PASSPORT INFO - PLEASE READ!

[tinkerme1]

We thought all our prep plans for travel to Europe were complete, until we read in the RCCL Excursion Book, which btw came in the mail just a week ago,that your passport should NOT expire within six months from the "last day of your travel". We scurried about to renew my husband's passport in time for our June travel, and hope this will save others from finding this information out too late!

 

Supposedly, there are many countries that do not allow entry if your passport expires within 6 months after the last date of travel.

 

Be forwarned, to eliminate steep expedite fees, check your passport expiration date!

 

Celia

 

"Jewel OTS " 06/04 # 11 & 12

"Brilliance OTS" 04/05 # 13 & 14

 

 

[CapnJackSparrow]

I wonder what the reason is for denying entry when the passport is still good for six months.

[madforcruising]

I´m not sure about the exact reason for it but I think it´s something like an international standard. My travel docs always says to have a look on this six month range. BTW this six month range I have to watch on when entering the US too, otherwise they won´t let me in, as most other states.

It maybe because you can stay in many countries for six month as a tourist without a Visa. So they ask for the passport being valid for six more month. But this is just a guess.

 

For pics of Jewel of the Seas

Outdocking and River Ems Passage go to:

http://www.gwall.de

(click on pics)

 

Jewel of the Seas - 05/28/04 Scandinavia / Russia / Baltic

 

Jewel of the Seas - 09/28/04 Canada / New England

 

 

09/2003 - Legend of the Seas Hawaii

06/2003 - Norwegian Dawn Florida and Bahamas

2002 - MS Columbus - Cruise to nowhere

2001 - Grandeur of the Seas Mediterranean and Transatlantic

2000 - Splendour of the Seas Transatlantic

2000 - Viking Star on the Danube River

1999 - Vision of the Seas Panamacanal cruise

1998 - Vision of the Seas Transatlantic

1997 - Crystal Symphonie to Mexican Riviera

1996 - Delta Queen on the Mississippi

1995 - Legend of the Seas to Alaska

[billnmarge]

Your travel agent should have warned you about this tinkerme.

[Globaliser]

The truth is that many cruise lines take the lazy way out when setting their "requirements".

 

Some countries require that you have a passport that is valid for one month, three months or six months after your arrival date or anticipated departure date or whatever. Other countries simply require that the passport be valid until your departure date. Some countries will accept you so long as your passport is valid on the day you arrive.

 

And often the requirement varies by what passport you hold. For example, the last of those situations is applicable to a UK citizen travelling to the US on the Visa Waiver Program, by agreement between the US and the UK - as long as the passport is valid on the day you arrive, the US will deem it to be valid for the entire length of your stay under the VWP.

 

If you want up-to-date information on passport and visa requirements, this page on the Delta Air Lines website is always a good place to go. It accesses the database that airlines use to determine whether any individual is holding the correct documents. It can't be guaranteed to be accurate, but for open source information this is as good as it gets.

 

The trouble is that if cruise lines are lazy, don't bother to work out or communicate the actual requirements, and just impose an onerous condition on you, you're largely stuck with it. Ugh!

[bob278]

Globaliser,

 

Very good information and a great reference to the Delta site.

 

My only disagreement with anything you said is that I don't think asking me to be responsible for my documentation is an onerous task. On the contrary, it is only reasonable to expect someone traveling to have done some preparation. The cruise line brochure has a statement in the "Does Anyone Have Any Questions" section that reads "For your protection, we recommend that your passport expiration date not occur within six (6) months of the voyage termination date". For the cruise line to keep even relatively current on all of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of possible scenarios is more difficult than making a general caution and expecting mature people to take care of their own business. Could the caution be a little more evident? Sure, but how would you change it? Should a travel agent also be well aware and inform their clients? Absolutely! But I just don't go along with the general attitude today that nobody is repsonsible for their own actions.

 

I think that travelers, at a minimum, should do enough research to know how they are getting to/from the ship, how they are going to pay for items during the trip and what documentation they need. This board (and this thread in particular) is a great reminder to everyone to check out the details.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Bob

[Globaliser]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bob278:

My only disagreement with anything you said is that I don't think asking me to be responsible for my documentation is an onerous task. On the contrary, it is only reasonable to expect someone traveling to have done some preparation.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Bob, I don't think we're disagreeing at all. I certainly don't think it's unreasonable to ask passengers to do some preparation and to make some enquiries, and I agree that with you about the general attitude of irresponsibility these days.

 

What I disagree with is the attitude that the cruise lines sometimes evince. I would throw a hissy fit if, hypothetically, I travelled to the US to go on a cruise, knowing that my passport simply has to be valid for as long as I'm there to avoid any problems with the US authorities(the problems would actually be more likely to arise at the UK end, where I'm supposed to show a valid passport to enter the country) - and then the cruise line refused to let me board because they were imposing a rule about the passport having to be valid for six months beyond end of trip. Unfortunately, I hear that some cruise lines are starting to take a line like that, and imposing something more onerous on pax than is necessary.

 

Sorry if that wasn't clear from what I said before.

[mumsyo]

This has been the case for many years now. We took our first cruise in 1995 and that rule was in effect then (especially for overseas cruises).

 

Thanks for reminding fellow passengers and pointing this out to new cruisers.

 

Marilyn

 

MumsyO

 

 

 

HAL, Amsterdam, Aug. 1, 2004

 

Till I'm howling with the Hounds!

 

Miracle 2/13/05

 

 

[tinkerme1]

I do agree that passengers should be vigilant to study and research requirements for their trip. Since this is our first trip to Europe, it was even a more daunting task. Information provided by RCI wasn't provided until six weeks prior to our cruise! This certainly wasn't long enough in my view.

 

Since Passports are very important, and most of us don't use them often, it is especially important for RCI to BOLD their text about passport use and regulations for travel. Certainly, I know this now, and we have resolved our issue at an expense.

 

We, like the previous poster said, felt that since our passports didn't expire during our trip, we were perfectly legal to travel. This is not the case. Maybe by pointing this out to others, will make their travel plans easier.

 

Celia

 

"Jewel OTS " 06/04 # 11 & 12

"Brilliance OTS" 04/05 # 13 & 14

 

 

[dougp26364]

This was information made available to us from the US government when we applied for our passports. Anytime you're going to leave the country, it's up to you to make sure you have all the documents necessary, including passports or entry/exit visa's.

 

Future cruises

Monarch OTS - Mexico Baja 1/05

Explorer OTS - Eastern Caribbean 11/04

 

Past cruises

Vision OTS - Alaska 7/03

Legend OTS - Alaska 7/02

[imsulin]

I think that "six months" requirement has been around for years, is nothing new, and is pretty standard. Not only does it address the visa issue, it also addresses the fact that people buy one-way tickets to Europe (and other countries), round-the-world tickets, and the backpacker/hostel travellers may decide to just chill for a few months in whatever country that happens to suit them. Back in the early 90's, on a trip to Ireland, we were told that our Passports had to be valid for six months beyond the date of travel.