HAL 6 month passport "requirement"?

[BVK]

Can anyone clarify and/or share experiences regarding whether there is a real HAL-specific requirement for a passport valid 6 months beyond dates of travel, or if HAL goes by the requirements of the countries visited?

 

My cruise to South America departs in under two weeks. I need to determine whether to apply in person for an expedited renewed U.S. passport that will be valid for more than six months beyond my trip. My current U.S. passport is valid for four months beyond. I do not want to risk my passport being out of my possession and have to rely on an extremely quick turnaround unless it is absolutely necessary.

 

I checked the U.S. State Department website, which indicates that none of the countries involved -- Chile (embarkation), Uruguay (port of call), and Argentina (disembarkation) -- require that passports be valid beyond length of the voyage. I thought I was all set.

 

I checked-in online and found my boarding pass states that "For U.S. and Canadian Citizens, Travel by Land or Sea: Travel document requirements vary based on cruise itinerary and whether international flights are required. For voyages that are scheduled to end outside the U.S., a PASSPORT that is VALID for SIX MONTHS BEYOND the completion date of your travel is required."

 

Is "six months beyond completion" a Holland America actual requirement, independent of the requirements of the countries visited? Or is this just a suggestion (as indicated in other HAL information), and I should follow the countries' requirements?

 

I have spoken with 3 HAL customer service reps who have no knowledge of a HAL 6 month policy, and told me to go by country requirements, but it worries me that the six month requirement is in writing in their documentation. I am also sending an email to HAL in case they will confirm and I will have it in writing, but I would appreciate any information you can share.

 

Thanks!

[take us away]

This is a 2-prong answer as HAL is being proactive for your 'safety':

1. some other countries have this as a requirement. Recommend you check each country's official website for this.

2. HAL has told me that the requirement is there even if you are not traveling to a country that has the requirement as in the event something may happen and you have to go through a country with the requirement you will not have any problems. Saw this once when a friend became ill and had to fly home but had to be routed through 2 other countries before she got back to the US - and one of these country's had the 6-month requirement. Her passport was carefully checked when she went into the country.

 

BTW - have not found that HAL customer service reps, at least on the phone, are all that great for accuracy, etc., Have had much better luck sending an email, t least the answer was accurate.

[Blue Elephant]

If HAL have put this in writing, it would be sensible to comply. What is the alternative? You get to the wharf and are denied boarding. I understand that this has happened to cruisers in Australia.

[kazu]

Those conditions are down in my confirmation for my cruise from my TA in BOLD! (Travelling in Europe). My understanding is it is HAL's requirement and I can understand it since regulations in countries can change and to save HAL check in staff the hassle of trying to determine requirements.

 

I'd get my passport renewed ASAP if it were me.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Renew the passport. Don't risk it.

[casper106]

Renew the passport. You will need to do it anyways so why not be safe than sorry. There's always some official who doesn't know the "rules" or even abide by them.

[Hlitner]

We should give some credit to HAL for having a smart policy. While it might be true that one would not need thee 6 months for a scheduled itinerary....HAL reserves the right to alter an itinerary at any time....including during the cruise. This means that it is possible that an itinerary change could take a cruise to a country that does require 6 months remain on Passports. For those doubters we would simply point out what happened on the Prinsendam's Grand Med cruise this past April. We were supposed to overnight in Istanbul and this was changed to a 4 hour stop....only 2 days prior to our scheduled arrival (in Istanbul). And HAL quickly added a new Greek Island port (Myrina) (less then 2 days prior to our visiting that port). This kind of change could have very well been to a different country that requires 6 months on a Passport.

 

Hank

[ski ww]

Agree. It's not a HAL policy but the country that you're travelling to. Some countries have different time requirements, HAL is trying to cover all countries time requirements. Best to error on the side of caution & get a new passport or you could end up on the dock waving good bye to your ship.

Allan

[Fouremco]

Their ship, their rules. While I'd agree that the six-month rule might not really be necessary in many cases, it's a lot easier for HAL to have a blanket requirement than for them to prepare a separate passport requirement for every cruise. As others have said, it also protects passengers should there be a change of itinerary be required for the cruise or individual passengers needing to leave the cruise.

 

A passport is such a minor expense compared to the cost of cruising or other international travel that I wouldn't give a second thought to renewing, especially with the current 10-year passports.

[john2003]

They refused boarding in Hong Kong to someone based on this requirement. It is their rule and they have their reasons and will enforce it.

 

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[wander]

If you do a bit of exploring on the US State Department website, you will find that they recommend following the 6 month beyond planned departure from the country. They do note that at the time of their post, countries in the EU had a 3 month requirement.

 

So, since things are changing all the time - I definitely agree with others do check with HAL but ALSO check the latest per the State Department, and with each country you plan to visit.

 

IMO, paying for renewal a few months before it expires is only good insurance. Any country can change its requirements at any time.

[BVK]

Thank you for all your responses!

 

john2003, what countries was the person denied boarding in Hong Kong going to visit? I’m thinking the countries may have had their own six month requirements, as many in Asia do.

 

Does anyone know whether the inclusion of the “requirement” language (in addition to just “highly suggested”) in HAL’s boarding pass information is new, or has It been there awhile?

 

Has anyone had experience trying to renew their passport in person a few days before departure? I know what the process is, but would like to know if anyone has tried it and been successful or unsuccessful.

 

I'm definitely a fan of "better safe than sorry" and would not hesitate to spend the time and money to renew if I had more time before flying to my cruise (6 business days). My concern is that there is some risk to parting with my passport to renew it--it could get lost, delayed, etc., in which case I would definitely not be on my cruise.

 

If they're not enforcing the policy, which 3 HAL agents say is only a suggestion and that I need to go by country requirements (one agent even re-checked those requirements for me), the bigger risk may be to part with my passport. I realize customer service agents are not always the most knowledgeable, but if this is a requirement applied to all cruises ending in a foreign port, I would think they would have been informed, and/or learned of it from some irate, stranded customers. I'm hoping HAL responds to my email soon so that I will know which way to go.

 

If I do renew within 5 business days of leaving, the Passport Agency allows “will call” (in person pickup), so I at least won’t have the risk of getting lost in the mail (just that they don’t complete it on time, I get hit by a bus on the way to pick it up, etc.).

 

Thanks!

[ChristyS]

Well if you get hit by a bus or train within 5 days or departure you probably won't be departing

[BVK]

Well if you get hit by a bus or train within 5 days or departure you probably won't be departing

 

Well, I might be in a manner of speaking...:eek:

[john2003]

It was Vietnam,Cambodia,Thailand and Singapore. I have no idea what the individual rules are.

 

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[take us away]

Thank you for all your responses!

 

Does anyone know whether the inclusion of the “requirement” language (in addition to just “highly suggested”) in HAL’s boarding pass information is new, or has It been there awhile?

 

Has anyone had experience trying to renew their passport in person a few days before departure? I know what the process is, but would like to know if anyone has tried it and been successful or unsuccessful.

 

Thanks!

 

The 'requirement' has been around for years but seems like HAL is recently making it more of an issue, i.e. bolding, noting it several times, etc. as probably due to people thinking that it does not apply to them.

 

Renewed via mail in Sept with expedited service and had a 5-day turn around. Yup, mailed on Monday from a passport office, new passport was delivered that Friday. Walk-in will be so much faster but was not an option for me.

Edited November 10, 2016 by take us away

[Globaliser]

The 'requirement' has been around for years ...

As I've noted in the other thread, the language on the HAL website continues to be "highly recommends", not "requires".

[Fouremco]

As I've noted in the other thread, the language on the HAL website continues to be "highly recommends", not "requires".

On the other hand, the Express Docs sent to passengers very clearly state that it is a requirement for cruises ending outside of the US:

 

For voyages that are scheduled to end outside the U.S., a passport that is valid for six months beyond the completion date of your travel is required.

 

As not every passenger bothers to look through the website, but all are sent a copy of the personalized Express Docs.

[Globaliser]

As not every passenger bothers to look through the website, but all are sent a copy of the personalized Express Docs.

That's true. But it would be very hard for HAL to insist on a "requirement" when the website language remains "highly recommends".

 

I don't think that there are any clear cases of people who've been refused boarding by HAL because they fall foul of a 6-month rule imposed by HAL when no such rule is imposed by any of the destination countries. The other thread also asked for examples, with the same result. Obviously, there are some countries that have 6-month rules, and other countries have 3-month rules, and unless you've been personally involved in a denial of boarding it is difficult to know why anyone else might have been denied boarding. The picture is also complicated by the fact that any single country may well have different rules for different nationalities. (I know, for example, that I can travel back to the UK using an expired UK passport. I haven't had to do it yet, and I hope I never will; but it's one of the bits of travel knowledge that I like to keep in the back of my mind because it might one day be useful.)

 

All of that is likely to be behind the "highly recommends" language on the HAL website. It's a safe way for a passenger to play it and it reduces the possibility of hassle for HAL; and as we know, many/most cruise passengers are relatively risk-averse and usually have opportunities to take the necessary steps in advance. I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone who would feel more comfortable getting a new passport.

 

But if the question is whether HAL has and enforces a requirement to this effect (as some other cruise lines do), there doesn't seem to be any solid proof of that. If it did, it would surely have amended the website language by now, given how often this topic comes up on boards like CC.

 

As set out in the other thread and past threads, what I can offer is two personal anecdotes. About this time last year, we were on a Canada/US cruise using a UK passport that had only about 5 months left, and no questions were even asked about that. And a few years back, we travelled with a family member who held two different and relatively obscure Far Eastern passports, one of which required visas for the itinerary and one which did not; HAL check-in staff took both passports, consulted staff on the ship, and were happy to allow travel on the passport which did not require visas. While the second example isn't directly about passport validity, it did show that HAL staff will check the database for actual requirements.

[Fouremco]

That's true. But it would be very hard for HAL to insist on a "requirement" when the website language remains "highly recommends".

 

I don't think that there are any clear cases of people who've been refused boarding by HAL because they fall foul of a 6-month rule imposed by HAL when no such rule is imposed by any of the destination countries. The other thread also asked for examples, with the same result. Obviously, there are some countries that have 6-month rules, and other countries have 3-month rules, and unless you've been personally involved in a denial of boarding it is difficult to know why anyone else might have been denied boarding. The picture is also complicated by the fact that any single country may well have different rules for different nationalities. (I know, for example, that I can travel back to the UK using an expired UK passport. I haven't had to do it yet, and I hope I never will; but it's one of the bits of travel knowledge that I like to keep in the back of my mind because it might one day be useful.)

 

All of that is likely to be behind the "highly recommends" language on the HAL website. It's a safe way for a passenger to play it and it reduces the possibility of hassle for HAL; and as we know, many/most cruise passengers are relatively risk-averse and usually have opportunities to take the necessary steps in advance. I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone who would feel more comfortable getting a new passport.

 

But if the question is whether HAL has and enforces a requirement to this effect (as some other cruise lines do), there doesn't seem to be any solid proof of that. If it did, it would surely have amended the website language by now, given how often this topic comes up on boards like CC.

 

As set out in the other thread and past threads, what I can offer is two personal anecdotes. About this time last year, we were on a Canada/US cruise using a UK passport that had only about 5 months left, and no questions were even asked about that. And a few years back, we travelled with a family member who held two different and relatively obscure Far Eastern passports, one of which required visas for the itinerary and one which did not; HAL check-in staff took both passports, consulted staff on the ship, and were happy to allow travel on the passport which did not require visas. While the second example isn't directly about passport validity, it did show that HAL staff will check the database for actual requirements.

I don't disagree at all with the premise that HAL would probably let you board in most cases if the remaining time left on your passport simply met the requirements of the countries to be visited. But do you want to be that passenger that gets a stickler for the rules and makes no exception?

 

Let me give you my own, personal anecdote. In September 2014, DW and I took an Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam. We arrived at the Vancouver cruise port and checked in using our Nexus cards. No problem as it met the requirements of HAL and both governments.

 

A year later, almost to the day, we began our boarding process in Boston's Black Falcon Cruise Port for our Canada/New England cruise on the Maasdam and proffered our Nexus cards. The check in staff member asked for our passports, to which I responded that the Nexus card was a WHTI document accepted by HAL and the US and Canadian governments. The staff member looked at them again, then wandered off for five minutes or so. She returned to advise us that she had discussed it with her supervisor and that we needed our passports or we wouldn't be able to board. Fortunately, we always carry our passports when travelling out of the country, even if they aren't necessary. In theory, anyway! Now, I suppose we could have challenged what to us seemed a very arbitrary and erroneous decision on the part of the employee and her supervisor, but I don't know that escalating the issue to higher authorities would have been successful. Fortunately, we didn't need to because of the passports.

 

While the OP might be successful boarding with his passport, it all depends on who's running the show on any given day. You might be right, based on the website wording, but that small consolation as the ship disappears over the horizon as he stands on the pier.

 

In our case, we never let our passports have any less than six months remaining validity. Sure, we only get 9.5 years out of a 10 year passport, but that represents a loss of less than the cost of a couple of cups of coffee.

Edited November 10, 2016 by Fouremco