Passports for Closed Loop cruise that includes Roatan and Belize

[sunviking90]

15 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I am an American and I have traveled to Canada and Mexico a bunch of times without a passport both by land and by air. Flew to Montreal in 1967 did not have or need a passport. Flew to Toronto. Drove across the border to Montreal without a passport several times. Also to Toronto and Niagara Falls. Often decided at the spur of the moment to drive across the border to Canada.  Never even crossed our minds to travel to Canada and Mexico with a passport even when we had them. The border agents often waved us through without asking for any ID. Usually they just asked why we were crossing. 

Things are a lot different than they were in 1967. I remember driving down to the US frequently in my late teens (early 80’s) and just having a driver’s license. I know I had a passport as we used to visit relatives in the UK, but I didn’t bring it with me to the US.

By the 90’s we definitely weren’t going anywhere without our passports.

 

My current one was to expire in Feb 24, so I sent in for the renewal early June. Summer is our time to stay put or travel locally so I figured this was the best time to do it. I was told it would be 6 weeks or more as the Canadian govt employees were only recently back from a strike.

I had my new passport in 2 weeks! Pretty impressed. I booked a last minute cruise to Alaska of course! We don’t have to stay home after all.

Edited June 7, 2023 by sunviking90

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, sunviking90 said:

Things are a lot different than they were in 1967. I remember driving down to the US frequently in my late teens (early 80’s) and just having a driver’s license. I know I had a passport as we used to visit relatives in the UK, but I didn’t bring it with me to the US.

By the 90’s we definitely weren’t going anywhere without our passports.

 

My current one was to expire in Feb 24, so I sent in for the renewal early June.

My first passport was in 1973 to visit the UK and I always renewed it since but I did not use it when visiting Canada or Mexico until it was required sometime after 2000. It is understandable that things are different now than before 2001. I do think that anyone traveling internationally would be wise to have a passport but there are so many sanctimonious posts when someone asks a question about not having one or if they can use a birth certificate. Also sanctimonius posts about Americans from non Americans about Americans not having passports. Some people seem to think people get stranded in an emergency and never can come home. A temporary or emergency passport can be obtained if out of the US in the very rare circumstance it is needed. 

 

We have not always needed passports for travel out of the US to places in North America and we still have the ability to travel on most closed loop cruises without a passport. We can also use WHTI documents, not passport books for some land border and sea crossings in North America too. Someone with an EDL or passport card can cross into Canada by land. 

 

I think cost is a valid reason, it adds up for a large family and should not be poo, pooed. For some families it is a trip of a lifetime, they don't take a cruise every year. Also the process to get the first one or renew takes time and some effort. This year some have been caught flat flooted by long delays in getting their passports after applying. Really it is savvy to renew a year in advance of expiration and when mine needs to renew I will attempt to renew taht early but last time I had so many interantional trips booked that the only window I had was five months before it expired. That was in 2016 and it renewed in 3 weeks. Our government is failing us with renewals taking 2 or 3 months but it is what it is.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Charles4515

[Cruise Raider]

On 6/6/2023 at 1:29 PM, Jersey42 said:

They are quoting ONLY 13 weeks for standard service ☹️.  You can shorten that to 7-9 weeks for an extra $60.  Times do not include the time in the mail.  Crazy.  We just mailed our renewals off this morning as we have no international travel planned for the next four months.  

 

I don't have any travel that requires a passport until late Sept.  I sure ours are back by then.  

 

[voljeep]

4 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

I don't have any travel that requires a passport until late Sept.  I sure ours are back by then.  

 

I forgot about having to mail in your current passport and a current pic.  Do they keep the passport until they issue the renewed passport? - what happens in an emergency that you need the still valid passport for travel?  We obviously keep a color copy of the passport before mailing it in, does that help?

[Cruise Raider]

3 minutes ago, voljeep said:

I forgot about having to mail in your current passport and a current pic.  Do they keep the passport until they issue the renewed passport? - what happens in an emergency that you need the still valid passport for travel?  We obviously keep a color copy of the passport before mailing it in, does that help?

 

They do keep it although they note it will be mailed back separately from your new passport.  They also note not to plan any international travel while your new passport is being processed.  We will see ... 

I believe we mailed ours in about 5 weeks ago ... so, will try to remember to report back when we've actually received it.  We just kept seeing deals on cruises at the beginning of the year so kept booking them.  Now, it's time to save some money ... haha!  Being grounded has helped a bit but hasn't kept me from booking anything after the summer.  

 

 

[capriccio]

5 minutes ago, voljeep said:

I forgot about having to mail in your current passport and a current pic.  Do they keep the passport until they issue the renewed passport? - what happens in an emergency that you need the still valid passport for travel?  We obviously keep a color copy of the passport before mailing it in, does that help?

They keep your submitted passport until the new passport has been sent to you.  Most people receive their expired passport a few days/week later.  I think the first processing step is to mark it as invalid. I know in my case - because I looked at the postmarks - my new passport came from one location and the expired passport was sent from another.  In the case of an emergency since you need a valid passport, I would consult the State Department's website for instructions.

[RNRcruisers]

I had no idea the passport wait times are so long right now! We had a cruise in February this year and passports that expired in April. I knew that some countries require expiration dates to be at least 3-6 months beyond the trip but didn't think it would be necessary for a cruise. So after dragging our feet (we had been to London in the fall and should have renewed right after that trip) we finally decided to be safe rather than sorry and paid extra to expedite our renewal in December. The time back then was three to four weeks and I believe and we received them in four. I was never so relieved when they arrived. The old ones are invalid as soon as they are received by the passport office.

 

That being said, we went on several cruises before 2013 when we got our passports for an Alaskan cruise. It wasn't a problem, although I much prefer traveling with a passport.

 

And for those wondering why Americans don't get passports - we are a large country and there are many places we can travel without one. I feel very fortunate to be able to travel internationally but many are not that lucky.

[Jersey42]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

I forgot about having to mail in your current passport and a current pic.  Do they keep the passport until they issue the renewed passport? - what happens in an emergency that you need the still valid passport for travel?  We obviously keep a color copy of the passport before mailing it in, does that help?

As the others have said, your old passport must be summitted as part of the renewal process.  The old passport will be invalidated and traveling with a copy will not work.

 

Hopefully, you will not have any emergency travel while waiting for the new passport.   The best that I can tell, you will have to make an in person appointment at one of the regional passport agencies (https://www.passportsandvisas.com/passport-agencies) and hope they can help you.

 

I have not found any definitive answers on an official ,gov site.  This site below does have a lot of what appears to be good information, but I would not trust any of it without verification.  https://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/can-i-travel-internationally-during-passport-renewal-process.html

 

I had the same questions as you did before submitting our renewal by mail.  So all of this based on one I found doing some online research.

 

One more thing.  When I went to mail thee renewals at the post office, the clerk offered to look at everything (forms, photos and checks) to make sure there was no obvious reasons for a rejection.  One of our signatures was in black ink and the other was in blue ink.  She said the signatures needed to be in black ink or they could be rejected.  I question whether that is true, but rather than wasting weeks or more, I went home, reprinted my form, reattached the photo, and signed it in black ink.  I returned to the post office and mailed both applications (with separate checks) in one envelope.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Jersey42
typo

[Rick&Jeannie]

For a while you were able to renew online without having to send in your old passport.  You had to meet some very specific guidelines.  They have "temporarily halted" the online process...but renewing by mail can be done, also without mailing your old passport and subject to the same limitations.

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

For a while you were able to renew online without having to send in your old passport.  You had to meet some very specific guidelines.  They have "temporarily halted" the online process...but renewing by mail can be done, also without mailing your old passport and subject to the same limitations.

When an online renewal was submitted the old passport was canceled. It could not be used for travel. 

[voljeep]

how do people that travel internationally once a month ever renew their passport? Have to make an appointment and a special trip to a physical passport office?

[Rick&Jeannie]

9 minutes ago, voljeep said:

how do people that travel internationally once a month ever renew their passport? Have to make an appointment and a special trip to a physical passport office?

I imagine so.  Of course, there's always an invitation to the "super elite travel club" that most of us will never see...

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

how do people that travel internationally once a month ever renew their passport? Have to make an appointment and a special trip to a physical passport office?

Frequent travelers probably have a second passport. US citizens have a second passport with different dates. 

[capriccio]

8 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Frequent travelers probably have a second passport. US citizens have a second passport with different dates. 

Here is the State Department's eligibility requirements for a 2nd passport book valid for "up to 4 years" (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/second-passport-book.html):

 

• A foreign country will deny a visa or entry to you because your passport has stamps showing travel to certain countries.
• You need multiple visas on an ongoing basis because of frequent international travel.
• You need a U.S. passport for urgent international travel but your application for a foreign visa is delayed or cannot be processed in time for your travel. 
• When you need a special validation for travel to a restricted country or area.

 

In most cases when applying for a second passport, you will need to complete a Renewal Application (Form DS-82). You may apply for a second passport using Form DS-82 if you can submit your full-validity, 10 year passport and you meet the other requirements to renew. You may renew your second passport but you must submit your second passport with your application. We will invalidate it so it cannot be used for international travel.

 

In some cases when applying for a second passport, you will need to apply in person and complete a Passport Application (Form DS-11) if you do not submit your full-validity, 10 year passport.

Please note: If you have you urgent international travel, you may be eligible to make an appointment to apply or renew at a passport agency or center. 

 

It looks like the processing time is similar to a regular renewal or new passport request.  If it is needed within 14 days you need to go through the emergency passport process.

 

 

[Roberto256]

On 6/6/2023 at 12:59 AM, Expat Cruise said:

No misleading of anyone here. If it is a true close loop cruise, from the United States, no passport is required. It is that simple. 

 

What's a "close loop" cruise ?

Is this when you don't have to travel very far to embark?

 

On 6/6/2023 at 12:59 AM, Expat Cruise said:

It is that simple. 

 

Apparently not.

[voljeep]

not sure anything new here, but maybe a decent recap as to how to get your passport renewed

the 'fastest'

 

Here's How to Get Your Passport as Quickly as Possible (msn.com)