passport expiration date a problem with online check in

[LHT28]

Canadians used to only get a 5 yr passport  so had  4.5 yr  before  renewal  😲

[njhorseman]

5 hours ago, kitty9 said:

Neither Oceania nor any other cruise line can make an exception for any US Department of State regulation regardless of how good a customer you are.  For our upcoming cruise, my passport expired two days after the 6 month rule, but not wanting to take a chance, I renewed.  Didn’t use expedited service and got my new passport in 11 days. 

The six month rule has absolutely nothing to do with the US Department of State. A US citizen's passport is good through its expiration date for reentry to the US. 

The six month rule is in place to ensure compliance with the laws of the other countries you may be visiting. 

[edgee]

5 hours ago, kitty9 said:

Neither Oceania nor any other cruise line can make an exception for any US Department of State regulation regardless of how good a customer you are.  For our upcoming cruise, my passport expired two days after the 6 month rule, but not wanting to take a chance, I renewed.  Didn’t use expedited service and got my new passport in 11 days. 

Your post is misleading for a number of reasons.

 

1.There is no Department of state rule that says you have to have six months left on your passport to travel with it. It is the rule of many countries to which Americans travel.

2. The OP is going on a closed loop cruise for which the U.S. and most Caribbean countries do not require a passport.

3. For the few Caribbean countries on a closed loop cruise (eg. French islands) that require a passport with six months left prior to expiration, the cruise line can allow you to go on the cruise and not get off the ship in those countries. I know this because I am booked on a Celebrity closed loop Caribbean cruise in mid December which allows passengers without a passport on the cruise as long as they do not disembark the ship in Martinique.

 

Oceania chooses to require a passport with six months of validity left. So long as it is their policy, I think it is fine for them to enforce it with no exceptions. Consistency is good and is the fairest way to conduct business.  However, lets not say that Oceania was not able to make an exception for this passenger. They chose to and most of us responding on this thread have no problem with their decision.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

My Oceania cruise this January – despite minimal Covid on board and disirregardless [like that one?] of that fact – was banned from many of the intended islands and had to make sudden changes into 'whichever port will accept us today.'  Under those circumstances, it was simply prudent planning of Oceania to require that everyone have a passport that met the validity requirements of any island that might lie in our path.

 

If they had not, and the absence of one such passport prevented an otherwise possible port stop – what do you think this Board would have looked like?  ['lit up like a Christmas tree' is my guess...]

 

So I am glad that Oceania takes this position, and have no sympathy for anyone who wants them to bend, waive, ignore [your choice of euphemism] their rules.

[Vertygo]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

My Oceania cruise this January – despite minimal Covid on board and disirregardless [like that one?] of that fact – was banned from many of the intended islands and had to make sudden changes into 'whichever port will accept us today

So your ship was banned because there was minimal CoVID on board??

While I agree with your stance on the OP’s passport issues (apparently her husband as well), “disirregardless” is a double negative, if it’s even found in Webster. 🤣

[LHT28]

AFAIK  Oceania  has always required valid  passports  for all ( well since 2004)

When Canadians had 5 y passports   we would have to renew early if we had a cruise booked to cover the 6 mth rule  for many Countries

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 hours ago, Vertygo said:

So your ship was banned because there was minimal CoVID on board??

While I agree with your stance on the OP’s passport issues (apparently her husband as well), “disirregardless” is a double negative, if it’s even found in Webster. 🤣

No it wasn't banned because of Covid onboard; it was banned because some islands either had Covid on land or were just afraid.

 

[Disirregardless is a triple negative.  I had a teacher who coined it to make fun of people who say Irregardless, when Regardless is shorter and means exactly the same thing.]

[susiesan]

My husband 's new passport was just delivered so we will be on Marina Sunday Dec. 4. Doing a happy dance🥲

[schmerl]

51 minutes ago, susiesan said:

My husband 's new passport was just delivered so we will be on Marina Sunday Dec. 4. Doing a happy dance🥲

 

FANTASTIC! What wonderful news. You must be so relieved. 

[judi666]

2 hours ago, susiesan said:

My husband 's new passport was just delivered so we will be on Marina Sunday Dec. 4. Doing a happy dance🥲

Very happy for you!

[Vertygo]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

[Disirregardless is a triple negative.  I had a teacher who coined it to make fun of people who say Irregardless, when Regardless is shorter and means exactly the same thing.]

Actually, Merriam-Webster-Webster considers disirregardless equivalent to regardless, with the “dis” used as an intensifier rather than the true negative. So, by their definition it’s a double negative. The word has been in general use for about 200 years, so your teacher must have been really old!

Nothing to do with cruising, but wordplay can be fun & I need the diversion.

[Cape Hernlopen]

Dear Susie:

Very happy that you and your husband received your Passports and can now enjoy your cruise.  This serves as a wakeup call for everyone to check their Passport expiration dates whenever they book a new cruise.  Have a safe and enjoyable trip.

Joel Barry

[Robjame]

Possible Explanation?

 

Watching a video on Virgin Cruiselines, it was explained that passports with the six month rule were required, close looped or not, as their ships are flagged under the British flag.

‘This would make sense that it is the country under which the ship is flagged that determines the passport rules for the ship, not the country of the passengers or the country of the embarkation.

‘Oceania ships are flagged under the Marshall Islands and the passport rules are six month expiry, close looped or not.

 

Make sense?

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, Robjame said:

Possible Explanation?

 

Watching a video on Virgin Cruiselines, it was explained that passports with the six month rule were required, close looped or not, as their ships are flagged under the British flag.

‘This would make sense that it is the country under which the ship is flagged that determines the passport rules for the ship, not the country of the passengers or the country of the embarkation.

‘Oceania ships are flagged under the Marshall Islands and the passport rules are six month expiry, close looped or not.

 

Make sense?

 

No, it doesn't make sense and I'd love to see the video you've cited. Even if Virgin require this, was the explanation an official video from the cruise line or something put together by a self-appointed expert? Even if from the cruise line we know how reliable the information you get from a cruise line is. For example cruise lines repeatedly misinterpret the Passenger Vessel Services Act and passengers are denied the ability to book a legal itinerary or allowed to book an illegal itinerary only to have it cancelled or changed later. Believe me, it's not a difficult law to interpret and US Customs and Border Protection even publishes a document that the cruise lines can use to assist them in making interpretations.

 

To give you a specific example, the cruise ship Diamond Princess is flagged in the UK, and has a  number of roundtrip closed loop Mexican Riviera cruises from San Diego. Not only don't you need a passport with six months remaining validity for these cruises, a US citizen doesn't need a passport at all and can cruise with as little documentation as a birth certificate and photo ID such as a drivers license.

Edited December 2, 2022 by njhorseman