Passport stats

[Sunshine91]

There was a little tidbit it yesterday's Washington Post Travel section about passports & cruising. According to the State Dept, only 25% of Americans have passports. According to CLIA estimates, only 35% of recent cruise pax used a passport as their primary form of ID. Apparently cruiseline officials are in a bit of a tizzy over this figure. They don't want turn away folks at the pier.

Since many people book 6 months or more in advance, they figure they don't need to do anything else except show up. They forget about having a valid passport & the rules are changing effective Dec 31. Some countries even require that your passport be valid for at least 6 months in the future before allowing you to enter.

SOOOOOO, make sure you have a valid passport for you & everyone travelling with you, including children. More info is available at www.travel.state.gov.

[Bramcruiser]

Oh believe me I ensure with a lot of double checking that my passport is valid. We are okay for our December 2006 cruise but mine will expire less than 6 months after the August 2007 cruise I just booked. So in January or so I will head out and renew my passport to ensure I have a new one in time for the second cruise.

 

The statistics are staggering actually and its going to make a lot of people grumble. I fear the cross-border traffic will dry up as many who are used to simply crossing between Canada and the US with a drivers licence don't see the point in a $100 for a passport for day trips. Still I think recent events have sealed the fate - passports are the future.

[jhannah]

Thanks for the additional reminder. I hope everyone will get out and obtain a passport (if they don't have one now) or get theirs renewed if it's getting close to expiration.

[sail7seas]

I sent ours out for renewal over 5 weeks ago and have not yet received them back...........

 

Don't wait until the last minute.

 

[Copper10-8]

There will be a pretty big increase in passport applications and renewals once DEC 31 roles around which will more than likely effect processing and turnaround. Not sure if the National Passport Agency is ready for this. Best not to wait until the last moment to renew!

[sail7seas]

My point exactly, John. Here we are still six months away from the new rules taking effect and while 5 weeks is still a reasonable length of time to wait, I have no way of knowing how much longer we will be waiting to receive them.

 

The wait time will only get longer as the new rule date approaches.

 

We needed to use our passport for our April cruise. As soon as we returned, we got new photos, completed the application and sent them right out. We are cruising in August but can use Birth Certificates if we must. We would not be able to use Birth Certificates for a December/January cruise so I didn't dally about seeking the renewals.

 

[Copper10-8]

Good thinking and pre-planning S7S!;)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

. As soon as we returned, we got new photos, completed the application and sent them right out. We are cruising in August but can use Birth Certificates if we must. We would not be able to use Birth Certificates for a December/January cruise so I didn't dally about seeking the renewals.

 

 

Sail, you should receive your new passports pretty soon now. It took us five weeks in January, and I'm sure the volume has picked up since then, making the turnaround time longer. You should definitely have your new passports well before August.

 

I'm really amazed at the State Department's figure of 25%. I assumed more people than that had passports. (I've had a passport since I was a baby, and there's never been a time in my life that I didn't have one.) Thank you, Sunshine, for the reminder and the link.

[twinkletoes4445]

We went out and got our passports prior to our first cruise. I had read a post from a woman who had just lost her husband (while on a cruise). He died while they were in Belize, and she had a terrible time getting out of that country with his body. The ship went on without them, and in Belize, you need a passport if you aren't on a cruise ship. It was a mess.

 

Turns out, we have been out of the country several times, so I was glad we went on ahead and got them.

[Randyk47]

Count us in on the passport holders list. Personally I've had one so long the original was a clay tablet. :D My father was in the military and we went overseas 3 times during his career. Think I was 10-12 years old when I got my first one....first time I wasn't on my mother's passport. Had one ever since. DW got her's for business maybe 10-12 years ago and we've kept both of them up to date.

[bdcbbq]

We got ours before our first cruise in Dec. 2002. I'm keeping ours updated. I always carry mine when I'm traveling by air. Whether its in the US or Internationally.

[jhannah]

Avoiding the last-minute rush is a great reminder. I'm sure application activity will soon begin a steady increase until it peaks in December. I can envision a rash of expedited processing that will cause those who don't pay virtually double for quick turnaround to wait many weeks to receive their passports.

[wrp96]

I too have had my passport for years and use it for more than just travel.

 

What's currently upsetting me on these boards is the people saying that the passport deadlines have been pushed back again because the Senate passed a bill that would push them back - they're forgetting that the House hasn't passed the same bill, and in fact has an opposing bill.

[bookworm0911]

What's currently upsetting me on these boards is the people saying that the passport deadlines have been pushed back again because the Senate passed a bill that would push them back - they're forgetting that the House hasn't passed the same bill, and in fact has an opposing bill.

I have no doubt the deadline will be pushed back again. Like there hasn't been enough notice?! At this rate passports will never be required of US citizens and it's ridiculous! How come other countries can require passports for their citizens and there is no problem. It's been almost 5 years since 9/11 and our govt. still is not serious about border security. :mad:

[CruisinNana]

I also take my passport whenever traveling by air because it is so much easier to get through security than by taking out my wallet and taking out my drivers license to show security and then having to put it all back. The passport is easy to spot in a pocket inside my purse and easy to show and return to the pocket for safekeeping.

[arabrab]

Hmmmm --- now I'm wondering if there are going to be some GREAT deals available on cruises in January.

[Donyb]

I just recently renewed my passport. I sent with reg. U.S. mail but paid for the receipt which would tell me when they received it. They got it 4/21. I knew it would take awhile but started getting nervous as we are sailing in Europe on 6/10. On the passport website, you can type in your birthdate, SS# and they will tell you when you should receive it. My info said on or around 5/31. It didn't come on the 31st so I called and spoke with a live person after pushing all the right buttons. She said it was sent out that day and sent 2 day express mail. I got it on the 2nd, 6 weeks to the day from when they received it.

[aaerobear]

It will be interesting to see how the hotels in Miami and Fort lauderdale will deal with the hundreds of people turned away from their cruises because

"they never told us we needed a passport"

 

Like it hasn't been one of the most recurring threads on all of the CC boards, and, I assume, other internet outlets. Plus TA's, and internet agencies.

 

There is simply no excuse to not know about the passport requirement coming up (even if it gets delayed again) It is gonna happen so go ahead and get that passport and save the hassle and frustration down the line.

 

"stepping off soapbox now"

[RedHeadTexan]

I finally received my first passport on June 7th. It took 7 weeks for it to arrive. My first cruise is Thanksgiving week, and I have already told my sister to hurry up and apply for her passport this month.

 

Luckily for me, my parents are frequent cruisers and told me to apply right after we booked the cruise.

[cruznon]

It never ceases to amaze me how many people just ignore travel documentation. (Remember the woman on the boards a few months ago, who was frantically trying to get a birth certificate delivered so she could sail in less than 48 hrs?)

I agree with others about the backlog that's certain to develop in a few months at passport offices .

[Host Walt]

I also take my passport whenever traveling by air because it is so much easier to get through security than by taking out my wallet and taking out my drivers license to show security and then having to put it all back. The passport is easy to spot in a pocket inside my purse and easy to show and return to the pocket for safekeeping.

 

I made color photocopies of the face page both of our passports that we carry in our wallets all the time, home, at sea and abroad. It has come in handy on a few occasions, especially when someone wants two forms of id.

 

However I think the cruise lines could help matters significantly by establishing now, not this fall, that Passports are required for passage and, in the fine print say that, in 2006, alternatives such as b/c's, can be used as a last resort but are discouraged.

[aaerobear]

Walt,

 

 

Thats the best advice I have heard on here. As an airline crew member we were always encouraged to have a photo copy of our passport pages with us on trips. you never know when your luggage/purse/briefcase may be stolen or lost. We also were reminded to have the photo copy of any visa pages we had.

 

Ed

[Tricia724]

Personally, I have never understood the resistance to getting a passport. For people who are doing cruises, it should be a no-brainer. Yet, how many threads have been on these boards in the last couple of years from someone who was trying to figure a way to get around the passport requirement. For every one of us saying "Get the passport....you may need it," there is someone else saying "You don't need a passport....all you need is a birth certificate and a driver's license." Then when that person has a medical problem on some remote island or misses the cruiseship, they are totally shocked to learn that they are in deep doodoo. I suppose these are the same people who wait until April 15 at 11:00 pm to file their income taxes.

 

Whenever I fly, I take my passport. The airlines personnel have thanked me many times, saying they wished more people would do so. It makes their job easier, and it gets you moving so much more quickly.

 

So if you're cruising and you don't have a passport.....get one now. You're going to have to get one, so why not do it in your own good time instead of a last minute rush.

[bookworm0911]

Personally, I have never understood the resistance to getting a passport. For people who are doing cruises, it should be a no-brainer. Yet, how many threads have been on these boards in the last couple of years from someone who was trying to figure a way to get around the passport requirement. For every one of us saying "Get the passport....you may need it," there is someone else saying "You don't need a passport....all you need is a birth certificate and a driver's license." Then when that person has a medical problem on some remote island or misses the cruiseship, they are totally shocked to learn that they are in deep doodoo.

How true. And how many times do we read here that one of the "I-don't-need-a-passport" people pull out their bc's a few days before their cruise and see that they don't have a certified copy. Then they cry that it's not fair that they need a copy with a raised seal and they don't have time to get one without spending a lot more money for special mailing. :rolleyes:

[MeOhMy]

Please remember, not only do you need a valid passport. But some countries will not admit you if the passport is not good for six months after your visit. Read the fine print. It applies to cruise ships making calls in some of those countries also, so you simply can not wait until the last minute.

 

And, things being how they are, I sincerely doubt there will be much increase in staffing to cover the rush.

 

I must also comment I just got mine renewed in February. My, we are getting cheap. Many fewer visa pages and a wimpier cover. None of the stand-up-on-its-own strength my original passport had. Of course, the ones in between got smaller, also.

 

In case no one has mentioned it...leave a copy of the first page of your passport at home with whoever your emergency contact is. My family also has one.