Passport question on Canadians on Alaska cruise

[CH_ca]

Hi, I have a question about Canadians going on an Alaska cruise with passports expiring in less than 6 months. According to the US Customs and Border Protection site, Canadian citizen's passports are NOT required to be valid for six months past their intended date of departure. Their passports must only be valid up until the date of their intended departure. But my travel agent said it's risky and the passenger could be denied boarding. I don't know if it's true.

 

Has any fellow Canadians gone on an Alaska cruise that only calls Canadian and US ports with a passport that is valid for less than 6 months?

[FOPMan]

You may want to clarify whether the validity expiration date is the date you enter the US or the date you return (finally) to Canada.

 

Here is the CPB list countries that the US permits travelers from with less than 6 months’ validity remaining (see the downloadable file on the page).

 

https://www.cbp.gov/document/bulletins/six-month-passport-validity-update

 

 

[Alberta Quilter]

According to this thread, in the Canadian forum, passport renewals are being done quite quickly, even without expediting the process.  

Perhaps you do have time to renew the passport before sailing?  Even if you do have to pay extra for an expedited passport?

[electro]

You do not need 6 months on your passport to enter the US. It only needs to be valid to the date of your return. It is good to have it valid for at least a few days after your return incase of delays.

[Grayce]

You will be fine. Just renew after your trip.

[Brian V]

On 8/10/2023 at 9:59 AM, Grayce said:

You will be fine. Just renew after your trip.

Not so on NCL - they specifically state that all non US residents must carry a passport that is valid for at least 6 months from the end of the cruise. https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

 

US CBP may be OK with a close dated passport but it won't matter if the cruise line won't let you on the ship 😞

 

OP really should reach out to their specific cruise line as policies can (and sometimes do) vary from government policies.

 

[CH_ca]

2 hours ago, Brian V said:

Not so on NCL - they specifically state that all non US residents must carry a passport that is valid for at least 6 months from the end of the cruise. https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

 

US CBP may be OK with a close dated passport but it won't matter if the cruise line won't let you on the ship 😞

 

OP really should reach out to their specific cruise line as policies can (and sometimes do) vary from government policies.

 

Thank you all for your replies. Thanks Brian for this particular point. From experience, answers from the cruise line customer service are really unreliable. You get different answers from different persons. Because of the time issue, renewing the passport now could be risky should delay or loss happens during the process (because they void your current valid passport once you apply for renewal). 😩

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, Brian V said:

Not so on NCL - they specifically state that all non US residents must carry a passport that is valid for at least 6 months from the end of the cruise. https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

 

US CBP may be OK with a close dated passport but it won't matter if the cruise line won't let you on the ship 😞

 

OP really should reach out to their specific cruise line as policies can (and sometimes do) vary from government policies.

 

Royal Caribbean has a similar requirement, but numerous posters have pointed out that they have travelled with passports that were due to expire within six months. Conversely, no one reported that they had been refused boarding or were aware of others being refused boarding for this reason. Perhaps the enforcement of this policy depends on the countries being visited and their entry regulations.

 

5 minutes ago, CH_ca said:

Thank you all for your replies. Thanks Brian for this particular point. From experience, answers from the cruise line customer service are really unreliable. You get different answers from different persons. Because of the time issue, renewing the passport now could be risky should delay or loss happens during the process (because they void your current valid passport once you apply for renewal). 😩

If you haven't already done so, I would suggest posing this question on the board for your cruise line. Many Americans do use passports, and the same rules would apply to them, so there's no need to restrict your research to the Canadian board. Given the fact that travel between Canada and the US only requires a passport to be valid for the duration of the visit, it seems highly unlikely that any cruise line is going to demand an additional six-month period of validity for an Alaskan cruise.

[LHT28]

I would  read the terms & Conditions/Ticket contract of the cruise line you are sailing with

 

Our cruise line of choice requirements

 

"Passports must be valid six months from the date of trip completion. "

 

I would not to be turned away at the pier

[CH_ca]

This post was originally posted on the HAL forum but got moved to here because it's more relevant I guess. According to the HAL site, they said a passport that is valid for at least six months is "highly recommended". I'm almost certain that US customs will not give us any hassles with a 6-month valid passport. I just don't know who at HAL could provide a trustworthy answer so that no one in our group will be denied boarding.

 

[CH_ca]

8 minutes ago, CH_ca said:

This post was originally posted on the HAL forum but got moved to here because it's more relevant I guess. According to the HAL site, they said a passport that is valid for at least six months is "highly recommended". I'm almost certain that US customs will not give us any hassles with a 6-month valid passport. I just don't know who at HAL could provide a trustworthy answer so that no one in our group will be denied boarding.

 

I mean ALMOST 6-month valid passport

[LHT28]

9 hours ago, CH_ca said:

This post was originally posted on the HAL forum but got moved to here because it's more relevant I guess. According to the HAL site, they said a passport that is valid for at least six months is "highly recommended". I'm almost certain that US customs will not give us any hassles with a 6-month valid passport. I just don't know who at HAL could provide a trustworthy answer so that no one in our group will be denied boarding.

 

 

Recommended  is different than required 

 People need to check with the cruise line

[dawnvip]

Remember that passport validity is dependant on the country you are entering - in this case the USA. 

You cannot be denied entry into Canada if you are a Canadian citizen, even with an expired passport.

 

Some cruise lines have the "valid for 6 months beyond trip completion" to cover their butts in the event of unforseen circumstances. For instance, if you are medically evacuated, or ship is re-routed, to another country that does require 6 months validity, then there could be problems. 

[joeyjeremiah]

6 months is always a recommendation and sometimes a requirement. It would depend on a few different things

a) the requirements of the country you are entering in this case the US (for Canadians only need to be valid up to intended departure date)

b) policy of the cruiseline, if the cruiseline has a 6 months passport validity requirement, I would either make sure my passport is valid for 6 months or get a written exemption from the cruiseline

c) policy of the airline. Sometimes the airlines have different requirements so if you are flying into the US for your cruise you will also need to check airlines policies on passport validity

 

So can you cruise with less than 6 months on your passport, most likely, is it risky? yes because you are dealing with travel provider policies in addition to border control requirements. So ultimately it is up to you if you are comfortable with that level of risk for your cruise.

[CGinMTL]

My 2 cents.

You can stress about it, or

Just do it and forget about it.

I know what I would do