canceling cruise

[Cinderelli]

I feel the OPs pain on this one. I'm having a hard time convincing my DH that this is worth it. There are 5 of us. We've only been out of the country once before (15 years ago) and he has NO DESIRE to visit any other country ever again. Well, maybe Canada.

Therefore, to tell him it's going to cost us another $500 dollars above and beyond the $4400 it's already costing for a 4 day cruise, is pretty hard for him to swallow. He's telling me "OK - $1000 a day, and that's before pictures, shore excursions, etc."

I try to avoid the subject and will work some extra hours when school starts again to pay for it myself. But what about people who don't have that option. I guess they just don't cruise.

Unless we go on another cruise (which I'm hoping we will), we won't have a need for passports and it seems like an unnecessary "big" expense.

I do wish they were less expensive.

Thanks,
Lissa

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

FYI:

A substantial portion of the "Security Fee" that people complain about covers the expenses of upgrading (and actually rebuilding) the U.S. embassies around the world.

The simultaneous bombing of the Embassies in Africa by Al-qaeda in 1998 showed that embassy buildings located to close to the street were especially vulnerable to Car/truck bombs.

Also, It actually does cost quite a bit to process the passport application, when you consider the number of people who actually have to "touch" the application, and their various pay levels.

While the fees are not insubstantial, I can assure you the State Dept does not profit from this.

The new realities have been thrust upon us.

Each has to make his or her own decisions.

For some, the fee increase may mean less excursions, for others, it may mean not going at all, and that is unfortunate.

If you decide not to go, there are amazing places from Maine to Hawaii, from Florida to Alaska to see that require no passports and always take American Currency.

Just my two cents.

Jim

PS: I taught Accounting at the State dept. for eight years to an amazing group of people. On Sept 11th, CNN kept reporting all day that a bomb had exploded at the State Dept. My kids heard that report and wondered all day "What if my dad is..."

Very well said.

Both my husband and I always traveled with passports. Last summer, my two children got them for our DCL cruise. I, too, would never leave the country without them.

Living on Long Island, I will never forget worrying about all the people I knew in the twin towers. They all did not make it out. This is a very touchy subject for me.

 

[tink11]

We are in the planning stages for our next cruise , not til Sept 2007. I just found out we will need passports for the family. I will need to get ten of them! Ykes! At least I have enough time to "spreadout" the cost. We live only about 5 minutes from the Canadian border, so they will be used more than once. I will think of creative ways to get the extra money for the passports. (garage sales and soda can deposits seem like the easiest way) Since our trip is not for a while, i think I'll have the money saved, and then apply for them all at once. How long does the process take? I don't want to cut the time to short.

 

[JSCTRico4]

We got ours back in less than 6 weeks. Mine for some reason took a week longer than the rest of the clan..... don't know why...... it was faster than I thought..... leave 2 months so you don't have to stress over it, although, I would imagine demand would be up near the end of the year because everyone will need one..... I would say do 3 months to be really safe! You never know, and you certainly wouldn't want to have to pay any of the extra fees to expedite!

 

[CPM]

I agree about the passport being useful in the future for maybe.....my hubby and I to go somewhere for a short getaway. (haven't had one of those in 16 years) BUT...after what happened to that poor teen in Aruba.....the kids passports would be useless because I would NEVER let them go somewhere with school, ect..

It would probably be better to advise your children on how to travel alone, then not to let them. This girl should have never gone off with strangers, her friends should have also never let her go either.
I can't say for sure my DD would never go off with some guys she just met, but I highly doubt it. She even commented on how stupid it was for that girl to go off with them.
It's an extremely sad situation.