Expiring Passport -Bermuda question. Please help

[SundanceCarnegie]

My husband and I are due to start our cruise on the Eclipse in 20 days. It will be leaving from Port Liberty NJ and sailing to Martha's Vineyard and then Bermuda and back to Port Liberty.. Our US passports expire next month (June) about one month after we return from our cruise. Because my husband wasn't sure if he would be required to go to Canada between the time we booked and now, we could not renew our passports in a timely manner.

I had looked at the Bermuda requirements which only require the passport be valid  the during the visit to Bermuda, and I had originally seen on the Celebrity website that It is only "RECOMMENDED" that the passport be valid for 6 months following the conclusion of the trip. However, when I printed the Celebrity Guest booklet under Passports is the sentence PASSPORT BOOK EXPIRATION DATE SHOULD NOT OCCUR WITHIN SIX (6) MONTHS FOLLOWING THE VOYAGE TERMINATION DATE.

OF course I can't find the "Recommended" advice anywhere on the site. I can of course bring additional documentation- birth certificate, drivers license., etc. 

Do you think I need to go to Boston and get an expedited Passport? I am so upset and angry at myself - because guess what?. My husband never had to go to Canada! 

[upwarduk]

You are lucky you have the Birth Certificate option.

We don’t get that in the UK, its passport only.

[broberts]

It's a closed loop cruise, as long as the passport is valid until the end of the cruise it should be fine. One can also travel with an official birth certificate and government issued photo id that includes date of birth.

 

Celebrity has this article on closed loop cruising, https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/closed-loop-cruise.

[Charles4515]

All you need is a valid unexpired passport for this itinerary. If you are stressed out by Celberity's unhelpful wording since......  it is a closed loop cruise where a birth certificate and DL are also good. Take your official Birth Certificates as back up. 

[TVLady3]

I’m also cruising to Bermuda in June and my passport expires in October. So I’m also bringing our birth certificates and my marriage license, cause my last name doesn’t match my BC. In addition our photo ID. I’ll be using the same thing when I go to the Bahamas in September. After that I’ll renew our passports.

[SundanceCarnegie]

Thank you all. We will take our driver's licenses and birth certificates in addition to our expiring passports. You have greatly calmed the anxiety of a type A personality!

[broberts]

22 minutes ago, SundanceCarnegie said:

Thank you all. We will take our driver's licenses and birth certificates in addition to our expiring passports. You have greatly calmed the anxiety of a type A personality!

 

Is it ironic that if one has to use a BC, a valid passport would be fine for id? 😃

[chrismch]

The 6 month expiration is standard for all cruiselines. It's even mentioned in the gov't site - got to do with the countries you are seeing. You can get expedited renewal, but there are extra fees. Definitely bring your driver's licenses and birth certificates as a back up. https://www.usa.gov/renew-adult-passport

 

One of our dumb in-laws brought ONLY a driver's license (no passport) to port hoping it would be okay because she didn't want to get off the ship at the ports as she'd been there before. Denied boarding!! The rest of the group got on the cruise without her. This is a 40+ year old adult who had cruised previously. No excuse just arrogance - rules don't apply to me!

 

[Mark_K]

4 hours ago, SundanceCarnegie said:

Thank you all. We will take our driver's licenses and birth certificates in addition to our expiring passports. You have greatly calmed the anxiety of a type A personality!

Well, if you’re really type A, unless you didn’t change your name when you got married, you should also have your marriage license to tie your drivers license to your birth certificate.

 

Anyway, it couldn’t hurt to take them, but I don’t think there’s any situation where an unexpired passport valid for the duration of the stay would not be acceptable, and just a drivers license and birth certificate would be.

[jwlane]

"Should not" is not "shall not".

[hcat]

9 hours ago, TVLady3 said:

I’m also cruising to Bermuda in June and my passport expires in October. So I’m also bringing our birth certificates and my marriage license, cause my last name doesn’t match my BC. In addition our photo ID. I’ll be using the same thing when I go to the Bahamas in September. After that I’ll renew our passports.

if you have the time why not get the passport asap?

[PelicanLvr]

Does it really matter what we all say will happen?  Why leave the fate of your trip to the check-in staff at the pier? Denied boarding will not be covered by typical insurance.

 

Check out your options to get a new passport in time.  We just renewed ours last month by "expedited service & return mailing" and had them back in our hands in 16 days.  But it's too late to go that route now.

 

You can also look into making an appointment to get a fast renewal.  Passport services can do it quick .... but at a cost.  Maybe there are other options too?? 

 

Whatever route you go, I hope it works out!

[Charles4515]

47 minutes ago, PelicanLvr said:

Does it really matter what we all say will happen?  Why leave the fate of your trip to the check-in staff at the pier? Denied boarding will not be covered by typical insurance.

 

Check out your options to get a new passport in time.  We just renewed ours last month by "expedited service & return mailing" and had them back in our hands in 16 days.  But it's too late to go that route now.

 

You can also look into making an appointment to get a fast renewal.  Passport services can do it quick .... but at a cost.  Maybe there are other options too?? 

 

Whatever route you go, I hope it works out!

They don’t need to do that. They shouldn’t. They have a valid passport. Neither Bermuda or the US requires six months. They don’t even need a passport for that itinerary. 

Edited April 22 by Charles4515

[waterbug123]

12 hours ago, hcat said:

if you have the time why not get the passport asap?

Because she may not want to pay the extra fees to expedition processing and shipping of a new passport to ensure she gets it on time when it's not necessary for the cruise.

[Ferry_Watcher]

18 hours ago, chrismch said:

One of our dumb in-laws brought ONLY a driver's license (no passport) to port hoping it would be okay because she didn't want to get off the ship at the ports as she'd been there before. Denied boarding!! The rest of the group got on the cruise without her. This is a 40+ year old adult who had cruised previously. No excuse just arrogance - rules don't apply to me!

 

Thanks for sharing this real life story.

[Ferry_Watcher]

OP, if you live in NY State, consider getting an Enhanced Driver's License for both you and your spouse the next time you need to renew your DL.  Your spouse could also use it for any driving across the US/Canada border.  (Flying, of course needs a passport).

[JFontaine]

I agree with the advice above that your unexpired passports are all you need. And some additional advice - when you check in at the port, do not point out date of expiration to anyone ("whew, I was worried there'd be a problem").  If you mention it, an inexperienced agent could go off to investigate, and an hour later you are waiting for the chief document person.  Just say 'thank you' and then have a great cruise. 

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, JFontaine said:

I agree with the advice above that your unexpired passports are all you need. And some additional advice - when you check in at the port, do not point out date of expiration to anyone ("whew, I was worried there'd be a problem").  If you mention it, an inexperienced agent could go off to investigate, and an hour later you are waiting for the chief document person.  Just say 'thank you' and then have a great cruise. 

Exactly, never make an issue of things you don’t have to. 

[SundanceCarnegie]

Again, thank you all. I will bring the still valid passport, my driver's license and original birth certificate. Since I did not change my name upon marriage, I don't think I need my marriage certificate, but since I have it, I'll bring it, and of course I will NEVER raise the expiring passport upon check in. By the way, I  found a section today on the Celebrity website that states  a passport is not necessary for a closed loop itinerary and that NY/NJ to Bermuda is  listed as "one of the best closed-loop itineraries." I printed out those pages and will be bringing them also! And once I get on board, I am heading for the martini bar, because I earned that espresso martini!