bobbycruiser Posted April 24, 2007 #1 Share Posted April 24, 2007 i applied for my passport about 9 weeks ago and i sail on may 12th (3 weeks) on the crown from brooklyn. if i dont get it in time, am i going to be screwed? is there any other possible way to get on board without the passport? im less than 3 weeks from sailing and now im getting reeeeeally nervous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverboatgambler Posted April 24, 2007 #2 Share Posted April 24, 2007 You can get by with a birth certificate, but you had to send in one to apply for your passport. If you can get a replacement, that will work, as a passport is not required yet for cruise travel, only for air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginak1112 Posted April 24, 2007 #3 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Where are you cruising to? I applied for passports for my kids on Feb.7. One came 7 weeks later and my son's just came this week!! I think that you will get it. Have you checked online yet. I emailed them at the USgov website because it showed that his was not in the system yet and that made me nervous. They never emailed me back but, all of a sudden, his name was in the system and they said that it was mailed. I had tried calling but it was impossible. The only problem you would have without a passport would be if you had to fly home from a non-US port for some reason. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbycruiser Posted April 24, 2007 Author #4 Share Posted April 24, 2007 im leaving from brooklyn and going to bermuda, st thomas, san juan and grand turk. im sailing on princess. ive heard that princess wont let u on board with no passport. its been exactly 8 weeks so far since i applied and online doesnt say anything except "being processed" and yes i can easily get a new birth certificate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy99 Posted April 24, 2007 #5 Share Posted April 24, 2007 If i remember right there is a government web site you can go to to track the progress of your passport... http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azsunshine Posted April 24, 2007 #6 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I would check on the internet because there are resources available to get a quick emergency response from them, but you have to tell them!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dulcineahong Posted April 24, 2007 #7 Share Posted April 24, 2007 i got my password last week after 10 weeks of waiting! if you dont get your passport next week, make an appointment with the walk-in passport agency near you that handles those who need to travel within 2 weeks. that's what i did years ago when I had to travel and only had 2 weeks to get the passport. Their website should have the address of the walk-in passport office near you. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusrose Posted April 24, 2007 #8 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Call or email them right away and ask when the passport might be mailed. Also call Princess and ask if you can just use an picture id and certified copy of birth certificate for this itinerary. No need to get an expensive rush job on the passport if you don't have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
play21cw Posted April 24, 2007 #9 Share Posted April 24, 2007 i applied for my passport about 9 weeks ago and i sail on may 12th (3 weeks) on the crown from brooklyn. if i dont get it in time, am i going to be screwed? is there any other possible way to get on board without the passport? im less than 3 weeks from sailing and now im getting reeeeeally nervous. Alright bobby, go to this link to check your passport https://passportstatus.state.gov/opss/OPSS_Status_i.asp If it hasnt shipped then look at the info below, and call the number and tell them you are sailing within 3 weeks and they will do what they can to find your application and expedite your passport. You may need to go to the local office that processes them to get it, but hey, if it means you cruise on time its worth it If you are leaving, or you need your passport for a foreign visa, within 14 days and need to make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency: Automated lines to make appointments are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The best time to call is between 8:30 p.m. and 9 a.m., Eastern Time. Telephone Number: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778) TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Telephone number for customers with telecommunication devices for the hearing impaired. This telephone number cannot be accessed by a standard touch tone or rotary dial telephone. Customer Service Representatives and Operators for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to midnight, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays. Representatives are also available for limited weekend hours for emergency situations in which travelers are leaving in 7 days or less. Automated Information available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have a travel emergency, please call the Center to speak with a customer service representative. Do not e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrusinAgain Posted April 24, 2007 #10 Share Posted April 24, 2007 We just cruised Princess last month without passports and got on and off just fine with birth certificates and drivers license. One passenger did not have a birth certificate getting off the ship and we heard that she might get fined however she already had her suitcases by the time we found ours so it must not have been that big of a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendon Posted April 24, 2007 #11 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Princess told us that our passports must be valid for at least 6 months passed the return date in the event you got stuck (medical or otherwise) in a foreign port and had to return home from there. The online Princess pre-cruise forms could not be processed with the expiration dates as they were. We immediately got the ball rolling at an expedited fee (!) to get them new passports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncsongbird Posted April 24, 2007 #12 Share Posted April 24, 2007 You can call your state representative or congressman, explain the situation and they will help you get that passport in time for your trip. It's a win-win situation for them. It doesn't cost them anything except their time, it's shows their power, and you will be indebted to them and tell all your friends how helpful they were. My daughter needed her children's passports for a Mexico trip the following week. After waiting for over 9 weeks and being told by the state dept. that the passports were being processed yet not receiving them, she called her state rep. in MA. They told her not to worry, they would work on it and that they never had anyone miss their trip. Her state rep.'s office worked on it, and had the passports dropped off at their house 2 days before they were due to leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdmiralJohnson Posted April 24, 2007 #13 Share Posted April 24, 2007 im leaving from brooklyn and going to bermuda, st thomas, san juan and grand turk. im sailing on princess. ive heard that princess wont let u on board with no passport. its been exactly 8 weeks so far since i applied and online doesnt say anything except "being processed" and yes i can easily get a new birth certificate You certainly can board and sail without a passport, they would prefer you to have one, but currently the majority of people sailing in 2007 don't have passports, this was observed recently while waiting in line to check in, more than half were presenting birth certificates. Also, in an emergency the State Dept. just has to be contacted and you will be able to fly back seamlessly, many have done it since January with no delay or problem, they will fax clearance directly to the airline. It takes longer to wait for a scheduled flight... For anyone traveling, this is the most important information to have with you - these are the people that can clear you to return via air without a passport - contrary to peoples thoughts on this site, there are no american citizens sleeping stranded on beaches in the Carib, and again, the biggest delay in getting home, is waiting for a flight: OVERSEAS CITIZENS SERVICES: Call 1-888-407-4747 (from overseas: 202 501-4444) for answers related to questions concerning the: Death of an American citizen abroad Arrest/detention of an American citizen abroad Robbery of an American citizen abroad American citizens missing abroad Crisis abroad involving American citizens After-hours number for an emergency involving an American citizen abroad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trlbnd1 Posted April 24, 2007 #14 Share Posted April 24, 2007 You certainly can board and sail without a passport, they would prefer you to have one, but currently the majority of people sailing in 2007 don't have passports, this was observed recently while waiting in line to check in, more than half were presenting birth certificates. Also, in an emergency the State Dept. just has to be contacted and you will be able to fly back seamlessly, many have done it since January with no delay or problem, they will fax clearance directly to the airline. It takes longer to wait for a scheduled flight... For anyone traveling, this is the most important information to have with you - these are the people that can clear you to return via air without a passport - contrary to peoples thoughts on this site, there are no american citizens sleeping stranded on beaches in the Carib, and again, the biggest delay in getting home, is waiting for a flight: OVERSEAS CITIZENS SERVICES: Call 1-888-407-4747 (from overseas: 202 501-4444) for answers related to questions concerning the: Death of an American citizen abroad Arrest/detention of an American citizen abroad Robbery of an American citizen abroad American citizens missing abroad Crisis abroad involving American citizens After-hours number for an emergency involving an American citizen abroad This is a very important phone number in case of emergency. I never knew of it. Thanks for sharing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonnieSte Posted April 24, 2007 #15 Share Posted April 24, 2007 We are on that cruise with you, my dauhghters boyfriend hasn't gotten his yet either, thanks for the info everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginak1112 Posted April 24, 2007 #16 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I think that you must have a passport for Bermuda if I'm not mistaken. If it says that it is processing when you checked the website then that is a very good sign. When I kept checking for my son, it said that nothing was found in the system. When it did finally come into the system last week, it had already been mailed. I received it last Saturday. It is impossible to get through by telephone. They won't even let you stay on line holding. The machine just hangs you up. I think you may call till midnight which may be a little easier to get through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdmiralJohnson Posted April 24, 2007 #17 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I think that you must have a passport for Bermuda if I'm not mistaken. If it says that it is processing when you checked the website then that is a very good sign. When I kept checking for my son, it said that nothing was found in the system. When it did finally come into the system last week, it had already been mailed. I received it last Saturday. It is impossible to get through by telephone. They won't even let you stay on line holding. The machine just hangs you up. I think you may call till midnight which may be a little easier to get through. Yes, you are mistaken!!! Nope, not required for Bermuda if traveling by ship: As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries. Here is the link: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Foster Posted April 24, 2007 #18 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Even though I called the Passport people and was ASSURED that my passport would arrive before my cruise, it did not. So if they tell you they will process it ASAP it is just pure luck if you get it or not. I called within the two week timeline and told the passport people I needed my passport for a "FLIGHT" to Mexico.. (even though I was just cruising...) I stated I was leaving on April 6th. They told me to call back the Tuesday before my trip, I did. They said they will have it me by my trip. They did not. Three Fedex notices were waiting for me when I got home and I even had a call on my cell phone telling me if I didn't come get it from FEDEX right away, they would return to sender. What a fiasco.. Good thing I was cruising. My birth certificate worked just fine. Yes, I did go and get my passport from FedEx when I got home. Good Luck.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbycruiser Posted April 24, 2007 Author #19 Share Posted April 24, 2007 thank u all for all ur help. if i wait until 2 weeks b4 my trip and schedule an appointment with the local office (philly, while i live in central nj) would i get the passport the same day? and since i alreadu paid for the damn thing, woudl i hafta pay again? please help me because i have no idea where i stand financially. thanx again guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlieGirl33 Posted April 24, 2007 #20 Share Posted April 24, 2007 We applied for our passports 11 weeks ago and we're still waiting. We leave this Friday so I'm not optimistic that it will get here in time. Luckily we can get by with just having our birth certificates but we did have to order new ones. If you have them expedited your new birth certificates should arrive within a few days. We've also called and emailed to get an update on our passports but they can't tell you anything besides the fact that the've logged it and assigned it a tracking number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clm101798 Posted April 24, 2007 #21 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I just got back from my cruise - we left 4/15. I called the passport agency on 4/2 because we still did not have our passports yet and I had them in hand on the 9th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbycruiser Posted April 24, 2007 Author #22 Share Posted April 24, 2007 see now im 1 of 2 things. pissed if i can board without it after the TA said id NEED it, and nervous cuz i spent the money and i still dont have it. and i know i can get a new copy of my birth certificate any day. so thats cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crown08 Posted April 24, 2007 #23 Share Posted April 24, 2007 see now im 1 of 2 things. pissed if i can board without it after the TA said id NEED it, and nervous cuz i spent the money and i still dont have it.You should be angry with your TA then because you DO NOT need a passport. One is always recommended - but you can still board with a birth certificate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Foster Posted April 24, 2007 #24 Share Posted April 24, 2007 We applied for our passports 11 weeks ago and we're still waiting. We leave this Friday so I'm not optimistic that it will get here in time. Luckily we can get by with just having our birth certificates but we did have to order new ones. If you have them expedited your new birth certificates should arrive within a few days. We've also called and emailed to get an update on our passports but they can't tell you anything besides the fact that the've logged it and assigned it a tracking number. I know.. I feel your pain. I was finally able to talk to someone when I called later in the evening.. .. but it didnt' make any difference because I never got them in time, even though they stated that I would have it.. OH WELL... At least I didn't have to pay the extra bucks for the FEDEX that never arrived on time. My FEDEX mail date was the date I told them I was leaving for my trip.. GO FIGURE... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbycruiser Posted April 25, 2007 Author #25 Share Posted April 25, 2007 ok so i hafta ask this one more time just to solidify this. you are all saying that i can board the ship and visit all of the destinations i mentioned (bermuda, san juan, grand turk, st thomas) without a passport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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