Passport Agency Blames the Cruise Lines!!!

[CruiseBumm]

We applied for my two son's paspoart on January 11 and got them in 6 weeks as expected. Glad we did it early.:D

[Copper10-8]

Surprised that you would post this as you have many post under you. The State Department has made arrangements for those that are cruising that do have a passport that need to return to the US because of illness will be able to return with no problems. Please check resources before making such a statement.

 

The information you are presenting is just not true. Please state the Company you work for as the information you are providing is incorrect.

Minnesota Lady, if you are going to start challenging posters here on statements they make, you have that right as we all do! Having said that, it would be nice for everyone here (and especially for the folks you are challenging) if you would post/state your authority, experience and/or expertese on which you base your counter point;)

 

BTW, did you read this post?:

 

.........My ship is cruising in Mexico this week. We have medically disembarked 3 American passsengers in the past 2 days. Two of them are quite ill, but will survive, the third is dying. None of them has a passport. All three want to be flown home to the USA. The airlines have refused to fly them back to the USA, citing the new passport law. US Government Reps in Mexico have told us, "No passport = no flight"..........

 

[Sueseb]

When it was first announced, a couple of years ago, that all persons entering the US would need passports we decided it was the right time to get one. Got it in 3 weeks. If people chose to wait till the mandatory date they can't blame the government or the cruise lines because everyone else waited until the last minute, too.

[arabrab]

When it was first announced, a couple of years ago, that all persons entering the US would need passports we decided it was the right time to get one. Got it in 3 weeks. If people chose to wait till the mandatory date they can't blame the government or the cruise lines because everyone else waited until the last minute, too.

 

I'm the OP. Unlike you, we didn't wait to get our first passports until 3 years ago when the first announcement was made. My daughter has had hers for 4 1/2 years, I've had one since '85, and my husband has had one since '66. Unfortunately, renewals are being subjected to the same kind of delays as new passport applications. I applied for her renewal passport 11 weeks before we needed it, based on State Department guidance that regular processing took 6 weeks. It is still not here. Your comment that those who waited until the mandatory date shouldn't blame the government seems to miss the point: It wasn't unreasonable of us to expect the government to be able to turn around a passport in 11 weeks when their website stated 6 weeks.

[bjbdlb]

A simple rule of thumb. If your passport is expiring within 6 months, get a new one. If you don't have one, get one. Having just done NCL to Hawaii, which reqiured a passport as the ship was going to the wonderful international port of Fanning Island, booking less than 2 weeks in advance, we were lucky to have recently renewed our passports.

 

With laws changing, it does not hurt to be prepared. If you are leaving within 3 months, right now possibly even 4, it is a good idea to pay for an expedited passport. It costs money, but is better than potentially missing out on your vacation because the slow motion state departement isn't fast enough.

[bepsf]

It's the cruiseline's fault.

 

Now you know. :rolleyes:

 

I wonder if I can get on-board credit for this?

 

Nope - Won't get a credit from the Guv-uh-mint either...

:cool:

[RuthC]

Minnesota Lady, if you are going to start challenging posters here on statements they make, you have that right as we all do! Having said that, it would be nice for everyone here (and especially for the folks you are challenging) if you would post/state your authority, experience and/or expertese on which you base your counter point;)

John, I posed the same question a few days ago. Minnesota Lady hasn't come back to post her credentials yet. As far as I'm concerned her post has no credibility without that.

[localady]

I'm the OP. Unlike you, we didn't wait to get our first passports until 3 years ago when the first announcement was made. My daughter has had hers for 4 1/2 years, I've had one since '85, and my husband has had one since '66. Unfortunately, renewals are being subjected to the same kind of delays as new passport applications. I applied for her renewal passport 11 weeks before we needed it, based on State Department guidance that regular processing took 6 weeks. It is still not here. Your comment that those who waited until the mandatory date shouldn't blame the government seems to miss the point: It wasn't unreasonable of us to expect the government to be able to turn around a passport in 11 weeks when their website stated 6 weeks.

 

I agree, it wasn't unreasonable at all. :o

I want to personally thank you for posting this thread which opened my eyes to the need for a passport!:eek: I have also had a passport for many years now, but I will urge my son to renew asap as his is about to expire!!:cool:

[waterrats]

wow, ok, I'll start, just a friendly cruiser.

 

What some are not realizing is that just because a state department site says one thing does not mean that all the airline are going to follow that same rule. If I remember correctly, last year, RCI was going to force all cruisers to have passports even if the state department wasn't going to force them. Well, RCI obviously changed their stance on that rule.

 

Joe

[Goofyisme]

Having just done NCL to Hawaii, which reqiured a passport as the ship was going to the wonderful international port of Fanning Island,

 

Actually the stop at Fanning Island is why the Passenger's Services Act doesn't apply to that Cruise, that's why they do it. Just coincidence that it now means you need a passport to travel from one US port to another.

[Philip217]

Actually, the Kiribati Republic, where Fanning Island is located, did not require that passengers visiting there must have a passport. (Although their Consulate claimed they required a passport, the Fanning Island Officials have never checked any NCL ship that calls there).

 

But the US Government REQUIRES that any passenger who has visited the Kiribati Republic and then wants to enter or re-enter the USA must have a valid passport.

[hammybee]

This is from the U.S. department of state listed under FAQ:

 

Q. What happens to U.S. citizens who attempt to re-enter the country without a passport or an alternative travel card?

 

Under the law, the new documentation requirements may be waived under certain circumstances. These exceptions include individual cases of unforeseen emergency and individual cases based on “humanitarian or national interest reasons.” In addition, the State Department has processes to assist U.S. citizens overseas to obtain emergency travel documentation for those with lost or stolen passports.

 

For the general public, people who apply for entry but do not have appropriate documentation will be referred for secondary screening at the port. In secondary, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers will evaluate any evidence of citizenship or identity the individual may have and will verify all information against available databases. However, to prevent delay at the ports of entry, we would encourage all U.S. citizens to obtain the appropriate documents before they travel

[newmexicoNita]

I applied for my daughter's passport renewal on January 31st, back when the State Department's website was touting a six week regular turnaround. It's been 11 weeks, and still no passport. I sent an email inquiry, and got a reply from Agent 007 (really) telling me that it was in process in Seattle, and to allow 10 weeks. I guess we do math differently around here.

 

I finally got through to a human being at the Passport 800 line this morning, only to find that she couldn't directly help me because their computers were down -- probably the reason I was finally able to get through rather than being summarily disconnected by the voice response system.

 

She told me that processing time is now 12 weeks, and when I expressed unhappiness at the lack of planning on the part of the State Department for failing to staff up for the completely predictable deluge, she said it wasn't their fault, "it's the fault of the cruise lines."

 

Huh? Well, according to her, the cruiselines have been telling people that they ought to have passports in case they get sick on the trip and need to fly home. They should have known that in emergencies like these that the airlines make accommodations for people without passports. (Who knew?) They never planned for the passport volume generated by all these people taking Mexican and Caribbean cruises, and that's why my daughter doesn't have her passport on time.

 

It's the cruiseline's fault.

 

Now you know. :rolleyes:

 

I wonder if I can get on-board credit for this?

What a crock of mmmm, in spring their normally is about 4-6 turnover. Obviously with passports being required now when leaving the country in any other way except cruising there will be a long wait. They should have expected this and if nothing else hired a few more agents. NMNita

[vator90]

So, according to the person that the Op spoke with, the cruise lines are generating tons of revenue for the agency. Yet, with the added revenue comes added wait times? Another case of the goverment not acting like the private sector. We had our childrens passports updated this year and it took a solid 10 weeks starting in January.

[Jemima]

On our 4/1 Veendam cruise, passports were taken in the Tampa terminal. They were also checking expiration dates and not accepting passports with less than 6 months. The passports were not returned until 4/18. Everyone received copies of their passports on 4/15. These copies were placed in the mail holder outside the cabins.

[sail7seas]

Talk about lack of security. I would not appreciate having my passport photo (number) being placed in a space where anyone walking by could help themselves to it. They should, at the last, have slid the copies under doors IMO Passport Numbers do not need to be open for anyone to take.

 

What was the itinerary that required them to hold onto passports? Was that the repositioning to Europe cruise?

 

[cusyl]

When a child is born they are required to have a social security number right away, maybe they should also require a passport at that time.

However, how many Americans do you know that have never left the town they were born in, much less leave the country. :cool:

[Chivalrygirl]

Golly only 21% of Americans have passports, that is quite amazing. It seems therefore that you have a huge problem, a large percentage don't want passports and a large percentage refuse to give up something else. It seems all quite insane to me, that you can go in and out of the US without passports to a few countries, for me entering the US is a nightmare experience, they sure like to make you feel like an alien and most of them are rather unpleasant and downright churlish in the process. I have flown in and out and through the US a few times since 1975 and it has always been a rather unpleasant experience.

 

By the way there is absolutely no way any airline operating out of NZ and Australia would let anybody on board without a passport.

[Jemima]

Talk about lack of security. I would not appreciate having my passport photo (number) being placed in a space where anyone walking by could help themselves to it. They should, at the last, have slid the copies under doors IMO Passport Numbers do not need to be open for anyone to take.

 

What was the itinerary that required them to hold onto passports? Was that the repositioning to Europe cruise?

 

 

Yes, it was a repositioning cruise from Tampa to Venice. At check-in in the terminal they kept the passports and we were given blue cards to show when passports were returned. The passports had to be seen by Italian officials at Civitavecchia (Rome) was our next port was non-European Union. I just looked and both our passports were stamped in Civitavecchia. The ship had to return the passports before the next port of Dubrovnik as actual passports must be taken on excursions there. Croatian police boarded our tour bus and we had to show passports.

 

I did not like the ship putting passport copies outside cabins. Anyone could have looked at them or even taken them. Also, many passengers probably already had copies. My daughter and I always carry copies. I carry our passports and she has the copies. Croatia is the only port where we've ever taken the actual passports ashore.

[SWeaster]

Living this close to Canada I'm amazed at the number of people who like popping over the border to gamble in their casinos but seem unaware of our new passport requirements. Currently, they can drive across the border with only a driver's license and a certified copy of their birth certificate. That changes the beginning of 2008 when passports will be required for all border crossings.

 

Things are not so loose overseas. A couple years ago everyone one on the bus I was riding from Utsunomiya to the airport in Narita (Tokyo) was required to show a passport before the bus was allowed into the airport. When staying at hotels in Narita last November and this January, a passport was required as part of the check-in process. The same was true at the Kensington Palace Hotel in London and even at a small family run hotel in Ennepetal, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany a couple years ago.

 

Conversely, when driving across the border from Mexico to Texas several times last September nobody on the American side asked to see any identification, let alone my passport. :confused: After the first few crossings that week, I didn't even bother to dig it out of my pocket.

 

Bill

[DFW-Cruiser]

FYI, I wasn't going to bother renewing my passport, but after I heard the horror stories of getting stuck in case of illness, I mailed in my passport renewal application and begrudgingly paid for expedited service on April 5th because of my upcoming cruise date. I received old and new passports back on April 18th!! After reading about the long delays, I was just hoping it would get here before we sailed. I was REALLY surprised to find it was back so soon!

 

Linda in DFW

 

Oosterdam - May 19th