1. Air Travel-If you are leaving and entering the United States by
airplane, US Citizens must present a valid Passport Book to board the
aircraft and re-enter the US. This is the traditional style book Passport.
This includes all Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Bahamas, Bermuda and all other
international destinations. Puerto Rico can still be traveled to solely on
a driver's license and For St. Thomas and the other US Virgin Islands, we
suggest your drivers license and a birth certificiate.
2. Most Land borders and Cruise departures require a Passport Book or a
Passport Card (less expensive version, not valid for flying), including
Alaska, Panama Canal Voyages, Europe and more complicated itineraries that
start and end from a different port. If you are flying to your
international cruise port, revert to number one.
3. "CLOSED LOOP" Cruse Voyages that start and end at the same port and
traveling within the Western Hemisphere can still be boarded, even after
June 1, 2009 with a government-issued photo identification in combination
with either a certified (Government Issued) birth certificate, a Consular
Report of Birth Abroad issued by Department of State or a Certificate of
Naturalization issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services. According
to the US Customs and Border Protection, A closed loop voyage occurs when a
vessel departs from a US port or place and returns to the same US port upon
completion of the voyage. Per the WHTI Land and Sea Final Rule, travelers
on "closed loop voyages are not subject to the same documentary requirements
for entry to the United States as other travelers as long as passengers are
returning from contiguous territories like Canada or Mexico and adjacent
island such as Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda,
Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao,
Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Marie
Galantine, Martinique, Miquelon, Montserrat, Saba, St. Barthelemy, Saint
Christopher, Saint Eustatius, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Maarten, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad
and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and other British, French and Netherlands
territory or possessions bordering on the Caribbean Sea. Remember, this
rule is only valid for cruises that depart and return to the same US port.
In addition, we are still suggesting Passport books for everybody in case
you are a relative is sick and you need to fly back home to America, in case
your particular island requires a passport to enter the island, in case your
cruise ship boards an passengers in any foreign port or for other individual
reasons. A Passport is the only truly international form of identification
and the Passport book is accepted Worldwide as identification. We take no
responsibility for clients that try to travel internationally without a
passport in the case of rule changes by our country or the countries you
might visit and strongly suggest you get a US Passport Book for any
international trip, but we are reprinting factual information from US
Government Sources in case you have to save money or want to depart quickly
on a short cruise.
Source http://cpb.gov
Source Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Final Rules, Department of
