Passport expiring within 6 months - from Europe, and cruise within Europe - issues?

[MyriamS]

 

An EU citizen travelling to another EU country cannot be denied entry due to their passport expiring in less than six months: "As an EU national, you have the right to travel freely in the 27 EU member countries as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (non-EU countries but members of the Schengen area) carrying either a valid passport or a national identity card (ID card). Your travel document must be valid on the day of travel." (https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/eu-citizen/index_en.htm)

 

However, NCL could still deny you boarding if you do not abide by their own rules, and their FAQ says: "Guests are responsible for ensuring they fulfil all passport and visa requirements for all countries visited during the cruise and when travelling to and from the port of embarkation/disembarkation. EU citizens need a full e-passport issued by an EU member state (also applicable for children of any age). A passport is also required for all European sailings (exception: citizens of Schengen States cruising on itineraries that do not leave EU territory)." 

 

No mention of six month validity rule on the passport, so I think you will be ok but I would give NCL a call just to be sure.

[WexIrl]

On 6/2/2023 at 1:18 AM, podgeandrodge said:

So....my passport expires in September, and i've just read that NCL state 6 months validity required post cruise end.  Will I have an issue?  No problems travelling within Europe on this passport as Europe doesn't have a 6 month rule.  Appreciate hearing if anyone ran into this issue!  

 

Did everything work out after?

[Asawi]

12 hours ago, WexIrl said:

Apparently reading a bit of info on CC,  I have a similar predicament to yours with a cruise in two weeks time... some craic eh!

As I wrote in the other topic, I boarded an NCL cruise with a passport exiring less than 6 months away. I was new to cruising and didn't know about NCL 's 6 month rule. 

The cruise nearest to passport exiration was Iceland/Norway, july 2023. Both of them countries where I can travel without passport. Of course I did bring my soon-to-expire passport anyway. No issues at all. I will not do it again though now that I'm aware of NCl's requirements.

[WexIrl]

6 minutes ago, Asawi said:

As I wrote in the other topic, I boarded an NCL cruise with a passport exiring less than 6 months away. I was new to cruising and didn't know about NCL 's 6 month rule. 

The cruise nearest to passport exiration was Iceland/Norway, july 2023. Both of them countries where I can travel without passport. Of course I did bring my soon-to-expire passport anyway. No issues at all. I will not do it again though now that I'm aware of NCl's requirements.

I have just booked in to get new passports next week for peace of mind.

[Asawi]

2 minutes ago, WexIrl said:

I have just booked in to get new passports next week for peace of mind.

Good decision! 

[terry&mike]

An update on turn-around time for U.S. passports. 

 

I mailed my current passport, and application for renewal, in on April 30; sent via U.S. post office Priority Mail service. I was requesting Standard (as opposed to Expedited) turn around service, and the Large (as opposed to Standard) passport book. I received my new passport in the mail on May 20, one day short of 3 weeks since mailing out. 

[astera]

On 6/2/2023 at 2:28 PM, podgeandrodge said:

Europe only cruise. European. 

 

European and EU-citizen or European but not an EU citizen?

 

I don't believe the 6 month (3 month in some countries) min. passport validity applies to EU citizens but as someone mentioned NCL might have its own rules. 

 

Does anyone know whether NCL accepts ID cards from EU citizens (as those can be used instead of passports for all travel within the EU)?

 

In the US do you need a passport for cruises that only have US ports in their itinerary or will a DL suffice?

 

On 6/2/2023 at 4:30 PM, podgeandrodge said:

I'm "risking the possibility" because there is no time to renew, cruise in a couple of weeks

 

What are the current waiting times where you're at? Sometimes the listed time on gov't websites can be say 4-6 weeks but if you ask on forums people will mention that they've received their passports in 2-3 weeks.

 

The risky side is that by sending in a passport application you might be automatically cancelling the validity of the old passport. Though unless you're crossing actual borders that might not matter...

[graphicguy]

On 6/2/2023 at 11:37 AM, Sthrngary said:

Step 1: Call NCL

Step 2: Find out what Expedited Passports Rules are.

Step 3: Find out the closed Passport Office is and determine if you can make it there reasonably.  

 

Do all the Due Diligence before you roll the dice.  My advice only.

 

Cruise well, Enjoy every moment.

Not going to pile on, but really it is this simple.

 

 

[erisajd]

issues? Yes.  Go check the admission requirements for the EU and Britain. . . .you can't get in

 with your passport as stated.  NCL won't let you on, neither will most airlines.

 

I will say that currently most passport renewal times using standard and non-expedited is 8-12 weeks in most parts of the country. 

 

If you are traveling sooner you need to pay for expedited.  Or, wait til you are inside two weeks and go to a passport office and renew in person with an appt.   

 

Oh, and PS:  there are NO cruises on mainline non river cruises that are US ports only.  You could not afford it.  

Edited May 26 by erisajd

[butterfly4108]

We just renewed our passports by mail, not expedited and they came in 20 days. There doesn't seem to be any long delays anymore....

[graphicguy]

I got my renewed passport late last year in about 9 weeks.  I could have driven to Chicago, the nearest office, and got it in 4 weeks, but that was much costlier.

[njhorseman]

4 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Not going to pile on, but really it is this simple.

 

 

It's not that simple. Calling NCL will get you nowhere, except possibly into trouble if you listen to them. The telephone customer service reps aren't sufficiently trained and can't be relied upon to have knowledge of detailed passport requirements. Any answer they provide doesn't bind NCL to allowing what they say. If you get denied boarding at the pier because of improper documentation  quoting what you were told by a customer service is of zero value.

[graphicguy]

2 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

It's not that simple. Calling NCL will get you nowhere, except possibly into trouble if you listen to them. The telephone customer service reps aren't sufficiently trained and can't be relied upon to have knowledge of detailed passport requirements. Any answer they provide doesn't bind NCL to allowing what they say. If you get denied boarding at the pier because of improper documentation  quoting what you were told by a customer service is of zero value.

I will stick with Gary on this one. 

 

His points are all true, and they are simple to follow.

 

Step 1: Call NCL

Step 2: Find out what Expedited Passports Rules are.

Step 3: Find out the closed Passport Office is 

 

As in, it's up to YOU to "FIND OUT"....

 

NCL will tell you what is required for initial embarkation.  They even say that it's up to the passenger to ascertain the requirements for the geography locale you'll be traveling to.

Edited May 26 by graphicguy

[njhorseman]

1 minute ago, graphicguy said:

They will tell you what NCL requires.  That part doesn't change.

Don't rely on that. What thy tell you about NCL requirements may be wrong because their training and source materials are inadequate. Again...the words spoken by a telephone customer rep are not binding on NCL.

 

In any event it appears that for some reason people are addressing a post made a year ago, probably because someone unnecessarily reopened a zombie thread.

[WexIrl]

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

 

In any event it appears that for some reason people are addressing a post made a year ago, probably because someone unnecessarily reopened a zombie thread.

Read back over the thread, see where, and why the thread was 'unnecessarily reopened' and the context.

I was interested to understand the outcome of the original poster and sub poster with a very similar set of circumstance to mine with regards passport expire date & NCL policy within Europe. Private messaging for both posters is disabled hence I posted to inquire in the titled thread as the most appropriate place I could find to get their attention/outcome.

[njhorseman]

58 minutes ago, erisajd said:

issues? Yes.  Go check the admission requirements for the EU and Britain. . . .you can't get in

 with your passport as stated.  NCL won't let you on, neither will most airlines.

 

I will say that currently most passport renewal times using standard and non-expedited is 8-12 weeks in most parts of the country. 

 

If you are traveling sooner you need to pay for expedited.  Or, wait til you are inside two weeks and go to a passport office and renew in person with an appt.   

 

Oh, and PS:  there are NO cruises on mainline non river cruises that are US ports only.  You could not afford it.  

I'm not sure who or what post you're addressing but if it's the OP the post is a year old and no longer an issue because that ship sailed both literally and figuratively a long time ago.

 

By the way, with regard to your last paragraph there certainly is "a mainline non river cruise" that only visits US ports. It's NCL's Pride of America, which does Hawaii-only cruises  every week and has for many years. Now if you meant "mainland" rather than "mainline" there are those cruises too. Try American Cruise Lines for one...they do lots of them. 

[njhorseman]

10 minutes ago, WexIrl said:

Read back over the thread, see where, and why the thread was 'unnecessarily reopened' and the context.

I was interested to understand the outcome of the original poster and sub poster with a very similar set of circumstance to mine with regards passport expire date & NCL policy within Europe. Private messaging for both posters is disabled hence I posted to inquire in the titled thread as the most appropriate place I could find to get their attention/outcome.

I may be mistaken, but I thought you had already stated on this thread  that you had decided to apply for new passports. That would make your question here moot.

 

In any event reopening a zombie thread is generally not a good idea as some people apparently can't be bothered to read posting dates and start answering posts and offering opinions about things that were settled long ago. The result is made even worse because some people can't be bothered to identify who they're addressing by either quoting the post or naming the poster, leading to this type of quicksand filled discussion where no one knows who is talking to whom.

Edited May 26 by njhorseman

[WexIrl]

Just now, njhorseman said:

I may be mistaken, but I thought you had already stated on the other thread you were posting on that you had decided to apply for new passports. That would make your question here moot.

 

 

You are mistaken, the decision to renew the passport was taken after speaking with an NCL representative which took place after my posts enquiring.

 

[njhorseman]

15 minutes ago, WexIrl said:

You are mistaken, the decision to renew the passport was taken after speaking with an NCL representative which took place after my posts enquiring.

 

I had corrected my post (too late apparently for you to see) to say you had stated that on this thread rather than the other thread.

I guess you spoke to NCL during the approximately one hour gap between your first post and your statement that you were going to apply for new passports so I misspoke about the timing.

 

Note: My misstatement about the timing of your posts doesn't change my opinion about zombie threads one iota.

Edited May 26 by njhorseman

[podgeandrodge]

Hi all, OP here.  Wouldn't consider this a zombie thread myself, as it has all the relevant questions handy.  Sorry I didn't come back to this earlier, but got a notification that there were updates.

 

For me, my new passport arrived in time, HOWEVER, to test things, I gave NCL my old (still in date passport but less than 6 months) and it was accepted without any issue.  Now, don't take that as a formal proof of what they always do! But I suspect they can't force that rule on EU citizens, and I can't see why they would insist on it in Europe for US passengers either, but who knows.

[WexIrl]

23 hours ago, podgeandrodge said:

Hi all, OP here.  Wouldn't consider this a zombie thread myself, as it has all the relevant questions handy.  Sorry I didn't come back to this earlier, but got a notification that there were updates.

 

For me, my new passport arrived in time, HOWEVER, to test things, I gave NCL my old (still in date passport but less than 6 months) and it was accepted without any issue.  Now, don't take that as a formal proof of what they always do! But I suspect they can't force that rule on EU citizens, and I can't see why they would insist on it in Europe for US passengers either, but who knows.

Cheers for the reply, appreciate it.

Very informative thread for the set of circumstances. 

I might put Zombie by the Cranberries on my playlist for the flight 🤣.

[zqvol]

23 hours ago, podgeandrodge said:

Hi all, OP here.  Wouldn't consider this a zombie thread myself, as it has all the relevant questions handy.  Sorry I didn't come back to this earlier, but got a notification that there were updates.

 

For me, my new passport arrived in time, HOWEVER, to test things, I gave NCL my old (still in date passport but less than 6 months) and it was accepted without any issue.  Now, don't take that as a formal proof of what they always do! But I suspect they can't force that rule on EU citizens, and I can't see why they would insist on it in Europe for US passengers either, but who knows.

Make sure you take both passports with you. When you get a new one the old one is supposedly canceled. Just because NCL took the number doesn’t mean that is valid for travel. 

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, zqvol said:

Make sure you take both passports with you. When you get a new one the old one is supposedly canceled. Just because NCL took the number doesn’t mean that is valid for travel. 

The poster you're responding to sailed last year.

 

The poster is European, not a US citizen. Perhaps unlike in the USA the issuance of a new passport doesn't invalidate the old one. I don't know, but perhaps the old passport is still valid until its expiration date.

 

I'll resist the urge to make another zombie thread comment...🙄

Edited May 29 by njhorseman

[hawkeyetlse]

On 5/26/2024 at 4:59 PM, astera said:

Does anyone know whether NCL accepts ID cards from EU citizens (as those can be used instead of passports for all travel within the EU)?

I have not had recent experience, but yes, in the past this was allowed. I would be nervous about testing this with any countries with "weird" EU/Schengen status on the itinerary (like Cyprus or Norway) but for the typical Italy-France-Spain circuit I wouldn't worry about it at all.

 

Just to be clear, I know that a passport with lots of validity is always the best choice. But I can certainly understand if someone gets into a situation where this is no longer available as an option, and they want to find out if their existing documents will allow them to travel.

Edited May 29 by hawkeyetlse

[eileeshb]

On 5/26/2024 at 8:48 AM, MyriamS said:

 

An EU citizen travelling to another EU country cannot be denied entry due to their passport expiring in less than six months: "As an EU national, you have the right to travel freely in the 27 EU member countries as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (non-EU countries but members of the Schengen area) carrying either a valid passport or a national identity card (ID card). Your travel document must be valid on the day of travel." (https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/eu-citizen/index_en.htm)

 

However, NCL could still deny you boarding if you do not abide by their own rules, and their FAQ says: "Guests are responsible for ensuring they fulfil all passport and visa requirements for all countries visited during the cruise and when travelling to and from the port of embarkation/disembarkation. EU citizens need a full e-passport issued by an EU member state (also applicable for children of any age). A passport is also required for all European sailings (exception: citizens of Schengen States cruising on itineraries that do not leave EU territory)." 

 

No mention of six month validity rule on the passport, so I think you will be ok but I would give NCL a call just to be sure.

That is a bit of a red herring.. it depends on your mode of transport, Ryanair will always look for a passport even just going between Ireland and the UK which have a common travel area. Legally you only need your Irish/uk driving license to travel between Ireland and the UK but Ryanair have required a passport for as long as I’ve used them. 
BTW if getting a passport for someone under 18 be prepared for all sorts of complications. One of my friends has been trying to renew the passports for her kids since January and one of them has been rejected twice despite the application having been filled out the exact same way for all 3. And these are not first passports for the kids either.  In Ireland the u18 passports are only valid for 3 years whereas the adult passports are valid for 10 years.