Passport H*E*Double Hockey Sticks!!!

[bahama2]

Thanks to everyone for all your advice.:)

[play21cw]

yea.. i was set to get my passport for my cruise last june and then found out that i didnt need it, so i decided not to get it.. MISTAKE! I have been waiting 11 weeks or so for mine to come in.

[aaerobear]

Glitter,

 

I am sure that will be just fine, after all it is not a photo copy and was issued by the state. Happy Trails

[Desert Cruizers]

We have friends Crusing with us, year from Oct 2007 and first thing I told them, go down and renew your Passports now, 16 months from Cruise. You never can tell how many are ahead of you. She assurmed 2 days ago they have already applied for their renewal. If not, I only hope they will be able to sail with us. It will be their 1st Cruise. I'd hate to be saying goodbye from our home.

[Desert Cruizers]

It's hard to say. I'm not positive of where you're traveling. I'm guessing you're from Long Island, New York? Or somewhere in the US? If you fly from US to US, you don't need a passport. Cruising from the US out to certain places doesn't require a passport just yet.

 

Flying out of the country and cruising to certain other countries requires a US passport. It's not totally clear what your vacation schedule is.

 

Either way, I'd apply for a renewal now anyways. With the backlog what it is, you're due to renew now anyways. No reason to wait.

I don't know about other Cruise lines, but Princess and Royal Caribbean require Pass Ports now for all Cruises. Royal Caribbean is even asking you bring both PP and Birth Certificates. This from the San Diego Port Authority. I emailed them and they called me yesterday regarding this.

[Pam in CA]

I don't know about other Cruise lines, but Princess and Royal Caribbean require Pass Ports now for all Cruises. Royal Caribbean is even asking you bring both PP and Birth Certificates. This from the San Diego Port Authority. I emailed them and they called me yesterday regarding this.

Princess does not require passports for all cruises: they strongly recommend them. If you are cruising to Alaska, the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera, you do not need a passport since you won't be flying.

 

However, if you miss sailaway for whatever reason and want to catch up and board the ship at another port, you won't be able to do so without a passport. Even though the regulations are for flying into the U.S., the requirement is that you have a passport to leave in case you couldn't board the ship and had to get back.

 

A couple of months ago, a cruiser posted that he'd missed getting to the ship because of a missed flight connection. To catch up with the ship, he'd have to fly out of the U.S. He had Princess air and felt that Princess should pick up the cost of his cruise since he didn't have insurance. Uh un... he (and his family) should have had passports. He had a choice and didn't want to pay for a passport (or insurance). He felt that Princess didn't give him any options for getting to the ship but he is the one who limited the options.

[MamaTried]

Wow! If you know anybody in Houston that needs a passport tell them to go to the tiny little P.O. in Hockley. My family of four got there at 10:00 a.m., took our photos, turned in our applications and were out the door in 35 minutes! We did pay for expedited service, however, we got them in 5 days! This was late March.

[smeyer418]

If you are having a problem getting through to the passport office and your trip is coming up(3 weeks or less) call your congressperson or your senator. They have non-published numbers to get through on.

[63musicgirl]

I feel bad for you people who have no compassion for those people getting screwed on passports. Where is your empathy???

 

Yes, it has been highly talked about on travel boards, but what if you haven't been planning a vacation and don't read boards on a normal basis???

 

What if traveling outside of the country was not really an issue until recently? Do you expect people to just get passports on the off chance that they might travel outside the country???

 

Obviously many of you travel a lot and this is not an issue or the cost of a passport is not an issue to you.

 

SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT BEING THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE AND FOR THE FACT THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE IS IN THE POSITION TO RUN OUT AND GET A PASSPORT.

 

I am so tried of hearing people berating others for not acting 18 months ago when this came out. I know many people do not even know about this since they DO NOT have the financial ability to travel. Why should they when they have more important things to spend money on, like rent or food. Heaven forbid that someone treats them to an unexpected trip and they need a passport.

[mrdood]

I don't know about other Cruise lines, but Princess and Royal Caribbean require Pass Ports now for all Cruises. Royal Caribbean is even asking you bring both PP and Birth Certificates. This from the San Diego Port Authority. I emailed them and they called me yesterday regarding this.

 

That is absolutely incorrect for this year. There may have been Customer Service staff that have stated that to some people, but that is not RCI or Princess policy for cruises departing the US to the Caribbean

[63musicgirl]

We don't need passport for our upcoming cruise in June with Princess.

 

I have mine, but mine son's is past 12 weeks.

 

FYI, we had no plans until cruising or traveling outside of the country until I booked the cruise. We applied for his passport right afterwards. I'm not holding my breath.

 

Obviously from my above post, you should be able to figure out my position on how long it is taking to get passports. So all of you that are up on your pedestals should just jump off!

[mrdood]

You don`t need a passport to fly within the US, but if you fly to the US from another country (including Canada and Mexico), you now must have a passport. You do have to have a government-issued photo ID to fly. (Driver License, or state-issued non-driver ID).

 

Just as an FYI, in an emergency you can fly back into the US from any foreign country by phoning the state department. They will fax your clearance directly to the airline, you will have a much longer wait for scheduled flight service than to cut the red tape. There have already been dozens so far this year that have had to excercise that option by missing ships in ports. Here is the link:

 

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2225.html#12

 

You may also want to keep this info handy even if you have a passport:

 

OVERSEAS CITIZENS SERVICES: Call 1-888-407-4747 (from overseas: 202 501-4444) for answers related to questions concerning the:

• Death of an American citizen abroad
  
• Arrest/detention of an American citizen abroad
  
• Robbery of an American citizen abroad
  
• American citizens missing abroad
  
• Crisis abroad involving American citizens
  
• After-hours number for an emergency involving an American citizen abroad

[Pam in CA]

I feel bad for you people who have no compassion for those people getting screwed on passports. Where is your empathy???

I have a lot of empathy for people who have taken the time and planning to get a passport and suddenly find themselves between a rock and a hard place. But I have little empathy for people who think leaving the U.S. for another country without a passport couldn't possibly have any effect on them and then when they find that it does, whine and crab about it as being someone else's fault or someone didn't tell them. Do people have so little awareness that when they leave the U.S., they're in another country and anything could happen? Just because it's not currently a government regulation (at least for the next few months) doesn't mean that you don't have to take responsibility for your own safety and security.

[Times Prince]

We, too have a wedding coming up in July in Europe. When we applied for the passport the processing time was quoted at six weeks, and we should have had the passport well in hand by now.

 

Checking online today, process time is quoted at 12 weeks, and the only status we get is that it is "being processed".

 

So let's stop the accusations of procrastination. The system has broken down.

[losuds63]

I applied for my passport on March 10 and my wife a week later the checks were cashed a month later and right now iam on week 10 since I applied and I still ck the mail everyday but nothing

[losuds63]

I applied for my passport on March 10 and my wife a week later the checks were cashed a month later and right now iam on week 10 since I applied and I still ck the mail everyday but nothing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your application is in process at the Charleston, SC Passport Center.

 

Applications are normally completed within ten weeks. If you need your

passport sooner and did not expedite at the time of application, please

call the toll free number listed below. The additional fee is $60.

 

Please re-submit periodically for a status check by completing the

status form at our website at

http://travel.state.gov/passport/about/npic/npic_896.html

[mjmalino]

Your example, which occured Christmas 1999, was well before the new laws went into effect. I also received my passport in 1999 and basically was able to walk into the U.S. Passport office, apply and pick it up 3 days later in person.

 

We booked our cruise last summer for this July. Since my mother, father, sister and her boyfriend did not have their passports, I insisted that they go immediately and apply. After a lot of encouraging (and more or less hounding), they all applied in the fall 2006. All received their passports before the first of the year. Now....nobody has to add the stress of not receiving a passport in time to the general stress of travelling.

 

I'm not trying to say "it serves them right!" and I, too, hope that everything works out. As a compulsive planner I also don't understand the procrastination thing. My husband teases me, but doesn't complain, when I make sure that I have all my "ducks in a row" well in advance, especially when it comes to travel.

 

We were actually in a similar position. Both my DH and myself had way expired passports and the kids didn't have them yet. We started talking about this cruise in December of 2006, knowing that we were planning to go this summer, and before we even booked, we all went and applied for our passports--over Christmas! We must have applied before the big rush because we had them in January! For us, not having passports wasn't us trying to put it off, it just sort of slipped our minds, especially since for a few years our only vacations seemed to revolve around visiting our families and having our kids KNOW their families back on the east coast (we live in CA).But, we realized that the waits were going to get long for them, so we applied as soon as we started even thinking we might need them.

[gr82cu2]

I don't know about other Cruise lines, but Princess and Royal Caribbean require Pass Ports now for all Cruises. Royal Caribbean is even asking you bring both PP and Birth Certificates. This from the San Diego Port Authority. I emailed them and they called me yesterday regarding this.

 

 

Now this is just flat out false information. Princess does NOT require a passport for cruising at the current time. The following is taken directly from the Princess website today. It says you MAY require a passport in the event of unforeseen medical disembarkation of early cruise termination. i.e. if for some reason you would need to fly back to the U.S. in the event of an emergency.

 

 

NEW Passport Requirements

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), once implemented, will require all travelers entering or re-entering the United States to be in possession of a valid passport, even when traveling from certain countries in the Western Hemisphere for which passports previously were not required. The unforeseen possibility of a medical disembarkation or early cruise termination may require that you have a valid passport to enable you to continue travel.

 

Implementation of the WHTI is presently expected to be on the following schedule:

• January 23, 2007 - Valid passport required for travel by air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. • January 1, 2008 - Valid passport required for all air and sea travel. • January 1, 2008 - Valid passport required for all U.S. air, sea and land border crossings.

[Desert Cruizers]

Hello, I know that Pass ports are highly recommended but in lew of them, Birth Certificates. I was only saying what the San Diego Port Authority told me. I applogize for wording my previous statement incorrectly. I should have said Cruise lines Recommend. The San Diego Port Authority told me they are requiering both. Not sure why both if going to HI which we are Oct 2008. We are still in the States.

[Stevesan]

Hello, I know that Pass ports are highly recommended but in lew of them, Birth Certificates. I was only saying what the San Diego Port Authority told me. I applogize for wording my previous statement incorrectly. I should have said Cruise lines Recommend. The San Diego Port Authority told me they are requiering both. Not sure why both if going to HI which we are Oct 2008. We are still in the States.

 

Because your ship must touch at least one foreign port before returning - see the ever popular Jones Act.

[Doug R.]

I feel bad for you people who have no compassion for those people getting screwed on passports. Where is your empathy???

 

Yes, it has been highly talked about on travel boards, but what if you haven't been planning a vacation and don't read boards on a normal basis???

 

What if traveling outside of the country was not really an issue until recently? Do you expect people to just get passports on the off chance that they might travel outside the country???

 

Obviously many of you travel a lot and this is not an issue or the cost of a passport is not an issue to you.

 

SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT BEING THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE AND FOR THE FACT THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE IS IN THE POSITION TO RUN OUT AND GET A PASSPORT.

 

I am so tried of hearing people berating others for not acting 18 months ago when this came out. I know many people do not even know about this since they DO NOT have the financial ability to travel. Why should they when they have more important things to spend money on, like rent or food. Heaven forbid that someone treats them to an unexpected trip and they need a passport.

 

I am so not chastened by this overstated diatribe. Yes I feel sorry for those caught in this predicament except.... for those who put themselves into this situation through their own negligence and/or arrogance. I read time and again in this and other boards how they were going to ignore the requirement because the government "would just push the deadline up again" or those who would rather spend the money having fun on their cruise instead. For those people all I can say is you chose to roll the dice and crapped out. Don't expect the government to perform miracles just because you made a bad decision. Not expecting delays after the date was set is like not expecting a crowd at the Post Office during holiday mailing time.

[gr82cu2]

I am so not chastened by this overstated diatribe. Yes I feel sorry for those caught in this predicament except.... for those who put themselves into this situation through their own negligence and/or arrogance. I read time and again in this and other boards how they were going to ignore the requirement because the government "would just push the deadline up again" or those who would rather spend the money having fun on their cruise instead. For those people all I can say is you chose to roll the dice and crapped out. Don't expect the government to perform miracles just because you made a bad decision. Not expecting delays after the date was set is like not expecting a crowd at the Post Office during holiday mailing time.

 

I don't think that's what musicgirl was saying Doug. In her case, she did not expect nor plan to leave the country until recently. At the time she applied for her son's passport, the published delays were 6 weeks. Not a problem! She applied plenty in advance of when she would need the passport before travelling. Now the delay (after she applied) has spanned to 12 weeks and her time is running out. She did not roll the dice or crap out. She applied immediately after booking her cruise which was NOT a last minute deal. Still, after all of this arguing I'm sure Musicgirl understands that it isn't absolutely vital to have a passport for her son to cruise BUT in the case of an EMERGENCY it could definitely speed entry back into the US by air.

 

The problem for people now is the gov't instituted the new rules regarding passports and THEY aren't able to keep up with the demand. They changed the rules so they should be accountable for keeping up with their own rules. Nobody should be expected to purchase a passport on the off chance that they may need to leave the country sometime in the next 10 years. I'm sure there are millions of americans who have never and will never leave the country. To imply that Musicgirl was rolling the dice and crapping out on the deal is insulting to say the least.

[Pam in CA]

Hello, I know that Pass ports are highly recommended but in lew of them, Birth Certificates. I was only saying what the San Diego Port Authority told me. I applogize for wording my previous statement incorrectly. I should have said Cruise lines Recommend. The San Diego Port Authority told me they are requiering both. Not sure why both if going to HI which we are Oct 2008. We are still in the States.

Because of the Passenger Services Act (Under the Passenger Services Act of 1886, 46 App. U.S.C. § 289, foreign-flagged vessels cannot transport passengers directly between U.S. ports) the ship has an operational stop in Ensenada. Sometimes the ship just drops anchor for an hour; sometimes it docks for a couple of hours. Either way, this is required by U.S. law so that you are not staying within the U.S. when you cruise to/from HI.

 

The repercussions of this Act are such that if, for instance, you wanted to leave the ship in Honolulu, stay overnight and catch up with the ship in Kauai the next day, you can't. It would be a very expensive overnight since if you miss the ship, you will be fined $500 per person for violating the act.

 

The only way you could legally leave and return from a U.S. port without stopping at a foreign port is if the ship itself is built and registered in the U.S. Except for a couple of NCL ships (they bought a couple of keels that were being built in the U.S. from a cruiseline that went bankrupt), all cruise ships are registered outside of the U.S. No Princess ships are registered in the U.S.

 

FYI, the Jones Act of 1920 is a merchant marine act that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. Cruise ships come under the Passenger Services Act, not the Jones Act.

[muffydawg]

I feel bad for you people who have no compassion for those people getting screwed on passports. Where is your empathy???

 

Yes, it has been highly talked about on travel boards, but what if you haven't been planning a vacation and don't read boards on a normal basis???

 

What if traveling outside of the country was not really an issue until recently? Do you expect people to just get passports on the off chance that they might travel outside the country???

 

Obviously many of you travel a lot and this is not an issue or the cost of a passport is not an issue to you.

 

SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT BEING THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE AND FOR THE FACT THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE IS IN THE POSITION TO RUN OUT AND GET A PASSPORT.

 

I am so tried of hearing people berating others for not acting 18 months ago when this came out. I know many people do not even know about this since they DO NOT have the financial ability to travel. Why should they when they have more important things to spend money on, like rent or food. Heaven forbid that someone treats them to an unexpected trip and they need a passport.

 

 

You sound so angry; I feel sorry for you.

 

My first cruise was in 2003. I think your signature reflects your first cruise was in 2002 with a few taken after that. After taking cruise number 1 we knew we'd cruise again. It made sense to get a passport back then, even though it wasn't a "requirement". Can't say what I'd do if I had kids, but nowadays if a couple (or a single parent) with a few cruises under their belt had kids there's a light likelyhood the social security application for the kid might be shortly followed by the passport application. JMO

 

I can't recall how much I paid for my passport but if it was $100 and the passport is good for 10 years that comes to $10 per year for the passport. If $10 per year is the difference between me making my house payment or not ...well.....I've got a much different problem.

[gr82cu2]

Can't say what I'd do if I had kids, but nowadays if a couple (or a single parent) with a few cruises under their belt had kids there's a light likelyhood the social security application for the kid might be shortly followed by the passport application. JMO

 

I can't recall how much I paid for my passport but if it was $100 and the passport is good for 10 years that comes to $10 per year for the passport. If $10 per year is the difference between me making my house payment or not ...well.....I've got a much different problem.

 

 

 

Unfortunately the government doesn't have a 10 year payment plan. Let's say you have 3 kids and 2 adults in your household. If a passport costs $100, that's $500 to aquire passports for your entire family, all at once, not $50 a year for 10 years. For some people that would definitely be a hardship and not something anyone would do just for the sake of doing it. I can't believe there could be very many people going out applying for passports just in case, someday, they decide to leave the country.