Passport processing time .... an update

[lephysteria]

Hi there fellow cruising friends :)

 

On Friday, Jan 16th, we walked into our local post office and submitted the passport paperwork to officially make my little Squirmy an official cruiser!!!

 

I was absolutely floored when I got the mail the afternoon of Thursday, Jan 26th and received his newly created passport and passport card! I thought there had to be some mistake, they are writing correspondence telling us that we forgot some dumb document or that they don't like my little James' picture (cause I sure as heck didn't). :mad:

 

But nope, there in seperate envelopes were the documents he'll need to sail with us on the Radiance this December. We were so elated. James, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered. After all, he was too busy trying to pull his sock off, and insert his foot into his mouth! :rolleyes:

 

Long story short ......... LESS THAN 2 WEEKS total processing time!

We were pleased and now we're all set for our cruise this fall!

[Duffys wife 1957]

I hope my DD's best friend has the same luck. They planned a trip to Cancun for spring break in March, and she applied around the same time. The women told her it would be back in plenty of time. I was a little skeptical, but after hearing this I am hopeful for her. Thanks for the information.

[firstcruise05]

When I applied for my son's passport (ironically enough we applied on the 26th) the woman said to expect a 4-6 week waiting time but that they have recently been coming in as fast as 6-10 days.

 

I looked at her and did one of these :eek: and said "wow, thats fast" she chuckled and said "yes it is". And then I said "I mean, when I applied for mine in 2005 they said to expect 4-6 months and when it came in 3 months we were elated!" and she said "I know...its gotten a lot better since then".

[Aprille]

DH and I mailed off our renewal applications on Dec 19th and received our new passports exactly 2 weeks later and that was over the Christmas holidays! I was pretty impressed. :cool:

 

Congratulations to your little Squirmy on his official cruiserhood. :D He is a cutie patootie! :)

[Happy ks]

Congratulations on your new baby!

 

My son got his renewal back in 10 days, he applied on or around January 21 and got the new passport on January 31st.

 

I hope we don't see the debacle later this year that started out the year 2007 :o.

[lephysteria]

I can only hope our cruise goes as smoothly :)

[SherriZ366]

We have to do this prior to whatever cruise we book for early 2010. Good to hear your positive experiences.

[moonltnite]

It'll be two weeks tomorrow since we mailed in our passport renewal forms and passports. We're not in a big rush (don't cruise until May). I did notice they cashed the check a week ago.

[dirtgirl]

Congrats, Jen! My passport went in last Wednesday, so I'll see how long it takes up here.;)

[cranejwr]

I got mine back in 10 days. That was the first part of Dec. I too was thrilled! My cousin and her DH got their's back in 10 days also. :D

[babies12]

DH got his in 10 days. The passport lady asked if he wanted his expidited at an additional charge. I said no. As I had already done mine in November and also received it in 10 days. so if they ask if you want it expidited (it will cost you) decline. The general turn around is 10 days.

[Copna2d]

Sent both of my daughters requests for passports in on Dec 28th and received them back on Jan 9th. We then sent my mothers request in on Jan 16th and she received her passport on Jan 20th. Needless to say, we we're very pleased.

[LisaT91403]

We are taking our little guy on the Mariner on 4/12. He will be 1 year old...he just needs his birth certificate and not a passport, right?

[JBert]

I had put mine in about 8 weeks before our honeymoon, and had it in 3 weeks -

 

It's a suprise to see a branch of the gov't working quickly!

[LDR]

I took my kid's to get theirs renewed on 1/16 and they came today!! ;)

[moonltnite]

My husband got his renewed passport today - 13 days from when we mailed both of ours in. We'll see how soon I get mine!

[lulubell]

Hi there fellow cruising friends :)

 

On Friday, Jan 16th, we walked into our local post office and submitted the passport paperwork to officially make my little Squirmy an official cruiser!!!

 

I was absolutely floored when I got the mail the afternoon of Thursday, Jan 26th and received his newly created passport and passport card! I thought there had to be some mistake, they are writing correspondence telling us that we forgot some dumb document or that they don't like my little James' picture (cause I sure as heck didn't). :mad:

 

But nope, there in seperate envelopes were the documents he'll need to sail with us on the Radiance this December. We were so elated. James, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered. After all, he was too busy trying to pull his sock off, and insert his foot into his mouth! :rolleyes:

 

Long story short ......... LESS THAN 2 WEEKS total processing time!

We were pleased and now we're all set for our cruise this fall!

We applied on Saturday for my son's passport got it bt the following Friday.

Couldn't believe it!

By the way we're southern california too,wonder if it's the same processing center.:)

[lephysteria]

I wonder, Lulu. It could be. Its about time something in Cali worked the way it should! :D

[cruisinisforme]

Someone on my roll call also got theirs very quickly too.

[mag0737]

We are taking our little guy on the Mariner on 4/12. He will be 1 year old...he just needs his birth certificate and not a passport, right?

 

No, if I remember correctly - he DOES need a passport. I used to work at an AAA and I've already taken pictures of 3 month old babies for passports. So unless something changed he'll need one.

[LolaLemon]

I got my little Sofia her passport picture taken earlier this year at the post office (I think she was 4-6 months old at the time). I literally went in on a Saturday and had it in my hands by the next Thursday!

 

I, too, expected that something went wrong.

 

This was her very first passport. I had a friend who had lost hers and applied for a new one. About a week later she got her passport, too!

 

This is amazing. I guess it just depends which agency it gets sent to...

[CruiserFox]

I work for a Senator's office and I just wanted to forewarn everyone, that the processing times do significantly slow down as we get closer to Spring Break time. So if you haven't already, it's best to apply now rather than later, despite the fast times now. But if you ever encounter a problem with long processing delays and not getting them before your scheduled trip, your Congressional Representatives can help!

[Esmerelda]

When we sailed in August of 2007, we applied April the 3rd that year. We received them finally on July 15 or thereabouts. I had phoned..and sent letters to find out what happened to them. So ours was a mere 16 weeks. Be careful...its not always that quick. (and we had no problems with any of ours...they were just slow as all get out)

 

I'm glad you received yours so quickly...that's great!

 

:)

[firstcruise05]

Processing times still seem to be quick right now...If you are thinking about getting one, I would apply now!

 

We applied for my son in the afternoon on January 26th and it just came in the mail today!

 

When DH and I got our passports back in 2005, it took MONTHS to get them back.

[TPKeller]

No, if I remember correctly - he DOES need a passport. I used to work at an AAA and I've already taken pictures of 3 month old babies for passports. So unless something changed he'll need one.

Starting June 1, 2009, the final rules take effect for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. There have been quite a few threads dedicated to this event.

 

For US Citizens, sailing closed loop cruises that originate in the US, and stay within the WHTI defined area (mainly Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and most of the Caribbean), passports are not now, nor will they ever be required under this current law. You really need to read more details as it's a bit too complex to cover without highjacking this thread. :)

 

Theron