Passports

[Lady Hudson]

Please remind me.  How long may I cruise with a passport that expires in February?  Thank you.

[WisconsinFan]

Six months prior for international travel.

 

[Lady Hudson]

What about a closed loop that might include the Bahamas or Canada?

[WisconsinFan]

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/passport-help/faqs.html

[bearette]

Three months for some countries, but for most 6 months are required. You would need to look up individual countries.

[martinpj]

52 minutes ago, Lady Hudson said:

What about a closed loop that might include the Bahamas or Canada?

As long as it doesn't expire before the end of the cruise.    Otherwise you can just use your birth certificate and state ID

[ARandomTraveler]

1 hour ago, Lady Hudson said:

Please remind me.  How long may I cruise with a passport that expires in February?  Thank you.

Conservatively - travel on or before the August prior.

Edited April 4, 2020 by ARandomTraveler

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, Lady Hudson said:

Please remind me.  How long may I cruise with a passport that expires in February?  Thank you.

As long as the passport is valid on the last

day of your cruise you are good to go. No problems. 

[cruisinfanatic]

2 hours ago, WisconsinFan said:

Six months prior for international travel.

 

Closed loop to most Caribbean countries it's not 6 months. You don't even need a passport

6 months is for flying to them

Edited April 4, 2020 by cruisinfanatic

[SRF]

11 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

As long as the passport is valid on the last

day of your cruise you are good to go. No problems. 

 

This is the correct answer.

 

The only country for a  Caribbean/ close Atlantic that required specific validity for cruises was Cuba.

 

 

[Grandma Dazzles]

Just a point on closed loop cruises.  Recent cruise people were denied boarding without a passport because they thought I was “a closed loop.”  The Cruise WAS a closed loop.  Sailed from and returned to Fort Lauderdale. Itinerary, however, included Aruba, Curacao, Panama, Costa Rica and Columbia.  Closed loop cruises to the Caribbean are okay, but if Central American ports are on the itinerary you need a passport.  

[Lady Hudson]

Thanks, all.  My original plan was to sail on my May 1 trip and then get my passport renewed.  Best laid plans . . . etc., etc.  All may become moot after October when I reach the big 70.  Stay well and best wishes to all.  Katherine

[steamboats]

Actually you have to look what RCI is requireing... It doesn´t matter what the country you travel to requires.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/united-states-citizen-travel-documentation

 

Although it was Celebrity friends of mine had passports expireing a few days minus the 6 months and they needed to get new ones as they weren´t even able to do the online check-in. This was a cruise ending in the US and we need a passport valid only for the duration of our stay (proof provided that we leave by that time - so a flight back home will do it).

 

steamboats

Edited April 4, 2020 by steamboats

[cruisinfanatic]

14 minutes ago, steamboats said:

Actually you have to look what RCI is requireing... It doesn´t matter what the country you travel to requires.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/united-states-citizen-travel-documentation

 

Although it was Celebrity friends of mine had passports expireing a few days minus the 6 months and they needed to get new ones as they weren´t even able to do the online check-in. This was a cruise ending in the US and we need a passport valid only for the duration of our stay (proof provided that we leave by that time - so a flight back home will do it).

 

steamboats

Has to be a closed loop cruise. Not just ending in the US.

[steamboats]

2 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

Has to be a closed loop cruise. Not just ending in the US.

 

I know that you Americans don´t need a passport for closed loop cruises out of an US port.

 

But read the whole FAQ:

 

"For International Sailings- US Citizens require a passport book with a minimum of 6 months validity post the return of your sailing and the corresponding visa required for entry and exit from the country."

 

As soon as you´re on a cruise where a passport is required RCI does require 6 months of validity after the end of the cruise despite what the official laws of the country are where you are traveling to.

 

steamboats

[rhblake]

On 4/3/2020 at 8:39 PM, martinpj said:

As long as it doesn't expire before the end of the cruise.    Otherwise you can just use your birth certificate and state ID

I do not know the answer to this but will the cruise industry require a "Real ID" (driver's license with the star) not just a driver's license after October 2021 (previously October 2020)?

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, rhblake said:

I do not know the answer to this but will the cruise industry require a "Real ID" (driver's license with the star) not just a driver's license after October 2021 (previously October 2020)?

It just needs to be a government issued ID, which includes state and local government employee IDs which aren't REAL ID compliant so I would be greatly surprised if they required drivers licenses to be REAL ID compliant.

[Roger88]

According to international laws, if you passports has less than 6 months till expiration - you cannot travel and you can be denied a visa. If I were you, I would change my passport a year prior to any cruise\tour\travel. Why risk it? It doesnt cost much and currently all these passports are issued for 10 years. 10 years living without a headache.

[gatour]

54 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

According to international laws, if you passports has less than 6 months till expiration - you cannot travel and you can be denied a visa. If I were you, I would change my passport a year prior to any cruise\tour\travel. Why risk it? It doesnt cost much and currently all these passports are issued for 10 years. 10 years living without a headache.

It depends on the country and the mode of transport.  If was doing a cruise  within 6 months of expiration, but not planning any international travel until 6 months and beyond, I would wait until the cruise was over.

[ARandomTraveler]

25 minutes ago, gatour said:

It depends on the country and the mode of transport.  If was doing a cruise  within 6 months of expiration, but not planning any international travel until 6 months and beyond, I would wait until the cruise was over.

Why wait until the last minute? Are people trying to save $125 or something? Is that what this is about? Why is there such a resistance to keeping things up to date or such a willingness to do things at the midnight hour? I’ve had a passport for my entire adult life and have never let it expire,  even when I had no travel plans or intent to use it in the near future. It’s $125(+/-), renew your freaking passports people and save yourselves the headache. The instructions from the post office will even tell you to renew it if there’s only 6 months left on it, just to be on the safe side, so why play with fire? 

Edited April 5, 2020 by ARandomTraveler

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, Roger88 said:

According to international laws, if you passports has less than 6 months till expiration - you cannot travel and you can be denied a visa. If I were you, I would change my passport a year prior to any cruise\tour\travel. Why risk it? It doesnt cost much and currently all these passports are issued for 10 years. 10 years living without a headache.

While true, this has no bearing on the question asked by the OP

[SRF]

4 hours ago, Roger88 said:

According to international laws, if you passports has less than 6 months till expiration - you cannot travel and you can be denied a visa. If I were you, I would change my passport a year prior to any cruise\tour\travel. Why risk it? It doesnt cost much and currently all these passports are issued for 10 years. 10 years living without a headache.

 

That is WRONG.

 

It is a country by country requirement.  NOT "international law."

 

Some countries require 6 months to enter, others only 3 months.  Others don't care.

 

 

[SRF]

On 4/4/2020 at 10:18 AM, Heymarco said:

Not sure where you are from but the US stopped issuing passports for the moment. Once they start again, they will more than likely be backed up.

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2020/04/01/coronavirus-state-dept-halts-passport-services-most-travelers/5102705002/

 

As usual, USA Today gets it wrong.

 

Face to face only for emergencies.  And no expedited processing.

 

What the State Department says:

 

Because of public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, effective March 20, 2020, we are only able to offer in-person service at passport agencies or centers for customers with a qualified life-or-death emergency and who need a passport for immediate international travel within 72 hours. Learn more below to see if you qualify for a life-or-death emergency appointment.

While you can still apply in person for a U.S. passport at some acceptance facilities and renew through the mail, you should expect significant delays receiving your passport and your citizenship evidence documents. Please consider waiting to apply until we resume normal operations. We suspended expedited service on March 19 and are not offering this service to any applicants.

[thinfool]

It should be noted that the restrictions are for 'new' passports.  There is no change for renewals other than long wait times.

We recently renewed...6 weeks to the day from the time we sent our docs out till they returned.

COVID may lengthen that number.

[steamboats]

13 hours ago, Roger88 said:

According to international laws, if you passports has less than 6 months till expiration - you cannot travel and you can be denied a visa. If I were you, I would change my passport a year prior to any cruise\tour\travel. Why risk it? It doesnt cost much and currently all these passports are issued for 10 years. 10 years living without a headache.

 

Nope, some countries require 6 months, most only 3 months. As I said before as European I can travel to the US with a passport just valid for my stay. It should be valid for 3 months (as the Visa Waiver Programs allows us to stay for 90 days) but if you have a proof of your return trip it´s o.k. when your passport is only valid for the duration of your trip.

 

6 months after the end of the cruise is a requirement by the cruise line as they simply want to make sure that the passport is vaild.

 

BTW there are single countries which require 1 year.

 

steamboats