Passport requirements in NCL

[victorpunto]

Hi. I booked a cruise, Norwegian Dawn at November 14th 2010.

 

I am from Argentina. I have a valid passport and a USA visa type B1/B2. The USA visa expires 2017, but my passport expires in January 1st 2011.

 

I have read that I need at least 6 month of availability of my passport after the date of arrive to cruise. If I will cruise in November 2010, could I cruise anyway with my passport valid to January 2011?

 

Thank you very much for your help.

[mylesf]

For the most current information you should contact your consulate. For US citizen's traveling internationally our passport has to be valid six months past our return date...

[Barb Nahoumi]

Check with NCL for their ruling. However, you should renew and expedite your passport now. It can take upwards of 4 weeks to receive a new passport.

[mylesf]

Check with NCL for their ruling. However, you should renew and expedite your passport now. It can take upwards of 4 weeks to receive a new passport.

 

NCL is going to tell them to go their consulate for the most current information...

[njhorseman]

For the most current information you should contact your consulate. For US citizen's traveling internationally our passport has to be valid six months past our return date...

 

That's a myth. The vast majority of countries do not require passports to be valid for six months past the return date. However, it's common for the cruise lines themselves to impose a 6 month validity requirement because by doing so they don't have to keep track of the different requirements imposed by the countries being visited by their ships.

[emcelh]

That's a myth. The vast majority of countries do not require passports to be valid for six months past the return date. However, it's common for the cruise lines themselves to impose a 6 month validity requirement because by doing so they don't have to keep track of the different requirements imposed by the countries being visited by their ships.

I think you may be incorrect. I have a background in the corporate travel industry with a large travel management company and I was very involved in international travel. Our travelers were always advised that they must have at least 6 months validity on their passport when traveling internationally by air. If I were the OP I'd get the information from my consulate rather than someone at the NCL call center.

[victorpunto]

Thanks for all answers.

 

The USA Consulate in Argentina says: if I have a passport with less tan 6 month of validation, I will be able to enter USA, but the period of permanence is limited by the date of expiry in my passport.

 

Is it the same in NCL cruises?

 

The new passport in Argentina takes more than 2 months to arrive....

 

I will appreciate any oppinion. Thanks

[MS52]

That's a myth. The vast majority of countries do not require passports to be valid for six months past the return date. However, it's common for the cruise lines themselves to impose a 6 month validity requirement because by doing so they don't have to keep track of the different requirements imposed by the countries being visited by their ships.

 

 

No, it's not a myth.

 

But to answer the OP's question, these aren't NCL regulations. You will be subject to the regulations of the countries that you are visiting. And whatever opinions you get here (or from NCL), won't hold any water if they are incorrect. Go to the experts (consulate) and do what you have to do so you have an uneventful cruise.

[paulyjsob]

We are cruising the western caribbean in February and my wife's passport expires

June 2011. One of our stops is Belize and I checked travel info for Belize and Belize requires a valid passport for 6 months for entry. Needless to say, my wife is renewing her passport. No point in taking a chance.

[mylesf]

We are cruising the western caribbean in February and my wife's passport expires

June 2011. One of our stops is Belize and I checked travel info for Belize and Belize requires a valid passport for 6 months for entry. Needless to say, my wife is renewing her passport. No point in taking a chance.

 

You did exactly what anyone who is traveling internationally should do when reasearching government requirements...it is not the cruise lines or airlines that make these policies but the government of the country that you are exiting and entering...

[smeyer418]

In fact it sometimes is the carrier policy at play not the actual rules. As an example, Brazil will allow you to change planes without a visa as long as your flight leaves the same day but American Airlines won't allow you on the plane with a change in Brazil without a visa on the oft chance of a delay in your flight.

So that it is possible that the cruise line will have a rule(the six month rule) whether or not its the official rule of the country you will visit. So the best way is to check both directly with the cruise line and the country/ies you are going to visit.

 

There is course one additional problem, many times the "rule" for people visiting a country is not the same rule as people visiting by cruise ship and many times your local consulate will give you an incomplete answer-one that really doesn't cover the cruise ship passenger only visiting for a day or two.

[cherylandtk]

VictorPunto,

Your cruise goes to Grand Cayman and Cozumel in addition to starting and ending in Miami. You should also check with the Cayman Islands and Mexico consulates in Argentina to verify that they do not have a passport time requirement for you. (I am pretty sure they do not, but I do not have access to the rules for Argentineans.)

 

Be sure to mention that you will be on a cruise ship, because most website answers assume you are entering the country for 24 hours or more and most countries have different rules for cruise day visitors and overnight visitors. The above mention of Belize, for example, is incorrect for cruise ship day visitors. (Belize does not even require passports of US citizen RT cruise visitors, much less 6 months validity.)

 

Lastly, NJHorseman is correct, most countries do not have a 6 month requirement. Some do. The most common requirement is a 3 month or 90 day passport validity. Most travel suppliers, particularly airlines, take the easy way out and use the longest country requirement as their 'standard' precisely so they don't have to publish which country requires what.

[victorpunto]

I was researching about argentinean passport requirements in USA's consulate and I found something that I want to share with you beacuse I think it is useful for people from any nationality:

 

FAQ's at website of USA's consulate in Argentina says:

"Do Argentines need 6 months validity on their passports to obtain a visa to the US?

This is not a requirement. While visa regulations state that a passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the date of the holder's departure from the United States, the United States has an agreement with many countries (including Argentina) automatically extending the validity of a passport for six months past the passport's expiration date. The result is that an Argentine passport should remain valid at least for the duration of the traveler's stay in the United States. "

Link: http://argentina.usembassy.gov/faqs.html

 

Another important link with the list of all the countries that are exempt of the six-months passport rule:

http://spanish.argentina.usembassy.gov/media/pdfs/consulado/six-months-club.pdf

 

Finally, if I could enter the USA with my passport and visa, I wouldn't have any problem to cruise from USA as cruises agents told me.

 

Cayman goverment website says: cruises travelers do not need visa (or anything).

 

Mexico: it is everything ok with argentinean travelers, but I am going to research more...

 

If somebody has any similar experience to share, I will be pleased.

[njhorseman]

We are cruising the western caribbean in February and my wife's passport expires

June 2011. One of our stops is Belize and I checked travel info for Belize and Belize requires a valid passport for 6 months for entry. Needless to say, my wife is renewing her passport. No point in taking a chance.

 

Belize doesn't require a passport at all for US citizens on a cruise ship making a port call, much less require your passport to have six months validity. Many countries have passport or visa exceptions for cruise ship passengers. Unfortunately if you look at the U.S. Department of State's web site it may not address these exceptions. Here is the correct information:

 

http://www.travelbelize.org/plan-your-visit/getting-here/entry-requirements-2.html

 

Entry Requirements

 

With the exception of cruise ship passengers, all visitors to Belize must present a valid passport before entering the country. Please note that driver's licenses and birth certificates are not approved travel documents and cannot be used to enter the country.

 

Visitors to Belize must be in possession of a passport valid for at least 3 months after the date of arrival and a return ticket with sufficient funds to cover their stay.

[victorpunto]

Does everybody know if this exception of cruise ship passengers applies to Grand Cayman?

I have cruise before with RCL to Bahamas and nobody have asked me about passport, visa or anything else.

[njhorseman]

I think you may be incorrect. I have a background in the corporate travel industry with a large travel management company and I was very involved in international travel. Our travelers were always advised that they must have at least 6 months validity on their passport when traveling internationally by air. If I were the OP I'd get the information from my consulate rather than someone at the NCL call center.

 

I owned a travel agency, and I know I'm correct. Yes, it's good advice to have 6 months remaining on your passport because it's difficult if not impossible to keep track of each country's requirements, but "good advice" doesn't translate to "required". For example, the US doesn't have a six month requirement for citizens of about 130 countries (last I checked).

 

Further, there are even more exceptions made by many countries for visitors making a one day port call on a cruise ship.

[njhorseman]

No, it's not a myth.

 

But to answer the OP's question, these aren't NCL regulations. You will be subject to the regulations of the countries that you are visiting. And whatever opinions you get here (or from NCL), won't hold any water if they are incorrect. Go to the experts (consulate) and do what you have to do so you have an uneventful cruise.

 

 

With all due respect, I see in your profile that you're an accountant. I was a the owner of travel agency for a number of years, and advising clients about passport requirements was part of our job.

[big green]

I was researching about argentinean passport requirements in USA's consulate and I found something that I want to share with you beacuse I think it is useful for people from any nationality:

 

FAQ's at website of USA's consulate in Argentina says:

"Do Argentines need 6 months validity on their passports to obtain a visa to the US?

This is not a requirement. While visa regulations state that a passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the date of the holder's departure from the United States, the United States has an agreement with many countries (including Argentina) automatically extending the validity of a passport for six months past the passport's expiration date. The result is that an Argentine passport should remain valid at least for the duration of the traveler's stay in the United States. "

Link: http://argentina.usembassy.gov/faqs.html

 

Another important link with the list of all the countries that are exempt of the six-months passport rule:

http://spanish.argentina.usembassy.gov/media/pdfs/consulado/six-months-club.pdf

 

Finally, if I could enter the USA with my passport and visa, I wouldn't have any problem to cruise from USA as cruises agents told me.

 

Cayman goverment website says: cruises travelers do not need visa (or anything).

 

Mexico: it is everything ok with argentinean travelers, but I am going to research more...

 

If somebody has any similar experience to share, I will be pleased.

 

do not confuse visa and passport requirements--they may be different--so for each country check the visa requirement and also the passport requirement.

 

BG

[newmexicoNita]

Hi. I booked a cruise, Norwegian Dawn at November 14th 2010.

 

I am from Argentina. I have a valid passport and a USA visa type B1/B2. The USA visa expires 2017, but my passport expires in January 1st 2011.

 

I have read that I need at least 6 month of availability of my passport after the date of arrive to cruise. If I will cruise in November 2010, could I cruise anyway with my passport valid to January 2011?

 

Thank you very much for your help.

 

Victor,

 

Rules and laws are not set by the cruise line, but by immagration Dept. I would re-new my passport asap.

 

Nita

[bluesea777]

Victor,

 

Rules and laws are not set by the cruise line, but by immagration Dept. I would re-new my passport asap.

 

Nita

 

Listen to Nita and me .....

 

Passport is the key, not the US Visa.

 

Renew your Argentinan passport and then bring your old passport along with the new passport as your US Visa is still valid.

 

My DH and DS have new passports and their still valid US Visa are in their old passport so we take both - no problems.

 

Don't cut too close and get refused entry into countries with the soon-to-be-expiered passport - renew your passport ASAP.

 

When we renewed DH's passport we antipicated 3 months so we sent it off 8 months before expiry date. Lo and behold the new passport came within 3 weeks with expiry date 10 years plus the actual expiry date of the old passport. Meaning the new passport has timeline of 10 years and 7 months!