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Passport Clarification Needed..


cruisin_fanatic
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My nerves can't take this, think I will just bite the bullet and open up the checkbook and get a duplicate BC. I didn't want to spend the extra money if I didn't have to, but I need to request mine from California which they say takes 7-10 days, I am waiting for the mail to come today, if no passport then will order the BC.

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I have been watching the mailbox for our passports, but from what I am reading when they expedite them, they go fedex is that right? I am wondering if they could also UPS overnight or second day.......

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  • 3 weeks later...

Does it matter if you're married and your BC bears your maiden name while your DL has your married name? Do you need to bring a marriage certificate when you cruise as well???

 

We're going to cruise in December this year and not sure when we'll be going intl. again...so we're procrastinating on passports and hoping to get away with BC and DL alone this year ;)

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  • 3 weeks later...

DH sent in his passport renewal on 3/8 and the check was cashed on 3/30. It is almost 12 weeks and we are due to leave on a med-cruise.

Has anyone had a problem with receiving their passport even though the check was cashed?

I read that they are catching up with the backlog, but I find that hard to believe, since the summer is the busiest travel season.

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Does it matter if you're married and your BC bears your maiden name while your DL has your married name? Do you need to bring a marriage certificate when you cruise as well???

 

We're going to cruise in December this year and not sure when we'll be going intl. again...so we're procrastinating on passports and hoping to get away with BC and DL alone this year ;)

 

I was wondering the same thing in regards to my wife and her BC. We just decided to a cruise in July and have no time to get a passport.

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DH sent in his passport renewal on 3/8 and the check was cashed on 3/30. It is almost 12 weeks and we are due to leave on a med-cruise.

Has anyone had a problem with receiving their passport even though the check was cashed?

I read that they are catching up with the backlog, but I find that hard to believe, since the summer is the busiest travel season.

 

DH received his passport today. It arrived fed-ex.

We are glad that he started the process. Since it is now the summer season, I would suggest expiditing the request. The stress is not worth it and they will not talk to you or give you any information until it is only a few weeks from the departure date.

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DH sent in his passport renewal on 3/8 and the check was cashed on 3/30. It is almost 12 weeks and we are due to leave on a med-cruise.

Has anyone had a problem with receiving their passport even though the check was cashed?

I read that they are catching up with the backlog, but I find that hard to believe, since the summer is the busiest travel season.

 

Yes, I mailed mine for renewal the last week of March. Check was cashed about 3 weeks later, but still no passport! Today I called the passport number given and was told to call back, since it was more than 2 weeks before I am due to leave!! BTW...today is the 21st, we leave on 7/10/07. So...I will wait unitl the 26th and begin calling again. I am so pissed.....this is for a european cruise, so w/o passport...I will NOT be going.:mad: Anyone had that happen to them before?

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Yes, I mailed mine for renewal the last week of March. Check was cashed about 3 weeks later, but still no passport! Today I called the passport number given and was told to call back, since it was more than 2 weeks before I am due to leave!! BTW...today is the 21st, we leave on 7/10/07. So...I will wait unitl the 26th and begin calling again. I am so pissed.....this is for a european cruise, so w/o passport...I will NOT be going.:mad: Anyone had that happen to them before?

 

 

Have you tried checking the status online..

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html

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Hi yall, we would like to plan a special cruise for Dec 07 or Jan 08. Since my hubby has been @ war in Afghanistan for the last 2 years. My question is how well do the expedite services work that say they can get your passport back to you in 3 days time. Anyone use them lately? Can they still get them to you in 3 days with the backlog that the passport people have at this time? Are they worth the money, and should we wait till we have passports in hand to schedule a cruise? Thanks bunches for your help!:)

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Does it matter if you're married and your BC bears your maiden name while your DL has your married name? Do you need to bring a marriage certificate when you cruise as well???

 

We're going to cruise in December this year and not sure when we'll be going intl. again...so we're procrastinating on passports and hoping to get away with BC and DL alone this year ;)

 

 

I have always taken my marriage license but have never been asked for it.

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I applied on April 6. Passport arrived today 6/28/07. Passport was in one priority mail envelope ,and the birth certificate was returned in a separate envelope.

Hubby applied exactly one week to the day later than me. Maybe his will come next week.

However, the relaxed passport rules would have saved our trip. But it would still be good to have both passports.

TravlinChick

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Probably will get flamed for this, but here goes. It is so DUMB to wait to get a passport!! Not ONE of us WANTED to shell out the money for a passport! Can you imagine what these threads about delays etc. is going to be? All they are going to say is how frustrated they are because of long delays in deliveries of that passport, or how much more expedited services are just because they thought they'd be clever and try to wait? Face it, if you can choose and afford a decent cruise, you can afford that passport. I know it's more fun to spend money on new clothes (which no one really cares about because we'll never see you again), or pay up the ying yang for an onshore excursion, or pay extra for a specialty restaurant meal (you get my point), but what about peace of mind?? I got ours about 9 months ago, and peace of mind was worth not being aggravated about how long it's now taking to receive them, We're ready to go on any cruise or any airplane on short notice!! Now, I'm ready to be flamed about my statements and how you can't afford them! This passport issue is going into it's 2nd year, so it's NOT NEWS! You spend money on what you PICK to spend your money on and do it, but getting peace of mind apparently isn't one of the choices, after all who wants to spend $100 each for an I.D. card (that's $10 a year)?:D

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Now, I'm ready to be flamed about my statements and how you can't afford them!

 

I'm not going to tell you about not being able to afford it.

 

What makes you think EVERYONE knew they were going on a cruise 9 months in advance???? I booked my cruise, then applied for my passport (well within the time suggested I would need) and I am now sweating it's arrival.

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I'm not going to tell you about not being able to afford it.

 

What makes you think EVERYONE knew they were going on a cruise 9 months in advance???? I booked my cruise, then applied for my passport (well within the time suggested I would need) and I am now sweating it's arrival.

Yor response reflects EXACTLY why passports should be obtained! If the passport was "in hand" when you didn't think you needed it, it wouldn't have been a problem, would it. Deals come up unexpectedly at times, and passports in hand allows you to get in on that deal with no stress.

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I called Carnival this afternoon and PVP said that if you have the passport "proof of application" you can use that instead of your BC (don't have that because I sent it in with the application over 3 months before the cruise). I had heard this before, but know that you can get different responses depending on whom you talk to. I had him email me the passage he was quoting from. He said the rule wouldn't change (I expressed concern about trying to board the ship with the application proof and being denied because I didn't have a BC) because it was the government who made the rule, not the cruise line. I asked if I would be able to get off the ship in St. Thomas, knowing I would have to go through customs, and he said yes. He said the quoted passage was from Carnival's websit, FAQs, but I couldn't find it. That's why he emailed me. Here's the passage (see the last paragraph):

 

U.S. Citizens with Pending Passport Applications Allowed Temporary Travel Flexibility

(From http://www.travel.state.gov/) The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced June 8, 2007 that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.

 

For cruise purposes, this pertains to guests who have applied for a passport and no longer are in possession of their birth certificates but do have “Proof of Application” for a passport. This does not pertain to cruises in Europe where a passport has always been mandatory.

 

I'm still a little leary of relying on this. I would go out and get another copy of BC, but I would need to pay about $60 (can't get it in person - too far away).

Just thought I would pass this on.

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Yor response reflects EXACTLY why passports should be obtained! If the passport was "in hand" when you didn't think you needed it, it wouldn't have been a problem, would it. Deals come up unexpectedly at times, and passports in hand allows you to get in on that deal with no stress.

 

My parents have never travelled outside the country. Our cruise in Oct will be the first time. They were supposed to get passports a couple years ago just in case they saw a good deal? I don't think so. That's a complete waste of money. They did get their passports yesterday.

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Yes, I mailed mine for renewal the last week of March. Check was cashed about 3 weeks later, but still no passport! Today I called the passport number given and was told to call back, since it was more than 2 weeks before I am due to leave!! BTW...today is the 21st, we leave on 7/10/07. So...I will wait unitl the 26th and begin calling again. I am so pissed.....this is for a european cruise, so w/o passport...I will NOT be going.:mad: Anyone had that happen to them before?

 

Hoping by now you have the passport and this is a distant memory but a couple of tips from very recent experience: I had to get my congressperson's office involved just to get an appointment to have the passport issued in person as the branch that had my app was not answering their emails (even the ones from the US Passport office). They wouldn't give me an appt until 1 day before I left for my European cruise. I got to the regional passport office (250 miles away from my home in the city I was flying from) 2 hours before they opened that morning. There were already 50 people in line. When I got in, they told me my passport had been Fed Ex'ed to my home so they would not issue a new one. I had to call Fed Ex, get them to take the passport off the truck, then we drove to the Fed Ex facility near my home, then back the same day to make the flight next morning. This was a renewal application sent over 10 weeks before my trip on 6/8, expedited two weeks prior.

 

Call back every day until you get it and don't rely on anything they tell you. Do NOT rely on the on-line status check; it is weeks behind. If you haven't got it one week before your trip, demand an appointment to have it issued in person or call your Senator or Congressional Rep for help. When you get the appt, you must be prepared to file a NEW app so you will need photos, BC, etc. I filled out a new app on line and brought it with me to avoid delay when I got there. Go early to the appt, be sure you're in the line for people with appts once you get inside and be prepared to come back in the PM to pick it up.

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My 13yr niece will be cruising with us in 3/2008. Does she need a passport? I know what everyone is going to say...but her pp will only be good for 5 yrs b/c of her age. If she waits til she is 16 her pp will be good for 10 yrs. Oh, and the scheduling of her parents going to the pp office with be a big problem. Of course, she is on summer break, but her parents will have to take time off of work. From everything I have read they are proposing pp must be used by 6/2008. Is that correct? Please don't give me a hard time, just some real answers:)

Thanks

Angie

 

PS This is her 1st cruise. I purchased it as a gift for her, with the condition that her parents would get her a pp.

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Hi henepup,

 

Yes, your niece will need a passport. Go here and click on #20 #21 for more info: http://travel.state.gov/passport/fri/faq/faq_1741.html#cpiap

 

It shouldn't take much time for her parents to go with her to apply. We went to our local post office and it took less than 30 minutes (this was before the mad rush, though :D ).

 

Have a wonderful cruise with your niece! She's lucky to have an Aunt like you :) !

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:eek: I am also a new cruiser and I am in need of advice. I applied May 1 for my passport for a cruise in August. At the time I applied, the wait was 10-12 weeks so I chose not to expedite. From what I have heard, and read, I am not so sure it will be here in time. I read that all you need is a copy of the passport application and a drivers license. Do you think this is OK?

 

I also read that I should have a birth certificate (which the passport agency has possession of now) and marriage license for those with name changes. I would have to apply for a new birth certificate and send to my home town for a copy of my marriage license. Do you think I should take the chance and just bring a copy of the passport application and drivers license???

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I would agree with the comments of MB Cruiser 100%. I applied for my renewal on April 2nd, and leave this Tuesday. I have been severely anxious over the fact that my passport had not been approved. I had to be persistant! Call your congressman's office. The caseworker handling mine said that there were 4 workers in their office and each was currently handling about 35 help requests!

PS..my son applied for a new passport a month after me and got his about a month ago.....go figure.

 

Best of luck to all of you.........

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:eek: I am also a new cruiser and I am in need of advice. I applied May 1 for my passport for a cruise in August. At the time I applied, the wait was 10-12 weeks so I chose not to expedite. From what I have heard, and read, I am not so sure it will be here in time. I read that all you need is a copy of the passport application and a drivers license. Do you think this is OK?

 

I also read that I should have a birth certificate (which the passport agency has possession of now) and marriage license for those with name changes. I would have to apply for a new birth certificate and send to my home town for a copy of my marriage license. Do you think I should take the chance and just bring a copy of the passport application and drivers license???

 

It all depends on where you're going. That rule applies to US regulations, not other conuntries'. Personally, I'd get the birth certificate & marriage license if there's still time to do that. That relaxed rule is pretty new and you don't want to get the official who's been on vacation and doesn't know. Also, exactly 14 days before your trip, if you don't have the passport yet, call the US Passport office (it's frustrating and you'll be on hold for some time, probably) and expedite your passport and request delivery by Fed Ex. For anyone who has a trip booked and needs to apply OR renew (it takes JUST as long), don't rely on the 10-12 week estimate: EXPEDITE!

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It all depends on where you're going. That rule applies to US regulations, not other conuntries'. Personally, I'd get the birth certificate & marriage license if there's still time to do that. That relaxed rule is pretty new and you don't want to get the official who's been on vacation and doesn't know. Also, exactly 14 days before your trip, if you don't have the passport yet, call the US Passport office (it's frustrating and you'll be on hold for some time, probably) and expedite your passport and request delivery by Fed Ex. For anyone who has a trip booked and needs to apply OR renew (it takes JUST as long), don't rely on the 10-12 week estimate: EXPEDITE!

 

Thanks for the info. I'll be going to Alaska via Vancouver. I tried emailing the passport office to try and get my order changed to expedite but have received no reply. I think I'll send for the birth certificate and license as you advised so they'll be no worry. Take care. :o :)

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