As of July 13th, 2010, passport fees will increase!

Since January 23rd, 2007, the U.S. government has ruled that all travelers travelling by AIR outside the United States MUST have an actual passport. 

In accordance with the Western Hemisphere Initiative, for LAND and SEA travel to the following countries...
        MEXICO, CANADA, The CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL and SOUTH AMERICA, and BERMUDA, the following rules apply ......

• U.S.  citizens will need to present either a passport, passport card, or a WHTI-compliant document, 
  

Note: The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from U.S. territories.

            Please note that even though passports are not yet required for cruises that are round trip from United States ports, if an emergency forced you to  FLY back to the United States, you would still need a passport.

See "All About Passports" under Travel Resources for full details about passports, and also about country entry and exit requirements, or