Passport Renewals....

[jabrown40]

I read the rules on the celebrity website . For closed loop cruises, a birth certificate and DL are accepted. No red flags popped up when I did the online check in and entered our expiration dates. I plan to call this morning though.

[Iamcruzin]

The State Department put out a notice that drivers licences from all states can be used for domestic air travel until January 22, 2018. Here is the link: http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/news/real-id-not-needed-for-domestic-flights-until-2018.html

 

This doesn't surprise me in the least. My son and his friends are flying to Puerto Rico for spring break. I had heard on the news back in Nov 2015 that passports would be required for any domestic flights. He called the airline in December to confirm that this was in fact true. They confirmed that it was. The flights were booked prior to the notification and some of his friends were going to just forfeit the money for the flight and not go because of the passport situation. I showed my son your link last night and he called the airline back to confirm. It was like calling Celebrity. He couldn't get a straight yes or no answer. At this point even the airline was confused. He called TSA and they confirmed what was posted in the link you provided. We needed to renew passports anyway so it had nothing to do with at the airlines. I guess some one who works at the passport office woke up and realized that it would be impossible to process all of these new applications. Americans do not apply for a passport unless they are going some place were they would need one. Most of middle America never leave the country. I live in NY and have never even been to Canada. The only reason I have a passport is to cruise and we have only sailed in the Caribbean where you really don't even need one on a closed loop itinerary. This wasn't thought out. I wonder how many people fly from one U.S. city to another U.S city on a regular basis who don't have a passport. I know a lot of snowbirds who fly from New York to Florida at least twice a year who don't have passports.

[irishgal1970]

A passport, in and of itself, is not going to be required for domestic air travel. What is being required is identification that meets the requirements of the REAL ID Act. In most states, that will still be your drivers license. However, some states are opting not to comply with the REAL ID Act. Therefore, residents of those states will need to show a compliant form of identification in order to board a domestic flight. A US passport is compliant with the act, so it is one option for residents of those states.

 

Check out this link, finding your state of residence on the grid, to see how you might be affected: http://www.dhs.gov/real-id-and-you-rumor-control

[Iamcruzin]

A passport, in and of itself, is not going to be required for domestic air travel. What is being required is identification that meets the requirements of the REAL ID Act. In most states, that will still be your drivers license. However, some states are opting not to comply with the REAL ID Act. Therefore, residents of those states will need to show a compliant form of identification in order to board a domestic flight. A US passport is compliant with the act, so it is one option for residents of those states.

 

Check out this link, finding your state of residence on the grid, to see how you might be affected: http://www.dhs.gov/real-id-and-you-rumor-control

 

In other words...A bureaucratic hot mess.

[DonRobertoSanJuan]

A passport, in and of itself, is not going to be required for domestic air travel. What is being required is identification that meets the requirements of the REAL ID Act. In most states, that will still be your drivers license. However, some states are opting not to comply with the REAL ID Act. Therefore, residents of those states will need to show a compliant form of identification in order to board a domestic flight. A US passport is compliant with the act, so it is one option for residents of those states.

 

Check out this link, finding your state of residence on the grid, to see how you might be affected: http://www.dhs.gov/real-id-and-you-rumor-control

 

The State Department clearly states that Real ID is NOT required until January 2018. Puerto Rico would be one of the States/Territories that is not in compliance so I can fly to any US destination, using my DL, until then. Here is the link: http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/news/real-id-not-needed-for-domestic-flights-until-2018.html