Guest Vacation Brochure Discrepancy

[Broon]

We are Canadians who are booked on the CONSTELLATION from Cape Liberty on Apr 28/06. We just got our ticket package from our travel agent on Thurs Apr 13, in which we have found a discrepancy. Inside the package mini-binder, there are two booklets. The first begins at page 1, Table of Contents, and at page 5, there is a sentence which reads "For your protection, we recommend that your passport expiration date not occur within six months of the sailing termination date."

 

Later in the mini-binder there is a second Guest Vacation Brochure, and at page 5, another sentence which reads: "Note to all Guests: The expiration date of your passport must not occur within six months of the scheduled termination date of your yoyage".

 

Separate issue with our travel agent, but this was the first time I had seen or heard of anything about a six months rule. The TA confirmed on Sat morning that we must have passports with at least 6 months validity. In our case, our passorts expire in Aug 06.

 

We have been scrambling over the weekend to get passport applications completed with all the supporting docs & signatures and will appear at the local Passport Canada office on Tues, (Easter Mon holiday), to try to get new passports in a hurry.

 

However, I called Celebrity over the weekend and the lady who answered said that the info available to her is that the original statmement above, the recommendation, is what Celebrity is telling passengers. She referred to someone else in the office who came back with the same reply, a recommendation. The Celebrity website also refers to only a recommendation. I cannot see anything there about "MUST have" ( a passport with 6 months validiaty remaining).

 

The lady at Celebrity assured me that we will have no problem with passports during boarding at Cape Liberty.

 

I looked at a couple other cruise lines with whom we have sailed before, HAL and RCCL. Neither one indicates MUST.

 

In our case this crusie will stop in France for one day and terminates in Dover England, where we will be staying for a few days to visit friends. Then to Ireland for a few days, then home.

 

I looked at the Gov't of Canada Foreign Affairs site and the travel reports for France, UK & Ireland and the documentation entry requirements for each: "A passport valid for the planned length of stay". We'll be back home in Canada by the end of May, three months before our passports expire.

 

I am still trying to find anywhere else, other than in the second Celebrity Guest Brochure, that clearly indicates that we must have passports with six months validity on them. So far, no success.

 

This "surprise" has already caused enough consternation and I don't want to spend any more time on this than needed; and we'll keep trying, if we can, to get new passports in time. But, if we don't get them, and present our current, valid passports with four months vailidity on them, what's the likelihood of being denied boarding at Cape Liberty?

 

Does anyone have any advice or info to offer?

 

H&M

[rienreiter]

Hi H & M:

 

Isn't this situation a pain? The truth is that there are several countries that will not allow entry if your passport has less than 6 months of validity (I do not know which specific countries these are though). This is the reason for which that comment is found not only on the Celebrity documentation that you have indicated but on many other travel brochures. Therefore, it is quite difficult to indicate if you MUST adhere to this advice or if it is merely a suggestion.

 

I had the same situation last year when travelling to Vancouver to depart on a cruise to Alaska. While Princess' brochure also made the same comment, I personally found it unjustified to obtain a new passport when I was only going to be in Vancover for 12 hours and reentering the U.S. while on the cruise and flying back to the U.S. mainland from Anchorage. So what I did was I called the Canadian embassy in Washington and explained the situation. They indicated that this rule does not apply to U.S. citizens and Canada will allow U.S. citizens to enter when their passports have less than 6 months of validity. Since we were reentering the U.S. (Alaska) after sailing from Vancouver, this was not to be of any further trouble. I proceeded to go on my cruise with my old passport without any trouble or incident when entering Canada or boarding the ship.

 

So, my suggestion to you is to check with the individual countries where you will be travelling to (France, U.K., and Ireland) by contacting their embassies and/or browsing their embassy websites to confirm if they require a passport with at least 6 months of validity or if less is OK. If all is OK, you are safe. If you see this information on the website, I would print out the page and bring it with you just in case. I do not believe that you will have an issue entering the U.S. just as I did not have an issue entering Canada.

 

By the way, I will also be on the 4/28 cruise on the Constellation.

 

Hope all works out for you!

 

Regards,

 

PS Please be aware that it is considered YOUR responsibility to have the correct documentation to travel and for you to do your homework to ensure that you are ready to go. It is NOT the responsibility of your travel agent or Celebrity to do the homework for you. If you have a travel agent who will do this for you, then you have one terrific agent. If you find that this issue really concerns you and keeps you uneasy, then I would suggest that you just proceed to get new passports.

[Gitte]

Info Canadian passports:

 

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/before/faq/passports-en.asp#4

What is the validity period of my passport?

 

A: A Canadian passport is generally valid for a five-year period starting on the day it was issued. In some instances, passports are issued for shorter periods. Note that some countries require that your passport be valid for at least six months beyond the date you expect to leave those countries.

Information on which countries impose this requirement can be found in the Country Travel Reports.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/before/faq/passports-en.asp#4

A valid Canadian passport is required for Canadians intending to visit France. The passport must be valid for at least the expected duration of your stay in the country.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=92000

A valid Canadian passport is required for Canadians intending to visit the United Kingdom. The passport should be valid for at least the expected duration of your stay in the country.

.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=307000

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/ctry/reportpage-en.asp

Bon Voyage on the Constellation,:)

Gitte

[Susan-M]

Thanks Gitte for the very compehensive info! I was debating about renewing passports before our trip to Ecuador in Nov. and this confirms the need to do so. Our 5 year passports have become 4 1.2 yr ones:rolleyes:

[ali-ali-oh]

Hi Broon

I don't know if you've found us yet, but we have a VERY long roll call thread going for this cruise. You can find us at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=195183. Apologies if you've already found us, but the list is getting so long now I'm losing track.

As far as your query is concerned, although I'm not Canadian, I know most of the countries in Europe insist that we (that is UK citizens) have a passport that is valid for six months after the date of our visit. I queried this with our TA a few years ago and she informed us that it was to cover us in case of illness etc, which might result in a longer stay. Whether this is true or not, or if it was just to shut me up, I have no idea, but I just thought I'd let you know.

[dmk]

I was in the same situation last year and decided to renew our passports to be on the safe side and not have to get stressed about it. However, I must say it's annoying to have to get a new passport when you still have time on your old one.:cool: Buy what the hay. Why be anxious.:)

[Broon]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. We are trying our hardest to work through this. There is some good news in that there is a passport issuing office just a few minutes away, downtown. I was there this morning and it appears that my wife will get a new passport in time for the cruise and without any glitches.

 

For me, it isn't clear. The wrinkle results from me having been born in the Province of Quebec and needing to obtain one of the new Quebec-issued birth certificates... I have been talking with the Quebec people trying to keep my application as far to the top of the pile as I can get it. Not clear whether I will get it in time, but the local passport office is standing by to process for me. My former birth certificate, which I used last time for a passport, is no longer accepted.

 

So either I will get a new passport in time for the Apr 28 cruise departure, in which case, all is OK. Or I won't get a new passport and I will try to board with that. And either I'll get onto the ship, or I won't.

 

I made two calls to Celebrity, the first one I reported below. The lady indicated clearly to me that I/we would have no problem boarding with our current passports. I called the next day.... just to see what reply I would get. This time, another Celebrity rep wouldn't even discuss my situation. Passport question??? "Refer to your gov't passport agency." So, two calls to Celebrity, two answers.

 

I have been looking at the Gov't of Canada Foreign Affars Dept Travel Reports for each of France, UK & Ireland. Each one clearly states that, for entry as a tourist, a passport valid for the planned length of stay is what is required. I'll bring printouts with me to Cape Liberty.

 

I have tried looking at the embassy websites for each country, but cannot find the needed passport info for any of them. I have tried phoning, as suggested by the Passport Office.....lots of circular recorded messages which aren't helpful.

 

I did get to speak to the Irish Consul General, himself, in Toronto, who was quite clear with me that the 6 month rule does not apply for entry into Ireland as a tourist.... as long as I have a passprt that is valid for the planned length of stay, which I do have, then all is OK. And I must have a departure ticket.....got that too. Flight from Shannon. The Consul is bewildered with travel agents and passport officials who continue to spread inaccurate info about entry requirements for Ireland.

 

As for my travel agent, my view is that they have dropped the ball by failing to inform me in a timely manner of the 6 month passport situation and thus to allow me to get on with my responsibility to get my documents in order. If I had been given proper advice in Jan 06, when we booked this cruise, none of this scrambling would have occurred.

 

Yes, I have found the crsuie critic thread for the Constellation's sailing on Apr 28.....LOooooooonnnng!!!

 

Regardless, we remain optimistic that there will be a positive outcome to this saga and we'll be boarding on the 28th as planned.

 

H&M

[rienreiter]

H & M: I really do not believe that you will have any problems. See you on the 28th!