Passport problem?

[Cookergirl]

We are sailing on the QM September 27- October11 and are going up the East coast to Quebec. Our passports are still valid and don't expire until February 21, 2016. After filling out our voyage personalizer for Cunard my husband noticed that our passports are recommended to be valid for 6 more months. We are US citizens and traveling outside the US only to Canada on this trip.

 

We are now short on time to get our passports renewed. Does anyone know why they recommend 6 months validity on the passports? What could be the issue?

 

Thanks

[Crazycombine64]

Hi

Your passports are not checked on any port, except where you embark/disembark.

Your cruise line will check your passport during your check-in and US officials on your arrival. Most likely you will need to get a new passport. I would give Cunard a call to be sure.

[Cruise NH]

Don't worry, here's the rule...you'll be fine.

 

What is the 6 Months Validity Rule?

 

The Six Months Validity Rule is imposed by foreign countries, and not by the United States. It simply means that your passport should be valid for more than six months before you would be allowed to enter a foreign destination. This rule is imposed by some of the countries we have listed below.

 

Countries with 6 Month Validity Rules

 

Albania

Angola

Bahamas

Bahrain

Belize

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Burma (Myanmar)

Burundi

China

Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Ecuador (including Galápagos Islands)

French Polynesia

Guyana

Honduras

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Jamaica

Kenya

Kiribati

Kenya

Mexico

Madagascar

Malaysia

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

New Caledonia

Nicaragua

Oman

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

St. Lucia

Taiwan

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

Timor-Leste (East Timor)

Trinidad & Tobago

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

Venezuela

Vietnam

Zambia

Edited September 6, 2015 by Cruise NH

[fantasy51]

If it were me, I would pay the extra to get passports just to be safe. A person on another thread has pointed out that even when she had all the answers from the embassies, Cunard said they would still not be able to board. Cunard has a simple 'one-size-fits-all' rule of 6 months. Even though the embassy said it was okay, Cunard would not budge.

 

I assume it's because it would be too difficult to train the check-in staff (who I think are often supplied by the country in which you embark) about the different rules for each country. If the staff got it wrong, passengers would hold Cunard to account. It is therefore easier for them to go by the most restrictive rules. That way they know that all passengers will be covered and there will be no comeback because of staff error.

[milamber]

You will almost certainly need a new passport unless you are incredibly lucky, but you won't know that until check-in.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2250298

[robbie_3]

Hi there, I guess then in this case it's more likely the cruise company that you need to worry about. I can't see Cunard waiving the 6 month rule for a number of reasons, for example not wanting to set any precedence, say in case a passenger fell ill and needed medical assistance for any length of time in the country visited. If it were me, I would pay the extra and expedite the passport application rather than risk a holiday.

[BlueRiband]

The worst that could happen is that you are denied boarding and lose 100% of your fare. No travel insurance covers the lack of proper travel documentation.

 

Don't waste any time.

http://www.travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/services/expedited.html

 

OVERNIGHT DELIVERY SERVICE

If you desire overnight delivery service for the return of your U.S. passport, please include the appropriate fee with your payment

 

FASTER PROCESSING

For an additional fee, you may request expedited service. Please include this fee in your payment and submit the application to the appropriate address.

Please write "Expedite" on the outer envelope when mailing. Also, TO ENSURE MINIMAL PROCESSING TIME for expedited passport book applications, Passport Services recommends using overnight delivery when submitting the application AND including the appropriate postage fee for return overnight delivery for the newly issued passport book...

[Capt_BJ]

Watch our video on the importance of having six months’ validity left on your passport.

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/go/schengen-fact-sheet.html

 

If your passport does not meet the Schengen requirements, you may be refused boarding by the airline at your point of origin or while transferring planes. You could also be denied entry when you arrive in the Schengen area. For this reason, we recommend that your passport have at least six months validity remaining whenever you travel abroad.

 

IMO Schengen does not apply as you've described your plans but more and more times the cruise and air lines are playing it safe because they don't know about your 'entire trip', only the current segment and don't want to be held responsible on a potential "next leg". For this reason I've never let our passports get down to 6 months ... I renew well b4 so we're always ready to go (we seldom plan a trip more than 3 months in advance)

Edited September 7, 2015 by Capt_BJ

[Cookergirl]

Many thanks to everyone for responding to my question so quickly. Looks like hubby and I are going to have to hustle down to Philly this week, ASAP! Hope we can get it done in time. It's not worth taking the chance and being denied entry onto the ship. I understand the reason for some needing long passport expirations but my trip is only 2 weeks so it's pretty upsetting. Hopefully we can get our passport back in time for our trip.

 

Fingers crossed!

 

Sandy

[Cookergirl]

One last thing, I wish that Cunard would post this information more visibly on their travel information. We travel to Canada every year and have had no problem so didn't even think of worrying about it until husband saw the small print on his "Cunard travel personalizer" print outs. It could have been easily missed. We didn't see it in any of their printed information. They state that one should have a "valid passport" and don't mention the 6 month rule. I hate spending extra money on something that could have been taken care of so easily.

[Victoria2]

One last thing, I wish that Cunard would post this information more visibly on their travel information. We travel to Canada every year and have had no problem so didn't even think of worrying about it until husband saw the small print on his "Cunard travel personalizer" print outs. It could have been easily missed. We didn't see it in any of their printed information. They state that one should have a "valid passport" and don't mention the 6 month rule. I hate spending extra money on something that could have been taken care of so easily.

 

The six month passport rule is specified in the British Cunard brochures, under Travel Information. I'm surprised it's not in US brochures.