Passport Expires 5.5 Months after Return

[ransrider]

Our SIL will be cruising with us on Harmony of the Seas to the Eastern Caribbean ports of St. Maarten, San Juan and Labadee on a passport that expires 5.5 months after he returns from this trip. I know the rule is 6 months but do you think he will be denied boarding because of being 2 weeks shy of compliance? Looking for answers from cruisers that have traveled on a soon-to-expire passport or have had first hand experience with this concern. Thanks for the help.

[easyboy]

If your cruise is a closed loop cruise, that passport is fine to use.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[geoherb]

DH did not have any problems last spring with a passport that expired a couple of months after our cruise.

[LHT28]

Is he a U.S. Citizen?

[Shmoo here]

Our SIL will be cruising with us on Harmony of the Seas to the Eastern Caribbean ports of St. Maarten, San Juan and Labadee on a passport that expires 5.5 months after he returns from this trip. I know the rule is 6 months but do you think he will be denied boarding because of being 2 weeks shy of compliance? Looking for answers from cruisers that have traveled on a soon-to-expire passport or have had first hand experience with this concern. Thanks for the help.

The "must be valid for six months after return date" thing is mostly a European requirement.

 

For Caribbean cruises, typically, as long as the passport is valid on the day you return to the US, you're fine.

 

You can find the actual validity period for other countries (for US passports) here:https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html

[ransrider]

Thanks for the quick and concise answers. Just what I was looking for. This mother-in-law can now relax. It is a closed- looped cruise and he is a U.S. Citizen.

[Pudgesmom]

Why not just renew it?

[Hflors]

What does it say on the documents from the cruiseline? If it says 6 months, then I would renew it now. I guess it comes down to "how lucky do you feel" and what is your SIL's "plan B" if she is denied boarding because of not having the proper identification.

 

I would tell SIL to renew her Passport now. We just renewed our this past August and it took less then a month. (actually it took about 3 weeks)

 

Good luck and I hope you all have a great cruise!

[Keith1010]

From what you said she should be fine but I always would verify something like this with the cruise line rather then on the board.

 

Keith

[cheeseclan]

I agree with Keith about checking with your cruise line.

 

On one of my previous Caribbean cruises about 7 years ago, i tried to use my passport which was 1 week shy. I was not allowed to input the info on the immigration page. So i had to use my drivers license, birth certificate and i brought my passport with me. A hassle but i was allowed to cruise. I would renew it now so it is done and then no worries.

[browneyedgirl1982]

I just came back from a western Caribbean cruise and traveled with a Canadian passport that expires 5 months from when I was away. I had no issues other than having to go through a different line at the airport when I was flying into the USA

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Flatbush Flyer]

Thanks for the quick and concise answers. Just what I was looking for. This mother-in-law can now relax. It is a closed- looped cruise and he is a U.S. Citizen.

 

 

 

Do know however that some cruise lines have more stringent passport requirements than the do the governments of the countries visited. Call the cruise line for verification.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sparks1093]

Why not just renew it?

 

Personally I would let my travel plans dictate when I renewed my passport. If I weren't going to be traveling again for a year after it expired I wouldn't renew it until a couple of months before that trip. (But then I'm the guy that uses a pair of vice grips to get the last bit of toothpaste from the tube.)

[ransrider]

Why not just renew it?

They don't travel enough to make it worth it and already had to purchase 2 new passports for their daughters and did renew a third. Wonder if as a precaution he should bring his birth cert?

[sparks1093]

They don't travel enough to make it worth it and already had to purchase 2 new passports for their daughters and did renew a third. Wonder if as a precaution he should bring his birth cert?

 

He could if he wanted but it's not necessary. The only island in the Caribbean that has a 6 month requirement for cruise ship passengers is Cuba.

[ransrider]

Really, call the cruise line? Have you delt with those people that answer the front line calls? Never know if their information is correct or they just want to get you off the phone.

[LHT28]

They don't travel enough to make it worth it and already had to purchase 2 new passports for their daughters and did renew a third. Wonder if as a precaution he should bring his birth cert?

It would not hurt to take his BC with him

some cruise lines do require a passport with 6 mths left on the passport after you return ...even for closed loop cruises

 

Maybe check the T & C's for theirs

[njhorseman]

In general, only super premium and luxury cruise lines such as Azamara, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, etc. require six months remaining passport validity for all cruises even if not required by law or regulation.The mass market lines, including Royal Caribbean, NCL and Carnival do not.

 

Calling a cruise line's customer service number to ask a question about passport requirements is a terrible idea. I cringe whenever I see someone recommend that. Unfortunately the customer service reps are ill-equipped to answer that type of question. They are poorly trained, and many have little experience on the job.

 

On the other hand, most cruise lines' websites actually have good general information about passport requirements and looking on the website will generally point you in the right direction.

 

The OP is on Royal Caribbean, and their documentation FAQs correctly makes no mention of a 6 month passport requirement for this type of itinerary, only a valid , which means unexpired, passport. Further, the FAQs point out that a US citizen sailing this type of closed loop itinerary can cruise without a passport, instead using a birth certificate and photo ID. If you don't need a passport at all, a little common sense and logical thinking certainly suggests you don't need one with 6 months remaining validity. ;)

 

Here's the information from Royal Caribbean. I've highlighted the relevant information in red:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/travelDocumentation.do?cS=NAVBAR&pnav=4&snav=5#usport

 

 

 

CRUISES FROM A UNITED STATES PORT

 

The following requirements are for sailings from a United States port to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada/New England, Hawaii, Alaska, Panama Canal and Mexico.

 

United States and Canadian Citizens:

 

You MUST have one of the following:

 

• A valid United States or Canadian passport. For additional United States passport information visit the United States Department of State travel information website or the Passport Canada website. Visa Central is the passport and visa service that we recommend, should our guests need passport and visa assistance. You may contact Visa Central for all your passport needs. Visa Central can obtain passports in as little as one day. US Residents, please contact VisaCentral online at www.visacentral.com/royalcaribbean, email rci@visacentral.com or call 800-858-8579, and be sure to reference Royal Caribbean account 44988 for reduced service fees. Canada residents, please contact www.visacentral.ca/royalcaribbean, email rci@visacentral.com or call 8888-665-9956, and be sure to reference Royal Caribbean account 10026 for reduced service fees.
  

- OR -

 

• Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) or Trusted Travel Documents. Click here for a list of all approved documents.
  

Exceptions:

• United States citizens on cruises that begin and end at the same port in the United States can use a original government-issued picture ID (i.e. driver's license) AND an original government-issued birth certificate or original Naturalization Certificate.
  
• Minors under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original government-issued, original or certified copy of his or her birth certificate; a Consular Report of Birth Abroad Issued by DOA; or Certificate of Naturalization issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
  

Note: Baptismal papers and hospital certificates of birth are NOT acceptable. Military identification cards, voter registration cards or Social Security cards are NOT considered proof of citizenship.

[zqvol]

Our SIL will be cruising with us on Harmony of the Seas to the Eastern Caribbean ports of St. Maarten, San Juan and Labadee on a passport that expires 5.5 months after he returns from this trip. I know the rule is 6 months but do you think he will be denied boarding because of being 2 weeks shy of compliance? Looking for answers from cruisers that have traveled on a soon-to-expire passport or have had first hand experience with this concern. Thanks for the help.

 

There is no six month rule for a cruise to the Caribbean, in fact a passport is not even required. As long as the passport is valid on the day you return there is no issue.

[Shmoo here]

There is no six month rule for a cruise to the Caribbean, in fact a passport is not even required. As long as the passport is valid on the day you return there is no issue.

Unless, as pointed out, you're taking a Caribbean cruise on one of the cruise lines that requires a passport for ALL cruises, regardless of legal requirements.

[jocap]

See if you can book in on line without problems.

I couldn't do this with 5+ months to go, with a UK ship sailing out of the UK, to ports in the Med where my EU passport could have been used to the final date on it.

I had to renew the passport for the cruise line, not the destinations.

[zqvol]

Unless, as pointed out, you're taking a Caribbean cruise on one of the cruise lines that requires a passport for ALL cruises, regardless of legal requirements.

 

Since the OP said they were on RCL which doesn't require passports for everyone, they don't need to worry about that issue..

[Wellard]

I just read a thread on the Australia and New Zealand section that discusses a lady who was denied boarding in Sydney for a RC ship because her passport had less than 6 months.

One of her port of calls requires at least 6 months validity.

As you can imagine, the lady was screaming mad.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sail7seas]

The "must be valid for six months after return date" thing is mostly a European requirement.

 

For Caribbean cruises, typically, as long as the passport is valid on the day you return to the US, you're fine.

 

You can find the actual validity period for other countries (for US passports) here:https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html

 

 

Please consider the fact he needs ID to renter U.S. at end of cruise. Will they pass him through with an expired passport if he has no other acceptable ID to show ?

[Shmoo here]

Please consider the fact he needs ID to renter U.S. at end of cruise. Will they pass him through with an expired passport if he has no other acceptable ID to show ?

I did mention: For Caribbean cruises, typically, as long as the passport is valid on the day you return to the US, you're fine.