A reminder :)

Please check your passport. We just booked a cruise for September and my husband thought his passport expired in 2016. He happened to glance at it last night and realized that it expires in June.

Always good to check expiration date on any needed documents or ID's

Thank you. And of course, check and see that it is where you think it is. Remember the thread a few years ago where a passport went missing and it was thought that the housekeeper had stolen it? All kinds of nastiness in that thread, BUT a reminder nonetheless, like yours. :)

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As your husband's passport doesn't expire until, you have plenty of time to send in for a renewal and be ready for your September cruise.

DH and I sent ours in early -- I got mine back in 2 weeks and he got his back about in 7 weeks.

Always a good idea to know when docs expire and where they are. When I received my passport I put a reminder in the calendar on my smartphone for 9 and a half years from now.

Always a good idea to know when docs expire and where they are. When I received my passport I put a reminder in the calendar on my smartphone for 9 and a half years from now.

9 1/2 years ago, I might have put a reminder in my Filofax. :) I don't have the same phone provider or email address today that I did then, and I certainly didn't have my iPad back then! It's probably a safe bet that smartphones won't be quite the same in 9 years either.

9 1/2 years ago, I might have put a reminder in my Filofax. :) I don't have the same phone provider or email address today that I did then, and I certainly didn't have my iPad back then! It's probably a safe bet that smartphones won't be quite the same in 9 years either.

True, but our calendar app is linked to all of our devices so there's a good chance we'll still be using it or something similar (and if we do switch apps I would look for one that would transfer the data from the old to the new). The other thing that is being planned for 9 and a half years from now is my retirement but since I haven't picked a date yet that's not on the calendar:).

True, but our calendar app is linked to all of our devices so there's a good chance we'll still be using it or something similar (and if we do switch apps I would look for one that would transfer the data from the old to the new). The other thing that is being planned for 9 and a half years from now is my retirement but since I haven't picked a date yet that's not on the calendar:).

Now that's something to really look forward to! :)

As your husband's passport doesn't expire until, you have plenty of time to send in for a renewal and be ready for your September cruise.

DH and I sent ours in early -- I got mine back in 2 weeks and he got his back about in 7 weeks.

Yes, but he puts things off. So he gets a daily reminder :).

Good save, OP -- aren't you glad that you didn't wait until the last minute to check? ;)

Hands down, some of the best advice that I've ever read on this forum was along the lines of:

As soon as you book your cruise, gather up the necessary documents (be it birth certificates, passports, or whatever) for yourself -- AND -- everyone in your traveling party. After checking the names, dates, etc., put those documents someplace safe (where you'll remember them), until your cruise.

Hardly a week goes by, that we don't read a sad thread from some panicked cruiser who either: can't find their documentation, didn't realize that it wasn't current -- or -- didn't make sure that their traveling companions had proper documents. :(

When checking your passport expiry date before any travel, you need to also know what the requirements are for the places you visit.

Some countries require your passport to be valid for at least 6 months from the time of your trip.

I'm glad to hear your DH decided to check on the date of his passport now - imagine how terrible it would have been waving goodbye to you at the port!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

While I agree that it is 100% your responsibility to have the correct and unexpired documentation, shouldn't either your TA, or the cruise line if you booked directly, be asking for your passport information at the time of booking? I know that for our last Cunard cruise one of our passports had expired since our previous cruise and the first thing the PVP asked once she pulled up our info was for the new passport number. I am guessing the OPs situation was a confluence of (1) the first time using this particular agent and/or cruise line; and (2) booking before final payment date and the line doesn't ask for your documentation info until that time. Whatever the case I think the best advice for anyone who travels internationally is to have passports in hand while making the booking (unless you are one of the remaining rare throwbacks who still keeps their passports in a bank safety deposit box).

While I agree that it is 100% your responsibility to have the correct and unexpired documentation, shouldn't either your TA, or the cruise line if you booked directly, be asking for your passport information at the time of booking? I know that for our last Cunard cruise one of our passports had expired since our previous cruise and the first thing the PVP asked once she pulled up our info was for the new passport number. I am guessing the OPs situation was a confluence of (1) the first time using this particular agent and/or cruise line; and (2) booking before final payment date and the line doesn't ask for your documentation info until that time. Whatever the case I think the best advice for anyone who travels internationally is to have passports in hand while making the booking (unless you are one of the remaining rare throwbacks who still keeps their passports in a bank safety deposit box).

We booked our flight to Germany without having passports in hand, the airline required us to input the data at some point before the flight (I cannot recall the time frame because I did it as soon as we had the info). I've never been asked for this info at booking for a cruise, it is something that I've done later during online checkin.

A friend of mine taking a land based vacation fell into that exact trap. She was flying to Iceland this morning. Two days ago she got her passport out ready and noticed it expires in January :O. Frantic dash for photographs and off to the passport office (luckily she lives in the same city) and of course the massive emergency passport charge. Thankfully later that day she had a shiny new 10yr passport and didn't have to say goodbye to her trip. ALWAYS be organized and check your travel documents. I'm off to Italy in September with my mother. Her passport expires in June so I am in the process of gathering up the necessary to send off the application. :)

We've never been asked for our passport information when booking a cruise. We did use our passport # when booking international flights. We always book about a year in advance and the first thing we do after booking is check our passport.