ID as photo identification. Port agents said the school ID wasn't acceptable, though they confirmed it with Royal Caribbean before arriving in Port Canaveral.
"So, I explained to him that we had talked to Royal Caribbean, and they had assured us that the school ID was valid, and I was upset by that point, crying, so I asked could I speak to a supervisor," Shannon Nutting, of Pembroke, North Carolina, told ABC 7.
According to Nutting, her 16-year-old son didn't have a state-issued driver's license yet because of his special needs.
While Royal Caribbean eventually acknowledged their mistake and told reporters they should have been allowed onboard, it was too late; the family had missed their cruise, and flying to Cozumel to meet this ship wasn't a viable option.
"All that year of saving and paying on it, everybody was just heartbroken and devastated. Everybody was exhausted," Nutting said.
Royal Caribbean offered Nutting three other options. However, none were deemed acceptable, as they didn't provide reasonable compensation for what she spent traveling to Florida from North Carolina:
- Convert the value of the cruise fare paid into a future cruise credit to use on another sailing, plus a $700 onboard credit
- Full refund
- Full refund on the cruise, plus a 25% future cruise credit
Another cruiser was left behind when trying to board the Celebrity Summit in 2022
Debbie Schwabe and her mom, Blanche White, planned a cruise on Celebrity Summit, which was supposed to be a dream trip. However, Schwabe was told that her birth certificate wasn't a valid form of identification in Fort Lauderdale.
A port agent informed Schwabe that her 1969 original hospital birth certificate wasn't acceptable because it was decorative and not state-issued.
"They wouldn't help us," White told Denver 7. The duo lost $3,000 and slept at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport before flying home.
Read more: 16 Packing Tips for First-Time Cruisers
Similarly, a first-time cruiser explained the heartbreak they experienced after arriving in Fort Lauderdale only to be told they couldn't board Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas.
"On Nov 28 we were scheduled to depart on the Independence. Had check in scheduled at 1pm. But when we arrived at the terminal the line was about 3 hours long. When we finally made it to the counter they told me that my birth certificate [even though] it is an original could not be accepted since it was the old format. So we were denied boarding," wrote Jrs1102 on a Royal Caribbean Blog discussion forum.
"I thought that since the website said original birth certificate, thats what it meant. They told me I could contact someone from where i'm from to get an updated version and have a picture sent over, but it was already too late. The office had already closed. I ended up with my two boys crying, upset and a father torn to pieces over the disappointment. Months of planning and keeping it a surprise for nothing."
Yet another cruiser wrote about how they were denied boarding on a cruise ship because of improper birth certificates. 35StephanieB took to TripAdvisor to explain what happened while she tried to embark on Margaritaville at Sea's Paradise in 2023.
"I am a 50 year old woman who followed the instructions and brought my original birth certificate from 1973 (not a copy), valid driver's license & passport (which was a few days expired). I was denied boarding because the birth certificate did not have a raised seal," she wrote.
"I called customer service and was told they would only refund my port taxes. I blame poor management and inadequate training for the employees not knowing the official rules."
While a birth certificate and valid photo ID might be acceptable in some instances, it’s clear that certain versions can lead to major problems at the port
Even if you are going on a short 3-night cruise from Miami to Nassau, showing up with the right documentation (i.e., a passport) can save you a lot of stress and potential heartbreak. Plus, you won't have to worry about whether your birth certificate copy is acceptable or not.
In some cases, you'll be required to have a valid passport to board, such as one-way cruises or those departing from international ports like Barcelona, Civitavecchia, or Southampton. A valid passport is defined as one that has at least six months of validity remaining beyond your cruise date.
So, if you are scheduled to go on a cruise in May 2026, your passport should be valid through November 2026. Otherwise, you'll want to start the process of renewing it before your vacation.
Read more: Carnival Cruise Line's new passport rule
Though passports are more expensive than state-issued photo ID, they last longer and open up a wider variety of destinations, whether on a cruise or not.
For example, you can fly to Asia and explore places like Japan, Thailand, or China, or decide to stay closer to home and explore The Last Frontier on a one-way cruise through more scenic areas of the Inside Passage.
Not only that, but they can come in handy if there's an unexpected emergency onboard. For example, a passport can help you quickly return home or travel to a hospital without delay.
Read more: 11 Things You Should Never Do on Embarkation Day
Passports aren't needed on as many cruises as you might think, such as round-trip sailings from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera, weeklong Caribbean cruises from Miami, and round-trip voyages to Alaska from Seattle.
Still, passports are highly recommended for smooth embarkation and to avoid any potential mishaps onboard due to unexpected emergencies. Plus, cruisers with passports typically have shorter disembarkation lines, especially on shorter cruises to the Bahamas.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she traveled frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas during her freshman year of high school. Having sailed on nearly 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
