passport expiration question

[nowomannocry]

My passport expires in July. I am booked on a June 9 cruise but I will be back in the US before my passport expires. On the RCCL website, it suggests my passport not be due to expire within six months of sailing. Does anyone know why they would suggest this? With passports taking so long, I would prefer holding onto it if possible.

[Jeano222]

passports are actually only good for 9 1/2 years even though they say 10 years. . You cannot use your passport if it is due to expire within 6 months. The last time you could have used yours was Jan/Feb. You still can use certified birth certificate for sailing until the end of the year. you still have time that you could renew your passport and expedite it. That is what my husband is going to do.

[heatherb1958]

I believe the reason governments like 6 months still available beyond return travel date is if something should happen to you whilst travelling e.g. accident leading to long term hospitalisation. The last thing you should have to worry about is trying to get a new passport in a foreign country to allow you to return home!:eek:

but then again that could be an urban myth!:D

[uksimonusa]

passports are actually only good for 9 1/2 years even though they say 10 years. . You cannot use your passport if it is due to expire within 6 months. The last time you could have used yours was Jan/Feb. You still can use certified birth certificate for sailing until the end of the year. you still have time that you could renew your passport and expedite it. That is what my husband is going to do.

 

Totally wrong. The reason the 6 month thing comes into effect is when you visit some countries, they want you to have a valid passport for the duration of your stay, most countries will stamp you in for 6 months without a visa. You do not need, nor will you need, a passport to enter most Caribbean countries that Royal Caribbean cruise to, if you are entering on a ship, and therefore normally will depart the same or next day. After January, you will need a passport to reenter the US, but not to enter the countries visited on a cruise, it is our government that is making us get passports, not the countries we cruise to.

 

As the OP's passport will be valid when he/she returns to the US then they will not have a problem. In fact until January 2008 you can return to the US from a Caribbean cruise using an expired passport instead of a DL and birth certificate.

[BethCarp]

My TA also told me that the 6 month thing is for visiting far away countries like China. Not for the caribbean. My passport expires next March about 4 months after my November cruise.

[JSR]

The 4 of us just returned from the Carib on RCCL on March 31. One of our passports expired on April 8. No problem

[BethCarp]

The 4 of us just returned from the Carib on RCCL on March 31. One of our passports expired on April 8. No problem

Hi Jean!! *waves*

[nowomannocry]

It's a European cruise, so the rules could be slightly different.

 

Actually, I was in Portugal in March and the immigration officer told me I don't have room to stamp anything on my passport anymore but he didn't say anything about it expiring in July.

 

I guess I should go ahead and get it renewed and pay for expidited service. Agreed?

[Hlitner]

Some European (and Asia, Africa, etc) countries have specific rules that say your passport must have at least 6 months remaining in order to enter their country (France used to be very strict with this rule). By the way, you had best not delay getting it renewed. An article in our local paper (and last week in USA Today) wrote about the huge backlog in the passport bureau due to the new regulations. Even expedited passports are taking as long as 4 weeks with new passports sometimes taking over 2 months (not expedited).

 

Hank