Passport expiry date

[Kinkacruiser]

They are. They are doing three cruises from Fort Lauderdale starting on 28th April. These cruises would take them to countries other than USA (probably South America or the Caribbean or both). They then fly out of LA on 1st June. It looks like the cruises end in Fort Lauderdale or maybe on the west coast. As there was no mention of time spent in USA after the cruises and before flying home, it looks like they will re-enter USA on 1st June or maybe 31st May.

 

The 3 cruises end in Alaska and we have a 6 day land tour at the end then fly back to LA. Your help with this query was great...thanks everyone. :D

[goodycruising]

Do not underestimate the power surge that can hit the person that has the power to hold you up. You can talk about what should be ok, and what other people have been fine with. But in an atmosphere of heightened security, you may find yourself wondering about the value of that $488, which in reality you would have been spending within a few months one way or another.

 

Are these rules annoying? Yes. Do rules change from when someone had no problems last time? Yes. Do you want to bother with arguing your point? Your choice.

 

Another point to consider is the matter of the chip that is in the centre of passports issued in the last few years which allow you to use the self serve terminal. I haven't used it yet, but you might find having that will save you time somewhere along the trip? You will have a more up to date photo, and there are other security features they include from time to time.

 

My 2c worth, I would renew and take that uncertainty out of your trip planning.

[fishtaco]

We arrive in FLL April 28, do 3 cruises, fly out from LA on June 1 and arrive in Aus on June 3. Passports expire Nov 9. We'll have to renew passports sometime next year in any case, but trying to save $488 may not be an option.

Eileen you're lots closer, but you'll be good.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies.

 

If you are doing one or more "loop Cruise" from USA (starting and ending in the same port), even though you have to go back through immigration on your return to US it isnt counted as leaving the country. US only requires 6 months from arrival not departure so you are good to go with your old passports.

 

At the cruise ports in US immigration are only interested in your original entry stamp but its best to carry a copy of your ESTA as well just in case you get an anal cruise port worker on embarkation check in who knows nothing about foreign passport holder requirements.

 

At some US cruise ports as a foreigner you may be required to be at the ships theatre very early on debarkation day, this worked well for us on one cruise as we were off the ship and through customs/ immigration before the first wave and huge queues:)

 

L.A is a nightmare airport to do Immigration on some days with many people missing connecting flights:eek If this happens to you just go to the desk at the rear and tell them your plight and they "May" usher you through the USA section as long as you are not wearing a Burka lol;)

[woodscruise]

Reading this thread, I would firstly like to point out that it is not the airlines / cruise companies that determine the 6 months validity, but this ruling is determined by the various governments. I actually work for an international airline. If you do need to renew the passport, I would actually check with the various embassies to check their requirements and the 6 month ruling. One thing to consider that by doing b2b2b cruises from Fort Lauderdale, each time you come back to US that would possibly be considered as a new entry into the US.

[fishtaco]

The 3 cruises end in Alaska and we have a 6 day land tour at the end then fly back to LA. Your help with this query was great...thanks everyone. :D

 

Check up very carefully on "The Jones Act thing" If your cruise starts somewhere in USA other than Alaska and then finishes in Alaska your "new" entry into USA will be from the last foreign port you visited on that cruise.

 

USA loop cruises (leaving and returning to the exact same port) do not require US citizen to have a passport just a birth certificate and ID even though they go to foreign ports in between and are just as tolerant of foreign passport holders classing them as not leaving USA. Because of the Jones act thingy if you leave one US port and arrive at another then the ship must visit a foreign port before its arrival to its USA port so you may not have enough passport validity left to re enter USA if your last cruise is not a "Loop Cruise".

Edited October 12, 2014 by fishtaco

[fishtaco]

Reading this thread, I would firstly like to point out that it is not the airlines / cruise companies that determine the 6 months validity, but this ruling is determined by the various governments. I actually work for an international airline. If you do need to renew the passport, I would actually check with the various embassies to check their requirements and the 6 month ruling. One thing to consider that by doing b2b2b cruises from Fort Lauderdale, each time you come back to US that would possibly be considered as a new entry into the US.

 

Not on "loop Cruises", you can do a loop and your original USA entry date as an Australian stands but I have just noticed OP may not actually be doing a loop cruise!:eek:

 

Also I agree its not the airlines that "determine" the passport "validity period" but they are the one who "enforce it" because if a person is refused entry because of passport validity period then the airline is required to fly that person back out of the country at the earliest possible time which is usually the next flight. If the next flight is full repatriation will be at the airlines cost:) USA Immigration officers couldnt care less about the passport Validity period for most western ESTA holders:)

[MicCanberra]

They are. They are doing three cruises from Fort Lauderdale starting on 28th April. These cruises would take them to countries other than USA (probably South America or the Caribbean or both). They then fly out of LA on 1st June. It looks like the cruises end in Fort Lauderdale or maybe on the west coast. As there was no mention of time spent in USA after the cruises and before flying home, it looks like they will re-enter USA on 1st June or maybe 31st May.

 

I would get new passports then.:D

Edited October 12, 2014 by MicCanberra

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Just as a side note.....we needed to renew our ESTA for the US for our last cruise. We applied for the new ESTA in May this year. When we received the new ESTA we were only granted the visa until 1/11/2015 because our passport expired on 1/11/2015......so we missed out on 6 months, so in this case we didn't get the whole 2 years.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Billy and Charlie's Mum

[Crusty Cruiser]

Australia is on the "6 month club" list for the USA therefore your passport only needs to be valid for the period of your stay in the US. It may be the cruiselines requirement for 6 months validity on your passport but definitely not required by the US authorities. We have an exemption.

 

Check it out by searching "6 month club" :)

[MicCanberra]

Australia is on the "6 month club" list for the USA therefore your passport only needs to be valid for the period of your stay in the US. It may be the cruiselines requirement for 6 months validity on your passport but definitely not required by the US authorities. We have an exemption.

 

Check it out by searching "6 month club" :)

 

Welcome to Cruise critic, good informative post.:D

[Crusty Cruiser]

Welcome to Cruise critic, good informative post.:D

 

Thanks for the welcome. We're here to help each other out if we can (well...most of us are anyway).

 

I've had to do a bit of research on passport validity as I'm just about to fly out to Hawaii with a passport that expires in Feb 2015. I got the heads up from the US consulate and found the list of countries that qualify for the 6 month exemption quite interesting particularly when you consider what is going on in the world today :(. By the way, the exemption also applies to our NZ friends. I've been getting some great tips of this site as we are not experienced cruisers having just done one P&O trip a few years ago but we're booked on a Princess cruise to New Guinea in April next year. Hopefully I can contribute more.

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the welcome. We're here to help each other out if we can (well...most of us are anyway).

 

I've had to do a bit of research on passport validity as I'm just about to fly out to Hawaii with a passport that expires in Feb 2015. I got the heads up from the US consulate and found the list of countries that qualify for the 6 month exemption quite interesting particularly when you consider what is going on in the world today :(. By the way, the exemption also applies to our NZ friends. I've been getting some great tips of this site as we are not experienced cruisers having just done one P&O trip a few years ago but we're booked on a Princess cruise to New Guinea in April next year. Hopefully I can contribute more.

 

No worries, a lot of people lurk for some time before they jump in and post.I am sure you will be contributing more useful info in the future. Enjoy Hawaii.:D

Edited October 12, 2014 by MicCanberra

[fishtaco]

Thanks for the welcome. We're here to help each other out if we can (well...most of us are anyway).

 

I've had to do a bit of research on passport validity as I'm just about to fly out to Hawaii with a passport that expires in Feb 2015. I got the heads up from the US consulate and found the list of countries that qualify for the 6 month exemption quite interesting particularly when you consider what is going on in the world today :(. By the way, the exemption also applies to our NZ friends. I've been getting some great tips of this site as we are not experienced cruisers having just done one P&O trip a few years ago but we're booked on a Princess cruise to New Guinea in April next year. Hopefully I can contribute more.

 

Great info and welcome:) But I hope for your sake that your airline adheres to the six month club rules. have you contacted them about your passports having less than 6 months validity? (I am sure you have):)

 

Airline check in staff and cruise line check in staff are not immigration officials of the country you are going to and are bound by the rules they are given to implement by the airline/cruise company which are not always exactly that of the country you are about to visit.

 

My friend was denied travel at check in for a one way flight from Perth to Bangkok because he didnt have a return ticket, Thailand does not require a return ticket but the airline did, the reason was if he was denied entry to Thailand for any reason the airline would have had to fly him home at their cost. He had travelled many times previous on one way tickets but his choice of airline in this instance didnt care.

 

I was held up from boarding a USA cruise because the check in clerk couldnt find my USA entry stamp, neither could I:eek: but a supervisor waived the decission:cool:,it was stamped but I still cant find it and USA immigration dont check when you leave so perhaps the stamp didnt work? my stamp from this years entry to US is clear and easy to find, my wife's previous one and latest one are both visible.

 

Anyway its always best to check with your travel provider/Carrier on the rules as they see the rules;)

Edited October 13, 2014 by fishtaco

[timtam2]

Whenever there is doubt, why risk it? In the course of my job, I hear several tales of woe a week re 'denied boarding' due to invalid passport. No refunds for that and I dont think travel insurance has ' but nobody told me' cover

[MicCanberra]

Whenever there is doubt, why risk it? In the course of my job, I hear several tales of woe a week re 'denied boarding' due to invalid passport. No refunds for that and I dont think travel insurance has ' but nobody told me' cover

 

Very true, 'If in doubt, sort it out'.:)

[fishtaco]

Whenever there is doubt, why risk it? In the course of my job, I hear several tales of woe a week re 'denied boarding' due to invalid passport. No refunds for that and I dont think travel insurance has ' but nobody told me' cover

 

I can believe it happens all the time and will happen even more now that many people self purchase international flights from low cost airlines and are not given carrier info/advise as was done when most flights were purchase through a T/A.

 

Entry into a country is determined by the immigration officials that serve each individual entrant not consular advise and some are more staunch than others,especially in USA so carriers cant really take risks that may cost or inconvenience them.

 

Some International full service airlines like Qantas will bare some risk sometimes but I would never put my fate in the hands of a check in counter employees determination of that risk:)

[cruisine21]

My friend was denied travel at check in for a one way flight from Perth to Bangkok because he didnt have a return ticket, Thailand does not require a return ticket but the airline did, the reason was if he was denied entry to Thailand for any reason the airline would have had to fly him home at their cost. He had travelled many times previous on one way tickets but his choice of airline in this instance didnt care.

 

We had a one way flight from Syd-Hawaii a few years ago as we had a cruise back Hawaii-Syd. On checkin the Jetstar staff member questioned us to why we had a one way ticket.

[MicCanberra]

We had a one way flight from Syd-Hawaii a few years ago as we had a cruise back Hawaii-Syd. On checkin the Jetstar staff member questioned us to why we had a one way ticket.

 

Probably explains why one way tickets cost almost as much as a return ticket (it certainly isn't half the cost anyway).

[fishtaco]

We had a one way flight from Syd-Hawaii a few years ago as we had a cruise back Hawaii-Syd. On checkin the Jetstar staff member questioned us to why we had a one way ticket.

 

After doing a bit of reading on this it seems it is actually a law of each country that the airline or carrier is responsible to repatriate a person who is denied entry into a country if the airline or carrier brought them there.

 

Jetstar would have excepted your cruise home as return carriage but it makes you wonder what would happen if a person on a cruise was refused entry to a country on a bulk visa like Vietnam or Indonesia cruise visas.

[fishtaco]

Probably explains why one way tickets cost almost as much as a return ticket (it certainly isn't half the cost anyway).

 

Bucket airlines charge the same each way as it would cost for a return so this is possibly why cheaper airlines are more strict on the rules, full service and national airlines charge around 2/3rds one way so are possibly willing to cop the odd occasional 1/3rd cost of an unlucky passenger.

 

There are so many horror stories:eek:

I remember years ago a Perth woman travelling to Canada with her family for a holiday was denied entry into Canada because she had a drink driving Charge in OZ years before.

 

And another Perth traveller was denied entry into Greece because she had "Panadine headache tablets" and codeine was banned in Greece at the time.

 

For many years I was always held up at Perth airport in Immigration on return to Australia and just thought it was the norm! Staunch aussie immigration not liking the look of me lol

 

On one return I was held up for over 2 hours and the customs guy standing guard on me and my open luggage whispered to me to get an Australian passport because somebody on a British passport with the same name as me was wanted lol never had a problem once I got my aussie passport but the immigration people (the ones in the suits) get really mad when they think they have caught somebody and then find out they got it wrong:D:D:D I laugh now but it was never funny at the time because they treat you like dirt even though it was their mistake!

[MicCanberra]

Bucket airlines charge the same each way as it would cost for a return so this is possibly why cheaper airlines are more strict on the rules, full service and national airlines charge around 2/3rds one way so are possibly willing to cop the odd occasional 1/3rd cost of an unlucky passenger.

 

There are so many horror stories:eek:

I remember years ago a Perth woman travelling to Canada with her family for a holiday was denied entry into Canada because she had a drink driving Charge in OZ years before.

 

And another Perth traveller was denied entry into Greece because she had "Panadine headache tablets" and codeine was banned in Greece at the time.

 

For many years I was always held up at Perth airport in Immigration on return to Australia and just thought it was the norm! Staunch aussie immigration not liking the look of me lol

 

On one return I was held up for over 2 hours and the customs guy standing guard on me and my open luggage whispered to me to get an Australian passport because somebody on a British passport with the same name as me was wanted lol never had a problem once I got my aussie passport but the immigration people (the ones in the suits) get really mad when they think they have caught somebody and then find out they got it wrong:D:D:D I laugh now but it was never funny at the time because they treat you like dirt even though it was their mistake!

 

Goodness, your name isn't Ronnie is it?:D

[Crusty Cruiser]

Great info and welcome:) But I hope for your sake that your airline adheres to the six month club rules. have you contacted them about your passports having less than 6 months validity? (I am sure you have):)

 

Airline check in staff and cruise line check in staff are not immigration officials of the country you are going to and are bound by the rules they are given to implement by the airline/cruise company which are not always exactly that of the country you are about to visit.

 

My friend was denied travel at check in for a one way flight from Perth to Bangkok because he didnt have a return ticket, Thailand does not require a return ticket but the airline did, the reason was if he was denied entry to Thailand for any reason the airline would have had to fly him home at their cost. He had travelled many times previous on one way tickets but his choice of airline in this instance didnt care.

 

I was held up from boarding a USA cruise because the check in clerk couldnt find my USA entry stamp, neither could I:eek: but a supervisor waived the decission:cool:,it was stamped but I still cant find it and USA immigration dont check when you leave so perhaps the stamp didnt work? my stamp from this years entry to US is clear and easy to find, my wife's previous one and latest one are both visible.

 

Anyway its always best to check with your travel provider/Carrier on the rules as they see the rules;)

 

 

All cool as far as Jetstar is concerned for anyone using them.They don't have concrete rules apparently. Their policy basically makes it the responsibility of the passenger to ensure passports meet the validity requirements (in this case covering up to the extent of the visit for Aussies going to the US under the 6 month club rule). The only thing they stipulate is that passengers must have received visa waiver authorisation under ESTA or "they may not be able to carry you"?. This is a little obscure as you are not required to carry written verification of this authorization to enter the US. It is electronically recorded in their customs/immigration system. I will carry a copy of my authorization anyways, but there is definitely no mention of passport validity denying a passenger a flight. Hope that helps for Jetstar users even if it is a little off topic on a cruise forum...

[Tara Jane]

What is ESTA please?

I usually book all my own travels on line, haven't been to USA for 9 years so wondering if it is something new I have to worry about for my next trip.

Regarding the original OP I would just cop the fee and renew the passport. Only saving a couple of months validity if you don't renew but will you be able to relax the whole trip hoping all will be ok? A 10 year passport works out at $24.40 a year per person so saving 6 months is a saving of $12.20. Also if our wonderful government decide to up their passport renewal fees you will save there.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Tara Jane

[Crusty Cruiser]

What is ESTA please?

I usually book all my own travels on line, haven't been to USA for 9 years so wondering if it is something new I have to worry about for my next trip.

Regarding the original OP I would just cop the fee and renew the passport. Only saving a couple of months validity if you don't renew but will you be able to relax the whole trip hoping all will be ok? A 10 year passport works out at $24.40 a year per person so saving 6 months is a saving of $12.20. Also if our wonderful government decide to up their passport renewal fees you will save there.

 

 

ESTA is US Customs and Borders Electronic System for Travel Authorization. Its the online system that travellers use for entering the Visa Waiver Program and thereby gaining permission to enter the US without a visa. A 3 minute process that costs $14 USD. Passports are a seperate issue of course.

[MicCanberra]

ESTA is US Customs and Borders Electronic System for Travel Authorization. Its the online system that travellers use for entering the Visa Waiver Program and thereby gaining permission to enter the US without a visa. A 3 minute process that costs $14 USD. Passports are a seperate issue of course.

 

Make sure you use the official site or it may cost you more than the $14.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/:D