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My passport is valid for 10 years, NOT 9.5 years


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I have never understood this statement on RCCL or X's website about a passport:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/cruiseDocsFaq.do#8

For your protection, we recommend that your passport expiration date not occur within six (6) months of the sailing termination date.
As far as I am concerned my passport is good for ten years. I would hate the idea of getting gypped out of six months by either ICE or a cruiseline.
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I have never understood this statement on RCCL or X's website about a passport:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/cruiseDocsFaq.do#8

As far as I am concerned my passport is good for ten years. I would hate the idea of getting gypped out of six months by either ICE or a cruiseline.

 

While I understand your frustration... It's wise to plan on renewing your passport around the 9 year mark...

 

It's not like they are not going to let you embark... they are just recomending...

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I have never understood this statement on RCCL or X's website about a passport:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/cruiseDocsFaq.do#8

As far as I am concerned my passport is good for ten years. I would hate the idea of getting gypped out of six months by either ICE or a cruiseline.

 

Yea, I understand. But I would hate it worse if for some reason I went down with a passport expiring in a few months and I couldn't board. At least you know this up front.

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Try to look at it this way. It cost, I don't know, $100 or so to renew (I can't remember). So if you take that $100 and divide it by 10 years, that is equal to $10 a year. Now take and divide it by 2 (for losing the last 6 months) and that is costing you $5.

 

Seems like a non-issue and good insurance to me.

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But there is nothing stating you will be refused passage if your passport is expiring. As long as your passport is valid for the time you are out of the country, it should be accepted, otherwise you are just getting gyped.

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But there is nothing stating you will be refused passage if your passport is expiring. As long as your passport is valid for the time you are out of the country, it should be accepted, otherwise you are just getting gyped.

 

 

Ok, if you want to worry about it, worry about it.

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You have to look at the entry requirements for the countries you are visiting. Some countries won't let you in if your passport is within X months of expiring. Probably because they don't either want to deal with you being stuck there or something. You can go to the State Department website & look

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/tips/brochures/brochures_1229.html

 

i.e.

Afghanistan your passport can't be within 6 months of expiring (not going there on a cruise ship anytime soon, but...)

Barbados - passport valid through time of stay

Benin - passport with 6 months validity

Brazil - passport with 6 months validity

 

I'm not going to go through the whole list here, but I think that's the point the cruiseline is trying to make. You really need to check the country's specific requirements.

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This is not a cruise line rule, it's a state department one. The airline or cruiseline is doing you a favor by alerting you to this, as the United States can refuse your re-entry to the county, if it's within 6 months of your passport's expiration date.

 

So that's the reason that RCI also passes that warning on.

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This is not a cruise line rule, it's a state department one. The airline or cruiseline is doing you a favor by alerting you to this, as the United States can refuse your re-entry to the county, if it's within 6 months of your passport's expiration date.

 

So that's the reason that RCI also passes that warning on.

IMHO it is a POS rule then if you can be REFUSED entry into the US on a VALID passport.
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I just went back to the state dept. link and in the faq section it says that a passport is valid for 10 yrs. wasn't able to find that the US won't let you back in within 6 months of expiration....just OTHER countries.

 

This is cut and paste from the site:

 

>>Some countries require that your U.S. passport be valid at least 6 months or longer beyond the dates of your trip. If your passport expires before the required validity, you will have to apply for a new one. Please check with the Embassy or nearest Consulate of the country that you plan to visit for their requirements. <<

 

So the U.S. more then likely doesn't have a problem but as someone else suggested, other countries do have restrictions.

 

Again, for me, I'm not going to worry about it. And if someone else is traveling abroad with a passport less then 6 months from expiration, then it would be in their best interest to find out the requirements of the countries they are visiting.

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I have to renew my passport before my next cruise in Nov from Miami...although it doesnt run out until March.....but over here now we dont lose out if we send it in early like we used to do.....what I mean is....if I send in my passport 7 months before it runs out ....renewed one is valid for 7 months and 10 years.Does this happen in the USA also ?

 

Liz

WYWH Cruiser

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This is not just the Cruise company's policy it is also the policy of every country that does not require an official Visa for tourism visits. I am taking a trip to asia in May and the country I am visiting (in fact all that I have visited in the past: Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand) all require the passport be valid for at least 6 months from your entry date to the country.

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I don't think you will be refused re-entry into the US if your passport is within the 6-month mark, but you may not be able to disembark in ports where the 6-month rule is in effect. I don't think you'll be denied boarding, so if you don't care to see the place that bars you, you probably don't need to worry about it.

 

The other thing to do is not schedule a cruise going to a country with that rule w/in 6 months of your passport's expiration. A PITA, but possible.

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I have to renew my passport before my next cruise in Nov from Miami...although it doesnt run out until March.....but over here now we dont lose out if we send it in early like we used to do.....what I mean is....if I send in my passport 7 months before it runs out ....renewed one is valid for 7 months and 10 years.Does this happen in the USA also ?

 

Liz

WYWH Cruiser

 

No it does not.

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I have never understood this statement on RCCL or X's website about a passport:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/cruiseDocsFaq.do#8

As far as I am concerned my passport is good for ten years. I would hate the idea of getting gypped out of six months by either ICE or a cruiseline.

 

More importantly, how did you get the dog in your avatar to wink? :D

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The 6-month thing has been part of the RCCL's information for quite some times. What others have said about certain country's rules is correct. I imagine in order to cover all possibilities, they made the statement. I highly doubt you will have any issues using a passport which expires in a few weeks if you cruise on most iteneraries.

 

ClingandClatter - love your screen name. It made me giggle. Now I have that image of 2 little "crow bobbies" in my head. :D I like the dog winking and sneezing too. :)

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This isn't specific to this cruiseline company; it's been pretty standard verbiage for a good number of years regardless of how you leave the country, via cruise or airlines.

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IMHO it is a POS rule then if you can be REFUSED entry into the US on a VALID passport.

 

Your passport is not just for re-entry into the US. It's also an instrument that gets you the rights an American deserves while visiting other countries. If those counties require your passport to be valid for more than 6 months after your entry, it is likely because that is the longest you could visit there without a visa.

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As far as I am concerned my passport is good for ten years.

 

Unfortunately, many countries don't care what your take on the matter is.

My daughter is going overseas for summer school. We received a letter stating that she will not be allowed into the country if her passport is within six months of expiring. My daughter would be crushed if I took that stance and ended up costing her a wonderful experience. So I went ahead and bit the bullet and renewed hers yesterday. Even had to expedite it because we weren't sure we'd get it in time. Lots of money to pay when she is in posession of a "valid" passport. Oh well...

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