Panic setting in - Cruising 1/3/2013 & Passport expores 4/24/2013!!

[HeatherInFlorida]

We are (I hope!!) cruising on Riviera on 1/3/13. The cruise is R/T Miami to Caribbean ports.

 

I just read my cruise tickets for our cruise in 3 days. It states that all guests must travel with a passport that is valid 6 months after the disembarkation date.

 

My passport expires on 4/24/2013. I am in a panic. Will I be declined boarding? I called Oceania and they are closed. They only have an emergency number if I'm en route and cannot help otherwise.

 

I am hoping someone here can help. There's nothing I can do at this late date.

[aohkay]

Most countries impose strict rules about this. Some countries impose a 3 month rule, while others impose the 6 month rule and yet other countries require that a pssport be valid during your stay only.

 

Try calling the National Passport Information Center. http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

 

Good luck.

[Iceberg 3]

I'd call the Oceania emergency number also.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you. No luck with passport office. Oceania closed at 3:00 and they said distinctly that the emergency number will only be able to help if we are enroute. My TA tried to reach them as well, but they are shut tight.

 

He believes that when it's a R/T from a U.S. Port in the Caribbean (which this is) that I should be okay if I also bring my Birth Certificate with raised seal and photo ID.

 

I know the rule is an Oceania one, not a governmental one. The requirement for the Passport to be valid 6 months out is for European, South American, etc., destinations. Other information I've found states that it's not a requirement for a Caribbean cruise.

 

I'll call Oceania first thing Wednesday morning, but in the meantime there's nothing I can do anyway. All I can do is hope and pray.

 

Thanks.

[Mura]

I was in this situation although my passport disappeared the weekend before we were leaving, and we had a Monday departure.

 

Leaving from Miami makes it relatively easy. You just have to go to the Passport Bureau that day. (We had a 7:30am flight from NY to Miami with a scheduled 6pm departure on Regatta, so we were okay.) You will pay extra for expedited service, but it's worth it, don't you think?

 

The forms you need can be found online. Have a copy (duplicate original) of your birth certificate with you. I mistakenly brought a photocopy rather than an original which cost a little more.

 

It really only takes a couple of hours to get your new passport.

 

(On another trip, we had to cancel because my husband's passport was going to expire 5 months and 2 weeks after the cruise started.)

 

Email me if you have further questions.

 

Most countries seem to have the six month rule these days.

 

By the way, when I called the Passport Bureau over the weekend (when, of course, they are not open) I was told I had to have an appointment, and the first available appointment was the following Thursday. We ignored that and just showed up, and we weren't the only ones to do so.

 

Mura

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you, Mura. I'm going to hope this isn't true for the Caribbean. Everything I've read says that it's not except for the Oceania site. Even the Celebrity site says R/T to Miami is not an issue.

 

Of course I will call Oceania first thing Wednesday morning and if they insist it has to be I'll drive to Miami on Wednesday rather than wait until Thursday. I'm going to pray I don't have to do that.

[Mura]

I believe the Caribbean now requires a passport (whereas in the past a Driver's License would do) but there is also the option of the passport card, which probably is less involved and which you can also get at the Passport Bureau.

 

A friend of mine had a Caribbean cruise perhaps 2 years ago (not on Oceania) and she inadvertently brought along an expired passport rather than the current one. They let her on board anyway. But as I said, that wasn't Oceania ....

 

But it's certainly true that the passport problem should be less serious for a Caribbean cruise.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

Depends also on your Ports of Call some may still require passports on a closed loop cruise

 

I would take your Passport as well as other documents suggested

 

Check the countries You are travelling to for their entry requirements

http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html

[HeatherInFlorida]

I'm going to have to just make sure I have everything ready tomorrow in case I have to drive down. I can't risk trying to do it Thursday. I'll just have to call Oceania first thing Wednesday morning.

 

I feel so stupid, I just had no idea it would be an issue with 3 months leeway. I didn't dare risk sending it in by the time we booked this; afraid I wouldn't get it back in time.

 

I'm puzzled they didn't notice when I filled out the form. I even called them to be sure they had it since it didn't show up on my documents. It stated clearly when the passport expires, but he said nothing.

[Benita]

I believe that if you are on a closed loop itinerary,which starts and ends in a US port, you can use a birth certificate - original or certified and a government issued photo ID, like a driver's license. If something happens and you need to disembark outside the country and fly home, you do need to have the passport. However, the six month expiratory rule would not apply if you were just using it for a flight home.

Here is an official link. It sounds like you need to check the individual ports to see if they need a passport to enter - if so, check if that country has the six month rule.https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

[MightyQuinn]

... I just read my cruise tickets for our cruise in 3 days. It states that all guests must travel with a passport that is valid 6 months after the disembarkation date.

 

My passport expires on 4/24/2013. I am in a panic. Will I be declined boarding? I called Oceania and they are closed. They only have an emergency number if I'm en route and cannot help otherwise.

Oceania has a broad statement that passports should be valid for 6 months after your date of travel, but the actual requirements are driven by the individual countries you are visiting. Check the rules for each country on your itinerary and see what they say. We had a very similar situation on Oceania recently, where my DH had only 4 months left on his passport before it expired. We checked the countries we were visiting - only Spain on a transatlantic crossing - and learned that their requirement was only 3 months validity. We then called Oceania, told them the actual requirement was less than 6 months and asked them for a written note that we would not be denied boarding. We didn't have to produce the note at check-in and nobody say a thing about his passport expiration.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Benita, thank you so much for that site. That really helped. I checked the ports and there's not mention of the 6 month rule for Antigua, Barbados, Tortola or St. Lucia. St. Barts isn't on the list so I have to look further. Two of the island don't require a passport and the other 2 say it just needs to be valid. So I'm a little more hopeful!

 

MightyQuinn, thank you so much for your info too. I'm beginning to be able to draw a breath :)!!!

 

I just need to see if I can find St. Barts separately from the site mentioned above. I can't tell each of you how much I appreciate your help ... especially on New Year's Eve!!!!!

[Benita]

I think St Barts is part of France,

[LBFlorida]

If you need a new passport, do not get the passport card. We were on the Regatta 2 years ago and were escorted off the ship because an island or two (Barbados) did not accept the passport card. THANK GOD we were traveling on a Thursday and were able to get passports that day in Miami. Disaster diverted.

 

Good luck and see you onboard!!

[nana541]

The OP is on a closed loop 'Miami to Miami' so she only needs to satisfy Oceania about her passport. On "Closed Loop" cruises there is no requirement for a passport at all unless the cruise line wants to impose stricter guidelines than the US Govt which of course they can do.

 

When you talk to Oceania be sure and get them to e-mail you that they will allow you to board: that way at the port they can not deny you had that conversation. Just to be on the safe side bring Birth Cert, Drivers Lic. With you too.

 

I'm betting that because of the "closed Loop" you are going to be fine.

 

Take a deep breath and get ready to enjoy your cruise!

[redmanflorida]

Heather,

If you decide to go for the passport, do yourself a favor, and get passport photos ahead of time as we had to leave the Passport Agency in Miami to get photos and then return. FYI...this process took over 3 hours!

[LHT28]

French west indies

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1746.html#entry_requirements

[HeatherInFlorida]

St. Barts looks okay, too, and thank you to LHT28 for posting that link!

 

Redman, I have passport photos that I took myself, but I did them with the Passport Office's online template so hopefully they would be fine! Do you remember how long it took you at the Passport Office at the Omni Center? Did you have an appointment? You're supposed to have one, but someone on here said they just went there.

 

Based on what Nana is saying, combined with my research, Oceania will be my only hurdle. I also do have the new enhanced driver's license. None of the islands we're visiting requires the 6 month extension. Nana, if Oceania tells me it's "okay" I'll definitely ask them to send me an email verifying that. Someone posted either here or on my roll call that they did that, but at the pier no one blinked an eye, just breezed right through. And I'll bring my birth certificate, raised seal, etc., and enhanced DL.

 

One person on our roll call said that when they filled out the online registration it kicked it back because of the expiration date being too soon (like a month or 2 I think). But I filled this out sometime back and it went through fine. In fact when I got my documents and didn't see that filled in I called Oceania and the rep there looked it up and verified everything was in order.

 

So I'm just going to hope that this will be okay. After I call Oceania early Wednesday I'll post their response. And again, thank you so much to all of you ... really appreciate all the help!

[Mura]

For the benefit of others who might be in this situation, I arrived with all documentation required in Miami, already filled out -- obtainable online -- and it only took a couple of hours. I stood in line for maybe 20 minutes, submitted my forms, we went off for lunch and returned to get the new passport.

 

We DID have a slight problem in that we were told to go downstairs to get the new passport but were not told to check in ... so there was an extra needless delay. But if you need to get an emergency passport, it really does not take long. It does pretty much take up a fair amount of time on that day in Miami!

 

I can't vouch for how long it takes in other cities that have Passport Bureaus. I'm sure it would take longer in NYC!

 

In my case, we were taking a transatlantic, so I definitely needed a new passport. Therefore, my feeling is IF you need the passport, take the time to stand in line.

 

Then again, if we'd only been on a Caribbean cruise, we'd have done the least necessary.

 

Heather, you're going to need a new passport soon. If I were in your situation right now, I'd spend the time at the Miami Passport Bureau. But I can understand your wanting to delay that process. You can come home and then submit everything by mail. I get that! And doing so will save you a bunch of change.

 

Mura

[HeatherInFlorida]

Mura, thank you. This is helpful to me, too. I'm calling Oceania first thing Wednesday morning and if they tell me I need it renewed now, I will drive down to Miami on Wednesday rather than run the risk of problems on Thursday. It's 1 1/2 hours down so it will take the day, but worth it. But if they tell me, as some have said on my roll call and here, that it won't be an issue than I can avoid it.

 

Online they insist you need an appointment, but no way I can get one at this point. So I'll run down itinerary in hand and beg them to take me.:)

 

I've already printed out the application, have the pictures and I'm ready to go with the address. Hopefully it's all a waste of time.

 

Thank you again!

[Mura]

Remember, I was told I needed to have an appointment as well, but there was no way to get one so we just went. (We do have a great TA who told Oceania the ship couldn't leave without us!)

 

But there were a number of people besides us without appointments, so I really would not worry about that if you end up going for a new passport.

 

Just know that IT CAN BE DONE! And the upside is that quite likely for your cruise, you won't need it.

 

Mura

[HeatherInFlorida]

Again, thank you, Mura :). I will post the result here after I call Wednesday morning! Happy New Year!

[sitraveler]

Good luck.

 

Nothing like a little excitement to start the new year and cruise.

 

Expect to hear the details on board Thurs (or Friday)

[HeatherInFlorida]

I hope so! One way or the other I'm 95% sure I'll be there. Depending on Oceania's response tomorrow morning, I'm prepared to drive to Miami passport office even without an appointment and just get it done. I'll get all my packing done today.

 

But I have a feeling it's going to be okay. If I hadn't been copying the phone number from the ticket brochure I never would have seen the directive. I don't know how I ever missed it because I'm so compulsive about these things. I almost wish I'd never seen it. Could be I would have arrived at the pier, handed over our passports and we would have breezed through.

 

Sometimes you're better off not knowing these things. Still ....:o

[Mura]

Sometimes you are but sometimes you are NOT! Still, considering your itinerary I also suspect you're going to be okay. And at least you have a fall-back position if it isn't.

 

Good luck! We're all eager to hear about the results.

 

Mura