Do we just give it up on the passports?

[BlueEyz119]

Thanks to everyone for their advice/opinions!

 

I could not get through to the number provided by on the passport website. Since it was less than two weeks, I decided to call my congressman. I did this last Thursday. They were very friendly and simply took my information. Saturday morning the doorbell rang, and there was the Fed-Ex man with my passports. I was totally shocked. I even had a call from my congressman's office early Monday morning to make sure I had received them. Now that is customer service.

 

I feel much better having them for my cruise, which is in exactly THREE DAYS!!!!! :D

[qorc]

who said renewals are 4 weeks and faster?

 

bull.

 

Got mine last week.

 

TOOK 18 WEEKS TO GET!!

[carwvu80]

We are traveling on AOS on 07/22. We applied for our passports at the end of February - and still the website says they are being processed. Amazing, how fast they were at cashing the check in comparison to the actual processing.

 

At any rate, we have tried to call, sent emails, etc. Do we even bother with it anymore? I could call my congressman's office, but is it worth the hassle?

 

Of course, then there is the whole birth certificate situation. Since we had to send ours in with our passport applications, we do not have a copy of my husband's. We are in Indiana and he was born in Michigan. We can enlist his parents help in getting a copy but, again, it is just irritating that I have to go through the hassle and the additional expense when I felt like I applied in a reasonably amount of time.

 

I mean, come'on - it has been 19 weeks since we applied. Part of me is spoiling for a fight on principal - the other part doesn't want the hassle, since I'm already trying to get ready for the trip. I'm torn.

 

 

My Dad applied for his passport in May - he sent everything in - and the check was cashed. My Mom applied in early June and she received a confrimation from the US stating her passport was being processed. My Dad never received such a thing. Then I applied for mine about 1 month ago, and then last week, received confirmation from the US that mine too was being processed. So, I called my parents telling them they may want to call. When they did, they lied and said he was leaving at the end of July so that he could speak to someone (otherwise, you don't get to talk to anyone...unless you are travelling within 2 weeks). He was on hold for 45 minutes before finally getting an answer - mind you this was all last week, so about 2 months after my Father had applied. They told him his passport was in Charleston, SC (we live in DC) - and that they had misread his SSN - essentially mistaking his last number with another one, hence the mix-up. They asked him to call back on Thursday night at 11 pm, which he did - and they had gotten everything all cleared up. He got his passport this past Saturday.

 

I say call the US - tell them you are leaving in 2 weeks, they'll get you taken care of.

 

In regards to your Congressman - they can help - but you will probably have to go through the entire process again. I had to get my boss an emergency passport and we called his Congressman - who was able to intervene (actually - a very good staffer) - and he got his passport within the day. If, however, you have already applied - I think you have to begin again. I am not sure about that , it is only an assumption - but I might call just to see.

[marci22]

A tip for those trying to use the website phone number: call during non-peak times (there are some, really).

 

I tried several times mid-afternoon one day, then gave up and waited til 7:30pm and got through on the first try.

[SomeBeach]

I say make a call to your representative.

Because of reading the horror stories here when my son and his family applied, they expedited theirs even tho they aren't needed until the end of Dec.

Applied June 26th, passports arrived July 19th, all 4 of them.

Because they are currently out of town, they haven't been opened to insure everything on the passports is correct. Keeping my fingers crossed that they are. ;)

[rikv1971]

I received my passport after waiting 11 weeks just to find they misspelled my name. I just sent it overnight back to the LA processing center to be corrected. I have 14 weeks, so hopefully it makes it back in time.

 

I cannot believe I just received my corrected passport back, it only took 8 days.

[cruznsugs]

I have a question. I've checked out a few articles about the delay of requiring passports, especially cruise ships. And I found this on the Carnival web site. Does this mean that we won't need passports until summer of 2008?

 

 

What are the new passport requirements?

CRUISE TRAVEL The U.S. Government will soon require all of our guests (including U.S. citizens) to be in possession of a valid passport when traveling on any Carnival cruise. Foreign nationals should contact their respective governments to obtain further details. This requirement may become effective as early as Summer 2008.