Another popular question among new cruisers is "do I really need a passport?" My canned answer: "If you depart from a US port and return to the same US port via cruise ship, technically you do not need a passport. HOWEVER, if you are in another country and have an emergency and need to fly home, you will not be allowed to fly back to the US."
After Hurricane Irene caused so much trouble in the Caribbean this summer, I have a slight change in my perspective. Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines departing San Juan the weekend of Hurricane Irene's arrival, were instructed by the port authority to depart several hours prior to the scheduled departure. Some passengers arrived in San Juan in time for their stated departure, only to find their ship had sailed. Normal procedure is for the passengers fly to the next port of call and join the cruise. Things generally work out fine if you have a passport.
Passports are not required for United States citizens flying to San Juan and cruises departing San Juan do not require passports for United States citizens. Many cruise passengers take advantage of this opportunity to visit more exotic destinations.
Once the ship left San Juan passengers without a passport had limited options to catch up to their ship. If the cruise stopped at another US territory, such as St Thomas, left behind passengers might have caught a break.
Cruises leaving New York and Boston departed early due to the arrival of Hurricane Irene. Without a passport, cruisers going to Bermuda or Nassau Bahamas were out of luck.
The moral of this story is TECHNICALLY passports are not required for closed loop cruises, however they are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!
