Passports for cruisers delayed again

[flagger]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1635553,00.html

 

More excuses for those not getting a passport to not get one.

 

I read someone who said they were struggling to take a cruise and the 4 X $97 was just going to be impossible to do. I felt like saying if you are struggling to take a cruise, perhaps you shouldn't be spending your money on said cruise if another $400 is going to break you.

[Glenndale]

I don't understand what the problem is? :confused:

Why is it such a big deal getting a passport?:confused:

 

The rules have been relaxed so many times - what's the betting that even in 6 months time there will be people posting on here asking 'do I need a passport for xxx?'.:rolleyes:

Are these the same people who don't buy travel insurance?

[BikerAl]

Heck, it looks like we are going to have to renew the passports we needed three years ago, before they will actualy be necessary.

[kehlx2]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1635553,00.html

 

More excuses for those not getting a passport to not get one.

 

I read someone who said they were struggling to take a cruise and the 4 X $97 was just going to be impossible to do. I felt like saying if you are struggling to take a cruise, perhaps you shouldn't be spending your money on said cruise if another $400 is going to break you.

 

within that article: She also said the agency had not expected so many Americans to actually obey the new law. and WHY would we NOT follow the law for crap sake...I knew that New Orleans had caused some problem..but what she is saying STINKS...:rolleyes:

[Tatka]

Are these the same people who don't buy travel insurance?

 

I fail to see any connections. :rolleyes:

 

We got our passports the same day we had become citizens in August 2001, but we never buy travel insurance.

[Glenndale]

I fail to see any connections. :rolleyes:

 

I didn't say there was a connection, just surmising.

As a matter of interest why don't you buy travel insurance?

If you had an accident abroad and had to be hospitalised or had to be air-lifted from the ship, are you saying you're not covered and would have to bear the expense from your own pocket?

[Blazerboy]

In fairness to folks from the US, this is a big country, with people able distances far greater within our borders than the distance to transverse a dozen countries in Europe. With water on two sides, and only one country to the immediate North, but a great distance away form most folks, and one to the immediate South, again, a great distance away from most folks, many in this country are likely never to travel abroad, so obtaining a passport is not necessarily as automatic as has been the case in European countries. (the EEU passport rules may change some of that...)

 

O.k., enough of being fair. People have known about the approaching regulation for YEARS. There are very few folks being 'caught' in this log jam who didn't know well in advance that they might need a passport. I had dinner with friends who are going on a cruise in a month. They applied two months ago, thinking that was plenty of time. Yes, it should have been. But they booked the cruise LAST YEAR!!! Procrastination is not a reason for sympathy!

 

Lost passports are the only cases where I do have sympathy. But, and I usually don't agree with Flagger, if I had a tight deadline of three months, there is NO WAY I wouldn't spring for the expedited service. And, after all, you're dealing with a bureaucracy, here. I know many of our gov't bureacracies work better than in other countries, but, c'mon. Be preparred.

 

HA-rumph, and off my soap box....;)

 

Andrew

[bobbyleduck]

I think everyone is being a bit harsh with people who have been trying to get their passports, especially when they went to the offices in person and are specifically told they do not need to expedite their passport service because they had two months until they were going to travel.

 

All I needed to do was renew my passport, which I did the first part of December for travel in March. My wife and I received our passports on the 22nd of January. No problem. On the other hand, my sister and her husband had to get their first passport. They didn't even know they were traveling until December, then had to order birth certificates from across the country (They live in Oregon and needed birth certificates from Ohio and New York, respectively). They went in at the end of January, to the local office, offered to pay to have the passport expedited and were told it wasn't necessary.

 

Three weeks before we were due to travel we began checking on their passports. We were told to wait until a week before. We waited until 10 days before and then really got all over it a week before. Finally, realizing that they could still travel, based upon our itinerary with just the birth certificate, they each got an expedited copy of each birth certificate sent to them. They received the birth certificates two and three days before traveling, and then received the passports the day before leaving.

 

But, all of the problems would have been non-existent if the people handling the passport applications knew what they were talking about. At the time of those problems, the people in the field were saying one thing, the Web site said another, live people we were able to reach on the phone said another, and the message on the 800 number phone system said something completely different.

 

For those of us who have regularly traveled outside the country, the new passport regulations presented no problem, but for new travelers it has been a disturbing process.

 

My point: Give them a break. Now, as for our government and its unfunded mandates. Go back to the drawing board and try to get it right next time.

 

Bob

[Blazerboy]

Apolgies, Bob...some of my rant was a little tongue-in-cheek.;) But in cases like your brother's, where folks don't know far in advance that they're going abroad, you're right. It's not fair. Especially when misinformed by the agency. I place equal blame on the passport office for not anticipating an influx that might require more staff...

 

I was just getting a little tired of the "I've been planning this trip for two years and now it's ruined" comments in some of the articles I was reading...if they've been planning for two years, why wait until the very end to get documents???:confused:

 

Ah well, I do hope that it gets worked out, but would add, to anyone planning a trip where passports aren't YET required, to go get 'em anyway....then, the next time the agency screws up, you can get on your high horse like I did!!!!:D

 

Andrew

[ispeed]

I know that I was one that started to get a little worried. I do travel frequently, but I had not been out of the country in about 2 years. I just didn't notice my passport expired May of this year. I sent the passport in in February not thinking it would be delayed this long. We booked our cruise for July 13th, and I started to get worried. Like bobbyleduck said, I kept getting different messages from the passport agency and even from different people on the phone in the same building. Either way, I got my passport Monday the 18th after 4 phone calls and many nailbiting sessions. 3 months is long time to get a passport. But I take 60% of the blame for not renewing my passport earlier.

 

I read on and MSN article yesterday, that the agent that processes your passport today, has only 2 minutes to decide (by checking all databases and backgroad checks) if your application is approved or denied. Wow, thats a little scary on who might slip through the cracks.

[BILLP1]

Passport yes. Travel Insurance. Bad investment. Odds are very short that you will ever collect anything. A travel agents best sale is selling you insurance...More profit then selling you the airfare or cruise..

[Tatka]

I didn't say there was a connection, just surmising.

As a matter of interest why don't you buy travel insurance?

If you had an accident abroad and had to be hospitalised or had to be air-lifted from the ship, are you saying you're not covered and would have to bear the expense from your own pocket?

 

Maybe in the future.. For now we are healthy middle 30 couple with a teen, so unless it's something extraordinary...

[Glenndale]

Tatka & BILLP1,

We have an annual world-wide multi trip policy bought from an insurance broker. I wouldn't buy insurance from a travel agent that would be like buying lingerie from a builders merchant.;)

However healthy you are (and DH and I are healthy too) accidents can happen to anyone. You could be knocked over crossing the road (not wishing this on anyone), stumble and break an ankle,be robbed, a close relative at home could be taken ill suddenly and you need to get back,you might fall from your balcony (OK unlikely but I seem to be reading about these sort of incidents a lot lately!).:eek:

A friends husband took ill on honeymoon in the States with Chicken Pox and the medical bills would have cost more than the trip if they hadn't been insured.

We don't look at percentages, we hope that we NEVER have to claim, but we do have the peace of mind that if something bad happened then we wouldn't have to worry about the cost involved.

Thanks for replying - take care.:)

And NO I'm not an insurance agent!!:D

 

Sorry to go off topic.

[DoctorFeelgood]

Who the heck needs a passport?! I'm an Amurkun and it is my constitutional right.... heck, wait... it's my God-given right to cross any damn border I git a hankerin to. Why.... I even bin to Maryland!

[merela]

All I needed to do was renew my passport, which I did the first part of December for travel in March. My wife and I received our passports on the 22nd of January. No problem.

 

 

This really depends on which Passport Center you are assigned to. We put in our son's passport renewal application early April. The lady said it'll take 10-12 weeks. We figured there were plenty of time before our July 1 cruise, so we didn't pay the extra $60 to expedite the passport application which would have taken 4-6 weeks. Anyways, if the passport laws didn't change for air travel in North America in early June, we would be in big trouble now.

 

Since we can't call the passport office until 2 weeks prior to departure (it's been 12 weeks since our passport application was submitted), we waited until last week to call. As it turned out, the government had only cashed my check, there wasn't even a batch number assigned to my son's passport application. Their suggestion was to re-apply for a passport at a passport center in person, but we would need to make an appointment at the Los Angeles Passport Center. It took 3 hours to get on their automated appointment system and another 30 minutes to find out that they are fully booked for the entire month of June.

 

Anyways, to make the long story short, unless you are travelling in North America (Canada, US, Mexico, and the Caribbeans) before October 1, 2007, you should apply for a new passport at least 3 months ahead of time and pay the expedite fee. So apply now if you haven't done so already. You don't want the hassle to have to deal with the Passport Center phone line.

 

 

 

Good luck in getting your passport early.

[Tatka]

Tatka & BILLP1,

 

However healthy you are (and DH and I are healthy too) accidents can happen to anyone. You could be knocked over crossing the road (not wishing this on anyone), stumble and break an ankle,be robbed, a close relative at home could be taken ill suddenly and you need to get back,you might fall from your balcony (OK unlikely but I seem to be reading about these sort of incidents a lot lately!).:eek: .

 

Thank you for reply.

 

My medical insurance covers alot of things... even outside of US.. Usually all we need to do is to pay the bill and submit claim to insurance company.

 

And we are trying very hard not to fall over board! We even book exclusivly inside rooms! :D

 

How does insurance covers robbery? :eek:

[sasset]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1635553,00.html

 

More excuses for those not getting a passport to not get one.

 

I read someone who said they were struggling to take a cruise and the 4 X $97 was just going to be impossible to do. I felt like saying if you are struggling to take a cruise, perhaps you shouldn't be spending your money on said cruise if another $400 is going to break you.

 

Back to Flagger's original post.

 

Once you spend your $97 or whatever it is now, you're good for ten years. Once you know you have your passport you know that you can book the "really good last-minute deal". One reason they are extending the implemtation of the rule is the backlog created by those waiting until the last minute to apply.

 

We renew ours just like we renew our driver licenses.

 

Regards

[Glenndale]

Tatka - it isn't just health insurance it is specific travel insurance.

We are covered if we miss the flight, are robbed, lose our luggage plus medical problems and other contingencies such as having to get back to the UK in an emergency. We don't leave home without it!

As far as the passport thing goes it seems as if the US passport agency wasn't geared up to cope with the demand.

Many Brits will get a passport early on in life and keep it up to date.

[Travel Angel]

Passport yes. Travel Insurance. Bad investment. Odds are very short that you will ever collect anything. A travel agents best sale is selling you insurance...More profit then selling you the airfare or cruise..

 

Gotta disagree with you on this one... I as a TA DO NOT PUSH Trip insurance on anyone... it is a personal issue, but I have had clients that were very happy that took out the insurance (not being pushed to purchase either !) who had to cancel due to medical reasons and would have lost their entire vacation investment had they not had the insurance. I think it has pros and cons but each passenger has to weigh out their situation and possible medical issues before they make a decision to purchase or not.

[chessbriar]

And they thing they can register 12 million illegal aliens. Yeah

[dkjretired]

Gotta disagree with you on this one... I as a TA DO NOT PUSH Trip insurance on anyone... it is a personal issue, but I have had clients that were very happy that took out the insurance (not being pushed to purchase either !) who had to cancel due to medical reasons and would have lost their entire vacation investment had they not had the insurance. I think it has pros and cons but each passenger has to weigh out their situation and possible medical issues before they make a decision to purchase or not.

 

Exactly, for someone to say don't buy the insurance because its a waste of money doesn't know anything about an individuals sitation especially involving health insurance. Maybe they can afford to lose the money but there are many out there who can't. The same risks apply to any insurance you buy whether it be house, auto, life, etc. All you need is one time.

 

As far as this thread goes, I think it should be noted that the reasons for the rules being relaxed is because people are actually getting passports therefore the OP comments are really invalid as to the comments about another reason for us not to get passports.