Passport EMERGENCY question!!!!

[gardn198]

I sail on the Sunshine this Sat Feb 10th. When I booked my cruise, they said it was fine my passport expires on March 10th. We arrive back in Florida on February 18th.

 

However I saw on their website that they recommend your passport be valid 6 months out. I called and the woman couldn't confirm they would let me on the ship with a passport expiring that soon.

 

Can anyone tell me if they were denied boarding for a similar situation?? I'm having my parents in the midwest overnight my birth certificate to my hotel just in case. Stressing out!

[TNcruising02]

Your parents can also scan and email your birth certificate to you.

 

Regarding the passport, when I booked a cruise on the Vista I called because my passport was due to expire the month after the cruise returned. The customer service person said that was fine. They recommend 6 months, but it's fine if the passport is valid at the time of travel. I had time to renew mine, so I did before my cruise.

 

Carnival will also accept a copy of a birth certificate. So even if you don't have the original, if someone can scan and email it to you, you should be fine.

 

Valid U.S. Passport

 

U.S. citizens may present a valid, unexpired U.S. passport when traveling via air, land or sea.

and

 

Traveling with a Birth Certificate and Photo Identification

 

Birth Certificate Information

 

The following are acceptable:

• An original or copy of a birth certificate issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics
  
• A clear, legible copy of a birth certificate that was originally issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics. The copy does not need to be notarized or certified.
  

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3409/~/travel-documentation%3A-u.s.-citizens

[gardn198]

The Carnival rep says the "copy" needs to be a certified copy from the health dept or hospital, so not a photocopied copy unfortunately. Hence why I'm having my parents overnight just to be extra sure!

[TNcruising02]

The Carnival rep says the "copy" needs to be a certified copy from the health dept or hospital, so not a photocopied copy unfortunately. Hence why I'm having my parents overnight just to be extra sure!

 

It's definitely better to be safe and have the original. It is disturbing that the Carnival rep is not saying the same thing that is being stated on Carnival's own website.

[Chervil]

Remember the key word "recommend".

 

 

As long as your passport isn't expired and doesn't expire during the cruise, then it should be fine for travel.

 

 

Since your parents are sending your birth certificate then you should definitely be fine.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[firemanbobswife]

It will be fine. I used mine with less than 2 months remaining on it with no issues whatsoever. As long as you are traveling on a cruise that doesn't require a Passport to begin with and it's valid on the date of your return, that's all you need.

[SadieN]

You’ll be fine on a Caribbean cruise.

 

 

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[lcpagejr]

No worries... If you do get the Birth Certificate from your parents.... Passport is irrelvant. Birth Certificates are fine on a closed loop cruise..

[summersigh]

I sail on the Sunshine this Sat Feb 10th. When I booked my cruise, they said it was fine my passport expires on March 10th. We arrive back in Florida on February 18th.

 

However I saw on their website that they recommend your passport be valid 6 months out. I called and the woman couldn't confirm they would let me on the ship with a passport expiring that soon.

 

Can anyone tell me if they were denied boarding for a similar situation?? I'm having my parents in the midwest overnight my birth certificate to my hotel just in case. Stressing out!

It shouldn't be a problem - a year and 1/2 ago ours expired 2 weeks after returning. It just has to still be valid the day you return to the US.

 

I posted the regs as they appear on the Carnival FAQ's on another Passport thread this week.

[sparks1093]

Seems a bit silly that they wouldn't take a passport that expires two weeks after the cruise but they would take a birth certificate. The passport needs to be valid for entry into the countries you are visiting. It will be. It needs to be valid on the day of your return to the US. It will be.

 

And the birth certificate can be a plain old photocopy. That's what I used when I boarded Pride in 2012.

[abby1257]

I'm just really confused, if someone is going to use their PASSPORT as their means of documentation..why ON EARTH wouldn't they renew it earlier....YI YI YI REALLY?

[Havingfun2010]

This always is so confusing. The USA does not require a passport to be within 6 months when you are a USA citizen and have a passport. The passport gets you back home. They check to make sure you belong here.

 

Some countries when traveling, require that your passport has at least 6 months left on it. So when traveling, it is your responsibility to check those countries and their requirements. All the countries, except Cuba, in the Caribbean, do not check your passport when entering/exiting if you are on a ship. Therefore, they don't care. (check with them anyways to be sure).

 

If you are going to Europe, or Asia, or any country that requires a VISA, than you will have different rules. What happens, is the webpages, will tell you that they recommend that you have 6 months, to protect themselves. However, ultimately, you should check each country.

 

Before you panic, get off cruise critic, and check the official webpages for each country.....you will get a better and more accurate answer. (than remember, they don't check it )

[sparks1093]

I'm just really confused, if someone is going to use their PASSPORT as their means of documentation..why ON EARTH wouldn't they renew it earlier....YI YI YI REALLY?

 

Let's say I'm in the OP's position. I look down the road at my travel plans and this cruise happens to be it for a year or two. Why renew now? I'd wait until I had some travel planned that needed a passport before renewing.

[sparks1093]

This always is so confusing. The USA does not require a passport to be within 6 months when you are a USA citizen and have a passport. The passport gets you back home. They check to make sure you belong here.

 

Some countries when traveling, require that your passport has at least 6 months left on it. So when traveling, it is your responsibility to check those countries and their requirements. All the countries, except Cuba, in the Caribbean, do not check your passport when entering/exiting if you are on a ship. Therefore, they don't care. (check with them anyways to be sure).

 

If you are going to Europe, or Asia, or any country that requires a VISA, than you will have different rules. What happens, is the webpages, will tell you that they recommend that you have 6 months, to protect themselves. However, ultimately, you should check each country.

 

Before you panic, get off cruise critic, and check the official webpages for each country.....you will get a better and more accurate answer. (than remember, they don't check it )

 

Who doesn't check it? I know that many on here have checked those websites but they have something better than a website- personal experience. And yes, some countries do impose a 6 month rule, but it needs to be remembered that it is 6 months remaining at the end of your trip. So if you are visiting a country for 2 months your passport will need at least 8 months validity when you arrive.

[ray98]

They 'recommend' 6 months. You will not be denied. There is no such requirement by CBP.

[firemanbobswife]

I'm just really confused, if someone is going to use their PASSPORT as their means of documentation..why ON EARTH wouldn't they renew it earlier....YI YI YI REALLY?

 

Maybe because they want to get the max time out of it. Or maybe it was a last minute cruise. I wasn’t going to try and renew mine when I left in 2 weeks from when I booked my cruise in August and it expired in October. There was no need to take months off my Passport at the time.

 

When you renew, your new one will expire based upon the date it is processed, not when your first one expires. So what’s the magic number? 3 months? 6 months? A year? Each early renewal means you get less time until you need to get another one.

 

For the cruises most people go on, you don’t even need a Passport and it only needs to be valid upon your return.

[asalligo]

If this is truly allowed, you may have to fight for it. The check in person and supervisor in Tampa on the Paradise in December were adamant that my daughter could not cruise on a ship going to Grand Cayman and Cozumel with a passport expiring March 18th. I had to provide birth certificate and state id for her to cruise. Their stance was that the computer would not even allow it to be entered with that expiration. I do accept that I may not have been dealing with the best and brightest.

[carrieluvsgreg]

The only thing to consider- which at this point is moot-

The basic advantage to traveling via cruise in the Caribbean with a passport is equivalent to purchasing travel insurance. Barring any emergencies during your trip- you will be fine. In the unlikely event that you do have an emergency which requires that you fly out of a port- the validity of your current passport comes into play. Each country is different on what they see as a valid passport.

 

 

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[firemanbobswife]

If this is truly allowed, you may have to fight for it. The check in person and supervisor in Tampa on the Paradise in December were adamant that my daughter could not cruise on a ship going to Grand Cayman and Cozumel with a passport expiring March 18th. I had to provide birth certificate and state id for her to cruise. Their stance was that the computer would not even allow it to be entered with that expiration. I do accept that I may not have been dealing with the best and brightest.

 

They were wrong and I would have asked for a Supervisor.

[ManyMore]

When you go to check in they will scan the passport, as long as it's valid it will go right through. Check in agents don't look to see when it expires. The reason the recommend the extra time is in case something happened and you had to remain in the foreign port longer than expected.

[Sun4Me2Please]

A photo copy is usually not what they request, it is suppose to be from the County where you were born with the raised seal. Also if you are married you (female) need a Marriage license as well. They need to see the name changed on an official document as well. We have been doing most of our cruises with BC's but we finally decided to do the passport thing.Cannot trust the state to get their poop together and wanted to make sure we could fly. Our state seems to want to be defiant to what the Federal Government wants for Drivers Licenses. I am sure you will be fine with your existing passport.

[crusinpsychRN]

Last cruise I forgot my passport. What a pain. Now it's in my wallet.

[coevan]

you must have a huge wallet

[NCbmwmom]

A photo copy is usually not what they request, it is suppose to be from the County where you were born with the raised seal. Also if you are married you (female) need a Marriage license as well. They need to see the name changed on an official document as well. We have been doing most of our cruises with BC's but we finally decided to do the passport thing.Cannot trust the state to get their poop together and wanted to make sure we could fly. Our state seems to want to be defiant to what the Federal Government wants for Drivers Licenses. I am sure you will be fine with your existing passport.

 

 

Never needed my marriage license when we cruised with just BC.

[sparks1093]

A photo copy is usually not what they request, it is suppose to be from the County where you were born with the raised seal. Also if you are married you (female) need a Marriage license as well. They need to see the name changed on an official document as well. We have been doing most of our cruises with BC's but we finally decided to do the passport thing.Cannot trust the state to get their poop together and wanted to make sure we could fly. Our state seems to want to be defiant to what the Federal Government wants for Drivers Licenses. I am sure you will be fine with your existing passport.

 

The DHS regulations do specify that an original or a copy may be used to prove citizenship for a closed loop cruise for US citizens. If a copy were not allowable then cruise lines could not accept them, and they do. A marriage certificate is recommended and if it's readily available then bringing it along is suggested by many, but many have never been asked to produce them (including us).