A paranoid passport question

[Cruise]

I'm sure someone will suggest I call Disney directly with this question and I more than likely will, but I was hoping to get some input from someone who might have been in the same situation.

We're thinking of crusing at the end of February/beginning of March. My husband is a British citizen with permanent residency (Green Card). He has a British passport which expires on May 30th. I know some countries in Europe won't let you enter the country is your passport is within 3-6 months of expiring. Will this be a problem with the cruise? Has anyone been in this situation?

I'd send it off for renewal BEFORE the trip, but there's no guarantee it would be back in time, so I'd rather just go with it as it is now if it won't be a problem.

Thanks for any input!

Julie

 

[ljm]

My DH is a German citizen, with a green card. According to DCL, the passport must be valid for 6 months after your return date. The TA who booked our first cruise was very specific about this.

Is there a British Consulate near where you live? One time we were heading to Germany to visit family, and my husband hadn't bothered to check is passport in a while. Turns out it had expired 5 days earlier. He was at the consulate's office when they opened that day, and they were able to issue him a temporary passport that day (he had to run across the street and have photos taken, of course). You should have seen the looks we got at the airport when he checked in with a handwritten passport and photo in the same shirt he was wearing on the plane. It did work, though.

Nowadays, they may just be able to extend the date for him on his current passport. Definitely call the consulate closest to you.

Good luck!

 

[CaribGirl]

You are right, safest bet is to call Disney. If I remember correctly the Green card is what is necesary to re-enter the US. I am not sure what the Bahamas (or any of the countries your ship is visiting) requires. There are many carribean countries that really a green card will do. And most requires a passort valid for 60 days, so you are still good if expiration is end of May. Of course things change so drastically and quickly since 9/11. Good luck.

 

[ljm]

Something I learned while working for the airlines - what one country requires for you to enter it is not necessarily what the U.S. requires you to have to get back in.

This is quoted from the website of the Bahamas...
"To enter The Bahamas, citizens from countries other than the U.S. and Canada require a Passport that must be valid for six (6) months beyond the dates of travel and/or a valid Bahamas Visa. You must also possess a return or onward journey ticket and proof of funds to support the visit. "

It did also say that for US residents (non citizens), all that was needed in addition to the proof of citizenship normally required was a resident alien card. However, I, for one, would not want to be the one arguing with the DCL cast member who was refusing to board DH because his passport wasn't vaild for the requsitie 6 months. It would be a losing battle. Just my $0.02...

 

[Cruise]

Well, I called Disney and the CM I talked to said that as long as the passport was not expired, it would be fine. However, speaking to one person doesn't mean you'll get the same answer you would if speaking with another. So, I called back I was told the same thing again by another cast member.

As for going to the consulate, that won't work. Only the British Embassy in D.C. issues British passports in the US and we're in California. The website says that normal processing time is 4 weeks, and we've got 6. I may just have to send it off and hope for the best.

This would be the Western cruise - Grand Caymen apparently doesn't even require passports of British citizens - just proof of citizenship in some form. And Mexico requires an "FMN" which is apparently a tourist card (which will need passport and resident card) but says it can be obtained at the port of entry. I'm guessing this is something that Disney takes care of for all guests?

I should have just married the All-American when I had the chance... *sigh*

Thanks for the responses!

Julie

 

[ljm]

Julie,
Best of luck to you and your DH. I'm sure you'll get it back in time. You are doing this well before the summer travel rush. Just so you know, all non-US citizens (resident aliens included) will have their passports/green cards held by DCL for the entire legnth of the cruise. DH felt a little funny about giving up his docs, but it was all ok. The non-Citizen will have to report to a specified location (on the Wonder it was Wavebands) very early on the morning of disembarkation to clear immigration. DCL will return the passports/green cards at that time. My DH hated to have to get up at the crack of dawn, but at least the whole family didn't need to do it, just him! There is a different line for check in at the port for non-citizens as well - we all just went to this line (it was shorter, anyway!) and checked in together. Now that we are Castaway Club members, I wonder which line we will have to go to. Anyone know if non-Citizen CC members still go to the non-citizen line, or can the CC check in desk handle them as well?

Enjoy your trip!

 

[jrabbit]

As for going to the consulate, that won't work. Only the British Embassy in D.C. issues British passports in the US and we're in California.

Fly to DC first, get the passport, then continue your journey to Orlando.

 

[crisi]

I have friends who ran into this, they got stuck in Canada for three days while the mess was sorted out. Nightmarish for them. Customs agents with a bug in their netherparts don't budge - even when they are wrong.

 

[Cruise]

Well, it seems like it's taken care of itself. DH can't take the vacation time as planned, so we'll be going later in the year.

We've actually done the cruise before, so we knew they'd hold the passport and Green Card during the trip. He wasn't thrilled about that either since the US government actually tells you to never surrender the GC to anyone. But they did make us a photocopy to hold on to and we kept that in the room safe.

As for flying to DC first then on to Orlando, we run into the problem that, since we're coming from the west coast, DH already has to take an extra day off (the preceeding Friday) in order for us to get on the ship on Saturday. Then there's no assurance they'd even be able to process it that day anyway.

But, as I said - all taken care of. I'll send it off now and surely it will be back by August

Thanks all for the advice!

Julie

 

[ivanova]

Grand Caymen apparently doesn't even require passports of British citizens - just proof of citizenship in some form.

This would be because the Cayman Islands are British.