Carnival's Holland America shares key cruise documents rule

Exactly which documents you need on your cruise depends on where you're visiting.

Some ports require visas, and you must get one before your cruise sets sail.

Fortunately, that's almost never the case when you sail from the U.S. In most cases you won't need any special documents. You will need a passport — although there is a way around that.

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One Holland America customer brought the documents question to the cruise line for a cruise that's making a brief stop in Canada but otherwise will be visiting only U.S. ports.

It's important to note that cruises leaving from the U.S. must make at least one stop in a foreign port. That's because of a really old law.

"There is an 1830s law on the books that states that foreign-flagged ships are not supposed to transport passengers from one U.S. port to another without stopping in a foreign country. The law was established to protect U.S.-flagged cruise lines; unfortunately, the law is outdated," Cruise Job Finder explained.

In reality, U.S.-flagged cruise ships have been very rare due to the finances of the business. That means that nearly every cruise leaving from U.S. ports will require some form of travel document.

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What documents do cruisers need?

One cruiser took to Reddit to share an interaction she had with Holland America in order to figure out what documents they needed for this upcoming cruise.

"Sailing next week to Alaska, closed-loop Seattle to Seattle with a brief stop in Victoria British Columbia. We did not get passports because I read we didn’t need them for a closed loop but today I read Holland requires passports to Alaska. Does anyone know for sure?" Eurodam asked.

While many people on the Reddit board answered, the cruise line did respond to the original questioner.

"Update: I finally got in touch with the documents department and they said what many of you have. Birth certificate with driver's license is acceptable but she did warn that if we don’t get back on the boat in time in Victoria, we will be stranded without passports and that’s why they strongly advise having it but it is not necessary," they posted.

A closed-loop cruise is a cruise that begins and ends at the same U.S. port and travels within the Western Hemisphere. This means that U.S. citizens on a closed-loop cruise do not need a passport to travel, even if the cruise visits international ports.

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It is, however, highly recommended to have a passport for any foreign travel because if you miss the ship you will not be able to get on a plane to get back to the U.S.

"I think it is extremely foolish to travel out of the country without a passport," wrote IntelligentAge211. "You do not need a passport until you do."

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