Passport question

[jarudinski]

Hi everyone,

I have a passport question ... I think I know what I should do just like to hear if anyone has thoughts or advice.

We have sailed several times in the past (8 to be exact) but I had recently gotten very sick in Dec of last year. ( I was eventually diagnosed with MS) I thought our cruising days were over, but the medicine has started to help some, ans since I have been walking and driving again (yeah) I decided to take a chance. i have booked us on a short (lol) 4 night cruise in April of 2013 (just to get my feet wet and see how it goes) ... any way

The cruise is on the Magic and leaves from Galveston, with one stop in Cozumel. My passport and my husbands passpot expire 12-2013 and my 13 yr old daugghtr's passport expires 8-2013. The government advices renewing passports 9 months ahead of the due date .. which is close to cruise time.

I was wondering if I should renew them before or after the cruise. I am leaning towards before .. like now =), but I am just slightly worried about getting them back in time or what to do if something goes wrong, I would hate not having a passport for this cruise. Am I just overthinking this and worrying too much?

[pharmjenn]

I think many countries require your passport to be good for 6 months after you visit the country. I do not know specifically for Mexico, whether they care about that. So you and DH passports are fine, the uncertainty is for your daughters.
However, to renew takes just a couple weeks. We dropped off our DS passport and received his renewal less than 2 weeks later. Since children can not "renew" they can only apply for new 5year passports, but renewing now, or even in February, you loose out on quite a bit of her time.

Perhaps some experts here can comment on whether they would have a problem with a passport expiring in 4 months, but if anything, I would not apply till end of January.

[wishing4PA]

The passports are good until well after your cruise. I'd probably just leave it for later, but if you want to renew, go ahead & do it now. We renewed DD's right after Christmas last year, and it seems it was back in a couple of weeks (but my memory could be faulty.)

PS: I am most certainly not an expert, so feel free to take their advice instead.

[nzdisneymom]

Originally Posted by jarudinski

We have sailed several times in the past (8 to be exact) but I had recently gotten very sick in Dec of last year. ( I was eventually diagnosed with MS) I thought our cruising days were over, but the medicine has started to help some, ans since I have been walking and driving again (yeah) I decided to take a chance. i have booked us on a short (lol) 4 night cruise in April of 2013 (just to get my feet wet and see how it goes) ... any way

The cruise is on the Magic and leaves from Galveston, with one stop in Cozumel. My passport and my husbands passpot expire 12-2013 and my 13 yr old daugghtr's passport expires 8-2013. The government advices renewing passports 9 months ahead of the due date .. which is close to cruise time.

I was wondering if I should renew them before or after the cruise. I am leaning towards before .. like now =), but I am just slightly worried about getting them back in time or what to do if something goes wrong, I would hate not having a passport for this cruise. Am I just overthinking this and worrying too much?

For an April 2013 cruise, the adult passports would be fine as you have 7+ months still valid after you return from the cruise. For the teenager's passport, I would probably go ahead and renew. Her passport would be valid for 5 years and that would put her past age 16 when it expires and she can get an adult one. You could do it now or do it in January and still have time to get it back. You do send her existing passport off with the application for the new one for her, so you do want to have time to get them back. So if it were me, I'd probably go ahead and do it now (or soon, at my convenience) but definitely have it sent off for by early January.

DCL says "Disney Cruise Line asks that you provide your passport number at least 75 days prior to the start of your vacation in your Guest Information Form in My Online Check-In."

I found this on the Travel.State.Gov site:

Q:How long is a passport valid and when should I renew my passport?
a:If you were over age 16 when your passport was issued, your passport is valid for 10 years.
If you were age 15 or younger when your passport was issued, your passport is valid for 5 years.

The Issue Date of your passport can be found on the data page of your Passport Book or on the front of your Passport Card.

If possible, you should renew your passport approximately nine (9) months before it expires. Some countries require that your passport be valid at least six (6) months beyond the dates of your trip. Some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met.


So I guess you should look into each of these elements to determine when to renew for your daughter.

[kcashner]

The suggestion about renewing 6-9 months before expiration is because some European countries will not allow you into the country unless you have at least 6 months remaining on the passport. This is not a problem in the Caribbean at all. Your passport is good there (and for re-entry into the US) until the actual expiration date.

You will have plenty of time to renew all 3 after your cruise provided that you don't have another trip planned immediately following the cruise. Passports are expensive; why waste many months of useful time unless you are visiting a country with the 6 month requirement?

FWIW, it only took 3 weeks to get our renewals back!

[bumbershoot]

I'm a big passport person, but with the travel you have planned and the expirations of your passports, I would not worry about it at all. Not even a little.

[SG101]

I wouldn't spend the money before the cruise if I didn't have to. Just wait until after or until you book your next cruise.

[jarudinski]

Still plagued by some uncertainity I found a phone number for the US. Passport Services. There response was Mexico does not require the 6 month validilty and therefore all the passports are good. Also they said if I were to send them in early (before the 9 months) I would need to explain why I am trying to renew them early. So I decided I am just going to leave this headache until after the cruise. One less thing to worry abou =)