New U.S. Passport Rules Are Set -- Finally

After what has often seemed like a never-ending odyssey, the new land and sea rules for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) -- a government mandate aimed at tightening border security -- are finally, well, final.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of State released the complete details of the WHTI initiative on March 27th and announced an effective date of June 1, 2009. At that time, a passport or other WHTI-compliant document will be required for entering or re-entering the U.S. through all land and sea points of entry - sort of.

The announcement means that cruise travelers now have 14 months to make preparations for the new travel requirements. Interestingly, though, the specifics of the completed initiative reveal that the final requirements for cruise passengers will actually be less stringent than those imposed on land travelers. That's because passengers on any itinerary that begins and ends at the same U.S. port -- such as a roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale cruise to the Caribbean or a roundtrip Seattle itinerary to Alaska and British Columbia -- will be exempt from the WHTI document requirement.

Passengers on these "closed-loop sailings" will still need to present a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver's license) and proof of citizenship (a birth certificate, certificate of naturalization or similar documentation). Those requirements are already in place for cruise passengers traveling to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean.

The 2009 rules will, on the other hand, impact cruise travelers not sailing roundtrip voyages to and from the same U.S. city. So for those cruising on a Boston to Montreal voyage, or a Los Angeles to Vancouver sailing, a passport -- or other approved secure document denoting both citizenship and identity -- will be required.