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Uh oh! I sail tomorrow. My passport expires in March

mscg2000

By mscg2000,
in Royal Caribbean International

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mscg2000

mscg2000

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I just read in my cruise docs that my passport "should" be valid for 6 months after the date of my cruise. It doesn't say that it "must" be valid for 6 months. I sail tomorrow on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas and my passport expires in March. Will I have a problem?

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njmomof2

njmomof2

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Checked the requirements for Bahamas and if you are a US citizen, you can enter with less than 6 months remaining as long as you are not visiting for more than 21 days.

 

You can google Bahamas passport expiration requirement and get the information.

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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Posted
I just read in my cruise docs that my passport "should" be valid for 6 months after the date of my cruise. It doesn't say that it "must" be valid for 6 months. I sail tomorrow on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas and my passport expires in March. Will I have a problem?

 

No problem for a closed loop cruise out of a US port. All you need is a non expired passport. That is a requirement by some countries but not in the Caribbean.

 

If you are cruising outside North America you should have a passport that is valid for six months.

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DonnaK

DonnaK

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It's okay. A US citizen traveling on a closed loop cruise to ports in the Caribbean doesn't even need to have a passport. Those countries (including the Bahamas) do not have the 6 month requirement for those entering/leaving via cruiseship, so a valid passport is fine

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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I believe Belize or Honduras one or the other is one of those countries...since we go there often, we took no chances. Our passport good through June, but we cruise last of April so ordered ours last week.

 

 

 

Some countries will want the six months if you fly in but waive it if you come on a closed loop cruise. I don't think you had to worry. But it is good not to wait until the last minute. My passport expires in April so did my renewal even though I don't have anything booked before April.

 

Turnaround times are fast right now. I mailed my renewal on January 17 and my new passport came back January 28! Less than 2 weeks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Fouremco

Fouremco

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I am from Canada, and my passport expired in June and I cruise in May. So I just renewed it a few weeks ago not worth stressing over. I did it more as a safety net than anything

We never know when or where we might travel, so we always renew our passports seven to eight months before they expire. Really very simple, and only required every ten years. Saves a lot of drama! :)

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mek

mek

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🤦how many times does this question pop up. I don't get how this happens so often to people planning vacations out of the country.

 

That aside, you'll be fine for the cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

It can happen to the best and most experienced of us. A couple of years ago we took a spur of the moment cruise to the Caribbean,(closed loop), when our passports expired just a few days after we returned. Just got busy and didn't renew them thinking we weren't going to travel until later in the year. We took our BC's just in case, but didn't have any issues.

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JoshuaA

JoshuaA

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It's okay. A US citizen traveling on a closed loop cruise to ports in the Caribbean doesn't even need to have a passport. Those countries (including the Bahamas) do not have the 6 month requirement for those entering/leaving via cruiseship, so a valid passport is fine

 

True, it's a closed loop.

 

FWIW, my passport expires this month and we just got off the Anthem, I needed my passport in Puerto Rico off/on the ship. The other 5 stops RCI only wanted my RCI card off/on.

 

Just don't break the loop by missing the ship's last call lol.

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

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True, it's a closed loop.

 

FWIW, my passport expires this month and we just got off the Anthem, I needed my passport in Puerto Rico off/on the ship. The other 5 stops RCI only wanted my RCI card off/on.

 

Just don't break the loop by missing the ship's last call lol.

 

Even then you would still be fine since your passport is valid for re-entry into the US up until it expires.

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JoshuaA

JoshuaA

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Even then you would still be fine since your passport is valid for re-entry into the US up until it expires.

 

Assuming you want to go home, I'd be chasing the ship at the next port lol... which again you're probably right when you show up at the following country and present the embarrassing circumstances.

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BND

BND

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True, it's a closed loop.

 

FWIW, my passport expires this month and we just got off the Anthem, I needed my passport in Puerto Rico off/on the ship. The other 5 stops RCI only wanted my RCI card off/on.

 

Just don't break the loop by missing the ship's last call lol.

 

To be clear, you needed a gov issued ID to get on the ship in PR, correct? You just happened to use your passport? I've seen so many ports now that don't even ask to see ID, just your ship card. After 9/11 and until very recently, they all wanted to see both. We use DL's as ID and our passports to board at port of departure.

 

DH's passport expires in Nov and we're cruising in April and October. But, he will be renewing before Oct. He is going to Aus at the end of this month and the UK I think in May. He just got his visa for Aus and it expires in Nov when his passport does, instead of the normal timeframe which is valid for 1 year with a stay of 3 months at a time. For the UK, there is no minimum requirement just that it be valid and US citizens can stay up to 6 months with no visa. My point is, don't automatically assume a passport has to be valid for 6 months for everywhere. Closed loop cruises are different than flying anywhere. Very few countries require validity beyond the end of the cruise on closed loop ones since the expectation is you will be returning with the ship. Those countries that have requirements for passport timeframe validity have more to do with their visa requirements than anything else. Your passport is really for re-entry to your own country. If you notice, countries that don't require a visa, also put a dated stamp in your passport which has to do with how long you can stay.

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robtulipe

robtulipe

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True, it's a closed loop.

 

FWIW, my passport expires this month and we just got off the Anthem, I needed my passport in Puerto Rico off/on the ship. The other 5 stops RCI only wanted my RCI card off/on.

 

Just don't break the loop by missing the ship's last call lol.

 

Actually, even though you are Cdn, you only needed a government issued ID in San Juan, like a DL, and your ship's card to re-enter the pier area. That's what we used on the Anthem cruise just after yours which had exactly the same itinerary. You didn't really call on a foreign port until after San Juan as the ship went directly there from NYC so no passport was needed to get off the ship.

Even for our port stop in San Juan on our Brilliance westbound TA from Europe in late October we only needed our Cdn passports to clear US Customs/Border Protection onboard but once done that we only needed our government ID, again used our DL, to get back into the pier area to re-board the ship. We left our passports in our cabin safe.

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

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Assuming you want to go home, I'd be chasing the ship at the next port lol... which again you're probably right when you show up at the following country and present the embarrassing circumstances.

 

True, sorry I misread your post (which is what I get for posting before my second cup of coffee).

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