US Passport/Southern Caribbean

[seychellesdream]

I am going on a Southern Caribbean cruise that will end on May 8, 2010. My passport expires August 8 which is 3 months (not 6 as per the RCCL fine print) after the end of my trip. Will this be a problem?

 

I am afraid that if I try to renew my passport now it will not be back in time for my April 30 departure. Per the US Dept of State it takes 4-6 weeks to process a renewal. I'm cheap and do not want to pay the extra $75 or so to rush it. My travel agent says that because the countries we are visiting can be visited with a birth certificate and photo ID a passport is not really necessary and I should be fine with my current passport. For reference, my birth certificate is from another country so taking that and a photo ID would not work for me.

 

Opinions, thoughts and facts appreciated. Thanks!

[zekekelso]

Similar thread with lots of good info:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1112106

[madforcruising]

I would call the RCI about this and get their answer in writing.

 

Even if the countries you are visiting would accept your passport for travel, RCI could still refuse you boarding if their rules say something else, which they seem to do.

 

By not following the cruise lines rules I´m not saying you necessarily run into problems, but you could loose your vacation over this, you say you are cheap, so you have to decide to take the risk (unless you get the OK from RCI in writing) or rather spend those $75 and not risk the probably much higher amount for the vacation.

[yogimax]

Simple and best solution... pay the additional fee to expedite your passport renewal. I'm frugal as well, but this is the best way to go.

[BeancounterUSA]

I just renewed my passport. I mailed it on a monday, my check cleared on a thursday and a little over two weeks after that I got my passport back. For the normal renewal fee.

[Sue L]

Get it renewed. There is NO Caribbean island that requires the 6 month rule, that is some European countries. You should be absolutely fine but not having a US birth certificate negates that choice. I would just spend the extra and get it expedited.

[Sue L]

I would call the RCI about this and get their answer in writing.

 

Even if the countries you are visiting would accept your passport for travel, RCI could still refuse you boarding if their rules say something else, which they seem to do.

 

By not following the cruise lines rules I´m not saying you necessarily run into problems, but you could loose your vacation over this, you say you are cheap, so you have to decide to take the risk (unless you get the OK from RCI in writing) or rather spend those $75 and not risk the probably much higher amount for the vacation.

 

Hey Gunnar,

 

there is no caribbean port that requires the 6 month rule

[Havingfun2010]

IF you are not sure, just bring you birth certificate, and your drivers license, along with you passport. You do not need a passport on a closed loop cruise.

[CelebrityAgentX]

IF you are not sure, just bring you birth certificate, and your drivers license, along with you passport. You do not need a passport on a closed loop cruise.

Actually this applies ONLY if you are a US citizen. Valid passport, OR ORIGINAL BIRTH CERT with VALID Driver's License OR Certified Copy with raised seal of BIrth Cert With VALID driver' license.:)

[kuddles14]

Had a similar situation two years ago. We opted to pay the extra $75 to have our passports expidited. Talk about quick, I was hoping to get them in 2-3 weeks they were back within a weeks time.

[madforcruising]

Hey Gunnar,

 

there is no caribbean port that requires the 6 month rule

 

 

Hi Sue,

that´s why I said, even though the countries visited might not require the passport to be valid for 6 month, RCI still could enforce this as their rule and suggested to contact RCI about how strict they are and have it in writing from them to be on the safe side in case the people answering the phone tell something else than the agents at check-in:)

 

I assumed the visited countries might not have this rule in place for US citizens as they even accept travel without passports, but didn´t check as it´s irrelevant for me anyway, as my passport has to be within the 6 month rule to enter the US in first place.

[Sheffie]

Hi Sue,

that´s why I said, even though the countries visited might not require the passport to be valid for 6 month, RCI still could enforce this as their rule and suggested to contact RCI about how strict they are and have it in writing from them to be on the safe side in case the people answering the phone tell something else than the agents at check-in:)

 

I assumed the visited countries might not have this rule in place for US citizens as they even accept travel without passports, but didn´t check as it´s irrelevant for me anyway, as my passport has to be within the 6 month rule to enter the US in first place.

 

As always, don't go by what is said here on CC, but here is what makes sense to me:

 

1. You do not HAVE to have a passport for that cruise.

2. You CAN sail with a valid BC and government issued photo ID.

3. You HAVE to have had a valid BC to obtain that passport; therefore, the passport verifies a valid BC.

4. A passport is a government issued photo ID.

 

I'd say you are fine.

[madforcruising]

I am going on a Southern Caribbean cruise that will end on May 8, 2010. My passport expires August 8 which is 3 months (not 6 as per the RCCL fine print) after the end of my trip. Will this be a problem?

 

I am afraid that if I try to renew my passport now it will not be back in time for my April 30 departure. Per the US Dept of State it takes 4-6 weeks to process a renewal. I'm cheap and do not want to pay the extra $75 or so to rush it. My travel agent says that because the countries we are visiting can be visited with a birth certificate and photo ID a passport is not really necessary and I should be fine with my current passport. For reference, my birth certificate is from another country so taking that and a photo ID would not work for me.

 

Opinions, thoughts and facts appreciated. Thanks!

 

As always, don't go by what is said here on CC, but here is what makes sense to me:

 

1. You do not HAVE to have a passport for that cruise.

2. You CAN sail with a valid BC and government issued photo ID.

3. You HAVE to have had a valid BC to obtain that passport; therefore, the passport verifies a valid BC.

4. A passport is a government issued photo ID.

 

I'd say you are fine.

 

Not sure why you quoted my post, but as you did I have to respond.

 

IMO you fail to two important things the OP said.

You are right there is no need for a passport if you have a valid BC + picture ID, but the OP stated s/he has no valid BC to take.

So the other option is to have a passport which by RCI rules (again according to OP´s post) has to be valid for 6 month after the trip. Again it´s RCI´s rule not those of the visiting countries, but it´s RCI that will decide about boarding or not and according to RCI´s rules the OP might not be fine.

I can only say going from the OP´s post and described situation I would not risk my vacation for this unless I had written confirmation from RCI that my boarding documents are sufficient as they are.

[seychellesdream]

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses. I went ahead and sent in my passport for expedite renewal. Hopefully, I get it back soon!

[stylez09]

I was born in another country but am now a US citizen. Will my birth certificate from another country along with my valid US Driver's License be ok to use? Is it possible to get a certified copy of a foreign birth certificate? I was wondering if it would be better to just bring my US Naturalized Certificate instead since that denotes my US citizenship...

[Scotty G]

I was born in another country but am now a US citizen. Will my birth certificate from another country along with my valid US Driver's License be ok to use? Is it possible to get a certified copy of a foreign birth certificate? I was wondering if it would be better to just bring my US Naturalized Certificate instead since that denotes my US citizenship...

Much easier to get a passport and leave your Naturalization Certificate secure at home. Getting a replacement passport if anything happens to it is easy compared to having to replace your Naturalization Certificate (Wouldn't even like to think about that process!).