Passport Expiring in December

Carnival just requires your passport be valid for the length of your cruise.

Depends on where you are traveling. .. From Carnival..

Europe and Transatlantic Cruises

U.S citizens are required to carry a passport, valid for three months beyond the date of their visit. Guests are not required to have a Schengen Visa or other visas.

You will be fine as long as you are in The caribbean and your passport is still valid after the end of the cruise. If people can travel with a birth cert on a closed loop, you can travel with a passport on life support. You might take your BC, just to be extra safe. If you fly and stay internationally, you HAVE to have the six months. All that said, I renew mine early so I will have six months left on it.

You will be fine as long as you are in The caribbean and your passport is still valid after the end of the cruise. If people can travel with a birth cert on a closed loop, you can travel with a passport on life support. You might take your BC, just to be extra safe. If you fly and stay internationally, you HAVE to have the six months. All that said, I renew mine early so I will have six months left on it.

Not necessarily, it depends on which countries you are visiting as only certain ones have the 6 month requirement (and it's 6 months remaining after your trip, so if you are staying for a month it needs 7 months or more when you leave). Germany currently requires 3 months which seems to be more common than 6.

Not necessarily, it depends on which countries you are visiting as only certain ones have the 6 month requirement (and it's 6 months remaining after your trip, so if you are staying for a month it needs 7 months or more when you leave). Germany currently requires 3 months which seems to be more common than 6.

I'd prefer to just know I had the six months on mine and not be checking the 3 months here, 6 months there, etc. Not worth it.

Depends on where you are traveling. .. From Carnival..

Europe and Transatlantic Cruises

 

U.S citizens are required to carry a passport, valid for three months beyond the date of their visit. Guests are not required to have a Schengen Visa or other visas.

They indicated it was a Caribbean cruise

from travel . state. gov:

Apply early for your passport, or make sure your current passport will be valid at least six months beyond your travel dates and has two or more blank pages. Though some “closed-loop” cruises may not require a U.S. passport, we recommend bringing yours in case of an emergency, such as an unexpected medical air evacuation or the ship docking at an alternate port in an emergency. Your cruise company may also require you to have a passport even if U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does not require it.

 

You either need to renew your passport, or bring your Driver's license and birth certificate.

The above is bad info. If you can use a birth certificate and driver license then your passport is good to get back into the USA until in expires.

Such mind-blowing contradictory information (or comments, really) in this thread! Yikes!!!:rolleyes:

I have to say I'm confused by the different responses. We've been on at least 6 different cruises and the only time I ever needed my passport was for checking in for the cruise and re-entry into the U.S. I would think that I cannot be denied re-entry as long as my passport hasn't expired. After all, what's the point of having an expiration date if it's not going to be honored? We leave November 4 and my passport expires December 5 so I'm not sure I have time to get it renewed at this point.

So why don't you do the research and get accurate information yourself? I would never, and I do mean never not even in one million years, post on Cruise Critic asking for advice about something of real significance. These are anonymous internet strangers. Some people talk out of their ass and speak misinformation unintentionally and others troll and purposefully post incorrect information to see what sucker falls for it. I'm sure you don't wanna be a sucker. You can find out what you want to know with google searches and phone calls. Counting on Cruise Critic to be your travel advisor is ill advised.

So why don't you do the research and get accurate information yourself? I would never, and I do mean never not even in one million years, post on Cruise Critic asking for advice about something of real significance. These are anonymous internet strangers. Some people talk out of their ass and speak misinformation unintentionally and others troll and purposefully post incorrect information to see what sucker falls for it. I'm sure you don't wanna be a sucker. You can find out what you want to know with google searches and phone calls. Counting on Cruise Critic to be your travel advisor is ill advised.

I consider asking questions in CC as part of my research, I just don’t use it as my sole source just as I wouldn’t use a single site on the web for all my info

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So why don't you do the research and get accurate information yourself? I would never, and I do mean never not even in one million years, post on Cruise Critic asking for advice about something of real significance. These are anonymous internet strangers. Some people talk out of their ass and speak misinformation unintentionally and others troll and purposefully post incorrect information to see what sucker falls for it. I'm sure you don't wanna be a sucker. You can find out what you want to know with google searches and phone calls. Counting on Cruise Critic to be your travel advisor is ill advised.

Carnival recommends that passports have 6 months remaining on them. Is that a firm recommendation, or is it really only a recommendation? How critical is it, if it is at all, to have 6 months remaining on one's passport? What are the possible ramifications for not having 6 months for a closed loop cruise? I'm sorry, but you can only get those answers from experienced travelers and CC is a good place to start. As mentioned you don't want to rely solely on the info provided, but it can be a good part of the research. I know that there are many people out there that renew their passports more than 6 months before they expire because they don't fully understand the rules, which could be costing them money (probably not a lot but I'm one of those guys that will use a vice grips to get the last bit of tooth paste out of the tube;)).

Hi all,

 

 

 

My passport expires in December and I'm booked for a November cruise. I didn't see any reason to rush the renewal since we'll be on a closed loop cruise departing from Miami. My wife suggested I double check so I thought I'd throw the question out to you all. Thanks in advance!

I was always told that you should always renew my passport six months before expiry. Good luck

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I was always told that you should always renew my passport six months before expiry. Good luck

 

 

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And unfortunately you were very likely told wrong unless you happened to be traveling to one of the countries that actually require it.

I am cruising in Feb to Bahamas and April to Bermuda. Passport expires in July. I was worried until I realized I have never even taken my passport on shore to any of these ports in the past and reentry to the US you only need your passport to not have expired on the day you enter the US. So I will wait until I get back from Bermuda to renew.

Laura

And unfortunately you were very likely told wrong unless you happened to be traveling to one of the countries that actually require it.

I think the preference is to just make sure you have 6 months and not have to worry about checking every country, or to be able to take advantage of a last minute deal or opportunity.

I renew my passport early, but my work may have me taking a trip with very short notice at any time to any destination. Easier to make sure I have a passport with 6 months of validity.

I think the preference is to just make sure you have 6 months and not have to worry about checking every country, or to be able to take advantage of a last minute deal or opportunity.

 

I renew my passport early, but my work may have me taking a trip with very short notice at any time to any destination. Easier to make sure I have a passport with 6 months of validity.

There is a big difference between a preference and a requirement. You are making your decisions based on your individual needs, that are different than my needs and that is fine. If someone wants to renew early so they don't have to do any research before they travel is fine, just as it's fine if they want to renew early in order to take advantage of a last minute deal but those are both a far cry from a requirement to "always" renew 6 months prior to expiry.

I am cruising in Feb to Bahamas and April to Bermuda. Passport expires in July. I was worried until I realized I have never even taken my passport on shore to any of these ports in the past and reentry to the US you only need your passport to not have expired on the day you enter the US. So I will wait until I get back from Bermuda to renew.

 

Laura

Although you're correct about your passport being OK for Bermuda and the Bahamas, few countries actually require you to carry your passport ashore, so not having to take your passport ashore isn't a guarantee that a particular country doesn't require three or six months remaining validity on your passport. If your ship was making a call on a country requiring six months remaining validity you would be denied boarding at your embarkation port even if that country didn't require you to carry your passport while ashore.

Also, certain cruise lines require all passengers to have a passport with at least six months remaining validity regardless of the itinerary and absence of a legal requirement for six months validity. Examples include Oceania and Regent Seven Seas. It doesn't even matter if from a legal perspective you could cruise with only a birth certificate and photo ID...if the cruise line requires a passport with at least six months validity you wouldn't be allowed to board at your embarkation port.

I have to say I'm confused by the different responses. We've been on at least 6 different cruises and the only time I ever needed my passport was for checking in for the cruise and re-entry into the U.S. I would think that I cannot be denied re-entry as long as my passport hasn't expired. After all, what's the point of having an expiration date if it's not going to be honored? We leave November 4 and my passport expires December 5 so I'm not sure I have time to get it renewed at this point.

same with my hubby. We are sailing close-loop in November and his passport expires in December. No worries. We'll renew right after we come back in case we sail again in April.

Although you're correct about your passport being OK for Bermuda and the Bahamas, few countries actually require you to carry your passport ashore, so not having to take your passport ashore isn't a guarantee that a particular country doesn't require three or six months remaining validity on your passport. If your ship was making a call on a country requiring six months remaining validity you would be denied boarding at your embarkation port even if that country didn't require you to carry your passport while ashore.

 

Also, certain cruise lines require all passengers to have a passport with at least six months remaining validity regardless of the itinerary and absence of a legal requirement for six months validity. Examples include Oceania and Regent Seven Seas. It doesn't even matter if from a legal perspective you could cruise with only a birth certificate and photo ID...if the cruise line requires a passport with at least six months validity you wouldn't be allowed to board at your embarkation port.

You are correct - cruise line requirements always trump everything else

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Different countries have different rules regarding entry when it comes to passport expiration dates.

To make matters more complicated some countries have visitor entry rules that vary based on the country passport that the visitor is using. Six months is good rule of thumb and this is what we follow however it is not always the case.

It may depend on what countries your ship is visiting.

At the very least, I would not rely on this forum to make you decision. Better to contract the cruise line and hopefully get a definitive answer for your specific cruise. After all, they will be the final arbiters of who is allowed to board and what passport expiration dates are acceptable to them.

Different countries have different rules regarding entry when it comes to passport expiration dates.

 

To make matters more complicated some countries have visitor entry rules that vary based on the country passport that the visitor is using. Six months is good rule of thumb and this is what we follow however it is not always the case.

 

It may depend on what countries your ship is visiting.

 

At the very least, I would not rely on this forum to make you decision. Better to contract the cruise line and hopefully get a definitive answer for your specific cruise. After all, they will be the final arbiters of who is allowed to board and what passport expiration dates are acceptable to them.

The thing about calling is unless you get them to send you email with their suggestion, so you have documentation in case the port agent you get doesn't agree with the person on the phone.

. . . At the very least, I would not rely on this forum to make you decision. Better to contract the cruise line and hopefully get a definitive answer for your specific cruise. After all, they will be the final arbiters of who is allowed to board and what passport expiration dates are acceptable to them.

Every cruise line has a web page or two that outlines travel documentation requirements. (Usually in the FAQ section.) I would consult those pages rather than trust the frequently unreliable memory of call center personnel.

^ That is a better solution.

We always renew our passports early. We often do late booking or last minute travel. It can be a challenge to figure out the Visa requirements/options let alone the passport requirements of various countries.

A comment about why this requirement may exist.

In many cases, US passport holder does not need a visa for X country. And they are allowed a no visa entry of typically up to 90 days.

So the country wants to make sure, even if you overstay the allowable time, your passport will get you back to the US, so they are not stuck with you.

you can renew and apply for passport card, its $30 and takes about 3 weeks to come in only glitch you have to mail your passport with application, and the cards are only good for land and sea, but you have birth certificate and photo id you should be fine