MalagaAnna

My family and I are sailing on the Norwegian Epic in 4 weeks, we have British passports and are sailing from Barcelona to Italy and France, back to Barcelona.

My daughters passport will have 4 months validity left on and having checked the gov.uk sites for each country we are travelling and also spoken to the embassies in person, they all state as long as the passport is valid for the duration of our stay we are ok.

I realise I've answered my own question, but I'm still nervous we are going to get stopped at embarkation onto NCL as their policy states passports need to have 6 months validity. When I spoke to someone at NCL she was a little vague but seemed to think this policy was aimed at the American market.

My question is: Has anyone boarded a Norwegian cruise with a British passport bound for Europe with less than 6 months validity without problem?

Eschew

I have been told time and time again 3 months of minimum time from the expiry date before end of travel by various people in various time; and yet I know of people (my sister) who used the passport to the very last day and as long as it has not expired yet, it is still a valid document, although you may get dirty look from border security/custom/immigration people.

In reality, your 5-years passport is only good for 4 years and 9 months.

It was explained to me that the reasons for time period before expiry date is due to "just in case". In the situation of my sister who used her passport to the very last day, if there would have been a flight delay for a day, she would not be able to travel and go home as she will be without a valid passport.

I have been told the "time period" is based on the country you visit and not the passport you hold, and 3 months is the norm. The only time that I have come across 6 months from expiry was for Egypt and Israel.

I pulled the following from the various consulate web pages and the message seems to be consistent:

"A passport that must be valid for at least three months beyond the date of expected departure from the Schengen area."

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/com...icle/faq-visas

However, based on the Gov.UK web pages, the answer is you don't need to. (But that could be for returning to UK)
https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control...ave-for-the-uk
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements


To be safe, I would make sure there is at least 3 months to expiry from the return date.

MalagaAnna

Thank you for your detailed response. I've checked the same sites at gov.uk and they all say the same as you have said.

There will be around 4.5 months remaining on her passport so we should be ok.

This is our first cruise so we have no idea who and when our passports will be checked, assume obviously when were checked in by NCL staff at least.

I think I can begin to look forward to it now, thank you again.

Eschew

MakagaAnna, on the cruise that you are going on, they will check your passports at the terminal in Barcelona when you first check-in (by the NCL staff). They will issue you a "cruise card" and for the entire duration of the cruise, that would be your ID, your room key, and your credit card on board. They do not accept credit card or cash on board.

As precaution, I will print some of those web pages from the various governments just in case the staff get stupid and insisted that you need 6 months ahead of expiry.

Every time you leave the ship or get back on board, they will check and scan your "cruise card", the local authority may ask for another piece of ID at the port gate, but that was rare. Always carry another picture ID with you anyway just to be sure. I always kept my passport locked up ion the safe. Some country may ask for a passport but that is really rare. The ship will usually tell you that in advance and remind you before you get off. The only place that I remember that had asked for a passport was St Pete in Russia.

When you get on board, the ship will take a picture of you and that picture is connected to your cruise card, so when they scan your cruise card, you picture will pop up in their handheld device and they will know if it is you or not in an instant! Just make sure you don't lose the cruise card. You will see some people wear their cruise card around their neck on a lanyard.

Since this is your first cruise, I would like to suggest that you read up on the information available here in Fodors. The link is below:
http://www.fodors.com/cruises/101

Feel free to ask questions and hopefully, people will answer and offer suggestions!

P_M

I don't know much about British passports but I'm just curious--how hard would it be to renew the passport in the time you have?

I am a little uncomfortable with NCL's vague answer to your question. I would email NCL and get something in writing that says you are OK.

MalagaAnna

Great info on checking in etc, thanks for that.

I know I have thought about risking getting a renewal in time but were not actually in the UK at the moment and I think I would be pushing it, wish I'd checked it sooner but anyway....

I just spoke to a fantastic guy from NCL, (wish i'd had him from the start) he is very knowledgeable and as soon as i mentioned the passport issue he put my mind at ease and said it is absolutely fine, nothing to worry about on a British passport in Europe, only very few countries enforce the 6 month rule.

I now have him as my personal cruise consultant.

I will check that page out Eschew, thank you.

Kathie

It sounds like you aren't going to any countries that require 6 months validity on your passport, but there are quite a number that do. It looks like you will be ok this time, but before you next trip, make sure all of the family's passports will be valid 6 months beyond your departure date (and yes, I know people who have been turned away because of this).

Odin

You are travelling to Spain, Italy & France only, right? You have nothing to worry about, 4 months validity left on a British passport is plenty for travel to EU countries. My passport expires soon and I will not be renewing it until the last month, my OH's passport expired 1st week Jan and we were still travelling over Xmas and NY. Even when I travel to the US, there is not a 6 month passport validity rule.