Passport expiration

[cruisinfanatic]

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.

That is only when flying to those countries. What do you think happens with those countries if you cruise without a passport? NOTHING!

 

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!

Then why are you responding?

[jamesr3939]

This topic has been beaten to death. Some people will get one, some will get it renewed, and some will travel without it. It's a personal choice and whatever you pick is up to you.

 

Now to answer one question that comes up all the time on this topic is about only having a birth certificate and needing to fly home for some emergency or as came up recently people not being allowed to disembark a ship due to landing at a port other than the one they departed from. Therefore, making it not a "closed loop". So, what happens when you get to the USA?

 

I just happened to be at San Francisco airport on business this last week and I asked a CBP officer that exact question. BTW: he had also worked the cruise port. CBP is not going to deny you entry just because you don't have a passport and only a BC. They have a database where they can run you information and confirm you are good to enter. They might scan your prints, but probably not. You will probably take a little longer to clear CBP, but not much. He said it's not that uncommon.

[MichFish]

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!

 

Karen

 

I renewed mine via mail in April - 2 weeks from when I dropped it at the post office until it arrived in my mail box. You can do the whole thing via the mail - just fill in the forms on line, print, attach your pic and check and send on out.

 

They even send you a confirmation via email and a link to track it with.

[xpcdoojk]

This topic has been beaten to death. Some people will get one, some will get it renewed, and some will travel without it. It's a personal choice and whatever you pick is up to you.

 

Now to answer one question that comes up all the time on this topic is about only having a birth certificate and needing to fly home for some emergency or as came up recently people not being allowed to disembark a ship due to landing at a port other than the one they departed from. Therefore, making it not a "closed loop". So, what happens when you get to the USA?

 

I just happened to be at San Francisco airport on business this last week and I asked a CBP officer that exact question. BTW: he had also worked the cruise port. CBP is not going to deny you entry just because you don't have a passport and only a BC. They have a database where they can run you information and confirm you are good to enter. They might scan your prints, but probably not. You will probably take a little longer to clear CBP, but not much. He said it's not that uncommon.

 

I think you are 100% correct, which is why the people who just answer these threads by rote, are doing a disservice to reason.

 

Honestly, in 2014, I had multiple people telling me ( when I knew factually 100% that they were wrong) that I would not be allowed to fly from here to Dallas, to Berlin, to Bucharest, and then to take a cruise to Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, fly to Berlin and then to Chicago and home. That I would be denied and not allowed to cruise because my passport only hand 5 months and a week on it. It was not just one person it was dozens.

 

Look at where you are going, and look at each place you visits rules, and then ignore these people who know nothing but want to tell you you are wrong, more than anything in their lives.

 

Just Sayin

 

I have been traveling internationally for 35 years, and I laugh at some of these people daily...

 

JC

[SailingSam17]

For peace of mind, just renew. Here is a decent site that explains the various options for renewall and typical turnaround times:

https://www.howtogetapassport.org/passport-processing-time-frames.html

[LeeW]

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.

 

Tell that to the people who wanted to get off in Costa Maya or Cozumel on the 9/3 extended Allure trip. They had to stick with the ship because they were sailing with birth certificates and not passports. Agree with the expiration date, though - most countries don't care as long as passport is still valid.

[steveru621]

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.

 

Sent from my LG-H918 using Forums mobile app

 

You don't even need a passport to broad the ship. BC and license.

[Dennis#1]

Tell that to the people who wanted to get off in Costa Maya or Cozumel on the 9/3 extended Allure trip. They had to stick with the ship because they were sailing with birth certificates and not passports. Agree with the expiration date, though - most countries don't care as long as passport is still valid.

 

You are correct. If they had a Passport, they would have had the option to depart the ship in Costa Maya or Cozumel and fly back to the USA. Similar situation occurred on the Aug. 27th sailing of Liberty.

[waterbug123]

Tell that to the people who wanted to get off in Costa Maya or Cozumel on the 9/3 extended Allure trip. They had to stick with the ship because they were sailing with birth certificates and not passports.

 

That's because by disembarking in Mexico, their cruise would no longer have been considered a closed loop cruise.

[Clarea]

That's because by disembarking in Mexico, their cruise would no longer have been considered a closed loop cruise.

Also, they would have had to fly back to the US from a foreign country, which requires a passport booklet.

[SRF]

Agree with the expiration date, though - most countries don't care as long as passport is still valid.

 

MANY countries required that your passport be valid for at least 6 months after the day you are to depart their country.

 

However, in an emergency, I can see this being easily waived or ignored.

 

But best to renew your passport at about 9 months prior to expiration, just to be safe.

[cruisinfanatic]

MANY countries required that your passport be valid for at least 6 months after the day you are to depart their country.

 

However, in an emergency, I can see this being easily waived or ignored.

 

But best to renew your passport at about 9 months prior to expiration, just to be safe.

You have it backwards

[jamesr3939]

From the US State Department:

 

Entry into any of the 26 European countries in the Schengen area for short-term tourism, a business trip, or in transit to anon-Schengen destination, requires that your passport be valid for at least three months beyond your intended date of departure.

Visitors traveling to the United States are required to be in possession of passports that are valid for six months beyond the period of their intended stay in the United States. Citizens of some countries are exempt the six-month rule and need only have a passport valid for their intended period of stay.

List of Countries that Require 6 Months Passport Validity

 

Requirements for each country can change at any time. Please contact the country embassy or consulate directly. This list is meant to be a helpful guideline for countries that enforce the six month validity passport rule.

• 
  
  • Albania
    
  • Angola
    
  • Bahrain
    
  • Belize
    
  • Bolivia
    
  • Botswana
    
  • Brazil
    
  • Brunei
    
  • Burma (Myanmar)
    
  • Burundi
    
  • China
    
  • Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
    
  • Ecuador (including Galápagos Islands)
    
  • French Polynesia
    
  • Guyana
    
  • Honduras
    
  • Indonesia
    
  • Iran
    
  • Iraq
    
  • Israel*
    
  • Kenya
    
  • Kiribati
    
  • Laos
    
  • Madagascar
    
  • Malaysia
    
  • Mauritius
    
  • Micronesia**
    
  • Mozambique
    
  • Namibia
    
  • New Caledonia
    
  • Nicaragua (currently waived by bilateral agreement)
    
  • Oman
    
  • Palau
    
  • Papua New Guinea
    
  • Philippines
    
  • Russian Federation
    
  • Saudi Arabia
    
  • Singapore
    
  • Taiwan
    
  • Tajikistan
    
  • Tanzania
    
  • Thailand
    
  • Timor-Leste (East Timor)
    
  • Turkey
    
  • Turkmenistan
    
  • Uganda
    
  • Ukraine
    
  • Venezuela
    
  • Vietnam
    
  • Zambia
    

*Some airlines that fly to Israel may require six months validity on your passport. Check with your airline first if you have less than 6 months passport validity.

**Micronesia requires US passport holders to have four months passport validity.

[reallyitsmema]

Do you have a link to that block of text showing it is actually from the US State Department? I really doubt the US State Department has a link to USA Today on their website. Plus, the information on Micronesia doesn't even agree with the information on state.gov.

[NatsFanOnBoard]

This topic has been beaten to death. Some people will get one, some will get it renewed, and some will travel without it. It's a personal choice and whatever you pick is up to you.

 

Now to answer one question that comes up all the time on this topic is about only having a birth certificate and needing to fly home for some emergency or as came up recently people not being allowed to disembark a ship due to landing at a port other than the one they departed from. Therefore, making it not a "closed loop". So, what happens when you get to the USA?

 

I just happened to be at San Francisco airport on business this last week and I asked a CBP officer that exact question. BTW: he had also worked the cruise port. CBP is not going to deny you entry just because you don't have a passport and only a BC. They have a database where they can run you information and confirm you are good to enter. They might scan your prints, but probably not. You will probably take a little longer to clear CBP, but not much. He said it's not that uncommon.

Thank you for posting this account.

[SRF]

I can say that the list is pretty good.

 

But what do I know, I have only traveled to 2 of the countries on that list.

 

The trip to Vietnam recently was the one that caused so issue with the airline. I finally pointed out that Vietnam issued me a visa, with the effective dates that included a few days into the 6 months.

[reallyitsmema]

I can say that the list is pretty good.

 

But what do I know, I have only traveled to 2 of the countries on that list.

 

The trip to Vietnam recently was the one that caused so issue with the airline. I finally pointed out that Vietnam issued me a visa, with the effective dates that included a few days into the 6 months.

 

The list might be pretty good but it is not from the US State Department, it is a dated article from USA Today. Accurate, up to date information is available on https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html which is an official government website. Getting information like this from a travel blog is risky. It is always better to go to an official source, not a third party site.

[ewenix]

I got murdered in 2014

I take it you got better. :D

[bsjcb2000]

I take it you got better. :D

 

:')

[xpcdoojk]

I take it you got better. :D

 

Yep, added another layer to my all ready, I don't do consensus speak skin, and moved on and travelled to Asia, and other wonderful places.

 

I am not against early renewal.... I am against the hoards that act as if you don't you are coming into the country like a DACA kid...

 

I think that following the rules to the letter, and in the OP's case if they had to fly from a country, they have a passport that is perfectly valid for their closed loop cruise, and it is equally valid to fly home from Cozumel... that listening to the people pontificating on this thread and following their advice is just ..........

 

JC

[jamesr3939]

The list might be pretty good but it is not from the US State Department, it is a dated article from USA Today. Accurate, up to date information is available on https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html which is an official government website. Getting information like this from a travel blog is risky. It is always better to go to an official source, not a third party site.

 

You are totally correct. The first paragraph came from the DOS. They other one was a link from the DOS. The other information is directly from one of the 3rd party expediters that handles getting your passports if you need them in a hurry. So, not a GOV source. But, still pretty reliable if DOS recognizes them to handle their paperwork.

[SRF]

The list might be pretty good but it is not from the US State Department, it is a dated article from USA Today. Accurate, up to date information is available on https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html which is an official government website. Getting information like this from a travel blog is risky. It is always better to go to an official source, not a third party site.

 

Coming from the State Department does not make it any more accurate.

 

This is NOT a State Department requirement, it is a requirement of EACH INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY. State Department monitors this, but that does not mean the things could not change today, and not end up on the list for a while.

 

And as another data point, State Department people traveling, do so under different conditions that tourists do. Especially WRT expiration dates and visas.

[jamesr3939]

Coming from the State Department does not make it any more accurate..

 

 

Nothing makes it accurate until you're standing at the booth waiting to see if they let you in/out or not.