passports required?

[Sea-shell]

Does anyone know if cruises going to Barbados are still requiring passports? I thought I read that Barbados backed down about the requirement, but I'm not sure...

Thanks!

[hstrybuf]

You do not need a passport for Barbados at this time. Cruiseship passengers are considered "in transit", meaning you will only be there for a few hours and will leave on the ship. Should you take a cruise the embarks on Barbados or plan to spend a vacation of several days on the island, then you would need a passport. If you plan to travel outside the U.S. again in the future, I would highly recommend that you get a passport. It makes things sooo much easier!

[screagan]

Once you fill out the paperwork and submit the photo, how long does it take to receive the passport?

 

Or, is it given to you right away?

[RockyTopMom]

I would say it takes about 5 weeks to receive it in the mail.

[Jodyflower]

We (four of us) all received our passports within two weeks. Since we were within 6 weeks of our cruise (which is 1/15/05) I was planning to pay for expedited passports and they told me not to waste my money. They told me they have never seen a passport take longer than 2-3 weeks. This was the Post Office passport agency. However, if you are nervous about receiving it in time, go ahead and pay the extra fee for peace of mind. You can get it in as little as 48 hours if you pay for it. I would get a passport because if the country that you are visiting changes their policy before you cruise, you are covered. I have always vacationed in the past with birth cert only and I have always awed at how fast people with passports got through the line so much faster, now I will be one of THEM!:D Happy cruising!!!!!!

[mtchg]

and spent the bucks on a passport. I've used it on two cruises since I received one and I have to admit it makes things smoother and the I.N. folks

have a more "no-questions asked" attitude when you flash it (the passport that is..LOL).

 

Mitch

[Sea-shell]

Thanks for the reply - we have passports but a friend who is traveling with us does not, so I wondered if he needed to do an express to get one before we leave. (btw-it did take the 6 wks to get ours thru AAA-)

[dougp26364]

If you used AAA for assistance in getting a passport then you added a middle man to the process. That always seems to slow things down. We received ours in 4 weeks but we went directly through the post office.

[Candleonwater]

Here is what I was told by the "Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs"... it takes 20 business days to process a passport. Add to that the time for the passport office to mail it in, and for them to return it to you... you're looking at 4-5 weeks. When I went in to renew, I was told 3-4 weeks was normal... so at 4 weeks, when I hadn't received them yet, I decided to call to make sure there weren't problems. The above is what I was told. Now, I realize that is just the standard answer, and I'm sure PLENTY of passports are received faster, but DON'T count on it. It would be just my luck, with a month to go before I leave on a trip to have the passport take 5 weeks. That's why I processed mine 4 months before we leave.