A passport alone will suffice if an individual is a citizen of any of the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, Uruguay or Venezuela. All others may require a passport and visa. Provided you are a citizen of the United States, the Mexican government will accept alternate documents that can serve to prove identification and U.S. citizenship. For example, a driver's license or other government-issued I.D. alongside a certified birth certificate can substitute for entry into Mexico when traveling on a cruise. Children can enter with a birth certificate only in most cases.
The cruise-ship itinerary can determine whether a traveler will require a passport even if they are an American citizen. Due to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, all travelers on an open-looped itinerary require a passport when traveling on a cruise. An open-looped itinerary is one in which a cruise ship departs from one port with a final destination of a different port. It is important to note here that it matters not whether the ports are in the same country. Anyone on such a cruise will require a passport. For example, an American citizen departing on a five-day western Caribbean cruise that departs from Miami and returns to Miami is on a closed-loop cruise and can travel with a driver's license and certified birth certificate (although a passport still is recommended). An American citizen traveling on a 14-day Panama Canal cruise that departs from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with an ultimate destination of San Diego, California, will require a passport.
Passports are issued by a potential traveler's country of citizenship. In the United States, citizens apply with the U.S. Department of State at an approved passport acceptance facility. U.S. citizens who are outside of the country's borders must visit the U.S. consulate or embassy nearest them. To apply for a passport, the applicant must positively establish their identity and citizenship. Typically this is done by submitting evidence of citizenship in the form of a certified birth certificate issued by a city, state or county, a Naturalization Certificate, a Consular's Report of Birth Abroad or by submitting a Certificate of Citizenship. The question of identity is established with a driver's license or other government-issued ID, a military ID, a previously issued passport or a Naturalization Certificate. Minors must have their parents or legal guardians with them and submit additional documentation as well.
