passport delayed

[delliemd]

Do I need a marriage certificate & also first marriage divorce decree with birth certificate & DL to get onboard? I have never cruised without a passport, but with delays have no idea when I will get it. I am in planning process, have not booked yet.

[skynight]

Where are you going? Caribbean on a closed loop cruise? Assume you are a U.S. citizen. Check out the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements for closed loop cruises at one of the many government sites.  They have all the legal details. I can mention for sure that you will require an "original" birth certificate, one with the stamp issued by the city/county where you were born. Copies not allowed. 

Did you send your passport request to Philly? I mailed mine to Philly at the beginning of March this year, and received it back roughly the 2nd week of June, around 14 weeks.

 

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

I mailed mine to Philly at the beginning of March this year, and received it back roughly the 2nd week of June, around 14 weeks.

Same here. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

I'd say the more important question at this point is "When is your cruise"?  Yes, passport processing is delayed (I assume you've already applied...?) and hopefully you opted for expedited processing. (?)

[david63]

Another good reason why I am not American.

 

My wife renewed her UK passport last month on line and had the new passport in her hand in under a week.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, skynight said:

Where are you going? Caribbean on a closed loop cruise? Assume you are a U.S. citizen. Check out the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements for closed loop cruises at one of the many government sites.  They have all the legal details. I can mention for sure that you will require an "original" birth certificate, one with the stamp issued by the city/county where you were born. Copies not allowed. 

Did you send your passport request to Philly? I mailed mine to Philly at the beginning of March this year, and received it back roughly the 2nd week of June, around 14 weeks.

 

If the "original" is lost, you can get a copy from whatever jurisdiction originally produced it. That is what we needed to do when DW applied for a passport and discovered that her Mother had sent her the hospital copy and thrown out the real birth certificate.

[Bgwest]

50 minutes ago, david63 said:

Another good reason why I am not American.

What are some of the other reasons?

[NavyVeteran]

5 hours ago, delliemd said:

Do I need a marriage certificate & also first marriage divorce decree with birth certificate & DL to get onboard? I have never cruised without a passport, but with delays have no idea when I will get it. I am in planning process, have not booked yet.

Princess has detailed information in Pre-Cruise FAQs under Travel Document Requirements.

[Torfamm]

10 hours ago, delliemd said:

Do I need a marriage certificate & also first marriage divorce decree with birth certificate & DL to get onboard? I have never cruised without a passport, but with delays have no idea when I will get it. I am in planning process, have not booked yet.

Document requirements depend on your nationality, itinerary, and other factors. For example, if one adult is traveling with one or more minors, everyone in the party needs a passport. You can see Princess’ Travel Document requirements here 

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/prepare-for-your-cruise/

[AZjohn]

11 hours ago, david63 said:

Another good reason why I am not American.

Lol… that cracked my up🤣!

 

I personally didn’t have a choice 🙂 

[Ombud]

FWIW same day processing is available in a number of State Dept offices. SF among those that even have Saturday appts. I cannot imagine how Maryland wouldn't have a same day federal site within driving distances

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies/san-francisco.html

 

Note:: this service isn't for everyone, only for those with international travel within 15 days.  How it worked for Rafa: he had an 9 AM appointment, they changed it to 11 AM due an emergency request w/o completed forms, he returned at 11 submitted his completed forms / verifications / picture, he returned at 1 o'clock, picked up his Passport, hopped in an uber, and was on a plane to Paris at 6pm. 1 day. No problem. Did not charge expedite fee

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies/san-francisco.html

 

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by Ombud

[cr8tiv1]

15 hours ago, delliemd said:

Do I need a marriage certificate & also first marriage divorce decree with birth certificate & DL to get onboard? I have never cruised without a passport, but with delays have no idea when I will get it. I am in planning process, have not booked yet.

 

Much is speculation.  Maybe if you told us which cruise you were considering, it would let us know how much time you had to process your passport.  Is the cruise next month or next year?  

 

Are you a born American or a naturalized American?  

 

Is it a closed loop or international?

[delliemd]

8 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Much is speculation.  Maybe if you told us which cruise you were considering, it would let us know how much time you had to process your passport.  Is the cruise next month or next year?  

 

Are you a born American or a naturalized American?  

 

Is it a closed loop or international?

it is closed loop,from FLL,yes bc USA

[aleciajoyful]

My first passport was expired more than 10 years, so I had to apply for a new one, not a renewal.   I live in Florida, and I can see my passport is being mailed to me from Tucson, AZ.  I have been checking the website daily for updates for the past 3 weeks.    

 

Applied in person 7/5

Received by US Dept of State 7/7

Approved 8/30

Delivery expected 9/2 (according to USPS Informed Delivery app)  

 

8 1/2 weeks in total and I did standard service.  Travel is not until late October.  

[MissP22]

25 minutes ago, aleciajoyful said:

My first passport was expired more than 10 years, so I had to apply for a new one, not a renewal.   I live in Florida, and I can see my passport is being mailed to me from Tucson, AZ.  I have been checking the website daily for updates for the past 3 weeks.    

 

Applied in person 7/5

Received by US Dept of State 7/7

Approved 8/30

Delivery expected 9/2 (according to USPS Informed Delivery app)  

 

8 1/2 weeks in total and I did standard service.  Travel is not until late October.  

Mine took around 12-13 week even though they mailed it back with a mistake I made originally. (standard service)

[Steelers36]

23 hours ago, david63 said:

Another good reason why I am not American.

 

My wife renewed her UK passport last month on line and had the new passport in her hand in under a week.

I don't think the first line was necessary.

 

Service in Canada can vary and it was quite poor according to reports during and post-Covid.  I am not sure how they are doing these days, but our service level is 10-20 days (depending on how application submitted), plus mailing time.

[Steelers36]

11 hours ago, AZjohn said:

Lol… that cracked my up🤣!

 

I personally didn’t have a choice 🙂 

For me, I have often said in the past that the stork took a wrong turn over Lake Erie.

[Cruise Raider]

On 8/31/2023 at 4:19 AM, delliemd said:

Do I need a marriage certificate & also first marriage divorce decree with birth certificate & DL to get onboard? I have never cruised without a passport, but with delays have no idea when I will get it. I am in planning process, have not booked yet.

I just did this for a closed loop cruise back in July out of LA.  
I am assuming you are on a closed loop cruise and are an American citizen to use the following advice: 

 

You will need a government issued picture ID, such as a driver license, state ID card or Real ID, etc.  The Key is ‘government issued’

 

You will need a certified copy of your birth certificate from the county in which you were born.  
 

If you’ve had a name change (different from your birth name) due to marriage, it is stated you will need a copy of your marriage license.  To be honest, nobody even looked at that document at check in.  So, I’m not sure if that is truly required.  Your marriage license should have your birth name on it so, you will not need any divorce decrees.  

 

BTW, immigration was quick and easy with the birth certification and license, no longer than if you had your passport.  Like I mentioned, just did this and our furthest destination from the US was Ensenada.  I had very few worries about the risk of getting back to the US in case of an emergency.  The same would be true for Vancouver or even Victoria.  If my furthest destination was Puerto Vallarta or Manzanillo, I probably wouldn’t risk not having a valid passport.  That is just my opinion and my risk tolerance!  
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruise Raider]

3 hours ago, aleciajoyful said:

My first passport was expired more than 10 years, so I had to apply for a new one, not a renewal.   I live in Florida, and I can see my passport is being mailed to me from Tucson, AZ.  I have been checking the website daily for updates for the past 3 weeks.    

 

Applied in person 7/5

Received by US Dept of State 7/7

Approved 8/30

Delivery expected 9/2 (according to USPS Informed Delivery app)  

 

8 1/2 weeks in total and I did standard service.  Travel is not until late October.  

I applied in early May and it took about 13 weeks under standard service.  
Not too bad because they stated it could take up to 16 weeks.  I guess it’s all about expectations! 
 

[bwgreen]

On 9/1/2023 at 10:19 AM, Steelers36 said:

I don't think the first line was necessary.

 

Service in Canada can vary and it was quite poor according to reports during and post-Covid.  I am not sure how they are doing these days, but our service level is 10-20 days (depending on how application submitted), plus mailing time.

I just renewed ours in Ottawa (we're Canadian, obviously) and the new ones showed up at our door in just 9 days!

[Rick&Jeannie]

30 minutes ago, bwgreen said:

I just renewed ours in Ottawa (we're Canadian, obviously) and the new ones showed up at our door in just 9 days!

Nice! I wish the US could get its act together like that!

[lindros2]

Sorry if I'm late to the game here, but I'm seeing passport renewals (expedited) take between three weeks and 10 weeks (mostly 3-6 weeks now). My son's passport (<16 years old) took 22 days.

My parents got theirs in 7 weeks; it was processed in Northern VA (DC); record locator started with 19. Passport card came a week later.

Some processing centers are better than others. But you can't choose.

[Ombud]

48 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

1 hour ago, bwgreen said:

I just renewed ours in Ottawa (we're Canadian, obviously) and the new ones showed up at our door in just 9 days!

Nice! I wish the US could get its act together like that!

@Rick&Jeannie can you get same day service at your local state dept office like we can in SF & other major cities?

 

Rafa had an 9 AM appointment a few months ago (this year), they changed it to 11 AM due another person's emergency request w/o completed forms, he returned 2 hrs later at 11 submitted his completed forms / verifications / picture, returned after lunch at 1 o'clock, picked up his Passport & supporting documents, hopped in an uber, and was on a plane to Paris at 6pm. 1 day. No problem. Did not charge expedite fee. A little faster than when Sohnjay got his: he had to drop it off on a Friday & pick up Monday morning for a Tuesday flight to Europe. 

[eclue]

1 hour ago, lindros2 said:

Sorry if I'm late to the game here, but I'm seeing passport renewals (expedited) take between three weeks and 10 weeks (mostly 3-6 weeks now). My son's passport (<16 years old) took 22 days.

My parents got theirs in 7 weeks; it was processed in Northern VA (DC); record locator started with 19. Passport card came a week later.

Some processing centers are better than others. But you can't choose.

We submitted expedited service and also paid for express mail delivery for our passport renewals - it is almost 4 weeks and there has not been any email update which was requested- all it shows is that it is in process. Have a cruise next month and hoping to get the new passports back sooner rather than later. Yours is good news....being hopeful.

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

@Rick&Jeannie can you get same day service at your local state dept office like we can in SF & other major cities?

Hah! No such thing as a "local state department office" around here! We live in a very small town in southeast Tennessee.  I assume (?) there must be an office in Atlanta, but every time I looked for an appointment there nothing showed. We did our most recent renewal by mail...it didn't conflict with anything that we had on the books.  In getting our Global Entry passes we had to drive to Huntsville, Alabama.  Just the downside of living in a small town!