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Passports: up to 18 weeks for new or renewal


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I just made it with my expedited renewal in May.  That took 5 weeks but now expedited is stated to be 12 weeks. 

My old ones expired mid 2022 so I did what I always do... waited for a gap in travel combined with holding off as long as possible so I'd maximize the 10 year life. 

If I had waited another month I'd have screwed myself for my upcoming cruises.   

Phew.

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Renewed my children’s passports on June 11th at post office standard service (don’t need until February).  Just received an email this last Wednesday that they have received the application on 7/13 and are currently processing at 12 weeks, 18 weeks with mailing time.  Never thought 7-8 months lead time would be a problem but now I’m a little concerned. 

 

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1 hour ago, MaritimeR&R said:

I was lucky enough to have had my Global Entry renewed without having another in-person interview.  

That IS very lucky.  Mine expired right in the middle of the COVID shut-down and of course, they did NOT waive my in-person interview and they were not taking any appointments during the shut-down.  They extended the deadline to renew but in the meantime they had accepted my payment and they weren't extending THAT deadlne....  Then when appointments finally did get going again it was next to impossible to get one...even in the DC area.  Add to that the fact that we were in the middle of moving.  I had resigned myself to the fact that I would have to start the whole process over again once we got to FL (and most likely pay the fee again !!) but someone on one of the blogs suggested checking the appointment calendar EVERY day just in case there was a cancellation.  Of course, I figured this was a complete waste of time and had very little confidence that it would work....but as usual, I was wrong.  One day I checked the calendar and there was an appointment available for the very NEXT DAY !  I gobbled it up and lucked out to get my GE renewed before moving to FL....not that I'm going ANYwhere that would need GE at the moment....but I have it if I need it !

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We were lucky in we saw that our passports were to expire in August of 2020 so right after our January 2020 cruise we sent in the renewal. We then booked a March cruise and sweated out the wait time but received them in Mid-February. ? Of course the March cruise was scheduled to depart the week after they shut everything down so it did not matter but were glad we decided to do it early instead of wait. Now I see that our folks on the hill are complaining to the passport office about the current wait time and want them to "step it up" as people want to travel. So maybe the wait time will decrease.

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It stinks because kids’ passports are only good 5 years, they’re almost as expensive as adult by the time you add in post office fees and pictures, and can’t be renewed using the electronic system.  So glad that the next time we have to go through this, the boys will be 18 and the passports will be good for 10 years. 

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17 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

It only took 6 weeks to mail a letter from the colonies back to England in the 1700s. How can mailing something from anywhere in the US to anywhere else in the US add 6 weeks?

Hard to believe isn’t it.  Our federal government at its best.  Here’s a copy of the email.  Since our appointment at the post office was 6/11 and they didn’t receive it until 7/13, there’s 4 weeks mailing already. I’m guessing they’re sitting in big mail bags and are only counted as received when they open them.

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3 hours ago, Jkaczano said:

It stinks because kids’ passports are only good 5 years, they’re almost as expensive as adult by the time you add in post office fees and pictures, and can’t be renewed using the electronic system.  So glad that the next time we have to go through this, the boys will be 18 and the passports will be good for 10 years. 

I lucked out and didn't get either of my kids' passports until they were over 11 years old. So only one renewal for each (younger is due now ?), but I hear you.

I was going to wait until January to renew ahead of our August Med sailing, but after seeing this here and now even on the local cable-owned news channel (News 12 NJ) I've decided I'll just send in her renewal now, plus my own that's also coming due. Can avoid the expedited processing fee and should still get it back in plenty of time.

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1 hour ago, JLMoran said:

I lucked out and didn't get either of my kids' passports until they were over 11 years old. So only one renewal for each (younger is due now ?), but I hear you.

I was going to wait until January to renew ahead of our August Med sailing, but after seeing this here and now even on the local cable-owned news channel (News 12 NJ) I've decided I'll just send in her renewal now, plus my own that's also coming due. Can avoid the expedited processing fee and should still get it back in plenty of time.

I had one of those “oh ?” moments years ago checking in for our oasis cruise. Youngest child’s passport had expired. I had 10 years on the brain and never thought about it being expired. Thankfully back then, it took about 10 days with expedite. By the time we renewed it, she was 18, so we’re good for awhile and actually it’s her problem now as she’s almost 22. 

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5 hours ago, Jkaczano said:

Hard to believe isn’t it.  Our federal government at its best.  Here’s a copy of the email.  Since our appointment at the post office was 6/11 and they didn’t receive it until 7/13, there’s 4 weeks mailing already. I’m guessing they’re sitting in big mail bags and are only counted as received when they open them.

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6 weeks mailing times... What is the post office doing?

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Opinions, please. DL's passport expires March 2022. Going on a Oasis ofS October 2021 and then on Odyssey ofS April 2022.  Should she send in for a new passport now and use DL and Birth certificate for the Oasis cruise or wait until she comes back from the Oasis cruise and send for it then. Thanks 

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To confirm with @luvstodansyou'll need a passport if your cruise is from a foreign port that will require you to enter a foreign country. Just using my fingers you might squeak in the October 21 cruise. You can figure out exactly if your expiration date of the passport is inside 6 months of your return date of the cruise.

I don't know if the State Department has reinstituted the expedited passport process. Last time I looked it was suspended except under specific circumstances. You should check their we site that has a passport section. Your options are limited here. 

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If you look at my comment. I thought, I was clearly referring to closed loop from United States, not referring to Foreign port departure or entry. Sorry if my comment was not clear or I misunderstood the reference to concern for getting passports on time. It sounded like people were referencing closed loop cruises from the US, in their concern for passport returns.

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On 7/19/2021 at 1:22 PM, Jkaczano said:

Hard to believe isn’t it.  Our federal government at its best.  Here’s a copy of the email.  Since our appointment at the post office was 6/11 and they didn’t receive it until 7/13, there’s 4 weeks mailing already. I’m guessing they’re sitting in big mail bags and are only counted as received when they open them.

31328BC6-A3E9-43C0-9BF6-5A6EA2168CA4.jpeg

I just love the speed at which our government works to help us our......(now laughing uncontrollably)

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1 hour ago, luvstodans said:

If closed loop cruise to and from the United States, you can go with only birth certificate...so unless international travel, passport slow down won't affect you.

Be careful with this, even on a closed-loop cruise from the US. My first cruise in 2018 had a port stop in St. Kitts, and as we were approaching the checkpoint to return to the ship there were boards everywhere stating you had to have a passport to get through, and that drivers license + birth certificate would not be accepted. We had our passports with us, so I just pulled them out and showed them.

It's possible that in the hurry of the moment I misunderstood that sign and thought it was for all travelers, when it might have only been for residents of the island. But I say better safe than sorry, just in case something like that should happen.

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2 hours ago, barjpoe said:

Opinions, please. DL's passport expires March 2022. Going on a Oasis ofS October 2021 and then on Odyssey ofS April 2022.  Should she send in for a new passport now and use DL and Birth certificate for the Oasis cruise or wait until she comes back from the Oasis cruise and send for it then. Thanks 

I'd wait. Right now it's the worst, but what I recall last time this happened during the pandemic is the state dept added more resources and processing times went down a lot.

When the news gets a hold of the story, it's going to be at its worst. But as things improve, news stops covering it.  

So maybe wait another month or so and see where things stand.

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2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Be careful with this, even on a closed-loop cruise from the US. My first cruise in 2018 had a port stop in St. Kitts, and as we were approaching the checkpoint to return to the ship there were boards everywhere stating you had to have a passport to get through, and that drivers license + birth certificate would not be accepted. We had our passports with us, so I just pulled them out and showed them.

It's possible that in the hurry of the moment I misunderstood that sign and thought it was for all travelers, when it might have only been for residents of the island. But I say better safe than sorry, just in case something like that should happen.

Normally, it has been our experience on multiple cruise lines, we have been advised not to take passports off ship (we do carry a color copy for reference, when we get off) but might be good to check with each cruise line separately if they advise this or not. A lost passport at a port could be a nightmare. We have heard a couple  horror stories about people losing their passports when off at a port. 

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10 hours ago, luvstodans said:

If you look at my comment. I thought, I was clearly referring to closed loop from United States, not referring to Foreign port departure or entry. Sorry if my comment was not clear or I misunderstood the reference to concern for getting passports on time. It sounded like people were referencing closed loop cruises from the US, in their concern for passport returns.

If you're comfortable with the slim chance something happens and a passport is needed to get home from a port, I would just try and get it renewed now.

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On 7/23/2021 at 1:39 PM, NC State said:

We renewed on July 7th and we got them back yesterday July 22nd. We paid extra for expedited service. 

I sent in an expedited renewal on July 6th and it went to processing on the 10th. Hopefully I'll get mine soon too! Our cruise isn't until October so I still have a few weeks of leeway.

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