Passport question....

[mommyz]

Traveling with family in Dec 2022 and 2 of my kids have passports that expire in March 2023.  I know it's recommended to have 6 months on the passport.  Is this risky?  I am planning to take their birth certificates as well.

 

Will we have problems at the port???   

It's a closed loop Caribbean cruise and we have purchased travel insurance so not too worried about getting home before March if there was an emergency.

 

Worried if I need to get a rushed passport there won't be time.

 

[Jim_Iain]

Due to the fact that you are on a closed loop I really think you will be fine because a passport isn't required

 

From CDP   https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-74?language=en_US

 

U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship, such as an Enhanced Driver's License (EDL), a government-issued birth certificate (issued by the Vital Records Department in the state where he or she was born) or passport, and if 16 or older, a government issued driver's license, picture ID, denoting photo, name, and date of birth. The Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) allows you to re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The EDL is only accepted at land and sea border crossings, not for air travel.

 

An U.S. citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original, notarized or certified copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issues by Department of State, (DOS) and/or Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Edited November 5, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[MarKay525]

Slight hijack, but related topic.

My passport expires in August and I have 3 cruises before then, the last one in May. Our May Alaska cruise leaves out of Vancouver and returns to Seattle.Then I go back to Vancouver to catch the Rocky Mountaineer train and fly home from Calgary.

Given how long turn-around is taking for US passports, I'm hesitant to send mine in for renewal (even expedited) between the February and May cruises.

 

For the May trips, I can carry my Birth Certificate; Consular Report of Birth Abroad; Marriage License; and Enhanced Driver's License in addition to my passport that will expire in 3 months, but do need to take all the extra "official" paperwork?

 

Thanks and apologies to the OP - Kay

 

Edited November 5, 2022 by MarKay525

[hrhdhd]

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Canada.html

 

You can't fly to the U.S. without a passport, so the extra documents won't help. 

 

[prmssk]

6 hours ago, MarKay525 said:

Slight hijack, but related topic.

My passport expires in August and I have 3 cruises before then, the last one in May. Our May Alaska cruise leaves out of Vancouver and returns to Seattle.Then I go back to Vancouver to catch the Rocky Mountaineer train and fly home from Calgary.

Given how long turn-around is taking for US passports, I'm hesitant to send mine in for renewal (even expedited) between the February and May cruises.

 

For the May trips, I can carry my Birth Certificate; Consular Report of Birth Abroad; Marriage License; and Enhanced Driver's License in addition to my passport that will expire in 3 months, but do need to take all the extra "official" paperwork?

 

Thanks and apologies to the OP - Kay

 

I agree the extra paperwork won’t help since a passport is required for a cruise out of Vancouver. I would look at whether Canada has a six month rule for visitors. The six months rule applies to non-citizens entering a country and not all countries have the six month rule. The US isn’t going to deny a US citizen entry because their passport doesn’t have six months left on it. 

[KurtMo]

9 hours ago, mommyz said:

Traveling with family in Dec 2022 and 2 of my kids have passports that expire in March 2023.  I know it's recommended to have 6 months on the passport.  Is this risky?  I am planning to take their birth certificates as well.

 

Will we have problems at the port???   

It's a closed loop Caribbean cruise and we have purchased travel insurance so not too worried about getting home before March if there was an emergency.

Did this on Celebrity Apex in April with a passport that expired in August, no issues.

[gerelmx]

Take into account that the insurance is not valid when the problem is related to the passport or other travel documents.

[MarKay525]

6 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Canada.html

 

You can't fly to the U.S. without a passport, so the extra documents won't help. 

 

3 hours ago, prmssk said:

I agree the extra paperwork won’t help since a passport is required for a cruise out of Vancouver. I would look at whether Canada has a six month rule for visitors. The six months rule applies to non-citizens entering a country and not all countries have the six month rule. The US isn’t going to deny a US citizen entry because their passport doesn’t have six months left on it. 

Thank you!

I'll check with the Canadian government regarding the 6 month rule. My passport will still be valid for all planned travel, it just won't have 6 months left on it when we are in Canada in May. Kay

[Luvcrusn]

11 hours ago, MarKay525 said:

Slight hijack, but related topic.

My passport expires in August and I have 3 cruises before then, the last one in May. Our May Alaska cruise leaves out of Vancouver and returns to Seattle.Then I go back to Vancouver to catch the Rocky Mountaineer train and fly home from Calgary.

Given how long turn-around is taking for US passports, I'm hesitant to send mine in for renewal (even expedited) between the February and May cruises.

 

For the May trips, I can carry my Birth Certificate; Consular Report of Birth Abroad; Marriage License; and Enhanced Driver's License in addition to my passport that will expire in 3 months, but do need to take all the extra "official" paperwork?

 

Thanks and apologies to the OP - Kay

 

My husband just renewed his passport. He mailed it on September 10 without expedited processing and received the new one on October 31. That's 7 weeks and 2 days. Also check to see if it can be renewed online. They were doing a trial to see how that works which was over when he applied but were going to make the online renewal process a permanent thing since it worked out so well.

[mommyz]

12 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Due to the fact that you are on a closed loop I really think you will be fine because a passport isn't required

 

From CDP   https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-74?language=en_US

 

U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship, such as an Enhanced Driver's License (EDL), a government-issued birth certificate (issued by the Vital Records Department in the state where he or she was born) or passport, and if 16 or older, a government issued driver's license, picture ID, denoting photo, name, and date of birth. The Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) allows you to re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The EDL is only accepted at land and sea border crossings, not for air travel.

 

An U.S. citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original, notarized or certified copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issues by Department of State, (DOS) and/or Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

@Jim_Iain  thank you so much....puts my mind at ease.  

[mommyz]

3 hours ago, gerelmx said:

Take into account that the insurance is not valid when the problem is related to the passport or other travel documents.

I was thinking more about if something happened medically and we had to stay behind.  That's when we would need valid passport to get home.  I have heard a few horror stories. Luckily travel insurance would fly us back home.  Trying to cover all bases!

[Arizona Wildcat]

12 hours ago, MarKay525 said:

Slight hijack, but related topic.

My passport expires in August and I have 3 cruises before then, the last one in May. Our May Alaska cruise leaves out of Vancouver and returns to Seattle.Then I go back to Vancouver to catch the Rocky Mountaineer train and fly home from Calgary.

Given how long turn-around is taking for US passports, I'm hesitant to send mine in for renewal (even expedited) between the February and May cruises.

 

For the May trips, I can carry my Birth Certificate; Consular Report of Birth Abroad; Marriage License; and Enhanced Driver's License in addition to my passport that will expire in 3 months, but do need to take all the extra "official" paperwork?

 

Thanks and apologies to the OP - Kay

 

No. You will need your passport and Canada requires 6 months remaining.  Could you get through?  A definite very likely.

[Arizona Wildcat]

9 minutes ago, mommyz said:

I was thinking more about if something happened medically and we had to stay behind.  That's when we would need valid passport to get home.  I have heard a few horror stories. Luckily travel insurance would fly us back home.  Trying to cover all bases!

Actually you would not be allowed to fly home until the US Consulate issued you travel documents.   That could take hours or a couple days.

No idea which countries require passports in the Caribbean today.  That could be an issue if either wanting to visit that port or hospitalized.

Read the CBP disclaimer that Jim posted.  

Edited November 5, 2022 by Arizona Wildcat

[prmssk]

13 minutes ago, mommyz said:

I was thinking more about if something happened medically and we had to stay behind.  That's when we would need valid passport to get home.  I have heard a few horror stories. Luckily travel insurance would fly us back home.  Trying to cover all bases!

As long as the passport is still valid, the US will not deny a US Citizen entry so a passport with still a couple months on it will be no problem to get home in an emergency.  The six month rule relates to non-citizens entering a country. Countries don’t want non-citizens/non-residents getting stuck and then overstaying any visas/time limits for tourists.

 

The issue in your case is that you have to get into Canada first and it sounds like Canada does have a 6 month rule for non-citizens entering. 

[tfred]

I, and my SIL, both renewed passports this summer.  In both cases expedited took 3 weeks or so   I would get it done that way

[Alex618]

13 hours ago, MarKay525 said:

Slight hijack, but related topic.

My passport expires in August and I have 3 cruises before then, the last one in May. Our May Alaska cruise leaves out of Vancouver and returns to Seattle.Then I go back to Vancouver to catch the Rocky Mountaineer train and fly home from Calgary.

Given how long turn-around is taking for US passports, I'm hesitant to send mine in for renewal (even expedited) between the February and May cruises.

 

For the May trips, I can carry my Birth Certificate; Consular Report of Birth Abroad; Marriage License; and Enhanced Driver's License in addition to my passport that will expire in 3 months, but do need to take all the extra "official" paperwork?

 

Thanks and apologies to the OP - Kay

 

You can expedite your passport for an extra fee.  You used to be able to walk a passport through in certain locals.  I would research both and not take a chance.

[bap335i]

In many cases you can now renew a passport online.  For people that travel outside of the US it is just basic blocking and tackling to renew a passport at a time when you don't need to present it and before it expires.  

[mayleeman]

@MarKay525 Why not renew it now instead of between the Feb and Mar cruises?

[MarKay525]

43 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

@MarKay525 Why not renew it now instead of between the Feb and Mar cruises?

Cruising in December, February and May. About 8 weeks between Feb. & May travel. Up to 5 weeks for expedited processing plus mailing time and need to wait till Feb. trip ends to send. Makes me nervous.

Will verify with the Canadian government the 6 month requirement.

Thanks everyone for all this info. Kay

[flparalegal]

Let me tell everyone my tale of whoa.  We have a caribbean cruise planned for 11/27/22 - 12/4/22.  A few weeks ago, I took out our passports in order to Check-In.  Guess what - our passports expired.  So I called our travel agent who said we could use our birth certificates.  In the meantime, I completed the Passport Renewal Form.  However, according to Passport instructions you cannot send Renewal via Fed Ex etc.  It should be sent via US Postal Service.  So I sent our Passport Renewal via Priority Mail so I could track the delivery.  Guess what, it was sent 10/17 and should have arrived on 10/25.  I checked on USPS online and it arrived in Philadelphia on 10/20.  The last update was it is "in Transit" as of 10/24.  I have been to the post office 2 times, but they cannot assist me.  So Monday it will be 3 weeks that the package has been "in Transit" and nothing I can do about it.  

 

My question has anything like this happened to anyone out there?  How long should I wait to assume our Passports are lost?

[carolina_yankee]

If one is in a real pinch and traveling within the next two weeks, one can make an appointment at a passport agency to get the passport.  There are agencies scattered around the country. I had a friend last year who discovered one week before this trip that his passport expired. He hoped for an appointment in Philadelphia where he could drive, but the closest place available was Buffalo, so he flew up the day before, got his passport the next morning, flew back the next afternoon and then flew to Mexico four days later. His wife started talking to him again halfway through vacation.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

 

Edited November 5, 2022 by carolina_yankee

[stellarose]

if you can get new ones I would.  they generally don't like passports expiring within 6 months .had that issue years ago on the pride. carnival was picky

[kenb]

23 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

My husband just renewed his passport. He mailed it on September 10 without expedited processing and received the new one on October 31. That's 7 weeks and 2 days. Also check to see if it can be renewed online. They were doing a trial to see how that works which was over when he applied but were going to make the online renewal process a permanent thing since it worked out so well.

Please don't depend on this but I renewed my wife and my passport in September and received them in 2 weeks not even expedited. I figure that had to be a fluke.

Edited November 6, 2022 by kenb

[Luvcrusn]

21 minutes ago, kenb said:

Please don't depend on this but I renewed my wife and my passport in September and received them in 2 weeks not even expedited. I figure that had to be a fluke.

Either yours or my DH was a fluke for sure! His was also not expedited and took 7 weeks 2 days. We live in a suburban area just outside of Philly where it was mailed to. Go figure,🙄

[mayleeman]

@MarKay525 Sorry, I assumed your first cruise was in Feb.

Edited November 7, 2022 by mayleeman