Passports expire six weeks after cruise: is this ok?

[mrsgthatsme]

We are planning a last minute Bahamas cruise due to a great GT rate we ran across. However, I just realized that my kids’ passports expire 6 weeks after our cruise. I know that they generally say you should have 6 months left on your passport. The cruise is in October so I don’t think we have time to apply for new ones. Should we not book the trip? If the passports won’t work, could we use their birth certificates since we are only stopping at Nassau and CC? Thanks!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

We are planning a last minute Bahamas cruise due to a great GT rate we ran across. However, I just realized that my kids’ passports expire 6 weeks after our cruise. I know that they generally say you should have 6 months left on your passport. The cruise is in October so I don’t think we have time to apply for new ones. Should we not book the trip? If the passports won’t work, could we use their birth certificates since we are only stopping at Nassau and CC? Thanks!

Yes, it's fine. The Bahamas doesn't have a requirement that passports be valid for 6 months after entry to the country.

 

[Clarkson U]

I would bring both passports and their birth certificates. As young kids they are not expected to have a photo ID so I would just bring both in the event anyone questions you.

Better to be safe and it’s easy to travel with both!

 

[meremac]

Actually, the Bahamas DOES have the 6-month expiration rule for passports, but since it's a closed-loop cruise, a birth certificate will suffice. You can bring the passport too if you want, but definitely have the birth certificate with you as well.

 

[n2mm]

I would bring both passports and their birth certificates. As young kids they are not expected to have a photo ID so I would just bring both in the event anyone questions you.

Better to be safe and it’s easy to travel with both!

this happened to us. I called dcl and told them my pp was expiring within 2 months. They told me to bring my BC and ID as backup. As we know the PP is very important if there’s an emergency and have to fly home from a foreign port.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

From https://traveltips.usatoday.com/countries-require-six-months-passport-validity-100788.html

"Canada and Mexico do not enforce the six-month rule for U.S. passport holders, although the one blank page requirement does apply. Caribbean and Central American nations that enforce the six-month validity rule are Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama (where the passport must be valid three months beyond arrival). In Latin America, the six-month rule countries are: Bolivia, Ecuador (including the Galapagos Islands), Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela."

Bahamas doesn't require 6 months. The OP is fine with just the passports.

 

[mrsgthatsme]

Thanks all! Great idea to bring passports and BCs just to be safe! We will do that!

 

[meremac]

From https://traveltips.usatoday.com/countries-require-six-months-passport-validity-100788.html

"Canada and Mexico do not enforce the six-month rule for U.S. passport holders, although the one blank page requirement does apply. Caribbean and Central American nations that enforce the six-month validity rule are Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama (where the passport must be valid three months beyond arrival). In Latin America, the six-month rule countries are: Bolivia, Ecuador (including the Galapagos Islands), Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela."

Bahamas doesn't require 6 months. The OP is fine with just the passports.

My apologies: you're right! I was looking at the official Bahamas government page, and it says there that visitors must have a passport with at least 6 months left before expiration to fly home in an emergency (which is really the only reason you'd need a passport on a closed-loop Bahamian cruise anyway), but it looks like they make exceptions for US citizens.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

My apologies: you're right! I was looking at the official Bahamas government page, and it says there that visitors must have a passport with at least 6 months left before expiration to fly home in an emergency (which is really the only reason you'd need a passport on a closed-loop Bahamian cruise anyway), but it looks like they make exceptions for US citizens.

I could have worded my original post better to clarify the exception for US Passport holders. I was just thinking in terms of practical application rather than the actual wording.