Passport Question

[ziggyuk]

8 hours ago, hawkeyetlse said:

It will not escape the terminal staff's attention that this family has at that point already been admitted to the UK (and therefore to the Common Travel Area, which includes Ireland), so unless the cruise is 5 months long, NCL risks nothing by transporting these passengers.

 

The UK is not in the common travel area since the EU exit in 2020.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, ziggyuk said:

 

The UK is not in the common travel area since the EU exit in 2020.

My understanding is that there is an entirely separate Common Travel Area for the UK and Ireland that predates the EU and has remained in effect after Brexit, but it applies only to citizens of the UK and Ireland, not nationals of any other country. A US citizen who has legally entered the UK can't enter Ireland without clearing Irish immigration.

[hawkeyetlse]

Yes, I should have not have suggested that anyone entering the CTA through the UK would automatically have the right to travel onward to Ireland. But in the OP's case, this is in fact the case, because the two countries align their entry requirements for tourists from the US and most other countries (in this sense, the CTA is relevant for visitors, although njhorseman is correct that the core provision is free movement for British and Irish citizens).

 

The fact that this is a cruise entirely within the CTA will also simplify procedures for all passengers on board (they may do away with individual border checks altogether when the ship enters Ireland and later re-enters the UK).

 

[Hikarishma]

Hello ! I’m in the same dilemma with my passport expiring in 4 months. Can you please share what was the result ? Did you guys make it ? Thanks ! 

[Trishalinn]

15 minutes ago, Hikarishma said:

Hello ! I’m in the same dilemma with my passport expiring in 4 months. Can you please share what was the result ? Did you guys make it ? Thanks ! 

I ended up calling the passport agency 14 days before our date of travel, they got me in the day before our trip for same day passports. We got it done and had a lovely time on our trip. Now we have reminders set on our phones to start the renewal process for passports 8 months before they expire 😜

[WickedRed]

I'm not the original OP, but I had a passport with less than 6 months left with a cruise out of London for a British Isles cruise last year.  Didn't have any issues.  Flew from the US to London and got on the ship.  Had just over 5 months left on my passport. 

 

IF you're worried, I'd do the under 14 day rapid renewal at a passport agency.  I did that earlier this year and it went great.  The passport agency was a 2.5 hr drive one way, but I had my passport and card in hand before the end of the day.  Highly recommended. 

[zqvol]

46 minutes ago, Hikarishma said:

Hello ! I’m in the same dilemma with my passport expiring in 4 months. Can you please share what was the result ? Did you guys make it ? Thanks ! 

To a large degree your answer depends on your nationality, and where you are cruising. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Hikarishma said:

Hello ! I’m in the same dilemma with my passport expiring in 4 months. Can you please share what was the result ? Did you guys make it ? Thanks ! 

If you are cruising out of a US port with a US passport on a typical closed loop US and Caribbean itinerary, not doing Martinique or Guadeloupe you have nothing to worry about. But as someone just posted previously you have left out key details needed to confirm you don’t have a dilemma. 

Edited July 2 by Charles4515

[stellarose33]

the quicker you can get the passport re done the better

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, Hikarishma said:

Hello ! I’m in the same dilemma with my passport expiring in 4 months. Can you please share what was the result ? Did you guys make it ? Thanks ! 

 

6 minutes ago, stellarose33 said:

the quicker you can get the passport re done the better

It was widely reported that the US passport office experienced significant delays in processing passport applications last year.  Recent reports indicate that in most cases those delays have been greatly reduced during 2024.  In an emergency you still can pay for expedited service, but even with standard service you can expect to receive your passport within a few weeks after mailing the application, assuming your application is in order.  It always is a good idea, though, to apply early.  You always should renew your passport prior to its expiration date to avoid delays.

[Charles4515]

2 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

lways is a good idea, though, to apply early.  You always should renew your passport prior to its expiration date to avoid delays.

My advice is to renew about a year before expiration date. Then no worries if a country requires 6 months left. Usually when people have a dilemma they waited until less than 6 months and then read their cruise lines confusing documents recommendations. They may have booked last minute. The cruise lines are confusing and vague on purpose because some of their customers will never get it right. Also some will blame them if they arrive at boarding with the wrong document and also because documents required depends on itinerary. They clearly put the responsibility on us. You can see that often when people post their questions here and don’t include any details. I don’t blame the cruise lines for putting it on us. 

[The Traveling Man]

22 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

My advice is to renew about a year before expiration date. Then no worries if a country requires 6 months left. Usually when people have a dilemma they waited until less than 6 months and then read their cruise lines confusing documents recommendations. They may have booked last minute. The cruise lines are confusing and vague on purpose because some of their customers will never get it right. Also some will blame them if they arrive at boarding with the wrong document and also because documents required depends on itinerary. They clearly put the responsibility on us. You can see that often when people post their questions here and don’t include any details. I don’t blame the cruise lines for putting it on us. 

We usually make our travel plans several months in advance.  We may not purchase tickets or book our cruise reservations until closer to the proposed travel dates, but at least we generally have an idea of when we will need a valid passport several months before we actually do need it.  As a result, we sometimes don't renew our passports until just before they are due to expire.  At other times, we renew them even though they may have six, eight, or even ten months until they expire.  It all depends on when and where we plan to travel.  I even let mine expire once when we had no foreign travel plans at all.  That was a mistake because it costs less to renew a passport than to start from scratch.  It also can take longer for the passport office to process your request if it's for a new passport than it takes to process a renewal.

[Charles4515]

7 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

We usually make our travel plans several months in advance.  We may not purchase tickets or book our cruise reservations until closer to the proposed travel dates, but at least we generally have an idea of when we will need a valid passport several months before we actually do need it.  As a result, we sometimes don't renew our passports until just before they are due to expire.  At other times, we renew them even though they may have six, eight, or even ten months until they expire.  It all depends on when and where we plan to travel.  I even let mine expire once when we had no foreign travel plans at all.  That was a mistake because it costs less to renew a passport than to start from scratch.  It also can take longer for the passport office to process your request if it's for a new passport than it takes to process a renewal.

At my last renewal which was in 2017 I had so many trips stacked that I had to time the renewal just right..... so I had to do one cruise with only 5 months left. I timed that for a Caribbean cruise out of that US and had no issues using that passport. No one said anything. That is one reason I know that 6 months depends on itinerary. My passport expires in January 2027 and since I don't stack travel now like I did in my prime traveling years, I have slowed down,  I plan to renew in the first 3 months of 2016. 

[Hikarishma]

Thank you all for the replies. I’m flying the exact same itinerary as the OP. NCL from Southampton ending in Iceland. US passport expiring in 4 months. Bigger issue is cruise leaves in 12 days so I’m on a very tight time crunch. I had checked the country websites and none of them have the 6 month rule but didn’t realize cruise line will have their own separate rules as well. 

[Hikarishma]

2 hours ago, WickedRed said:

I'm not the original OP, but I had a passport with less than 6 months left with a cruise out of London for a British Isles cruise last year.  Didn't have any issues.  Flew from the US to London and got on the ship.  Had just over 5 months left on my passport. 

 

IF you're worried, I'd do the under 14 day rapid renewal at a passport agency.  I did that earlier this year and it went great.  The passport agency was a 2.5 hr drive one way, but I had my passport and card in hand before the end of the day.  Highly recommended. 

Thanks for this- did you get your passport on the same day with the 14 day renewal option ? That’s wonderful! 

[Hikarishma]

Also- I am currently in Dubai visiting family and entered Dubai with a passport under 6 months validity with no trouble (just a side note). Will be going to the US Embassy first thing in the morning and hope they have an expedited option here for same day or 24 hours! 

[WickedRed]

26 minutes ago, Hikarishma said:

Thanks for this- did you get your passport on the same day with the 14 day renewal option ? That’s wonderful! 

Yes.  They felt since I was a 2.5 hr drive away that I could wait and receive it that day.  Had I lived more locally, then they would have next day mailed it. 

 

Best of luck at the US Embassy and getting an expedited passport!

[Hikarishma]

14 hours ago, Trishalinn said:

I ended up calling the passport agency 14 days before our date of travel, they got me in the day before our trip for same day passports. We got it done and had a lovely time on our trip. Now we have reminders set on our phones to start the renewal process for passports 8 months before they expire 😜

Hi another follow up question - were you issued an emergency 12 page passport with one year validity or a regular expiry length passport ? 

[Trishalinn]

A regular passport.