How long should passport be valid for Bahamas?

[bburk00]

We have a cruise booked for the week of April 05, 2020 and my youngest son's passport expires September 30, 2020. Does anyone know if the Bahamas/Turks have passport validity requirements? Like the six month rule? We will be going to Grand Turk, Princess Cay, and Nassau.

[ducklite]

I don't know but personally wouldn't risk it.  I always renew when I have eight months left.  

[bburk00]

Thanks Ducklite. I was hoping to get past his 11th birthday so it would be the last limited validity passport since it's only good for 5 years and after 16 can get the full 10 year one. His birthday is March 8 and I don't think we would have enough time to get it between March 8 and April 5.

[Herfnerd]

The US State Dept simply says the passport must be valid at the time of entry and exit

 

But as long as you all are US Citizens, you could use his current passport along with the original, certified or notarized copy of his Birth Certificate as the latter is all that is needed on a closed loop cruise

[ducklite]

5 minutes ago, Herfnerd said:

The US State Dept simply says the passport must be valid at the time of entry and exit

 

But as long as you all are US Citizens, you could use his current passport along with the original, certified or notarized copy of his Birth Certificate as the latter is all that is needed on a closed loop cruise

The US State Department doesn't make the rules for the Bahamas, which is what the OP was asking about.  

[thinfool]

This is a closed loop cruise, no passport is required.  Your son could take the cruise with his birth certificate if he is a US citizen (seems likely).

No extended validity is required.  

[SRF]

The only place in the Caribbean and surrounding that required 6 month validity for passports, for cruise passengers, was Cuba.

 

There are different rules in many countries for cruise passengers versus other entrants.

 

 

Edited August 9, 2019 by SRF

[Herfnerd]

30 minutes ago, ducklite said:

The US State Department doesn't make the rules for the Bahamas, which is what the OP was asking about.  

 

I didn't find anything on the Bahamas.gov site only stating that a passport or compliant document is needed to visit, but if you go to the Bahamas.com site, which is supposed to be the official site of the Bahamas, whatever that means, it directs you to the CBP.gov site

 

However, my other comment is still valid - to bring the passport along with a certified copy of his BC and he should be fine

[bburk00]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We'll just bring his passport and birth certificate just to be safe.

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, ducklite said:

The US State Department doesn't make the rules for the Bahamas, which is what the OP was asking about.  

Yes but the US State Department website provides that information for every country so that US citizens do not have to embark on a difficult and often fruitless search to get the correct information directly from other countries' websites, which may not even exist or in many cases may not be written in English . As already noted by another poster, the official Bahamas website doesn't even have the information and actually refers you back to a US government website for the information.

 

In any event for the Bahamas fall under the rules of the Western Hemisphere Travel initiative, whose rules are well-known and have been in place for many years, which means that a passport isn't even required for a US citizen taking a closed loop cruise.

Edited August 9, 2019 by njhorseman

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, bburk00 said:

Thanks everyone for your replies. We'll just bring his passport and birth certificate just to be safe.

Just a (probably unnecessary based on your itinerary) word of caution. Some cruise lines, generally luxury lines like Regent Seven Seas, Azamara and Oceania actually require all passengers to carry  a passport with at least six months validity regardless of whether any countries on the itinerary require it. However if you're cruising on one of the mass market lines like Carnival, NCL or Royal Caribbean that  isn't the case. They don't go beyond the rules of the US and the countries being visited.

Edited August 9, 2019 by njhorseman

[zqvol]

5 hours ago, bburk00 said:

We have a cruise booked for the week of April 05, 2020 and my youngest son's passport expires September 30, 2020. Does anyone know if the Bahamas/Turks have passport validity requirements? Like the six month rule? We will be going to Grand Turk, Princess Cay, and Nassau.

 

Assuming that you are US Citizens, and it is a closed loop cruise a passport is not required, so that means that if you choose to use a passport as long as it is valid when you return to the US you are fine. There is no 6 months requirement for those countries.  Some luxury lines may insist that you have 6 months or more left, but the mass market lines do not do that.

[brillohead]

Does the Cruise Line require that all passports for all passengers on all routes be valid for more than six months past cruise date?  If "no" go to next question.

Is the cruise leaving from and returning to the same US port?  If "yes" go to next question.

Is the child a natural-born US citizen?  If yes.... just take the passport.  No need to take any other identification.  No need to take the birth certificate if taking the passport -- I don't understand why @Herfnerd keeps recommending that, as there's nothing that the birth certificate "proves" that the passport doesn't already cover.

 

Personally, I'd take the passport and leave the birth certificate at home.  If the passport gets lost or stolen, it can be cancelled.  A birth certificate, however, could be used as a fake ID by someone else's child in the future, which could be problematic as your child gets older, if someone else gets arrested under his name and DOB, or if someone else runs up bills/credit cards in his name, etc., he'll have a heck of a time proving it wasn't him.

In this time of ICE raids and detentions and deportations, a US birth certificate is a valuable commodity.  Leave it in a safe place.... at home.
 

[Herfnerd]

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

Does the Cruise Line require that all passports for all passengers on all routes be valid for more than six months past cruise date?  If "no" go to next question.

Is the cruise leaving from and returning to the same US port?  If "yes" go to next question.

Is the child a natural-born US citizen?  If yes.... just take the passport.  No need to take any other identification.  No need to take the birth certificate if taking the passport -- I don't understand why @Herfnerd keeps recommending that, as there's nothing that the birth certificate "proves" that the passport doesn't already cover.

 

Personally, I'd take the passport and leave the birth certificate at home.  If the passport gets lost or stolen, it can be cancelled.  A birth certificate, however, could be used as a fake ID by someone else's child in the future, which could be problematic as your child gets older, if someone else gets arrested under his name and DOB, or if someone else runs up bills/credit cards in his name, etc., he'll have a heck of a time proving it wasn't him.

In this time of ICE raids and detentions and deportations, a US birth certificate is a valuable commodity.  Leave it in a safe place.... at home.
 

You crack me up.

 

Why do I “keep” recommending a BC?  Because it is an accepted travel document to cruise with and tens of thousands of people do it every year.  I am merely stating that if the OP is concerned with length of validity of their child’s passport they could bring a copy of their BC to supplement it.  

 

Passports are just as valuable as a BC - but you leave both in your safe. 

Edited August 10, 2019 by Herfnerd

[navybankerteacher]

On 8/9/2019 at 7:45 AM, ducklite said:

The US State Department doesn't make the rules for the Bahamas, which is what the OP was asking about.  

Of course not; but the U S State Department is aware of the rules for the Bahamas, which answers OP’s question.

[brillohead]

29 minutes ago, Herfnerd said:

You crack me up.

 

Why do I “keep” recommending a BC?  Because it is an accepted travel document to cruise with and tens of thousands of people do it every year.  I am merely stating that if the OP is concerned with length of validity of their child’s passport they could bring a copy of their BC to supplement it.  

 

Passports are just as valuable as a BC - but you leave both in your safe. 

A passport is sufficient.  Its sole purpose is for proving one's nationality and identity for travel purposes.  There is no need for a birth certificate AND a passport -- just the passport.  

[ducklite]

4 minutes ago, brillohead said:

A passport is sufficient.  Its sole purpose is for proving one's nationality and identity for travel purposes.  There is no need for a birth certificate AND a passport -- just the passport.  

Actually a passport is a far superior document to a birth certificate. It's much harder to forge and not only proves citizenship, but also identity--which a birth certificate does not.

[Herfnerd]

3 minutes ago, brillohead said:

A passport is sufficient.  Its sole purpose is for proving one's nationality and identity for travel purposes.  There is no need for a birth certificate AND a passport -- just the passport.  

I know it is.  My comment is addressing her concern about the timebof validity of her child's passport.  I merely stated that if they are worried, they could supplement with the BC

 

Carnival accepts a clean photocopy of BC's to cruise so that should suffice.  Certified copies are what is needed in order to establish citizenship when applying for things like ID's.  If they accept anything else than there is a bigger issue

[zqvol]

9 hours ago, Herfnerd said:

You crack me up.

 

Why do I “keep” recommending a BC?  Because it is an accepted travel document to cruise with and tens of thousands of people do it every year.  I am merely stating that if the OP is concerned with length of validity of their child’s passport they could bring a copy of their BC to supplement it.  

 

Passports are just as valuable as a BC - but you leave both in your safe. 

 

If a BC will work then a passport that is valid on the  date of return will work. There is no need to take both. Leave the BC at home.

Edited August 10, 2019 by zqvol

[Herfnerd]

14 minutes ago, zqvol said:

 

If a BC will work then a passport that is valid on the  date of return will work. There is no need to take both. Leave the BC at home.

Exactly.

 

 Again, I was addressing the OP’s concern about requirement of passport validity where she stated that she was worried that it expired a couple of months after their return.  When I mentioned earlier that about being valid on dates of entry and exit as acceptable, I got a little grief because of  my source (US State Dept)

[akcruz]

As US citizens we did a last minute cruise to the Bahamas in January with passports that expired in March, no issues at all.  If we had thought ahead would have renewed earlier but found a deal we couldn't pass up.  Have our next cruise in November where we will have new passports.   If you are concerned at all bring along the birth certificates but they should not be needed.