NEWS: Caribbean Island Martinique Now Requires A Passport for All Cruise Visitors

On September 28, Carnival Cruise Line contacted guests sailing on upcoming cruises that stop in the French Caribbean island of Martinique, informing them that they will now be required to have passports if planning to go ashore there. This is was the first word of a change that would impact some Caribbean-bound cruise passengers.

In a statement to Travel Agent Central, Carnival said that “Martinique now requires that all cruise visitors to the island must have a valid passport in order to go ashore. The requirement will be strictly enforced and Carnival is encouraging all guests sailing on upcoming voyages that stop at the island to obtain a passport prior to their cruise. If guests choose to sail without a passport they will need to stay onboard during the port visit.” 

From the limited information publicly available, it appears this change impacts all Martinique-bound cruisers on all cruise lines. We’ve reached out to government officials in Martinique for more information, including why this change was made and to confirm that cruisers without a passport will still be able to sail on their cruise but just stay on the ship in Martinique. We have not received a response to our inquiry as press time. We’ll update this article if we receive more information.

Cruise to Martinique From  /Nt

This new policy appears to set Martinique apart from other Caribbean nations, as typically a passport is not required for US Citizens sailing on a roundtrip cruise that returns to the same US port.  We detail the passport requirements for US Citizens here.
 

This change underscores our strong recommendation that cruisers sail with a passport, even if it’s not required.