Passport 6 month valid after return requirement

[Sir_Randy]

I just noticed on the NCL eDocs that they state: Your passport should be valid for 6 months after your return date.

We are traveling to: Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Greece from the US.

My Passport expires 85 days after we return. We have 7 weeks before we leave.

Is this an issue?

Should I risk sending in my passport to get it renewed before we leave?

Thank you!

[Keith1010]

I just noticed on the NCL eDocs that they state: Your passport should be valid for 6 months after your return date.

We are traveling to: Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Greece from the US.

My Passport expires 85 days after we return. We have 7 weeks before we leave.

Is this an issue?

Should I risk sending in my passport to get it renewed before we leave?

Thank you!

 

Check with the cruise line to see if this will be adhered to. Most do require that your passport is valid six months from your return. It's not only their requirement but many countries require that as well.

 

You can get a new passport in 30 days without expediting it. However I would not risk this and I would expedite it and pay the additional fees and overnight it to the agency and pay the added postage for them to send it back you in express mail. We got ours this way in about 10 days.

 

Keith

[I_heart_vaca]

The answer unfortunately is get your passport renewed. Many countries require that travellers have passports that are good 6 months after travel...this is not something the cruise line can 'waive' for you. You can get an expidited passport for about $60 - $100 (at least in my town) and that is cheap compared to being denied boarding on your trip.

[ab0si]

Just to confirm and emphasize I_heart_vaca's psoting .... The 6-month rule is, in many countries, a RULE. It is not a guideline; being "close" is not good enough. Renew your passport before you leave on the trip.

[EGG]

We just got our new passports back. It didn't take more than 3 weeks.

 

We looked on the website for passports and found out our local post office is an agency for passports. Picked up the forms there and returned them to the post office. They mailed everything in. This may have speeded up the process, that is why I am mentioning it.

 

The first time around we sent our own pictures and it was rejected. If you are going to do this fast I suggest getting "professional" passport pictures taken. We did this at a Walgreens. The local CVS also does this.

[boogs]

I just noticed on the NCL eDocs that they state: Your passport should be valid for 6 months after your return date.

We are traveling to: Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Greece from the US.

My Passport expires 85 days after we return. We have 7 weeks before we leave.

Is this an issue?

Should I risk sending in my passport to get it renewed before we leave?

Thank you!

 

You won't be allowed on the plane from the US in most cases, depending on where you are flying to. If flying to Italy, I believe you will be denied boarding the plane.

[paul929207]

GET THE PASSPORT RENEWED.

 

Otherwise you risk the likelihood of being denied boarding for you flight. Insurance will not cover your loss, so you will be out the airfare and the cost of the cruise.

[BlueRiband]

Yes, you need a new passport even if you don't plan to ever go on shore. Once the ship enters a country's territorial waters it's considered having arrived there. Any cruise line must conform to the immigration laws of every country on their itineary.

 

Six months of passport validity is required in case travel is delayed for some reason - for example, having to be hospitalized in a foreign country. (Or, being jailed in a foreign country.)

 

I see so many posts from people who want to sail without one or don't want to renew. They risk flushing a trip costing thousands of dollars because they won't spend $110. And it's good for 10 years.

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/renew/renew_833.html

[boogs]

They risk flushing a trip costing thousands of dollars because they won't spend $110. And it's good for 10 years.

 

Which works out to be about $9 per year. About the cost of one average drink aboard the ship.

[Goldygolfer]

I admit to being blonde, almost over-the-hill and live "downunder" so perhaps my head is upsidedown BUT I just cannot understand why it appears that so many in the US seem to have an aversion to obtaining a passport !!!

[njhorseman]

I admit to being blonde, almost over-the-hill and live "downunder" so perhaps my head is upsidedown BUT I just cannot understand why it appears that so many in the US seem to have an aversion to obtaining a passport !!!

 

The OP didn't express any aversion to obtaining a passport...he has a passport. He was asking if he had to renew it now because it will expire less than six months from the end of his trip.

[Talisker92]

I admit to being blonde, almost over-the-hill and live "downunder" so perhaps my head is upsidedown BUT I just cannot understand why it appears that so many in the US seem to have an aversion to obtaining a passport !!!

Dear Goldy,

In the US you can travel 3000 miles without a passport.I think that is about from Lisbon to Moscow. In Europe before the EU, to go more than 100 miles you needed a passport because you were in another country.

IMO, US people were not conditioned to needing one. That being said, this same topic comes up again and again for some reason. The cost of a passport pales in comparison to what a cruise costs.

[Sir_Randy]

Thanks to all that replied!

It just caught me off guard because I knew my pasport was valid past the return date, so I was not concerned about it until I read it on the NCL eDocs. I am so glad I read that and didn't just ignore it or I would been very upset and sad. I just hope others notice it and do not get denied because their passport expires within 6 months of returning.

Off to Walmart to get a new picture taken and then to the post office to mail the form and the expedite fee (do not want to take any chances).

[Keith1010]

Randy, I am glad you are expediting that as we did.

 

Be sure to mail it so that you can track its delivery.

 

Good luck with all of this.

 

Keith

[Hlitner]

I admit to being blonde, almost over-the-hill and live "downunder" so perhaps my head is upsidedown BUT I just cannot understand why it appears that so many in the US seem to have an aversion to obtaining a passport !!!

 

That is an interesting observation which seems to be true if you just read the various CC boards. As to why, we hear a bunch of different reasons. Some folks are just too darn cheap and do not want to spend the money on getting a passport. But there are some other issues. We have approxmately 12 million illegal aliens in the US who cannot get passports. And then there are quite a few folks who owe child support who have had a hold placed on their ability to obtain a passport.

 

Hank

[PennyAgain]

Hank is correct.

 

Add to that people with felony convictions and those who are using a false identity and you have quite a number of people who can't get a passport.

 

And then we have the folks who believe that getting a passport will allow our government to track their every move.

[scottbee]

I just noticed on the NCL eDocs that they state: Your passport should be valid for 6 months after your return date.

We are traveling to: Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Greece from the US.

My Passport expires 85 days after we return. We have 7 weeks before we leave.

Is this an issue?

Should I risk sending in my passport to get it renewed before we leave?

Thank you!

Technically for those four countries, you should be good;

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/104770.pdf

 

The logic for the 6 month rule is that most countries allow you to visit for 6 months on a visitors visa, and the country (and the USA) don't want the passport expiring while you're there as a visitor.

 

But, I would get it renewed anyway.

[Sir_Randy]

The "RENEWAL" (wanted to stress renewal so our blond, over the hill, down-under friends don't think I have an issue with obtaining a passport) is in the mail and I paid the $60 expedite fee to be safe.

The Lady at the Post Office told me the reason they put in the within 6 months of of your passport expiring, was in case you ended up in jail in a foreign county, you would need a minimum of 6 months to get through the foreign legal systems and the US Govt did not want to deny your return because your passport expired.

[Hlitner]

Hank is correct.

 

Add to that people with felony convictions and those who are using a false identity and you have quite a number of people who can't get a passport.

 

And then we have the folks who believe that getting a passport will allow our government to track their every move.

 

You have it wrong. They can track all of our movements by using the top secret chip implanted, at birth, without our knowledge. I know this is true because I heard it "on the street."

 

Hank

:)

[Hlitner]

Hank is correct.

 

Add to that people with felony convictions and those who are using a false identity and you have quite a number of people who can't get a passport.

 

And then we have the folks who believe that getting a passport will allow our government to track their every move.

 

You have it wrong. They can track all of our movements by using the top secret chip implanted, at birth, without our knowledge. I know this is true because I heard it "on the street." The guy that told me this also said that Al Gore invented the Chip right after he invented the internet and Cruise Critic LOL

 

Hank

:)

[EGG]

I am sure most people are in the position of OP. They only use their passport when they cruise once a year. I know I didn't keep track of when my passport expires. As they get close to cruise date they check and see passport will expire. I was worried about sending in old passport and not getting it back in time.

[muti]

Our renewed passports came back within a month. We are members of AAA and they do the passport pictures free.

 

Jackie

[Hlitner]

I am sure most people are in the position of OP. They only use their passport when they cruise once a year. I know I didn't keep track of when my passport expires. As they get close to cruise date they check and see passport will expire. I was worried about sending in old passport and not getting it back in time.

 

That is really a lame excuse. On most cruises you need to provide certain information to the cruise line (often done on line) which include your Passport number and expiration date. Most folks do this a long time before their cruise...so they should be very aware of the expiration date.

 

Hank

[Sir_Randy]

That is really a lame excuse. On most cruises you need to provide certain information to the cruise line (often done on line) which include your Passport number and expiration date. Most folks do this a long time before their cruise...so they should be very aware of the expiration date.

 

Hank

For the record, I was aware of the expiration date, I was aware of it when I booked the cruise a year ago, it is almost 3 months after I return from my vacation. What I was not aware of is that the real expiration date is 6 months prior to what is stated on your passport.

That is what this discussion is about. Before you call someone lame, read what the real question/discussion is about, and then decide if you have anything of value to add before posting a response.

[scottbee]

For the record, I was aware of the expiration date, I was aware of it when I booked the cruise a year ago, it is almost 3 months after I return from my vacation. What I was not aware of is that the real expiration date is 6 months prior to what is stated on your passport.

That is what this discussion is about. Before you call someone lame, read what the real question/discussion is about, and then decide if you have anything of value to add before posting a response.

 

No, the expiry date is the expiry date. Some countries (USA included) wont let you into the country if your passport WILL expire in the next 6 months.

FWIW there is a list of countries that the USA has a reciprocal treaty with to take it right up to the expiry date; which I posted earlier. You might want to go back and read it.