passport expiration question

[Carohs]

Is it required to have 6 months extra on your passport for cruising. If it is, is it 6 months from date of embarkation or debarkation? So if DD's passport expires 12/1, we would need to return by 7/1 or 6/30?

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

For international travel your passport needs to extend 6 months after the last day of travel. Although, there are some countries that only require 3 months. Where are you cruising?

 

[serrem2]

I believe that for a closed loop cruise to the Bahamas, the only requirement is that your passport expires after the date the cruise returns to the US. I had a passport that expired 12/1, and Disney customer support told me it would be OK to use on a 4 night Bahama cruise leaving 11/2. (I got a new passport anyway, but two of my family cruising with me are using passports that expire within 90 days of sailing).

 

[Clarkson U]

Got off three day Wish today! He didn’t even look at our passports today. It was just my wife and I and I had two USA passports in my hand. He asked if we bought anything and i told him a tervis tumbler and a coffee mug (that’s all we got) and he didn’t even look at passports and said have a great day!

 

[anricat]

It's my understanding that the country you're visiting sets the rule for passport expiration. That said, for the most up to date official information, I would probably get it straight from DCL. Here are some previous threads on this topic if you'd like to read the wide range of opinions on this one:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/passport-expiring-disney-cruise.3657676/
https://www.disboards.com/threads/passport-expiration-question.3617924/
https://www.disboards.com/threads/passport-expiring.3657677/

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Got off three day Wish today! He didn’t even look at our passports today. It was just my wife and I and I had two USA passports in my hand. He asked if we bought anything and i told him a tervis tumbler and a coffee mug (that’s all we got) and he didn’t even look at passports and said have a great day!

Did the airport use facial recognition? That matches the photo on file with your face real time. A match and you're normally good to go.

 

[RedHead0186]

Did the airport use facial recognition? That matches the photo on file with your face real time. A match and you're normally good to go.

Neither MCO nor Port Canaveral have face recognition passport control (at least not that I've ever seen). I experienced it flying into Barcelona earlier this year. It's pretty nice, though a little unnerving because you are put in this little booth and have to wait for the scan to clear before they 'let you out.' I get a little claustrophobic, plus it was an overnight flight so I was a little sleep deprived, so a might bit unnerving. But overall pretty easy to do.

 

[RedHead0186]

Got off three day Wish today! He didn’t even look at our passports today. It was just my wife and I and I had two USA passports in my hand. He asked if we bought anything and i told him a tervis tumbler and a coffee mug (that’s all we got) and he didn’t even look at passports and said have a great day!

That was my experience getting off the Fantasy a couple weeks ago. He didn't even ask me any questions, just barely glanced at my passport and said "have a good day." I was ready to answer questions but didn't have to, took all of maybe 30 seconds, lol.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Neither MCO nor Port Canaveral have face recognition passport control (at least not that I've ever seen). I experienced it flying into Barcelona earlier this year. It's pretty nice, though a little unnerving because you are put in this little booth and have to wait for the scan to clear before they 'let you out.' I get a little claustrophobic, plus it was an overnight flight so I was a little sleep deprived, so a might bit unnerving. But overall pretty easy to do.

According to CBP they are as of a month ago for MCO for Terminal C with 100% usage of it for arrivals and departures of international flights though the airport has had facial recognition for several years in a different capacity. According to information Port Canaveral also uses facial recognition (as of fall 2021) for those leaving the ship too.

TBH you're likely being tracked without realizing it although signs should be there in places that use it. I remember when we came back through MCO from Jamaica in 2018 there was a small camera we put our face up for a few seconds and that was basically it. I can't remember if the Customs officer actually physically took our passports after the picture at that time.

 

[RedHead0186]

According to CBP they are as of a month ago for MCO for Terminal C with 100% usage of it for arrivals and departures of international flights though the airport has had facial recognition for several years in a different capacity. According to information Port Canaveral also uses facial recognition (as of fall 2021).

TBH you're likely being tracked without realizing it although signs should be there in places that use it. I remember when we came back through MCO from Jamaica in 2018 there was a small camera we put our face up for a few seconds and that was basically it. I can't remember if the Customs officer actually physically took our passports after the picture at that time.

Oh, riiiiiight, I forgot about Terminal C. They definitely did not use any cameras at PC when I was there, I wasn't directed to look anywhere specifically, and I don't think I held still long enough to have my picture taken. I'm sure they have cameras to track (though didn't see any signs indicating such, but I might have just missed them), but they didn't use any targeted facial recognition coming back in to PC. Maybe because it was a closed loop cruise?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Oh, riiiiiight, I forgot about Terminal C. They definitely did not use any cameras at PC when I was there, I wasn't directed to look anywhere specifically, and I don't think I held still long enough to have my picture taken. I'm sure they have cameras to track (though didn't see any signs indicating such, but I might have just missed them), but they didn't use any targeted facial recognition coming back in to PC. Maybe because it was a closed loop cruise?

"Port Canaveral is among the ports that deploy facial recognition equipment in its terminals to speed up the process of passengers leaving the ship by tracking the passengers through this technology, Bergeron said. That process also "helps us in security to clear the terminal," Bergeron said, and avoid the mixing of departing and boarding passengers."

On a closed loop if you don't use your passport as far as I read you wouldn't be eligible for facial recognition regardless.

Either way that's my guess for a speedy way through, sure would be nice if that's always the case

 

[pjacobi]

Got off three day Wish today! He didn’t even look at our passports today.

The same thing happened on my cruise many years ago. The custom agent never looks at the passports.

I assume that the custom agent reviewed the passenger list electronically.

I think that there was a report some time ago about someone boarding or departing the ship and was immediately arrested on a warrant. I'm sure checks are done even without the physical passports.


-Paul

 

[lanejudy]

Is it required to have 6 months extra on your passport for cruising.

As others have said -- it can depend on where your cruise departs, where it plans to stop, and where it ends. That said, most (if not all) closed-loop cruises out of the US on DCL's itineraries only require the passport be valid during the dates of travel. So it could expire the next day or next week after you debark.

 

[hrhdhd]

Some airlines use facial recognition at MCO (pre Terminal C) for international flight boarding. British Airways is one.

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

If you want to be double-safe, bring the birth-certificates as well. Those don't expire

 

[Carohs]

Oy. So the answer is it depends... So the lesson here is renew the passport well before it actually expires (which is okay for an adult passport, more annoying for a kid's one) or travel on a closed looped cruise that only requires a birth certificate to sail (or research each country of every cruise I'm considering taking in that 6 month timeframe, no ty).

 

[AquaDame]

Yep, you got it. The main reason is countries want you to have a valid passport if something happens and you are stuck longer than intended. They want to make sure they can send you home with no hassle! A closed loop cruise from your own country where you are only stopping in for X number of hours in their country is low risk.

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

Oy. So the answer is it depends... So the lesson here is renew the passport well before it actually expires (which is okay for an adult passport, more annoying for a kid's one) or travel on a closed looped cruise that only requires a birth certificate to sail (or research each country of every cruise I'm considering taking in that 6 month timeframe, no ty).

You gotta love that the government beauracracy cannot make up it's mind or make things easy

 

[Carohs]

The easiest thing to do is stick to west coast Mexico cruises. Only one country and getting into Mexico has never really required documentation. It's always been all about the border crossing back

 

[mousefan73]

Each country is different and expiration is based on return date . So the passport needs to be valid for the entire trip. 6 months is the general rule, some 3 months. I personally have in my head our passports actually expire 6 months before they really do.