Passport Problem

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

 

This was posted in August on the Princess board about Martinique and Guadelope.

This was the announcement Princess sent to passengers on upcoming cruises stopping in either of those countries (note they are emphasizing that it is a change in requirements):

 

"Please be advised that documentation requirements for your voyages have been updated. A valid passport is now required for all guests on this voyage. Guests without a valid passport will be denied boarding.                              

                                                         
Your passport should be valid for six months after the completion of travel. Please ensure the name on your passport matches your name as it appears on your booking. Additionally, make certain that your passport contains blank pages for entry and exit endorsements and any visas that may be required. If necessary, allow sufficient time to renew your passport and/or obtain additional pages.   
                                                                               
There may be occasions where we retain your passport at check-in. This is to ensure that you are not inconvenienced by immigration clearance during your cruise in ports face-to-face inspection is not required. We recommend you bring a second government-issued photo ID if you wish to have one with you while in port, and to carry a copy of your passport photo page."        

               

And this is the thread with 7 pages of discussion about the new requirement:  

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2689894-passport-required/

 

 

Thanks for this 👍. That is interesting information. I guess it goes to show even with passport requirements the cruise ships will still stop at those destinations.

[njhorseman]

5 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Thanks for this 👍. That is interesting information. I guess it goes to show even with passport requirements the cruise ships will still stop at those destinations.

There are relatively few closed loop cruises originating in the US that stop at these ports and it's difficult to make last minute port changes . It might affect itineraries in the future.

[capriccio]

39 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

There are relatively few closed loop cruises originating in the US that stop at these ports and it's difficult to make last minute port changes . It might affect itineraries in the future.

 

For Princess it is applicable for cruises beginning at least (according to the posts in the long thread) in early November - which for Princess is probably the beginning of the Caribbean season for that itinerary (they don't have a ship in Caribbean in the summer).  Passengers were notified the 3rd week in August.  That barely gives passengers without a passport or with one that will expire before the 6 months left requirement the 2 months the State Department estimates for regular processing of a new or renewal passport.  That's added unanticipated stress and expense.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

 

For Princess it is applicable for cruises beginning at least (according to the posts in the long thread) in early November - which for Princess is probably the beginning of the Caribbean season for that itinerary (they don't have a ship in Caribbean in the summer).  Passengers were notified the 3rd week in August.  That barely gives passengers without a passport or with one that will expire before the 6 months left requirement the 2 months the State Department estimates for regular processing of a new or renewal passport.  That's added unanticipated stress and expense.

This issue has arisen in the past for the French West Indies. A couple of years ago the same thing happened for cruises stopping at St Bart's.

 

Guadeloupe and Martinique are not countries, they're French overseas departments...essentially a part of France but not located within the European boundaries of France. They were never on the list of WHTI  countries but presumably there was a side agreement that allowed them to be treated as if they were. I suppose either France or the US Department of State has decided that side agreement is no longer valid. It's unfortunate for the cruisers on the first cruise or two of the season who will have to rush a bit to apply for passports.

[caribill]

18 hours ago, njhorseman said:

This issue has arisen in the past for the French West Indies. A couple of years ago the same thing happened for cruises stopping at St Bart's.

 

Guadeloupe and Martinique are not countries, they're French overseas departments...essentially a part of France but not located within the European boundaries of France. They were never on the list of WHTI  countries but presumably there was a side agreement that allowed them to be treated as if they were. I suppose either France or the US Department of State has decided that side agreement is no longer valid. It's unfortunate for the cruisers on the first cruise or two of the season who will have to rush a bit to apply for passports.

 

And even more unfortunate for for the cruisers without a passport who somehow did not receive the notification or did not realize it did apply to them.

[SRF]

On 9/27/2019 at 9:44 PM, Charles4515 said:

Wrong. It is not a cruise line thing. Some countries require that there be six months left. Most cruises from North America don’t require 6 months left. 

 

It is both.

 

Except for Cuba (no longer on cruise itineraries), no other country in the Caribbean/Gulf/Atlantic requires 6 month validity.

 

Some cruise lines DO require it for all their cruises, even if no country visited does.

[SRF]

On 9/28/2019 at 7:57 AM, kendon said:

Not just a cruise line thing.  If you get stranded for any reason while away, you need that 6 month buffer of a valid passport.  

 

Wrong.  As long as your passport is valid, it can be used to return to the US.

 

And if you get stranded in a country that wants 6 month validity, and you don't have it, what are they going to do?  Make you leave?  That is what you want to do.

 

6 month validity is for ENTRY into the country.  If you get stranded or have a medical emergency, they will not be worried about that.

[SRF]

On 9/29/2019 at 4:47 PM, Colo Cruiser said:

It was noted above that passports are not required for closed loop cruises.

Eventually they will be required.

 

Why do you think that?

 

WHTI is not that long ago, and it removed the requirement for a passport for closed loop cruises.

[SRF]

On 9/29/2019 at 11:46 PM, capriccio said:

 

This was the announcement Princess sent to passengers on upcoming cruises stopping in either of those countries (note they are emphasizing that it is a change in requirements):

 

"Please be advised that documentation requirements for your voyages have been updated. A valid passport is now required for all guests on this voyage. Guests without a valid passport will be denied boarding.                              

                                                         
Your passport should be valid for six months after the completion of travel. Please ensure the name on your passport matches your name as it appears on your booking. Additionally, make certain that your passport contains blank pages for entry and exit endorsements and any visas that may be required. If necessary, allow sufficient time to renew your passport and/or obtain additional pages.   
                                                                               
There may be occasions where we retain your passport at check-in. This is to ensure that you are not inconvenienced by immigration clearance during your cruise in ports face-to-face inspection is not required. We recommend you bring a second government-issued photo ID if you wish to have one with you while in port, and to carry a copy of your passport photo page."        

               

And this is the thread with 7 pages of discussion about the new requirement:  

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2689894-passport-required/

 

 

SHOULD BE, not MUST.

[Colo Cruiser]

6 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Why do you think that?

 

WHTI is not that long ago, and it removed the requirement for a passport for closed loop cruises.

 

4 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

SHOULD BE, not MUST.

CBP/DHS will require them for all travel eventually.

Not sure what the big deal is?

Just get the passport. 

[SRF]

4 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

 

CBP will require them for all travel eventually.

Not sure what the big deal is?

Just get the passport. 

 

You quoted two different things.

 

1)  Why do you think CBP will require passports for all travel?  That used to be the case, but the WHTI did away with it in 2007.  And it is working fine.  And it is a CBP program to not require passports on closed loop cruises.

 

And BTW -

What is the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)?

WHTI is the joint Department of State (DOS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plan to implement a key 9/11 Commission recommendation and the statutory mandates of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). IRTPA, in part, required the DHS and DOS to develop and implement a plan to require all travelers, U.S. citizens and foreign nationals alike, to present a passport or other acceptable document that denotes identity and citizenship when entering the United States.

 

2) The should be quote was responding to a post about Princess requiring passports, but even their statement says that they should be valid for 6 months, they do not say it is required.  CBP only requires that the passport be valid on the day you enter the country.  The 6 month requirement is for OTHER countries to enter.  

 

And mainly countries where no visa is required.  They just want to make sure you passport is valid when you try to leave, and that your home country will take you back.

Edited October 1, 2019 by SRF

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

 

CBP/DHS will require them for all travel eventually.

 

 

Really. You have any evidence of that?  Even one iota? You don't, because there is no evidence. 

 

You have to love the Internet...the place where people can just make things up out of the blue and write them down for all to see. 

 

 

[Colo Cruiser]

43 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

 

Really. You have any evidence of that?  Even one iota? You don't, because there is no evidence. 

 

You have to love the Internet...the place where people can just make things up out of the blue and write them down for all to see. 

 

 

Just get the passport.  🙄

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Just get the passport.  🙄

I have a passport, thank you.