Silly passport question

[Tucker24]

traveling from NY to Port Canaveral and Castaway Cay. Would we need passports for this trip. It is a Bahama cruise but it seems to me we wouldn't need passports

 

[Mommb]

If the cruise leaves from and returns to the same New York port, then US citizens will not need passports -- certified birth certificates will suffice.

If for some reason you need to fly home from the Bahamas, you would need a passport. You can get an emergency passport in that situation, but it could take some time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

certified birth certificates will suffice.

A little clarification on this: US citizens may travel on a closed loop cruise (beginning and ending in the same US port and calling at Western Hemisphere ports) with a birth certificate PLUS (for those 16 and over) a government issued photo ID.