Passport Alert

[roger001]

If you need a passport renewal for cruising soon, plan ahead.  Just read today the US State Dept. said that passport issuance, even expedited, will now take between 12 and 18 weeks to get.  They said that any application given them now will probably not be processed until fall.  

[DCGuy64]

I'm glad I applied back in March, took about 5 weeks for mine to be done.

[hernando52]

I sent my & my husbands renewals in at the same time. Mine took about 8 weeks & we’re still waiting for the other one (now at 14 weeks)…….Definitely plan ahead!

[saltsandknit]

This applies to tsa precheck and global entry as well. Everything is behind. 

[CruisinNewbie11]

I agree to plan ahead.  Will say that my TSA pre-check which I applied for on July 7th, only took 2 days to be approved.  I was surprised, but greatful.

Edited July 15, 2021 by CruisinNewbie11
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[yamiangie]

I guess everyone is able to travel and now decided to apply. I handed in my app in Feb and it was six weeks from handing it in to printing it.

[kilkoyne]

4 hours ago, roger001 said:

If you need a passport renewal for cruising soon, plan ahead.  Just read today the US State Dept. said that passport issuance, even expedited, will now take between 12 and 18 weeks to get.  They said that any application given them now will probably not be processed until fall.  

 

They're telling up to 12 weeks expedited. I'm still waiting for mine; I didn't realize it had expired. 🙁

 

Here is my status:

 

"You requested expedited service when you applied, which we are currently processing within 6 weeks. Our processing times do not include mailing times, which could add 6 weeks to the door-to-door time."

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by kilkoyne

[kilkoyne]

3 hours ago, hernando52 said:

I sent my & my husbands renewals in at the same time. Mine took about 8 weeks & we’re still waiting for the other one (now at 14 weeks)…….Definitely plan ahead!

 

When did you send yours in? Did you use expedited or non-expedited? thanks

[cruiserbear55]

6 hours ago, roger001 said:

If you need a passport renewal for cruising soon, plan ahead.  Just read today the US State Dept. said that passport issuance, even expedited, will now take between 12 and 18 weeks to get.  They said that any application given them now will probably not be processed until fall.  

Sent our renewals in by  "certified-return receipt requested" on April 1. Receipt was stamped 5/19 and check was cashed on 5/20.I then checked my status online. Was informed we still had 8-12 weeks wait time.So in total we could be looking at 15-19 weeks .So anyone needs renewals, plan on a long process!!

[rabidstoat]

Do you have to send in your existing passport when getting it renewed, so that you are without a valid passport for the time it takes to get the renewal processed and returned?

[DCGuy64]

4 minutes ago, rabidstoat said:

Do you have to send in your existing passport when getting it renewed, so that you are without a valid passport for the time it takes to get the renewal processed and returned?

That's correct.

[BirdTravels]

The Certified bit (having someone sign for it) obviously added some time. We sent ours in in February and and them back in a little over 4 weeks door to door (sent priority mail with tracking only). 

Edited July 15, 2021 by BirdTravels

[BermudaBound2014]

14 hours ago, saltsandknit said:

This applies to tsa precheck and global entry as well. Everything is behind. 

I just renewed my tsa prechexk online Tuesday. It was approved on Wednesday. Not sure how much faster they could have done it. 

[Seany527]

I applied April 18 for Global Entry and was conditionally approved on May 11. 

[DCGuy64]

9 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I just renewed my tsa prechexk online Tuesday. It was approved on Wednesday. Not sure how much faster they could have done it. 

That's wonderful. I think mine got renewed quickly, too. But: my DW allowed hers to expire and now she has to schedule an in-person interview to get it renewed. So it's a good idea to renew before it expires (this is for Global Entry, BTW, which includes TSA Precheck).

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

That's wonderful. I think mine got renewed quickly, too. But: my DW allowed hers to expire and now she has to schedule an in-person interview to get it renewed. So it's a good idea to renew before it expires (this is for Global Entry, BTW, which includes TSA Precheck).

 

Absolutely, I should have made a special note to state that I was renewing a valid TSA precheck prior to it expiring. And I should have also noted that even though it was less than 24 hours for me this week, that time frame could triple next week so its best to always allow ample time. 

[kdmbluerzr]

Ohhhh snap!   I just sent in renewal forms (along with our current passports) for husband and myself Tuesday this week. We have a Bliss cruise out of LA November 28th. I did read all of the info regarding passport renewal that included the how long it takes to get your new passport info. The U.S. Department of State website states 6 to 8 weeks.  Final payment date isn't until Sept 29th, so we shall see. UHGGGGG!    😬

[DCGuy64]

48 minutes ago, kdmbluerzr said:

The U.S. Department of State website states 6 to 8 weeks

When I applied it was 4-10 weeks, I got mine in 5. I tend to believe they overstate the time to be conservative.

[kdmbluerzr]

4 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

When I applied it was 4-10 weeks, I got mine in 5. I tend to believe they overstate the time to be conservative.

When did you apply?  Thanks for the input. 

[hernando52]

On 7/15/2021 at 12:39 PM, kilkoyne said:

 

When did you send yours in? Did you use expedited or non-expedited? thanks

Sent them in early April….non expedited

[caitlynambrai]

I was able to speak with someone from the passport agency this morning about the passport applications we sent a week ago. (The person who helped us with our forms at the local USPS reassured us that we did not have to expedite our applications, so we didn't pay the extra money. After reading different articles about the passport applications being delayed, I started seriously second guessing my decision!)  

Once I was finally connected with an agent,  I was told that 1) until the system shows that my application is in process online, they cannot do anything to expedite it. It can be up to 6 weeks for it to show up as "in process". 2) If I DO choose to change it over to an expedited application, it can take up to 20 business days to make the change. So, in my situation, I can pay an additional $60 per application and only have it move over to the expedited side  about 2.5 months from now, and then they still have to process it. I stated to the lady helping me that it sounded as though there would be no advantage from expediting our applications after the fact, and she agreed.  She did state that the 18 week turnaround is the worst case scenario right now. Most applications are not taking 18 weeks.  As my travel is 19 weeks after we submitted our applications, I am going to get a lot of practice trying to calm my anxiety. 

 

 

(FYI: I called right at 8am and was on hold for 33 minutes. The automated message provided me with an accurate status update every 5 minutes. Earlier in the week, I called at 8:06 and was told the wait time was 1 hour 30 min. I stayed on hold for 40 min and the length of my hold time never changed, per the automated message. If you're calling, call at 8am sharp. I tried tricking the system and called at 7:59 am but seemed to get stuck in the system as the system changed over at 8am. I had to hang up and dial again)

[DCGuy64]

5 hours ago, kdmbluerzr said:

When did you apply?  Thanks for the input. 

March 13, delivered April 19. 5 weeks and 2 days from start to finish. 

Edited July 17, 2021 by DCGuy64

[kilkoyne]

12 hours ago, kdmbluerzr said:

Ohhhh snap!   I just sent in renewal forms (along with our current passports) for husband and myself Tuesday this week. We have a Bliss cruise out of LA November 28th. I did read all of the info regarding passport renewal that included the how long it takes to get your new passport info. The U.S. Department of State website states 6 to 8 weeks.  Final payment date isn't until Sept 29th, so we shall see. UHGGGGG!    😬

 

Dept of State is saying up to 18 weeks Routine and up to 12 weeks Expedite. I know this because I submitted mine in June and these were the times listed on their site.
 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html/

• Routine service can take up to 18 weeks from the day an application is submitted to the day a new passport is received. The 18-week timeframe includes up to 12 weeks for processing and up to 6 weeks for mailing times on the front and back end.

• Expedite service can take up to 12 weeks from the day an application is submitted to the day a new passport is received. 

[kilkoyne]

 

12 hours ago, kdmbluerzr said:

Ohhhh snap!   I just sent in renewal forms (along with our current passports) for husband and myself Tuesday this week. We have a Bliss cruise out of LA November 28th. I did read all of the info regarding passport renewal that included the how long it takes to get your new passport info. The U.S. Department of State website states 6 to 8 weeks.  Final payment date isn't until Sept 29th, so we shall see. UHGGGGG!    😬

 

 

 

From what I've read on another forum on 6/17/2021 the Department of State increased their timeline for renewing passports to the times I listed on previous post.

 

It looks like you're cruise is 19 weeks away so "should" receive in time but would be cutting it close if it took the full 18 weeks. Did you choose routine or expedited?

 

 

[kdmbluerzr]

11 hours ago, kilkoyne said:

Routine. And mailed it Priority with tracking.  So If I don't receive the passports before final pay date, I will inquiry to the status of the passports and if they aren't close to being issued and mailed, I will cancel the cruise. If I end up getting them in time to rebook and make things work out I might do that, it's a wait and see thing.  Not much else one can do. 

 

 

From what I've read on another forum on 6/17/2021 the Department of State increased their timeline for renewing passports to the times I listed on previous post.

 

It looks like you're cruise is 19 weeks away so "should" receive in time but would be cutting it close if it took the full 18 weeks. Did you choose routine or expedited?