The Mueller family, of Phoenix, was looking forward to a May cruise in Alaska aboard the Norwegian Star. Sue Mueller made a great booking for her family through Hotwire — or so she thought.

Before the cruise, Mueller checked with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to make sure she had all the travel documents her family would need for the trip. She knew that passport rules were changing, but like many Americans, she was unsure exactly what paperwork she would need to cruise from Seattle to Alaska.

"I contacted NCL customer service the day before the cruise to verify that we had acceptable documents," recalls Mueller. She says the agent verified that the family's documents — birth certificates and photo IDs — were sufficient for the cruise; the agent went on to explain that new passport requirements, which have sent U.S. travelers scrambling over the past year, would not affect cruise passengers until 2008.