Do you need a passport to cruise from Baltimore?

Almost every cruise from Baltimore is a round trip. The ship leaves the Cruise Maryland Terminal and comes back to it five to fourteen nights later, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection calls a closed-loop cruise. That matters for documents, because CBP lets U.S. citizens on a closed-loop cruise come home with a birth certificate and a government-issued photo ID instead of a passport.

The exceptions are Royal Caribbean's one-way trips from Baltimore to San Juan. Those need a passport book.

Everything below is for U.S. citizens unless it says otherwise. The cruise line's own rule decides whether you board, so where the lines and the government differ, we say which is stricter.

Do you need a passport to cruise from Baltimore?

Not on a round trip, if you are a U.S. citizen. Carnival and Royal Caribbean both accept a U.S. birth certificate with a government photo ID on cruises that start and end in Baltimore, whether the ship goes to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, or Canada and New England.

Both lines still recommend a passport book, and so do we. The reason is the trip home if something goes wrong. CBP says U.S. citizens need a passport to fly back into the United States from Bermuda, the Caribbean or Canada. If you are left behind in Nassau, or have to leave the ship in Bermuda for a medical emergency, a birth certificate won't get you on a plane. Carnival recommends one valid for at least six months beyond the end of the trip.

What each line accepts on a round trip

The two lines agree on the main option and differ on the details.

	Carnival	Royal Caribbean
Passport book or passport card	Yes	Yes
Birth certificate plus photo ID	Yes, original or a clear photocopy	Yes, original or government-issued only, no photocopies
Enhanced driver's licence	Yes	Yes
Naturalization certificate	Yes	Yes, original, with a photo ID
Photo ID needed from age	16	16 (15 and under need only the birth certificate)

Carnival does not accept hospital birth certificates, a Certificate of Live Birth, baptismal papers, a voter registration card, or a mobile or digital ID. Royal Caribbean wants every document in its original form, with the names matching across all of them.

If your name has changed since your birth certificate was issued, Carnival asks for the legal document that links the two, such as a marriage certificate. Bring it whichever line you sail.

Do you need a passport for a Bermuda cruise from Baltimore?

The cruise lines say no, and Bermuda's tourism board says yes.

Royal Caribbean's own passport guide names round trips from Baltimore as a way to visit Bermuda without a passport. Carnival's round-trip rules make no exception for Bermuda. The Government of Bermuda says cruise visitors don't have to fill in any entry form.

The Bermuda Tourism Authority, on the other hand, says every visitor to Bermuda needs a valid passport, adults and children alike. Its list also includes a return ticket and an arrival card that only air travellers fill in, but it doesn't make an exception for cruise passengers.

In practice the line's rule decides whether you board in Baltimore, and both lines accept a birth certificate and ID. If you have a passport, though, Bermuda is the trip to bring it on. And if you might need to fly home from the island, CBP is clear that you need a passport to do it.

Canada and New England cruises from Baltimore

Royal Caribbean's 9-night Canada and New England trips call at Saint John in New Brunswick and Halifax in Nova Scotia. The Canada Border Services Agency says U.S. citizens don't need a passport to arrive in Canada but must prove their identity and citizenship. It recommends a passport and accepts a birth certificate, a certificate of citizenship or naturalization, or an enhanced driver's licence instead.

Canada clears the ship, its passengers and its crew at the first Canadian port. CBSA says everyone on board must be ready to declare on its declaration card there, even passengers who stay on the ship.

One-way cruises from Baltimore to San Juan need a passport

A cruise that ends somewhere other than Baltimore is not a closed loop, so the birth certificate option goes away. Royal Caribbean requires a passport book for one-way sailings and uses Baltimore to San Juan as its example. A passport card is not enough. Carnival's rule for trips that start and end in different U.S. ports is a passport book or a passport card.

Puerto Rico is U.S. territory, so you can fly home from San Juan without a passport. You still need one to board.

Passport cards and enhanced driver's licences

A passport card works for this kind of trip. CBP says it is valid for land and sea travel within the Western Hemisphere, but not for international flights, so it doesn't help if you have to fly home from a foreign port.

An enhanced driver's licence also counts, on its own, as proof of identity and citizenship. Both lines list the states that issue them as Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington. Carnival points out that a REAL ID licence, the one with a star, is not an enhanced licence. It works as your photo ID but doesn't prove citizenship.

Children's documents

CBP says U.S. citizen children under 16 need only a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship, and that a child's birth certificate can be an original, a photocopy or a certified copy. Royal Caribbean is stricter, and wants an original for every guest.

If one parent is not sailing, Carnival strongly recommends bringing an original signed letter from the parent who stays home. Canada's border agency gives the same advice for children entering Canada, and suggests having the letter notarized.

Green card holders and other nationalities

CBP says permanent residents need their permanent resident card to come back into the United States, and no passport. Royal Caribbean asks for more to board, the permanent resident card plus a valid passport from your country of citizenship. We couldn't read Carnival's page for permanent residents, so check it directly.

Royal Caribbean says guests of other nationalities need a valid passport, and may need a U.S. visa or ESTA. Its Canada sailings may also need a Canadian visa, depending on nationality.

Before you leave home

Check the line's own document page against your booking a few weeks out, because the line decides at the terminal. Put the originals in your hand luggage, not your checked bag. And if you are still deciding whether to get a passport, a Bermuda cruise or a one-way trip to San Juan is the reason to do it.