Atlas by Shumba Travel · Ask Atlas
What documents won't Royal Caribbean accept for boarding?
For cruises leaving the U.S., several papers people reach for at home simply do not count. Photocopies or phone photos of a passport will not work, and a driver's license on its own will not work either, REAL ID included. Hospital birth announcements, baptismal papers, voter registration cards, and military ID used without a companion document will not get you onboard, along with temporary licenses that lack a photo and discharge papers standing alone.
Royal Caribbean also will not accept a Trusted Traveler card such as NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST as your only proof of citizenship, though those cards may count as photo ID when paired with an accepted birth certificate. A dependent military ID issued to a spouse or child, a no-record-of-birth certificate, and certificates of live birth from a hospital all fall into the same reject pile. When you are unsure, use the Travel Documents Hub to see what your sailing actually accepts.
Source: Royal Caribbean
Last verified 2026-07-01