May not be able to cruise after all, and Celebrity isn't interested in helping :(

[OttawaJohn]

21 minutes ago, kathy49 said:

not sure about Canada but processing here in US  requires a long lead time....sent mine in and maybe took at least 2 months.  It is just the way it is.  The thing that got me about this thread is thinking Celebrity cared about it or would accommodate changes etc.   And in response to the puns and humor correct totally missed it.  

Canada has a bit of a disaster right now in regards to passport renewals/requests, though some recent changes by the government are helping streamline it.  But if you google it, you can find lots of articles outlining the depth of the mess.  People lined up for days, queues around the block, passport Canada phone lines overwhelmed and ringing busy so you can't get updates, etc. 

 

But after a ton of bad press and real problems (people missing funerals, etc) they started to take it seriously.  I didn't have to go to the queues thankfully but a friend who did reported they were quickly sorted into smaller and smaller lines based on priority, and people more then 30 days out were just told to leave.  She got hers, and I got mine.

 

So all worked out.

[kathy49]

3 minutes ago, OttawaJohn said:

Canada has a bit of a disaster right now in regards to passport renewals/requests, though some recent changes by the government are helping streamline it.  But if you google it, you can find lots of articles outlining the depth of the mess.  People lined up for days, queues around the block, passport Canada phone lines overwhelmed and ringing busy so you can't get updates, etc. 

 

But after a ton of bad press and real problems (people missing funerals, etc) they started to take it seriously.  I didn't have to go to the queues thankfully but a friend who did reported they were quickly sorted into smaller and smaller lines based on priority, and people more then 30 days out were just told to leave.  She got hers, and I got mine.

 

So all worked out.

That is awful just like the chaos at airports etc. It is a tough time to travel in general but when the stress starts well before departure date even worse. I guess anyone going in the next 6 months? better use all expedited options available?  It is not much better here in US.

[Oklahoma Cruiser 2012]

11 hours ago, RedIguana said:

Obviously everyone has seen a few of these passport threads. The Canadian and US governments need to get into the 21st century and not require sending in the current valid one for renewal. They just send it back to you anyway, they have all your passport stuff in the database. 

Yes, but they have to know that you still possess the old one before issuing a new one. I'm sure tons of people don't report stolen or lost passports.  According to the State Department, your old one serves as the proof of citizenship, so you don't have to go through the whole birth certificate thing again. I renewed mine with just an application and old passport. From start to finish, took 6 days shy of a month to get it back. 

[OttawaJohn]

1 hour ago, kathy49 said:

That is awful just like the chaos at airports etc. It is a tough time to travel in general but when the stress starts well before departure date even worse.

 

Yeah, it's sad.  My wife and I love to travel, and we always have a countdown app on our phones for our next trip.  This time though, as it counted down, we were getting more anxious, not excited. 

 

Now that the passport is in hand, it's a major relief.  Barring testing positive for Covid, we are doing what we can to mitigate what we can control.  Heading out the day before we normally would in case of flight issues.  Carry on luggage only. 

 

Still more stressful then it should be for our first vacation in three years but we're excited nonetheless. 

[kathy49]

2 hours ago, OttawaJohn said:

 

Yeah, it's sad.  My wife and I love to travel, and we always have a countdown app on our phones for our next trip.  This time though, as it counted down, we were getting more anxious, not excited. 

 

Now that the passport is in hand, it's a major relief.  Barring testing positive for Covid, we are doing what we can to mitigate what we can control.  Heading out the day before we normally would in case of flight issues.  Carry on luggage only. 

 

Still more stressful then it should be for our first vacation in three years but we're excited nonetheless. 

You have got the bases covered...hope it all goes well.  Skip the bus type tours! Those don't look fun especially these days.

[Guppy99]

On 7/13/2022 at 10:15 AM, RedIguana said:

It it useless once it hits the expiration date. There is no reason they can't process your new one while you still use the current valid one. It is not like the old non RFID/computer data-base passports that could be altered or faked fairly easy. 

Glad to know we have some worldwide security experts on the board.