Passport renewal question

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, IAcruising said:

All this discussion about the 6-month rule.

 

My understanding is that it is NCL policy regardless of where you are going. If a passport is necessary, and it expires in less than 6 months, you will not be allowed to board.

 

I am more than willing to be corrected on this.

 

You are incorrect. From NCL's FAQs. You'll see that for cruises starting in one North American port and ending in a different North American port while requiring a passport only require that the passport be valid. They do not require 6 months validity if you're a US citizen. Same is true for Panama Canal cruises...a valid passport is required but six months validity is not. I'll quote from the travel document FAQs.

You'll only find the six month validity requirement stated for non-US cruises.

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

"A valid passport is required on all sailings that begin in one US port and end in another US port."

 

 

Panama Canal or Cruises Visiting Panamanian or Colombian Ports

Valid passports are required to board the ship for all Panama Canal sailings. No passport cards, birth certificates or other form of proof of US citizenship will be accepted. Failure to present a valid passport at check-in will result in denial of boarding. On cruises that visit a port of call in Panama but do NOT go through the Panama Canal, Panamanian authorities require all guests to have a valid passport in order to go ashore. Guests that do not have a passport will be blocked from going ashore in Panama on these sailings.

 

For Cruises Leaving a Non-U.S. port (Europe, Asia, South America, Australia itineraries)

You’re required to carry a valid passport, not expiring within six (6) months of the return of your cruise.

Edited May 25 by njhorseman

[njhorseman]

55 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

Thanks for clarifying. That strengthens my understanding that it is NCL policy, regardless of differing laws.

 

As a rule of thumb none of the mass market lines, including NCL require six month passport validity unless law or government regulation require it. However one always has to check for exceptions for a particular cruise line and itinerary "just in case".

 

The super-premium and luxury lines generally do require 6 months validity even if law or regulation do not.

[IAcruising]

8 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

You are incorrect. From NCL's FAQs.

 

Thank you for the correction.

 

 

21 minutes ago, WexIrl said:

 

We are booked on a NCL Cruise out of the UK (traveling from Ireland) in 2 weeks time, both my teenagers passports expire in September this year. 

I have no fear of there being an issue with this.
(But I would be interested to see (and open to correction) where it explicitly states we will have an issue with the kids passports being out of date in less than 6 months)

We have travelled on passports around Europe/UK on passports that expire within 6 months with no issues previously.

 

 

Strongly suggest you read NCL's FAQ as noted in post #29 above.

 

 

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, IAcruising said:

 

Thanks for clarifying. That strengthens my understanding that it is NCL policy, regardless of differing laws.

 

Don’t need a passport for a closed loop cruise. NCL doesn’t care when it expires in that particular circumstance. 

[njhorseman]

10 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

Thank you for the correction.

 

 

 

Strongly suggest you read NCL's FAQ as noted in post #29 above.

 

 

With regard to @WexIrl's post you should note that I am quoting NCL's US/North America FAQs and it's conceivable that because @WexIrl is from Ireland the rules may be different from those I've quoted. Travel regulations within Europe under EU/Schengen rules may be quite different...although Ireland while belonging to the EU is not in the Schengen area.

Edited May 25 by njhorseman

[IAcruising]

3 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Don’t need a passport for a closed loop cruise. NCL doesn’t care when it expires in that particular circumstance. 

 

Thus, the reason I said, "If a passport is necessary".

 

 

 

 

Edited May 25 by IAcruising

[WexIrl]

8 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

Thank you for the correction.

 

 

 

Strongly suggest you read NCL's FAQ as noted in post #29 above.

 

 

Thanks, I seen that, and if it is brought up on check in etc., I will challenge NCL on the fact that their online check in allowed me to input two passport details including expiry date that had an expire date within 6 months of the cruise debarkation.

[IAcruising]

2 minutes ago, WexIrl said:

Thanks, I seen that, and if it is brought up on check in etc., I will challenge NCL on the fact that their online check in allowed me to input two passport details including expiry date that had an expire date within 6 months of the cruise debarkation.

 

Ouch. Challenging them isn't going to get you on the ship.

 

Why don't you just renew them now and forget about it?

 

[WexIrl]

3 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

With regard to @WexIrl's post you should note that I am quoting NCL's US/North America FAQs and it's conceivable that because @WexIrl is from Ireland the rules may be different from those I've quoted. 

Yeah, and just to add some clarity, 

As we are from Ireland, we can travel to and from the UK with no passport, we just need an ID card of sorts. 
Also in Europe, we can travel around within Europe up to the expiration date of our pasport.

Hence why I am curious, how a 6 month passport rule is required.

[IAcruising]

1 minute ago, WexIrl said:

Hence why I am curious, how a 6 month passport rule is required.

 

Because NCL can make up any rule they want for their ships. I would rely on the cruise contract, not the FAQ's, or whatever you think is correct in your mind.

 

[WexIrl]

3 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

Ouch. Challenging them isn't going to get you on the ship.

 

Why don't you just renew them now and forget about it?

 

1 minute ago, IAcruising said:

 

Because NCL can make up any rule they want for their ships. I would rely on the cruise contract, not the FAQ's, or whatever you think is correct in your mind.

 

That is a good point.

I would assume the required online check in (including passport details/expiry) is part of the contract?  Surely a gap NCL need to close on their IT side with their form validation data ^^, leaves them open to a viable counter..

I will give them a call on Monday to clarify.

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, IAcruising said:

All this discussion about the 6-month rule.

 

My understanding is that it is NCL policy regardless of where you are going. If a passport is necessary, and it expires in less than 6 months, you will not be allowed to board.

 

I am more than willing to be corrected on this.

 

I sailed an Eastern/Southern Carribean on the Pearl in Nov/Dec with a passport that expired in February.  IIRC, the ABC islands required a passport, but none had the six month rule so we were fine.  I immediately sent the passport in for expedited renewal as soon as we got back, and had our new passports by the first week in January.  Our next cruise was in April, so I likely would have been fine without paying for the expedited processing.  That said, I'll always just pay for expedited, because it's cheap insurance in case the whole process gets bogged down by some world crisis (real or made up).

[Big Red 85]

We recently renewed normally, no expidited fee, and we had our new ones in just a few weeks. Very quick turn-around time.  Cost is another story. The prices went up on all aspects. Over $300 for two if I remember right.

[mek]

16 minutes ago, Big Red 85 said:

We recently renewed normally, no expidited fee, and we had our new ones in just a few weeks. Very quick turn-around time.  Cost is another story. The prices went up on all aspects. Over $300 for two if I remember right.

Well --- I looked it up and the web site says $130 for standard processing and that's what I mailed along with the paperwork, so I certainly hope that is the correct amount.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, IAcruising said:

 

Because NCL can make up any rule they want for their ships. I would rely on the cruise contract, not the FAQ's, or whatever you think is correct in your mind.

 

Yes, the cruise lines can set rules that exceed the legal and regulatory requirements. That is how luxury cruise lines can require every passenger to have a passport with six months remaining validity even if laws and regulations don't have that requirement.

 

NCL's North American contract doesn't address the passport validity issue and that's why the FAQs are the source document for this information.

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, WexIrl said:

That is a good point.

I would assume the required online check in (including passport details/expiry) is part of the contract?  Surely a gap NCL need to close on their IT side with their form validation data ^^, leaves them open to a viable counter..

I will give them a call on Monday to clarify.

As I read the EU contract, 6 months validity is required unless the cruise doesn't leave the Schengen Area

 

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/NCL_MASTER_GTC_CE_ENG_only_as_of_Sept 2023_V5_final.pdf

 

18. Passports, visas and health requirements

(1) EU citizens require a valid EU passport, valid for at least 6 months beyond the date of completion of the cruise, in order to take any of the holidays shown in our brochures or on our website. Exception: Citizens of Schengen countries may travel with a valid identity card, provided that the booked cruise does not leave the Schengen Area. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

IIRC, the ABC islands required a passport,

Not for cruise passengers.

[makeup face]

10 hours ago, mek said:

I'm sailing on Joy 9/25/24 and I have to renew my passport.  Do I understand correctly that I have up until 3 days prior to sailing to complete and submit my passport information?

 

My current passport expires in August and I'm on the fence about paying extra to expedite the new one.  The end of September seems like a long way off and I would think I would have to new one back by the end of July, but this is summer and I'm not sure $60 is worth stressing out about getting the new one in time.

Renewed my passport in February for an August cruise. Took about 4 and 1/2 weeks to get my new passport. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

38 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Not for cruise passengers.

I guess IDNRC.  It happens....more every year.😵‍💫

[Kortehgehn]

6 hours ago, Laszlo said:

There is no question I would pay for expedited turn around. At the moment I have three friends, for three different parts of the US who are all waiting for their passport renewals. Two are going on almost 5 months and one is just over 6 months 

FWIW, if accurate, five to six months processing time on US passport renewals is relatively unusual.  About five or six weeks would have been the average turnaround, plus mailing time, for typical passport renewals received with non-expedited processing during the December to January window.  The processing window around Thanksgiving was greater, but twenty weeks would generally be indicative of an issue with the application.  When applications are still listed as "In Process" after this much time, it's often helpful to call the branch where they are processing the application. 

[Big Red 85]

2 hours ago, mek said:

Well --- I looked it up and the web site says $130 for standard processing and that's what I mailed along with the paperwork, so I certainly hope that is the correct amount.

Yes, that is true.  However, there were other costs, such as the photos we had taken at our local USPO and mailing.  All totaled to around $300 for two renewals.

EDIT;  Actually remembered where the passport costs were kept and looked the cost up.  Receipt for the money orders, ($260), fees, ($4), and priority shipping, ($9.65), was $273.65.  The photos were $30.00.  That's a total of $303.65.  They were much less ten years ago.

Edited May 26 by Big Red 85

[mek]

24 minutes ago, Big Red 85 said:

Yes, that is true.  However, there were other costs, such as the photos we had taken at our local USPO and mailing.  All totaled to around $300 for two renewals.

EDIT;  Actually remembered where the passport costs were kept and looked the cost up.  Receipt for the money orders, ($260), fees, ($4), and priority shipping, ($9.65), was $273.65.  The photos were $30.00.  That's a total of $303.65.  They were much less ten years ago.

Yep $20 for photo + $10 to mail, but at lest they last for 10 years.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Kortehgehn said:

 

For reference, a list of countries requiring six months' validity on passports for entry:

I'm curious about your source of this information. I just checked the US Department of State's website for the Caribbean countries you have on your list and found the following:

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

(Note you must enter the name of the country in the search box on the web page)

 

BVI: Passport must be valid at time of entry

Cayman Islands: must be valid at time of entry and exit

Curacao: must be valid for the duration of your stay

 

and this Central American country:

Nicaragua: Length of stay

 

I haven't bothered to check any of the other countries on your list. 

 

 

 

[Asawi]

11 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

My understanding is that it is NCL policy regardless of where you are going. If a passport is necessary, and it expires in less than 6 months, you will not be allowed to board.

 

I am more than willing to be corrected on this.

 

I admit to being careless and having been unaware of the "NCL 6 months rule" until last summer and was actually on two cruises in 2023 with a passport expiring less than 6 months later. 

No issues at all. But do not take that as a sign there won't be for someone else! Possibly a YMMV situation. And I will not take that chance again myself either! 

 

(I always check entry requirements for any countries I am visiting though so I'm not totally clueless even though it may seem so. I was well within any of those requirements on both occasions)

 

 

 

 

[terry&mike]

I just posted this on another thread, but will post it here as well. An update on passport turn-around time:

 

I mailed my current passport, and renewal application, out on April 30, sent via US post office Priority Mail service. I requested Standard turn-around time (as opposed to Expedited), and the Large passport book (as opposed to the Standard size). I received my new passport in the mail on May 20, one day short of 3 weeks since I mailed it.