Passport Expiration Requirement

[steveru621]

It has nothing to do with leaving the country and everything to do with entering it. As a cruise passenger, you can enter St. Lucia on a closed-loop cruise with a variety of documents. In the case I cited, where we were leaving the cruise, our status changed and we were subject to the same regulations as any other (non-cruise) visitor to the country. Had we not had our passports with 6 months validity remaining, we would simply have not been admitted to the country and escorted back onto the ship.

 

And if the ship had already left because you were late? It has everything to do with leaving.

 

What if I got off the ship and went directly to the airport?

[Fouremco]

And if the ship had already left because you were late? It has everything to do with leaving.

 

What if I got off the ship and went directly to the airport?

I thought you were addressing my specific case, which dealt with entering the country. On the more general question of what happens if you miss the ship's departure, there are numerous threads discussing the subject at length.

 

Having flown out of St. Lucia several times, I can tell you that they always check your passport for your entry stamp. If you get off a cruise ship and go to the airport, you won't have the stamp, but I've no experience with what they might do.

[waterbug123]

Wrong.

You might not be able to fly in but they certainly would not have stopped you from boarding a flight to the USA

If you are on normal Caribbean cruise, no one needs to worry about any 6 month rule. Why do you?

 

I don't understand this at all??? So if you didn't have a passport or it was less than 6 months from expiration? What would they do? Not let you leave the country? Sorry, makes no sense to me.

 

It's not about leaving the country in this particular case; it's about entering it. Fouremco ceased to be a cruise passenger and had to officially enter St. Lucia, and St. Lucian immigration apparently requires visitors to have 6 months remaining on their passport. Fouremco did so it wasn't an issued, but someone else might have encountered complications and delays if their passport only had a month left.