Passport expiring?

[Dawn C]

Hi there - we are cruising in February and my passport (Canadian) expires in June. I know some countries require 6 or 3 months validity from cruise date. I have called every consulate as well as searched the Canadian Govt's web page and spoke with Disney rep as well as searched the Disney webpage. Some information is contradictory (ie: Jamaica), but if I stick with the Canadian gov web page, it says we should be ok. I will travel to Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay so I have searched for answers. Seems like I get an answer, but it's always prefaced with "but that can change at any time". Disney can't really answer because they aren't representatives of the individual countries. Anyway have this issue? I am afraid to get new passports because I am not sure if we have time and I've already given our passport details to Disney. Any advice??

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi there - we are cruising in February and my passport (Canadian) expires in June. I know some countries require 6 or 3 months validity from cruise date. I have called every consulate as well as searched the Canadian Govt's web page and spoke with Disney rep as well as searched the Disney webpage. Some information is contradictory (ie: Jamaica), but if I stick with the Canadian gov web page, it says we should be ok. I will travel to Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay so I have searched for answers. Seems like I get an answer, but it's always prefaced with "but that can change at any time". Disney can't really answer because they aren't representatives of the individual countries. Anyway have this issue? I am afraid to get new passports because I am not sure if we have time and I've already given our passport details to Disney. Any advice??

At this time, your passports are valid, yes? Yes, "things can change", but I think (IMO) you'll be fine.

Generally, the "must be valid for 6 months" thing is only for those cruises in Europe. The Caribbean cruise countries don't have that limit.

 

[bumbershoot]

I am afraid to get new passports because I am not sure if we have time and I've already given our passport details to Disney. Any advice??

What does the US require for your passport?

Does your passport agency website give a timeline for renewals?

Already giving the info to Disney doesn’t matter. You can change it.

 

[Dawn C]

The US requires that the passport is valid for the duration of our stay. And yes, our passports will be. I am sure Mexico is ok (already spoke with someone on the phone) and I'm awaiting an email from the Cayman Islands and Jamaica for clarification. I was reluctant to renew passports just because I know the information has to be IDENTICAL on your booking order to your passports, so I was worried about changing the passport numbers at a later date. So long as I know I can submit new numbers I should be good. Thx

 

[TFC_UNTIL_I_DIE]

You need to be concerned about the rules of the country you are using the passport to enter. Passport Canada doesn't set these rules. Canada Border Services sets the rules for foreigners entering Canada for instance.

If you can get into the US, then I wouldn't risk trying to change until after your cruise....very likely you will end up with no passport ready in time.

If Mexico has an issue, stay on the boat.

All Canadian passports now get issued for 10 years so you won't have to worry about this for a while once you renew

Based on info provided, I would not stress too much.

Did you know we have a Canadian section on Disboards? Targeted question like this will likely get a better answer there

 

[Dawn C]

No, I didn't know there was a separate Canadian section. Thanks, I will check that out. And yes, I am trying to follow up with all the countries that we're visiting.

 

[TFC_UNTIL_I_DIE]

Go back out to the main Forums - its right before Disney Cruise

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If Mexico has an issue, stay on the boat.

If someone does not have the proper documentation for entering any country on a cruise they will be denied boarding the ship in the first place. It's not a matter of "just stay on the ship".

 

[TFC_UNTIL_I_DIE]

Not always - some of the Baltic cruises were going into St Petersberg and then Russian was not allowing certain nationalities to enter (which seemed to by on a whim). This happened to both Canadians and British on a number of occasions.

 

[hpsalb]

The US requires that the passport is valid for the duration of our stay. And yes, our passports will be. I am sure Mexico is ok (already spoke with someone on the phone) and I'm awaiting an email from the Cayman Islands and Jamaica for clarification. I was reluctant to renew passports just because I know the information has to be IDENTICAL on your booking order to your passports, so I was worried about changing the passport numbers at a later date. So long as I know I can submit new numbers I should be good. Thx

We were able to update our numbers last year. They had our old ones on fine and ODS and I renewed ours between booking and boarding. We submitted the new numbers with no issues. Unless there are different rules for Canadian passport number updates you should be fine.

IMO, given that your passports would still be valid anyway, I think you would be fine.

 

[Dawn C]

Hey everyone, just an update. I remembered that the last cruise I was on, my passport would have been near expiry too (as it was 5 years ago) so I double checked. Yes, that passport was set to expire in 4 months as well. There were no problems getting into the US from Canada and no problems boarding the ship. So, if you're on a "closed loop" (starting and ending at the same port) cruise, (Western Caribbean countries) you don't even need a passport (US and Canada citizens), thanks to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (However, you most likely will need a passport to get back into your own country - it's highly recommended). However, "open loop" cruises you will need to be mindful of the countries that you enter and exit at as they will have different passport requirements. For example, St Kitts and St Barts both require 6 month passport expiries. Jamaica, Mexico, US, and Grand Cayman have no such restrictions. Just make sure your passports are valid for the duration of your stay and you're good to go.

 

[Starwind]

FWIW, we did online checkin for our December cruise, providing our soon to be expring passport info. We then renewed our passports [went in person to a Passport Canada office and we had our passports arrive within the processing times on the Passport Canada website; could have been even quicker if we paid an extra fee, but the Passport Canada employee said we didnt need to do that and told us the date we would receive the new passports - we got them a couple days early]. Once we got the new ones I went back into the DCL online checkin website and replaced the passport info with the new #. Note that online checkin is only avilable upto 3 days before the cruise.

SW

 

[kiford]

I was reluctant to renew passports just because I know the information has to be IDENTICAL on your booking order to your passports, so I was worried about changing the passport numbers at a later date. So long as I know I can submit new numbers I should be good.

We've updated our passports well after filling in the online check in (which is what I assume you were referring to). I just entered the old passport information (once I just entered nonsense) and then filled it in with correct information once I got the new passport. Where it's more important is for your flight information but you can also update that online or with a TA before you fly. We renewed our Canadian passports in October last year and got them in less than 2 weeks. You can also do a rush renewal although it costs more. Either way, I think you should be fine.

 

[cmhguy]

At this time, your passports are valid, yes? Yes, "things can change", but I think (IMO) you'll be fine.

Generally, the "must be valid for 6 months" thing is only for those cruises in Europe. The Caribbean cruise countries don't have that limit.

Saint Martin has the 6 month requirement. I have a similar conundrum and looked this up last night. I too thought most didn't have this requirement, so I was glad I checked.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Saint Martin has the 6 month requirement. I have a similar conundrum and looked this up last night. I too thought most didn't have this requirement, so I was glad I checked.

Yes, to enter the French West Indies, not on a cruise ship for a day, but actually entering the country for a period of time, they require 6 months validity upon entry.

However, the requirement also says:
NOTE: Be aware that Caribbean cruises that begin and end in the United States (closed loop cruises) do not require that you travel with a valid passport. However, should you need to disembark due to an emergency and you do not have a valid passport, you may encounter difficulties entering or remaining in a foreign country. You may also have difficulty attempting to re-enter the United States by air because many airlines will require a valid passport before allowing you to board the aircraft. As such, we strongly recommend that you always travel abroad with your valid passport.

https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...-Pages/FrenchWestIndies.html?wcmmode=disabled

So, for a round trip, US start/finish ports, Caribbean cruise that includes St. Martin, you don't have to have a passport.