Passport renewal question

[Kortehgehn]

20 hours ago, njhorseman said:

I'm curious about your source of this information

Yeah, sorry about that; the list I posted should be up-to-date for US passport holders, but depending on the specific circumstances of travel, it may be overly prescriptive.  Your statement regarding what is currently posted on the public-facing side of the DoS website is accurate.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27 by Kortehgehn

[Kortehgehn]

Okay, apologies again, but I was definitely not thinking when I posted that list of countries requiring six months of validity on US passports last night.  Initially, I thought the discrepancy indicated by @njhorseman was due to the inclusion of considerations beyond the scope of typical vacation travel.  However, something in the back of my mind made me go back and recheck that post, and I definitely copied an incorrect and completely different list.  Please disregard and use the link provided by @njhorseman instead.

Edited May 27 by Kortehgehn

[ChiefMateJRK]

Are you folks claiming that NCL has a blanket requirement that you can't board a cruise anywhere if your passport is expiring in less than six months?

[IAcruising]

12 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Are you folks claiming that NCL has a blanket requirement that you can't board a cruise anywhere if your passport is expiring in less than six months?

 

In my post #22 I understood that it may be NCL policy regardless of the country visited. It has seemed to grow exponentially from there, and I'm still not sure if I am right, or have been definitively corrected. (Closed loop cruises are a different animal)

 

[SeaShark]

14 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

In my post #22 I understood that it may be NCL policy regardless of the country visited. It has seemed to grow exponentially from there, and I'm still not sure if I am right, or have been definitively corrected. (Closed loop cruises are a different animal)

 

 

No. What I think is being said here is that if you show up to your cruise with a passport and the expiration date on the password is more than 6 months past the end of the cruise you intend to board, that you will avoid the possibility of a travel document issue. 

[njhorseman]

39 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Are you folks claiming that NCL has a blanket requirement that you can't board a cruise anywhere if your passport is expiring in less than six months?

I'm certainly not, and earlier in the thread I cited information from NCL's FAQs that clearly show there are itineraries where NCL requires valid passports, but without the six month validity requirement.

[njhorseman]

28 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

In my post #22 I understood that it may be NCL policy regardless of the country visited. It has seemed to grow exponentially from there, and I'm still not sure if I am right, or have been definitively corrected. (Closed loop cruises are a different animal)

 

I corrected you in post #29, giving examples of itineraries where NCL requires a valid passport, but doesn't require 6 months validity on the passport.

[ChiefMateJRK]

Unlike some things with NCL, this seems pretty clear:

Required Travel Document and Information For Cruise Vacations (ncl.com)

[IAcruising]

12 hours ago, njhorseman said:

I corrected you in post #29, giving examples of itineraries where NCL requires a valid passport, but doesn't require 6 months validity on the passport.

 

Yes, you corrected me, maybe. I still don't know the definitive answer. Also, the OP is embarking in Canada, so....

 

[IAcruising]

11 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Unlike some things with NCL, this seems pretty clear:

 

Is it? Really? Would you be willing to test it? 😆

 

[SeaShark]

On 5/26/2024 at 3:39 AM, Asawi said:

I admit to being careless and having been unaware of the "NCL 6 months rule" until last summer and was actually on two cruises in 2023 with a passport expiring less than 6 months later. 

No issues at all. But do not take that as a sign there won't be for someone else! Possibly a YMMV situation. And I will not take that chance again myself either! 

 

(I always check entry requirements for any countries I am visiting though so I'm not totally clueless even though it may seem so. I was well within any of those requirements on both occasions)

 

 

You likely were unaware because NCL has no such rule. Rules for required travel documentation and the validity of those documents are determined and set by each individual country. Just like the guest, NCL is required to follow those rules. If a country wants 6 months validity, then NCL will verify that before allowing you to board. Same if the country only wants 3 months validity.

[IAcruising]

1 minute ago, SeaShark said:

 

You likely were unaware because NCL has no such rule. Rules for required travel documentation and the validity of those documents are determined and set by each individual country.

 

This contradicts NCL policy that states, "For Cruises Leaving a Non-US port".

 

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

Yes, you corrected me, maybe. I still don't know the definitive answer. Also, the OP is embarking in Canada, so....

 

Since US citizens entering Canada are only required to have a passport that is valid at the time of entry into Canada (Source: US Department of State at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Canada.html ) ;

 

And, your US passport is valid for reentering the US through its expiration date;

 

And, NCL's documentation FAQ page for US citizens only lists cruises departing a non-US port on Europe, Asia, South America and Australia itineraries as requiring a passport with 6 months validity the evidence seems to be crystal clear that an NCL cruise departing Canada and ending in the US does not require a passport with 6 months validity based on US and Canadian law and regulation as well as NCL rule.

[SeaShark]

1 hour ago, IAcruising said:

 

This contradicts NCL policy that states, "For Cruises Leaving a Non-US port".

 

 

How did you see that, yet you the following from the top of that same page:

 

If traveling internationally, the countries you are flying to and/ or connecting through may have different visa or travel requirements, while we attempt to provide you with most up to date information below, we encourage you to visit the government and airport websites of every country you will be traveling to throughout your journey to familiarize yourself with their requirements.

 

Does it make sense that NCL would tell you to visit the government websites of every country if, in fact, the passport requirements were nothing more than a cruise line policy?

 

Please tell me you're just looking for an Internet argument and that you don't actually believe that a cruise line has any right to set passport requirements.

[IAcruising]

26 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

the evidence seems to be crystal clear

 

No, it doesn't, but you do you. My passport will never be expiring within 6-months.

 

[mjkacmom]

In all the years I’ve been here on CC I’ve never heard of ncl requirements of having 6 months left on a passport for international travel.

[IAcruising]

12 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

Please tell me you're just looking for an Internet argument and that you don't actually believe that a cruise line has any right to set passport requirements.

 

I believe a cruise line can set any rules they wish concerning what they do and do not require. As long as it is not in conflict with another country's laws. In other words, I believe NCL can set a 6-month rule for any country, but they cannot set a 3-month rule if a country requires 6-months.

 

 

[njhorseman]

Just now, IAcruising said:

 

No, it doesn't, but you do you. My passport will never be expiring within 6-months.

 

Your never allowing your passport to be expiring within 6 months is your choice and that's fine, but not relevant to the discussion about what the actual requirements are .

 

I have more than a little bit of experience in the travel business and have a pretty good handle about where to find the government and cruise line requirements  At the agency I owned we never had a case of a customer having an issue with  their documentation caused by our advice. 

 

I'll leave it at that.

[njhorseman]

4 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

I believe a cruise line can set any rules they wish concerning what they do and do not require. As long as it is not in conflict with another country's laws. In other words, I believe NCL can set a 6-month rule for any country, but they cannot set a 3-month rule if a country requires 6-months.

 

 

That's correct every cruise line and airline, international ferry service, railroad or any other travel provider must obey the laws of the countries to which they are traveling.

 

However they can set rules that go beyond the minimum legal requirements. For example the super-premium and luxury cruise lines generally require all passengers to carry a passport with six months validity even if none of the countries on an itinerary have that requirement. For example NCL's corporate sibling Oceania requires six month passport validity of all passengers on all itineraries, even itineraries that US citizens don't need a passport for at all. For example Oceania does a few closed loop cruises between NY City and Bermuda in the summer. Under the law a US citizen can legally take that cruise using a birth certificate and government issued photo ID but Oceania will not allow you to board the cruise without a passport with at least six months remaining validity.

 

 

[njhorseman]

18 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

In all the years I’ve been here on CC I’ve never heard of ncl requirements of having 6 months left on a passport for international travel.

They do for certain itineraries as I and others have already documented with reference to NCL's documentation FAQs, which I'll repost: https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents 

[mjkacmom]

38 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

They do for certain itineraries as I and others have already documented with reference to NCL's documentation FAQs, which I'll repost: https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents 

Yes, if cruising to the countries that require it, but not across the board.

[njhorseman]

55 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Yes, if cruising to the countries that require it, but not across the board.

Correct. NCL has never done it across the board.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

Is it? Really? Would you be willing to test it? 😆

 

I tested it last November with a passport expiring in February.  No problems.

[Noworkforme23]

We sail on December 7, 2024 and our passports expire 6-1-2025, so since you need 6 months validity to sail,  I renewed my son and my passports and mailed them on 5-24-2024. 
 

For expedited service and 1-2 mailing, it cost $209.53 each = $419.06 for both of us. I also paid $40.40 at USPS on May 24 to have it sent Priority Mail Express. 

I got our two new passports back in exactly 12 days on June 5, and that included a holiday. 
 

We are sailing on Celebrity for the first time and it says on travel document requirements in passport area to make sure your passport does not expire 6 months after your cruise ends. 
 

You can also check the travel.state.gov site as well. I think it is best if yours expires, just renew it to have peace of mind before you sail. 
 

 

Edited June 9 by Noworkforme23

[zqvol]

5 minutes ago, Noworkforme23 said:

We sail on December 7, 2024 and our passports expire 6-1-2025, so since you need 6 months validity to sail,  I renewed my son and my passports and mailed them on 5-24-2024. 
 

For expedited service and 1-2 mailing, it cost $209.53 each = $419.06 for both of us. I also paid $40.40 at USPS on May 24 to have it sent Priority Mail Express. 

I got our two new passports back in exactly 12 days on June 5, and that included a holiday. 
 

 

Is the 6 months a Celebrity requirement? It’s not for an NCL closed loop cruise.