Passport expiration question

[Optotronics]

I just took advantage of a great last minute offer on a cruise in march.

DW's parents will be going as well in another cabin.

 

I found out this morning that their passports both expire in June of this year.

It's a 10 day Caribbean cruise starting and ending in FLL and retuning on 3/30.

I've had various answers depending on person at princess and TA and I'm looking for real experiences with this if you have one.

TA said passports have to have 6 months remaining when the cruise ends. She did say an original birth certificate and driver's license will work for this cruise.

Princess told me it's not a problem with them, but I should check individual ports on the cruise as some countries require 6 months.

That said, we have never had to use passports except when embarking and disembarking (but we've never missed getting back to the ship either).

To add to all this their drivers licenses are from MN and are of the old type which do not have some of the new security features.

Any help or input is appreciated

Thanks

Jack

[voljeep]

they've got 2 months to renew their passports... what's the problem??

[Optotronics]

they've got 2 months to renew their passports... what's the problem??

The problem is we are only 52 days out and you have to send in the current passport and with the current state/efficiency of our government, it could take longer. If we had booked the cruise 6 mo thsnor more in advance I ruin it wouldn't be a big deal. If I remember when we renewed ours a couple years ago it took 4-6 weeks then...too close for cruise that's only 53 days out

Edited January 26, 2018 by Optotronics

[voljeep]

"EXPEDITED SERVICE"

 

Service Commitment

Our expedited service commitment is to process your passport application within 8 business days from the time your application is received by a passport agency. This means you should receive your passport or denial letter within 2-3 weeks door-to-door if expedited service was initially requested.:cool:

[Optotronics]

"EXPEDITED SERVICE"

 

Service Commitment

Our expedited service commitment is to process your passport application within 8 business days from the time your application is received by a passport agency. This means you should receive your passport or denial letter within 2-3 weeks door-to-door if expedited service was initially requested.:cool:

Yes, thanks I do know for the right price it could be sped up, but I asked for experiences with soon to be expired passports with Caribbean cruises.

You see they are getting up in age and this will be their last trip outside the USA. $400 for 2 expidited renewals on a final trip that will be done months before the passports actually expire seems wasteful and would almost double the cost of their last minute cruise.

Thanks for your input though. If it were me, I would just expidite, but this is t my last trip as far as I'm aware of;)

[Cruise Raider]

I've sailed with a passport that only had 2 months left on it ... not 6 but that was several years ago and they might be a bit stricter now. However, we've recently sailed with my nephews and even a friend that used their birth cert (it must be the original with a seal) and a form of government issued ID and there was no problem. If they have access to an original birth certificate, why now use this and that way, you won't have to stress about getting the passport back in time. I understand the expedited passports can be costly. They should still take their passport as it will still be useful in the rare event you'd have to disembark to fly back into the US. Renew them after they get back. That's what I would do, anyway. But, I do also have my original birth certificate.

[riffatsea]

You will be fine with those passports but this year( we did it recently ) it has been only taking 2-3 weeks for passport renewals. Getting a new first passport takes longer!

[Astro Flyer]

I haven’t sailed to the Caribbean in years so don’t know the answer to the OP’s question but if considering a renewal this might be useful.

 

About 6 months ago my wife received her renewed passport in less than 3 weeks.

 

At that time we read that more passport renewals would be processed in 2018 because of changes 10 years ago that resulted in issuing more passports.

 

Here’s the current US State Department information for current renewal estimates.

 

Processing Times

The processing times below apply to all passport services.

 

Processing Times

Routine: 4-6 Weeks

Expedited: 2-3 Weeks

Expedited at Agency: 8 Business DaysBased on need, restrictions apply

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/processing-times.html

[gambit57]

You will be fine with those passports but this year( we did it recently ) it has been only taking 2-3 weeks for passport renewals. Getting a new first passport takes longer!

 

There's another thread somewhere on this board. There was a brief flurry of posts around the time the government shutdown happened. People are reporting January renewals coming in at the 2-3 week range that riffatsea said. Early January mail in dates and getting them back before the shutdown happened, etc.

[firecrewcapt]

I just renewed mine, sent it via priority mail signature required and received my new one in less than 3 weeks, my old one came back about a week later.

[Happy2cruise]

You will be fine with those passports but this year( we did it recently ) it has been only taking 2-3 weeks for passport renewals. Getting a new first passport takes longer!

We just renewed our passports 2 weeks ago and received them in today's mail.

[capriccio]

OP - take a look at each port on the State Department's website (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages.html) and see how long they say the passport must be valid for following the cruise. I don't know where you are going but I just pulled up St. Lucia for example and it says: "Must have six months validity at entry" whereas Turks and Caicos says "duration of your stay."

 

Have you checked your cruise documentation to determine if the cruise line has a 6 month requirement?

[Daniel1313]

I sailed not too long ago and my passport was set to expire in 3 months. No problems at all...

[pshaze]

Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I thought the passport restrictions were also to avoid problems if you needed to fly home unexpectedly or stay in a foreign country for an extended amount of time (due to emergency medical issues etc) I don't think a birth certificate is acceptable for flying from a foreign country into the US.

 

Also if you check the State Department website, islands like St Marten "Must have six months validity at entry". Others only require length of stay.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages.html

 

You can check the places you go on your cruise and see what they require. I would also think if you fill out the cruise personalizer and your passport is not valid for the places needed it would be flagged.

 

I'm overcautious so I would expedite the renewal.

[moki'smommy]

As to re-entering the United States, the passport must be valid on the day you re-enter. Some countries will not allow you to fly into their country unless you have at least 6 months remaining on your passport (they don't want to risk you getting stuck there and having to do an emergency US passport!) I've never read of this regulation for cruise ship passengers, and most countries do not require you to carry your passport while in their country and do not check it. Airlines keep it simple by following the 6 month rule--that way they don't have to pay attention to where the flight is going and individual country rules.

 

Currently passport renewals are taking under 3 weeks, new applications under 6 weeks. Mine was just under 3 weeks (by one or 2 days) when I did it in preparation for our April cruise. Yes, the government web site says 6-8 weeks, but I just did mine.

[pshaze]

I sailed not too long ago and my passport was set to expire in 3 months. No problems at all...

 

Depends on the country. If you went to Mexico all they require is "Passport must be valid at time of entry".

[land lover]

I would take both passports and birth certificates and licenses.....that way u are totally covered...

 

and I would suggest to them to renew them as well when you return home..just nice to have as additional ID..however if they have military IDs, probably not important to renew.

Edited January 26, 2018 by land lover

[shellgirl61]

My son just got his first passport a few months ago. He got it in about two weeks. I was pleasantly surprised.

[peety3]

To add to all this their drivers licenses are from MN and are of the old type which do not have some of the new security features.

Boom. This is the reason to get the passports renewed right here. I can understand a decision that this cruise is their last trip out of the US, but they're probably not ready to decide that they've taken their last domestic flight. It's the same reason that I plan to get a passport book AND a passport card at my next renewal, so that I have options if I need them (I live in WA and have an enhanced DL which is suitable for all domestic travel plus land/sea international, but if I were to need to send my passport book off for a visa, I'd like to have the passport card for international air at least to places where the book isn't needed.)

[geoherb]

DH's passport expired last spring. He did not have any problems going on a February Panama Canal cruise that ended six weeks before it expired. Costa Rica was the only country requiring a passport on that itinerary. (According to the Costa Rican Embassy, "US passport must be valid for a minimum of one day from the day you enter Costa Rica.")

[caribill]

Since this closed loop cruise only requires an official birth certificate and Government issued photo ID, take those and the passports.

 

There should be no problem at all.

 

Chances are you will not need to use the birth certificate and photo ID at all.

[Optotronics]

Since this closed loop cruise only requires an official birth certificate and Government issued photo ID, take those and the passports.

 

There should be no problem at all.

 

Chances are you will not need to use the birth certificate and photo ID at all.

Thanks, we will do this. I also forgot that in less than 2 weeks there may be another government shutdown, so it's not a good time to mail them passports for renewal.