Do I need my passport renewed?

[William W]

I am a Canadian and I will be going on the Liberity on the Nov 29, 08 sailing. The other day, when I was filling out my pre-cruise information, I noticed that my passport will expire in March 2009. At the time of the cruise, technically my passport is still valid, however, I will be traveling with a passport that is within 6 months of expiry.

 

So the question becomes, do I need to renew my not yet expire passport?

[cherylandtk]

You won't be necessary for the US or for the countries on your itinerary, and I suspect Canada will accept you back in all the way up until expiration.

 

Where you could possibly have trouble is with that pre-cruise information online. Sometimes the cruise website will not allow you to enter a less-than-six-months expiration and print out your boarding pass. If that is the case, you may have to call Carnival directly. But if you can print out your pass, you are all set.

[Wendelle from Canada]

William,

 

Check out the passport site through the Government of Canada, it has FAQ's and it may be one of them. If not, you should err on the side of caution and get your new passport A.S.A.P. There is usually a 2 to 4 week processing period unless you pay the extra cash and have next day service. You will have to provide your documents showing you are booked with air and your cruise at the passport office. We were in a similar situation when we were to be on holiday this summer. Our passports expired in July, we were traveling in June. We went in to the passport office on the Monday, we had our passports on the Thursday of the following week. The new forms for renewing before your passport expires are not as lengthy as the orignial forms, and can be completed online and brought with you to the passport office. Good Luck!

[Vanessa L]

Pulled from a well known cruise site that has a "ticker":

 

 

As of January 23, 2007, passports are required for all travelers, including citizens of the U.S. and Canada, who enter or re-enter the U.S. by air. The passport requirement will be extended to include entries into the U.S. by land and by sea on June 1, 2009.

Until passports are required, citizens of the U.S. and Canada may use an original or certified copy of their birth certificate AND a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver's license), in lieu of a passport, for cruises that sail roundtrip from U.S. ports (including Puerto Rico) and visit the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. Children under the age of 16 are not required to present a photo ID in addition to their birth certificate. Photocopies of required documentation are not acceptable.

There are a few notable exceptions pertaining to land and sea border crossings:

• U.S. citizens on cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port and travel to destinations in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas or Bermuda will be able to re-enter the U.S. with proof of citizenship other than a passport or passport card, such as a birth certificate and government-issued photo ID. Passports will be required for cruises that begin in one U.S. port and end in another.
  
• Children under the age of 16 who are citizens of the U.S. or Canada will be exempt from the passport requirement for land and sea border crossings when the rule goes into effect. In lieu of a passport, children will be able to continue to use a birth certificate as proof of citizenship for entry into the U.S. by land or by sea. Children entering or re-entering the U.S. by air are still required to have a valid passport.
  
• A new, lower-cost alternative to the passport, called a passport card, will be acceptable for entries into the U.S. by land or sea. Compared to passports, which cost $100 for first-time applicants ($85 for children), passport cards cost just $45 ($35 for children). The passport card will not be acceptable for air travel.

Even though passports are not required at this time for U.S. and Canada citizens who sail roundtrip from the U.S. on cruises to the above destinations, we strongly recommend that all cruise passengers travel with a valid passport anyway. This is because guests who need to fly to or from the U.S. unexpectedly during their cruise will likely experience significant delays and complications related to booking airline tickets and entering the U.S. if they do not have a valid passport with them. For example, a passenger missing a cruise departure due to a late inbound flight to Miami would need a passport to fly to meet the ship at the next port. Similarly, guests needing to fly to the U.S. or Canada (via the U.S.) before their cruise ends because of medical, family, personal or business emergencies, missing a ship's departure from a port of call, or a mechanical problem of some sort with the ship, would need a passport. Of course, situations like these are rare, but they can happen.

Passports are not required for U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from Hawaii or a U.S. territory, including Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Passports are required for cruise travel to all International destinations not mentioned above, and for cruises that involve air travel that begins or ends outside of the U.S. Passports must be valid for at least six months after the last day of travel. For information about obtaining a passport for the first time, or about renewing a passport, click here to visit the U.S. Department of State's Web site.

[Wendelle from Canada]

William,

 

These are the processing times from the website today.

 

 

Processing times

 

Current profile: Canadians living in Canada/Canadians living in the United States or Bermuda/Canadians living abroad

As of October 21, 2008

Options for submitting

a completed application

Processing times

(up to) In-person 2 weeks

By mail 4 weeks

Through a Receiving Agent (Service Canada or Canada Post)

4 weeks

Applicants who apply in person at a Passport Canada office may qualify for urgent, express or pick-up services.

Additional fees will apply.

Additional services

Processing times

Urgent 24 hours

Express 2-9 business days

Pick-up 10 business days

Note:

• Our processing times are updated on a regular basis. Check this page for updates. Processing times do not take delivery time into account. Standards may change depending on the volume of applications received and are not guaranteed.
  
• Complexity of routine verifications and security checks may lead to longer processing times.

[BND]

My DH cruised last year (late Oct) with his passport that had less than 6 months til expiration. Since passports aren't "required" yet, the length doesn't matter. What they are really used for is ID/proof of citizenship. Since you need a birth certificate to get a passport, the passport covers that part. As a Canadian, how are you getting to the port? The reason they say six months is because SOME countries require a passport be valid for 6 months+ your entry into that country. When we checked in in San Diego on Princess, the woman checking us in let my DH know that it was expiring in early April.

[Vanessa L]

I'd heard that you run a risk of being denied travel if your passport is less than 6 months valid as noted in my post above. I don't know that it is REQUIRED per se, but 1) wouldn't it be worth it to just renew it just in case, and 2) a simple call to or research on the passport website can answer your questions definitively. I wouldn't risk taking anyone's word for it except those who actually WORK at the passport office. The note above seems to infer that it has to be valid. But again, there are people who are in the know :D

[BND]

As I said for my DH's US passport, Princess looked at it, ran it through and let him know it was expiring in less than six months and not to forget to renew it. I do think the OP needs to worry about Canadian law and talk to their passport office about getting it renewed and expedited, but as your own post says (Vanessa L) all Canadian citizens need are id's and birth certificates, both of which a passport fulfills and the OP's is still valid since it hasn't expired yet. The six month rule applies to cruises ending or beginning OUTSIDE the US. Again, the OP needs to check with Canadian law concerning cruises.

[cherylandtk]

Folks, the question is will the countries William is travelling through/to accept a Canadian passport with less than 6 months remaining...and for the Liberty cruise, the answer is yes. To know that, you have to go to the country websites for each destination (US, three ports, and St. Maarten).

 

US accepts Canadian passports up to and including the date of expiration.

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/support/faq.aspx?lang=eng&id=1102

 

 

Dutch St. Maarten does not require a passport of Canadians, and will accept one up to the date of expiration.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=206000#Sint_Maarten

 

St. Martin (French side) requires 3 months left on the passport IF one arrives on the island on the French side; William will travel in November and passport does not expire until March (4 months) and more importantly, he will arrive by cruise ship on the Dutch side.