passport - need to be valid for 6 months????

[itutorfortravel]

Our passports expired 1 month after we cruised. Nothing was ever said to us about the expiration date. When we went through customs, I handed the officer the pile of passports we had, he just waived us through, didn't even look at them.

I did double check before we went and they said the 6 month buffer was only necessary if doing a Med cruise.

where did you cruise to?

 

[NancyIL]

I just got off the phone with aa DCL agent to ask this question.

My DH's and my passports expire less than 3 months after our upcoming cruise and I wasn't sure what I would need to do. We are going on a Southern Caribbean cruise, and she said it was not a problem at all, that you only needed the 6 month buffer if you were traveling to Europe.

So now I wonder if I should just forget about renewing till we get back. A little part of me is always going to worry about it if I don't go ahead and renew, but on the other hand, I would rather not spend the extra money on expedited passports right now if I don't have to.

Since you don't need passports at all for a closed-loop cruise, I would NOT bother to renew right now. I would take the time to find your birth certificates and bring those along, in addition to your current passports.

 

[Anal Annie]

Well that makes sense if TRAVELLING there- not if getting off at the port for a day on a cruise. If travelling you may end up staying longer than planned, surely if you missed your cruise ship you wouldn't then decide to hang around for 3-6mo. So therefore it still seems unnecessary to me.
(to require that much time when cruising and your ship is stopping at that port for a day)

I think part of the point behind it is just to cover the "what ifs" too. When you're about to board a cruise to a country with this requirement they don't want to hear you say "Oh but I'm not getting off the boat there". The point is that the boat DOES stop there and everyone on the boat has to meet that countries entry requirements. Likewise, WHAT IF you were on an excursion and something happened to you? Maybe an accident that lands you in a hospital for an extended time? Maybe you get arrested for some who knows what reason? Your passport expiration needs to have some extra time on it to allow for these unforseen circumstances. If your passport expires in 6 weeks and something goes wrong & you have to be hospitalized for 8 weeks in a foreign country then you're screwed for coming home.

 

[MichaelG]

Net: I'd be safe & renew...It's good for 10 years (adult). It is up to the country who accpets you in.

tvguy...Love the UMPIRE sign!