Passport validity question

[Bollycats]

I know there are tons of threads on passports, but finding what I need using the search function is futile!

 

My current passport expires Feb 2021. I have 2 cruises (hopefully!) at the end of Oct and end of Nov. I was going to send it in this month to renew, but with the virus the US passport office is extremely backlogged and I'm afraid I wouldn't get it back on time.

 

I know the 6 month validity rule for flying into other countries, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't apply to closed looped cruises from what I've read. First cruise is in/out of San Diego to Mexico. Second cruise is in/out of Ft. Lauderdale to Bahamas and St. Maarten.  I also will be bringing my birth certificate (with raised seal), REAL ID driver's license, and marriage license. (to link my 2 names)

 

Am I correct in assuming I will be ok with either of these?

 

[ovccruiser]

Depends on where you are going, and the cruise company. I recently booked a cruise and at the time of departure, March 2021, will have 4 months left on my current passport. The cruise company says that is insufficient as they require 6 months. All ports visited will only require 3 months. So, between now and then I will have to renew my passport, my wife insists she will not renew hers until she can get her hair cut and styled 😆

[sparks1093]

5 minutes ago, ovccruiser said:

Depends on where you are going, and the cruise company. I recently booked a cruise and at the time of departure, March 2021, will have 4 months left on my current passport. The cruise company says that is insufficient as they require 6 months. All ports visited will only require 3 months. So, between now and then I will have to renew my passport, my wife insists she will not renew hers until she can get her hair cut and styled 😆

What is required for you as a UK citizen is different than what is required for a US citizen, especially on a closed loop cruise. 

 

OP, you will be fine with the passport and if your name is different on it a copy of your marriage certificate. You may of course bring your birth certificate is you wish to but it's overkill under the circumstances. As long as your passport doesn't expire by the end of the cruise you'll be fine.

 

 

[njhorseman]

12 minutes ago, Bollycats said:

I know there are tons of threads on passports, but finding what I need using the search function is futile!

 

My current passport expires Feb 2021. I have 2 cruises (hopefully!) at the end of Oct and end of Nov. I was going to send it in this month to renew, but with the virus the US passport office is extremely backlogged and I'm afraid I wouldn't get it back on time.

 

I know the 6 month validity rule for flying into other countries, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't apply to closed looped cruises from what I've read. First cruise is in/out of San Diego to Mexico. Second cruise is in/out of Ft. Lauderdale to Bahamas and St. Maarten.  I also will be bringing my birth certificate (with raised seal), REAL ID driver's license, and marriage license. (to link my 2 names)

 

Am I correct in assuming I will be ok with either of these?

 

For those itineraries you're fine as far as their rules and US rules are concerned. However there are some cruise lines...generally "super premium"  and luxury lines like Oceania, Regent Seven Seas and Azamara...and possibly others that require all passengers to have  a passport with at least 6 months remaining validity regardless of itinerary. You need to check your cruise line's website to see if they have a special requirement such as what I mentioned.

[njhorseman]

11 minutes ago, ovccruiser said:

Depends on where you are going, and the cruise company. I recently booked a cruise and at the time of departure, March 2021, will have 4 months left on my current passport. The cruise company says that is insufficient as they require 6 months. All ports visited will only require 3 months. So, between now and then I will have to renew my passport, my wife insists she will not renew hers until she can get her hair cut and styled 😆

It depends on what passport you hold too. Requirements for UK citizens can be different than requirements for US citizens...particularly for closed loop Caribbean cruises such as those the OP has booked.

[Bollycats]

Thanks everyone. In answer to the question about cruise lines, the first one is Carnival, second is Princess. I''ll bring everything, I'd rather be prepared!

[LHT28]

JMO

You would probably be fine with your passport  but call the cruise line & confirm for your sailings

https://www.carnival.com/awaywego/cruising-fun/how-to-plan/places-to-cruise-without-a-passport

https://www.princess.com/cruise-tips-vacation-ideas/cruise-destinations/cruise-tips-advice-and-information/cruises-that-dont-require-a-passport.html

 

 

 

 

[sanger727]

3 hours ago, Bollycats said:

I know there are tons of threads on passports, but finding what I need using the search function is futile!

 

My current passport expires Feb 2021. I have 2 cruises (hopefully!) at the end of Oct and end of Nov. I was going to send it in this month to renew, but with the virus the US passport office is extremely backlogged and I'm afraid I wouldn't get it back on time.

 

I know the 6 month validity rule for flying into other countries, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't apply to closed looped cruises from what I've read. First cruise is in/out of San Diego to Mexico. Second cruise is in/out of Ft. Lauderdale to Bahamas and St. Maarten.  I also will be bringing my birth certificate (with raised seal), REAL ID driver's license, and marriage license. (to link my 2 names)

 

Am I correct in assuming I will be ok with either of these?

 

 

I agree that you should be fine if you hold a US passport. Worst case you can just use a birth certificate and ID to board and have the passport in case you needed to fly back for some reason. You almost certainly would not get your passport back in time for these trips. I sent mine in in mid march. Been 3 months and haven't heard anything yet. 

[ovccruiser]

4 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

What is required for you as a UK citizen is different than what is required for a US citizen, especially on a closed loop cruise. 

 

 

4 hours ago, njhorseman said:

It depends on what passport you hold too. Requirements for UK citizens can be different than requirements for US citizens...particularly for closed loop Caribbean cruises such as those the OP has booked.

I did start by saying "Depends on where you are going........" and on that basis I would imagine US or any other passport would carry this criteria, certainly if you visit the UK, you must have at least 6 months on your passport.

Edited June 19, 2020 by ovccruiser

[njhorseman]

41 minutes ago, ovccruiser said:

 

I did start by saying "Depends on where you are going........" and on that basis I would imagine US or any other passport would carry this criteria, certainly if you visit the UK, you must have at least 6 months on your passport.

My point was that in addition to where you're going and which cruise line you're taking, which is what you said , the passport you hold is also a factor. In other words you, a UK citizen and I, a US citizen, might be on the same cruise and despite being on the same ship might be subject to different requirements because of our different citizenship.

 

In fact you're wrong about US citizens needing six months validity on their passports to visit just the UK. 

 

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

PASSPORT VALIDITY:

Must be valid for the duration of your stay in the United Kingdom (At least six months remaining validity is required for onward travel to many other countries)

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, ovccruiser said:

 

I did start by saying "Depends on where you are going........" and on that basis I would imagine US or any other passport would carry this criteria, certainly if you visit the UK, you must have at least 6 months on your passport.

According to the info on our State Department website our passport only needs to be valid for the duration of the stay.

PASSPORT VALIDITY:

Must be valid for the duration of your stay in the United Kingdom..

 

(Just noticed that I was posting at the same time as njhorseman.

 

Edited June 19, 2020 by sparks1093

[marden1970]

We also sent ours for renewal in March, check cashed on March 13th.  Nothing back yet. 

[dobiemom]

17 hours ago, marden1970 said:

We also sent ours for renewal in March, check cashed on March 13th.  Nothing back yet. 

The State Dept. recently opened passport offices. I sent my passport renewal Feb 14 (I did not request expedited). They received it Feb 19. Received my new passport Jun 10. (Still waiting for my old passport.) Hopefully you get yours soon. 

[ovccruiser]

23 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

According to the info on our State Department website our passport only needs to be valid for the duration of the stay.

PASSPORT VALIDITY:

Must be valid for the duration of your stay in the United Kingdom..

 

(Just noticed that I was posting at the same time as njhorseman.

 

😄 It depends how you read that, if you are going to other countries, you need 6 months. It is not clear whether cruises are included or just onward flights. 😄 

[njhorseman]

54 minutes ago, ovccruiser said:

😄 It depends how you read that, if you are going to other countries, you need 6 months. It is not clear whether cruises are included or just onward flights. 😄 

No, it's quite clear. The UK itself only requires your passport to be valid for the length of your stay in the UK. We're discussing your exact statement "certainly if you visit the UK, you must have at least 6 months on your passport."  It couldn't be any clearer that US citizens are not required to have six months validity to enter the UK. What other countries that you may be travelling to might or might not require has nothing to do with what the UK requires.

[sparks1093]

15 hours ago, ovccruiser said:

😄 It depends how you read that, if you are going to other countries, you need 6 months. It is not clear whether cruises are included or just onward flights. 😄 

Since njhorseman has already provided most of the answer I'll add this: that was from the specific page on the State Department website that discusses US citizen travel to the UK. Our State Department has a page dedicated to a lot of individual countries (I'm not sure how many, I've never counted) and provides a wealth of information for US travelers, including passport and visa requirements.

[FredT]

You know....  You can listen to every poster here....   But the reality of the situation is that there are many MANY stories of people who showed up at the embarkation port just to find that "SOMEWHERE" in the fine print is a caveat that requires the six months.   I actually watched that senerio play out once in San Juan.....

 

  Do you REALLY want to take that sort of chance?   If you are worried about timing, there are a lot of legit services that will expedite renewals (For a price)   

 

And as a post script....  The same people who are "Assuring" you that everything is OK will be the ones telling you that you "should never listen to random posts on a message board" and that it's you own fault when you cant take that cruise...  😪

Edited June 21, 2020 by FredT

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, FredT said:

You know....  You can listen to every poster here....   But the reality of the situation is that there are many MANY stories of people who showed up at the embarkation port just to find that "SOMEWHERE" in the fine print is a caveat that requires the six months.   I actually watched that senerio play out once in San Juan.....

 

  Do you REALLY want to take that sort of chance?   If you are worried about timing, there are a lot of legit services that will expedite renewals (For a price)   

 

And as a post script....  The same people who are "Assuring" you that everything is OK will be the ones telling you that you "should never listen to random posts on a message board" and that it's you own fault when you cant take that cruise...  😪

Since OP is going to be on a closed loop cruise where there will be many passengers who don't even have passports I doubt that she would be denied boarding for having a valid passport that has an expiration date less than 6 months from the cruise (and since the OP has stated that she's bringing her birth certificate too then if the cruise line should reject the passport in a worse case scenario she'll still be allowed to board).

[FredT]

44 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Since OP is going to be on a closed loop cruise where there will be many passengers who don't even have passports I doubt that she would be denied boarding for having a valid passport that has an expiration date less than 6 months from the cruise (and since the OP has stated that she's bringing her birth certificate too then if the cruise line should reject the passport in a worse case scenario she'll still be allowed to board).

Like I said above,  I actually witnesses the SAME scenario play out about 5 years ago at the San Juan docks.   Maybe things have changed by now... Maybe it is due to other ports...Maybe it is a rule particular to the cruise line... Maybe Maybe Maybe.....   

 

Are YOU willing to refund these people their airfare/hotel/cruise tickets if they DO get refused passage?    

[Charles4515]

Like I said above,  I actually witnesses the SAME scenario play out about 5 years ago at the San Juan docks.   Maybe things have changed by now... Maybe it is due to other ports...Maybe it is a rule particular to the cruise line... Maybe Maybe Maybe.....      Are YOU willing to refund these people their airfare/hotel/cruise tickets if they DO get refused passage?      

 

 

 What you think you witnessed had nothing to do with a six months rule. No reason for you to spread fear and misinformation. The OP stated their itineraries and all they need is a valid passport. They don’t need six months validity.  They could also use a birth certificate.  

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[FredT]

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

What you think you witnessed had nothing to do with a six months rule. Stop spreading fear and misinformation.

 

 

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Unless YOU work for the government in Customs,  please stop feeding ANYONE information that may (or may not) destroy their hard earned vacation.   Don't believe me?   Do a search  for passport troubles or denied boarding issues and you will find a number of threads talking about exactly this.  

[Charles4515]

Unless YOU work for the government in Customs,  please stop feeding ANYONE information that may (or may not) destroy their hard earned vacation.   Don't believe me?   Do a search  for passport troubles or denied boarding issues and you will find a number of threads talking about exactly this.  

In other words since you don’t know what you are talking about and don’t want to research it you keep repeating the same wrong thing.


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[FredT]

1 minute ago, Charles4515 said:

 

In other words since you don’t know what you are talking about and don’t want to research it you keep repeating the same wrong thing.


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Sometime I wonder why I bother....   30 seconds of google and I hat on a bunch of answers.  (Most of whom I trust more than you)   The "simplest " one is this by "the Points Guy"   

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/08/six-month-passport-validity-rule/#:~:text=To be safe%2C verify that,it way ahead of time.

 

The countries listed below abide by the usual six months of passport validity unless otherwise noted.

 

 

North America and the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama*.

*Passport must be valid three months beyond arrival.   

 

Unless I am mistaken, all are in the Caribbean.  

 

 

[Charles4515]

Sometime I wonder why I bother....   30 seconds of google and I hat on a bunch of answers.  (Most of whom I trust more than you)   The "simplest " one is this by "the Points Guy"   
 
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/08/six-month-passport-validity-rule/#:~:text=To be safe%2C verify that,it way ahead of time.
 
The countries listed below abide by the usual six months of passport validity unless otherwise noted.
 
 

North America and the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama*.

*Passport must be valid three months beyond arrival.   

 

Unless I am mistaken, all are in the Caribbean.  

 
 

Your mistake is that you have not researched the requirements for closed loop cruises out of US ports.


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[njhorseman]

17 minutes ago, FredT said:

Sometime I wonder why I bother....   30 seconds of google and I hat on a bunch of answers.  (Most of whom I trust more than you)   The "simplest " one is this by "the Points Guy"   

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/08/six-month-passport-validity-rule/#:~:text=To be safe%2C verify that,it way ahead of time.

 

The countries listed below abide by the usual six months of passport validity unless otherwise noted.

 

 

North America and the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama*.

*Passport must be valid three months beyond arrival.   

 

Unless I am mistaken, all are in the Caribbean.  

 

 

First, "The Points Guy' isn't an official source.

 

Second, the rules for cruise passengers are often different from the rules for travelers arriving by air. The website you cited is geared to air travelers. Cruise passengers arriving for a short single day port stop are often considered to be "in transit' and subject to more lenient rules.

 

Third many of the countries on that list are participants in the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, so US citizens arriving for a cruise port stop are not even required to have a passport.

 

Fourth, the OP has asked about the rules for Mexico, The Bahamas and St. Maarten, all of which are part of the WHTI and none of which are on the list of countries you've cited.

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by njhorseman