Passport Questions

[Infrequentcruisers]

We will be taking the Panama Canal repositioning cruise aboard the Ms Zuiderdam leaving Vancouver, BC Sept. 29th and arriving in Ft. Lauderdale Oct. 20th. Our passports are set to expire March 8, 2008. I have seen and heard conflicting info about passports needing to be valid for 6 months beyond duration of the cruise. Any input on this passport situation would be greatly appreciated.

Also, we have booked a "guaranteed" Superior Verandah Suite" (#SZ6052). First, can we be pretty confident the we will get this Suite, and, secondly, as this is one of only two of "SZ" suites, on the Upper Verandah Deck", are there any negatives about these "Suites"?

We took an Alaskan trip with HAL in 1998 and really enjoyed it. We were supposed to have taken this same repositioning cruise in 2004 but had to cancel at the last minute due to severe damage to our home from Hurricane Frances so we are going to try it again.

Many thanks to any and all for any help.

[Krazy Kruizers]

This has been a real problem. It is the cruise lines that are requiring that 6 month window - which according to your final date - Oct 20th - you don't qualify. The government doesn't require this.

[Bill S]

Infrequentcruisers: the US Department of State website has a page which lists those countries which have requirements regarding passport expiration dates for visitors. When I checked the webpage in May, Canada was not on the list, but you may want to check out the site to see if any of the other countries you will be visiting have an expiration deadline. To be safe, you may want to consider submitting renewal applications on an expedited basis so you will not have to worry about it.

[MB Cruiser]

When we did a European cruise this summer it was HAL's 6 mos. past cruise requirement we had to follow. Because we booked rather late and had just enough time to renew, I called to check if HAL would make an exception because my passport was scheduled to expire in 5 and a half months post cruise. HAL said "no exceptions." If you need a passport at all for your cruise, renew now and pay the expedite fee. Believe me, it's not worth the anxiety. Consider the extra cost "trip insurance" since if you need the passport and don't get it in time, even if you have trip insurance it likely won't cover that and HAL will not be helpful either. HAL offered to me that if I paid $700, they'd re-book me on a later cruise (of course, the other 3 people in my party would be leaving without me unless we paid $700 apiece for them, too). It all worked out but you don't want to go there!

[serendipity1499]

Agree with Bill you should check each country your ship will port in including the United States (since you are a Canadian Citizen) to see if any of them require the passport to be valid for 6 months..In addition I would check with HAL to find out if they will actually board you..Be sure to get the persons name you spoke to..

 

It's been our experience that all passports accepted as proof of residency, must be valid for at least 6 months more & I personally would not take a chance..If Canadian passports are taking as long as they are here, I agree you should see if you can pay an expedited fee..

 

Good luck..Betty

[Jen&Joe]

I would just renew your passport early. Are you Canadian? If so then as of August 15th you don't need to go through the entire lengthy process anymore. You can have any other Canadian citizen who holds a valid passport sign yours. Plus the wait time is only a few weeks now.

[Infrequentcruisers]

Thanks to Krazy Kruisers, Bill S, MB Cruiser, and Serendipity1499, after calling my TA this morning and HAL, it looks like we are going to be OK with our passports.

My TA talked to HAL and to several airlines including Air Canada, and they said current passports are OK as long as they do not expire while we are on the cruise. All of the countries we will be visiting only require current valid passports. I talked to a very nice gal at HAL, (Michelle) who went through HAL's policies and said as long as we were not leaveing the Western Hemisphire, we are OK, but we would not be able to use the on-line boarding registration, but that is not a big problem, as we are going to fly into Vancouver the day before sailing. By the way, Betty, sorry I gave you the impression we are Canadian, but we are Americans in Florida.

Now, just need to get some helpful info about the reposition cruise, ie: ports of call, tours, etc.; and some info about the ms Zuiderdam.

Thanks again all.

[bruceh4]

This has been a real problem. It is the cruise lines that are requiring that 6 month window - which according to your final date - Oct 20th - you don't qualify. The government doesn't require this.

This information is not quite correct. It is not HAL or the US government which requires your passport to be valid for 6 months, it is the country you are visiting which may or may not have this requirement. You can find out from the State Department website if the country you are visiting requires the valid 6 month window. I think HAL to be on the safe side makes that recommendation so you dont have to worry about each country you visit.

[sapper1]

I took a Panama cruise on the Volendam this past March and my Canadian passport was due to expire in 4 and 1/2 months. This did not present any problem. I checked with the Canadian Embassy in Panama before I left and they said I would not have a problem because I was just going ashore on a ship sponsored tour and not staying in the country.

[serendipity1499]

Thanks to Krazy Kruisers, Bill S, MB Cruiser, and Serendipity1499, after calling my TA this morning and HAL, it looks like we are going to be OK with our passports.

My TA talked to HAL and to several airlines including Air Canada, and they said current passports are OK as long as they do not expire while we are on the cruise. All of the countries we will be visiting only require current valid passports. I talked to a very nice gal at HAL, (Michelle) who went through HAL's policies and said as long as we were not leaveing the Western Hemisphire, we are OK, but we would not be able to use the on-line boarding registration, but that is not a big problem, as we are going to fly into Vancouver the day before sailing. By the way, Betty, sorry I gave you the impression we are Canadian, but we are Americans in Florida.

Now, just need to get some helpful info about the reposition cruise, ie: ports of call, tours, etc.; and some info about the ms Zuiderdam.Thanks again all.

 

Sorry my fault I just assumed (I should know better than to assume) that because you were boarding in Vancouver you were Canadian..And we have many Canadian's where we live in Fla..

 

I also agree with bruceh, that it is each individual country which may require the 6 month validity..I think you should take Bill's advice...Look at each country at the U.S. State Department Web Site yourself in order to be sure they do not have the 6 month requirement..I'm not sure that Michelle (the nice gal at HAL) is correct..We had to get our passports renewed when we were going to Brazil even though we already had Brazilian Visas which were still good in our old passports & they had 5 months to go before expiration..But that was Brazil's rule, & Brazil is certainly in the Western Hemisphere..

[CoolChile]

Hi Infrequentcruisers

 

We are booked in one of the cabins like yours (there are only 4) on this sailing too. You booked it as a guarantee and already have a cabin assignment?

 

When the anxiety over the passport biz settles down (or even before) come on over to the HAL Roll call board, select Zuiderdam, and go to the date/full-transit Panama Canal embarking both Vancouver and LA to FLL. We have to stop and pick up some strange people in LA on our way down :D :eek: :D LOL.

 

If you really enjoy this cruise, you may have to change your screen name. :)

___________________

:cool: CoolChile

[Infrequentcruisers]

Thanks for the invite CoolChile, how do I get over to the HAL Roll call board?

[jtl513]

Thanks for the invite CoolChile, how do I get over to the HAL Roll call board?

Here's a LINK :)