Passport expiration

Crusing 1/12 to W. Carribean ports if Colzumel and Costa Maya. Our passports expire approx 2/18. Will we have issues w expiration date so close to travel? Thanks! I'm calling RCCI but wanted to ask the experts first.

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Why don't you just send in the renewal? It only takes a few weeks with standard processing....

Crusing 1/12 to W. Carribean ports if Colzumel and Costa Maya. Our passports expire approx 2/18. Will we have issues w expiration date so close to travel? Thanks! I'm calling RCCI but wanted to ask the experts first.

 

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No problem at all.

The US won't have any problems. Haven't heard of any countries in the W Caribbean enforcing a the six month rule.

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If it only takes a few weeks, I'll renew it before we go.

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If it only takes a few weeks, I'll renew it before we go.

 

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Great idea, when I renewed my passport they returned the old one with holes punched in it .I believe this is a indicator of a voided passport . Grabbing the wrong one would be a problem at check in .

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Great idea, when I renewed my passport they returned the old one with holes punched in it .I believe this is a indicator of a voided passport . Grabbing the wrong one would be a problem at check in .

 

 

 

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We sailed from New Orleans the Jan. after Katrina hit. When we boarded our friends gave their Passports to the checkin lady and she noticed they had holes in them! Luckily she let them board and Customs never blinked on arrival. Wouldn't count on that happening today.

If it only takes a few weeks, I'll renew it before we go.

 

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I utilized the passport office in my local post office. Had it back in two weeks. TY, Hillary!!

Mexico requires that your passport is valid upon entry. It does not stipulate that it must be valid for a certain time after that:

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/mexico.html

That said, I would still renew before December of this year so that there are no nasty surprises when you get to the port. Note that other locations in the Caribbean, like the Bahamas, do require longer passport validity. If you were rerouted for whatever reason, you would not want to run into any issues.

Mexico requires that your passport is valid upon entry. It does not stipulate that it must be valid for a certain time after that:

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/mexico.html

 

That said, I would still renew before December of this year so that there are no nasty surprises when you get to the port. Note that other locations in the Caribbean, like the Bahamas, do require longer passport validity. If you were rerouted for whatever reason, you would not want to run into any issues.

Worries that you suggest are not warranted. For a typical closed loop Caribbean cruise (not Cuba), you need a passport that does not expire before the end of the cruise. PERIOD! You don't even need a passport for these cruises.

Rerouted is a needless worry put into peoples heads for no reason. Lots of ships get rerouted. Never once has been an issue.

The US won't have any problems. Haven't heard of any countries in the W Caribbean enforcing a the six month rule.

 

 

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I know being Canadian, when we went to Aruba it said on the passport website your passport has to be valid for 6 months before your visit. I don't know if they even cared but I renewed it just to be safe. Better safe than sorry I always say

While it may not be required, it is only prudent.

If you were traveling next week, and had forgotten to check, might be worth muddling through.

But this far out, just renew them.

I just don't get the antipathy against getting or renewing a passport.

And I suspect that those complaining about the price, do so sipping $5 Starbucks non-fat lattes.

I know being Canadian, when we went to Aruba it said on the passport website your passport has to be valid for 6 months before your visit. I don't know if they even cared but I renewed it just to be safe. Better safe than sorry I always say

There is no 6 month rule when you are on a ship

Worries that you suggest are not warranted. For a typical closed loop Caribbean cruise (not Cuba), you need a passport that does not expire before the end of the cruise. PERIOD! You don't even need a passport for these cruises.

Rerouted is a needless worry put into peoples heads for no reason. Lots of ships get rerouted. Never once has been an issue.

I agree completely. I know passports are good for 10 years for adults and 5 years for a child, but if the OP only travels internationally occasionally, and never for business, then if they are not planning a cruise or other trip for another few years there is no reason to renew before December for a cruise to the Caribbean.

I got murdered in 2014, when we took a river cruise on the Danube in the old Eastern Bloc here at CC because when we flew internationally that our passport would only have slightly over 5 months remaining. Even the Avalon cruise page had the boilerplate language that my passport had to have 6 months after the trip. I did my own research for each country I would pass thru and there were like 6, every one of them required 3 months not 6. So, I stupidly asked the question at CC.... good lord... you people love boilerplate and are many times incapable of independent thought. Just sayin.

OP, you will be fine. Even when the Hungarian police did the match the passport to the person inspection when we entered the country, not one of the border police in any of the 6 countries even bat an eye at my expiration date.

JC

Haiti and Honduras both list that you need SIX MONTHS left on your passport. Not sure if there are exceptions due to arriving on a cruise ship instead of by air, but that is what is listed on the USA government travel website. When we booked a cruise on a big box store that starts with a C we were told specifically that we need six months on our passports due to Haiti on this itinerary.

If it only takes a few weeks, I'll renew it before we go.

 

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I'd give it more than a few weeks. We mailed both our passports out on a Monday from our post office. My husband received his new one the following Thursday. However, mine took six weeks!

Neither of our old passports came back with holes punched in them as the other posted said there's had.

Karen

Seems that you have plenty of time to renew, may as well just go for it!

You will have no problem. Your passport is valid during your trip. If you send it now, with the new immigration issues that are going through, it will take too long. Also carry a certify birth certificate with the seal, AS long as you are leaving on the ship from US and returning to US there is no issue using birth certificates. This is for cruise only and if you are a US citizen, But still your passport is fine and there will be no issue as long as it is valid during your sailing days and when you come back in. We always carry both just in case passport get lost. I got this information from the RCL Diamond Plus desk.

You can call them

Hmm, so Diamond Plus is telling you that the local laws that require a certain amount of time left in your passport are wrong?

Will they pay your legal expenses if they are wrong?

Hmm, so Diamond Plus is telling you that the local laws that require a certain amount of time left in your passport are wrong?

 

Will they pay your legal expenses if they are wrong?

The passport expiration requirements do not apply to the typical ports in the Caribbean when visiting as a cruise ship passenger, because you are considered "in-transit". However, if you fly to the ports, it's a different story.

Hmm, so Diamond Plus is telling you that the local laws that require a certain amount of time left in your passport are wrong?

 

Will they pay your legal expenses if they are wrong?

Host Clarea just clarified this for you We are talking about on a cruise. But you would have no problems because your passport is valid. :)

I travel with a passport but these requirements are not required for closed loop Caribbean cruises (To and from same port in US). You can travel on theses cruises with a certified birth certificate and drivers license. You are not even required to present your passport to any authorities in the ports when you leave the ship. :cool:

As others have said, why not just renew now rather than next Spring? What is the purpose of waiting?

I renewed mine this past July. I went to the post office where they gave me a mailer and all of the forms and instructions. Could not have been easier. I received the new passport 2 weeks later.

I do not know the passport rules for being on a ship, but I do know that the 6 month rule can sometimes be applied when traveling. A friend was flying to Thailand this past summer. Homeland security at JFK would not accept her passport because it expired in under 6 months. The problem was not them, they told her, but would be a problem once she got to Asia. She had to Uber to NYC, to the passport office to get an immediate replacement. Obviously missed her flight and had to leave the following day.

Why take chances? We live in a new world, where rules change daily. Just get a new passport!

We just renewed our Passports. From the day we sent them in until they were returned, 11 days. Don;t worry just get them renewed.

As others have said, why not just renew now rather than next Spring? What is the purpose of waiting?

 

I renewed mine this past July. I went to the post office where they gave me a mailer and all of the forms and instructions. Could not have been easier. I received the new passport 2 weeks later.

 

I do not know the passport rules for being on a ship, but I do know that the 6 month rule can sometimes be applied when traveling. A friend was flying to Thailand this past summer. Homeland security at JFK would not accept her passport because it expired in under 6 months. The problem was not them, they told her, but would be a problem once she got to Asia. She had to Uber to NYC, to the passport office to get an immediate replacement. Obviously missed her flight and had to leave the following day.

 

Why take chances? We live in a new world, where rules change daily. Just get a new passport!

Well, my theory, is why should they do something now that they have zero reason to need to do? In other words they do not need a new passport to take the cruise. So, why should they surrender their perfectly good passport fill out paperwork that they don't need to do. What if the postal system or FedEx lost their passports during the renewal process? That would suck.

People are unbelieveable and just keep regurgitating stuff that makes zero logical sense, but it must make them feel superior, because it surely is not good advice.

JC