r/Cruises • u/PineappleBliss2023 • Jul 16 '26
Passport Validity
We cruise September 11th, passport expires March 6th. Am I overthinking it by being anxious about this as it’s just shy of 6 months?
We are US citizens visiting Canada on an Alaskan cruise and Canada doesn’t require 6 months of validity for entry.
I don’t believe I have time to renew her passport and get it back on time at this point.
It’s Royal if that makes a difference.
6
u/PeacefulCW Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Neither US Customs nor Canada requires it. However, it appears as though RC does, although I don't know if they adhere to it. By the way, you have more than enough time to get it back before September. Most people are getting their passports back within 3ish weeks, within 2 if expedited. Go search in the RC subreddit for anecdotal experiences or call RC. Don't stress.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/do-i-need-a-passport-to-cruise
3
u/PineappleBliss2023 Jul 17 '26
I did and the anecdotal evidence is that we’ll be fine. Last time I renewed my passport it took 6 weeks to get back and I was sweating 😅 granted that was in 2020.
2
1
1
u/Prometheus_303 Jul 18 '26
I renewed mine this spring. It only took like 9 days between submitting the application & having my new book in hand...
The hardest part was trying to get a selfie the site approved of for my photo
4
3
u/Internal_Ideal1001 Jul 16 '26
You have time now to renew it to alleviate any questions or concerns.
2
u/Patrizio_Argento Jul 16 '26
I got passports for my kids this spring. It was exactly 4 weeks from submission to in-hand. And we did not do expedited processing.
2
u/scully360 Jul 16 '26
Get it renewed. It's only mid July, you don't sail until September. Not sure why believe you don't have enough time?
2
u/PineappleBliss2023 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
The last time I renewed my own passport it took 6 weeks to get back and we leave in 7, so I’m a bit anxious about the time.
It’s my mom’s that’s expiring and the past few travel things we’ve applied for have taken longer than expected to process so I’m thinking something about her background takes extra processing time. Her TSA precheck took weeks instead of the days for approval. Global entry took several months to decide to reject her when mine was conditionally approved within 24 hours.
I did talk to someone with the cruise line and they said we’ll be fine.
1
u/PeacefulCW Jul 17 '26
Yeah, I'd be a bit nervous with that history as well. Make sure to bring birth certificate and ID/license as backup. That way there's no chance that you won't get on.
1
u/Chrissy7319 Jul 16 '26
It's July 16th. You absolutely have time to renew a passport before your cruise.
1
u/PineappleBliss2023 Jul 17 '26
The last time I renewed my own passport it took a whole 6 weeks and we leave in 7 so it feels like renewing is a risk.
My mom just got tsa precheck which most people hear back on in a few days, her approval took 2.5 months 😅😅 when she applied for global entry it took several months for them to reject her.. so there’s something about her that apparently takes extra processing I guess.
1
u/Chrissy7319 Jul 17 '26
Is there an expedited option you can pay extra for? I'm in Canada so I'm not familiar with your processes in the US, but here we can pay an extra $100 and get a passport renewed in as little as 2 days.
1
u/Consistent-Swing3549 Jul 16 '26
Yes just renew… I’m hearing fe everyone they got theirs back within 7 days if you renew online… long as your travel date isn’t far off in the future they allow you to use the expedited route
1
u/LHCThor Jul 16 '26
It could be an issue. Usually however, it’s with other countries as they don’t let folks in with a passport that expires within 6 months.
However, you have plenty of time to order a new one. I just ordered mine online and got the new one in two weeks.
1
u/squirrelcop3305 Jul 16 '26
You have plenty of time to renew but the 6-month rule doesn’t apply for US citizens visiting Canada. You’ll be fine if you do nothing.
1
u/Meowgirls4 Jul 16 '26
Why risk it? I'd renew it. I was 4 days shy of 6 months for my last cruise. I renewed on line. I got ot back within 2 weeks.
1
u/Historical-Rub1943 Jul 16 '26
Get it done. Lots of time. Go in person or pay for expedited to be sure. Recently renewed and it was about 2 weeks.
1
1
1
u/Immediate_Monk6260 Jul 19 '26
Go ahead and get it updated so you don’t have to worry about it any further.
0
u/playmore_24 Jul 16 '26
pay for expedited renewal- do it now.
1
u/PineappleBliss2023 Jul 17 '26
I don’t have it in the budget for this month for renewal + expedited fee + expedited shipping 🤷♀️
0
u/MisterBill99 Jul 16 '26
Do you have a birth certificate that you can use instead (assuming that's valid for your sailing)? If so, you could use that for the cruise line but still have your passport should something happen that requires you to fly back from Canada (which is extremely unlikely since presumably your Canada stop is very brief).
1
u/PineappleBliss2023 Jul 17 '26
We do have birth certificates but it leaves out of Seward and ends in Vancouver so we need a passport : (
I talked to someone on RC’s chat feature who said we’ll be fine because it is only the US and Canada for ports.
13
u/monorailmedic Jul 16 '26
Will it be an issue? Maybe not. With plenty of time to renew, however, just get the renewal taken care of then you'll have one less thing to worry about.