Need Passports for health emergency

[@GoofyNut]

I was sent an e-mail regarding a couple that took a Carnival Cruise and the husband had a health emergency and had to be taken off of the ship in Belize. To make a long story short, he sadly died and the wife had an awful time trying to use her birth certificate to prove citizenship and was told that if she had a passport she would not have had any problems.

Anyone have any thoughts on that?

How long does it take to get a Passport? We sail on the 9-28-02 cruise....Hubby is worried!

 

[Loveysmommy]

I read that story too - I ran right out and applied for a passport for my daughter and myself. I ended up expediting them (cost me a fortune!) to be sure that I had them in time for my 8/24 cruise.

Please be aware that when you submit your birth certificate for the passport - YOU DON'T GET IT BACK until you receive your passport!

So...... if you decide not to expedite (depending on when your cruise is) and you don't get your passport in time, you will not have your birth certificate with you!


Hope this helps.

 

[jfeasel]

I just returned from another cruise line and let me tell you, I was glad I had a passport. We had to show ID every time we got on and off the ship (due to 9/11 security measures). I had a passport and was expedited a lot quicker than those who had to show birth certificates. It was well worth the money and it's good for a long time. We're going to take the 7 day Magic next year and am getting passports for my kids as well.

 

[my3kids]

We didn't expidite...just used the regular old delivery and both the renewals and the new passports arrived in less than 2 weeks....seems like it was actually maybe 8/9 days. They were ordered at different times and the return of the finished passports was equally quick each order.

Friends just went to the carribean and had no trouble using their birth certificates to leave, but had a hard time getting back into the country, even with the right birth certificates and photo id's. I'm glad we got the passports.

 

[mmouse37]

We always carry passports instead of BC's. All our kids have them also. I have found that it definitely expedites things.

MJ

 

[Disney1992]

I applied for my passport in the middle of May and had it by the end of June. DH's renewal took 2 weeks.

 

[@GoofyNut]

Thanks Guys ... I can get a new birth certificate in about 10 minutes as there is a state office within abou 3 miles of work. I can send one set to get the passports and keep one set in case I don't get my passports in time.

These boards are great

 

[Ashley24]

How much do the passports cost?

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Ashley24

How much do the passports cost?

All the info you need about passports can be found here...

travel.state.gov/passport_services.html

And to locate the nearest location where you can apply, check out this site.

iafdb.travel.state.gov

 

[MrsScooby]

My daughter was born in Va and her birth certificate does not have a raised seal. I ordered extra copies from the state and none have raised seal. Has anyone had a problem with this?

Laurie

 

[mcnuss]

All 3 of us have passports and I am glad now that we do. We had to get DD8's renewed last year and it took less than 3 weeks. FYI -- if you are applying for a passport for a child, the rules changed about a year ago. PLEASE take the time to look at the State Dept. web site so that you are prepared. Basically, both parents must apply for the child together, or you must bring an affidavit from the "absent" parent saying that it's ok for the other parent to apply. (This regulation was enacted to help prevent parental kidnappings.) We applied 2 weeks after the regulation went into effect and the agent at the post office was clueless. Despite complying with the law 100% (DH and I are both lawyers!), he told us that we had to come back together, that my business trip was not sufficient "excuse" (his word) for me not to be there to apply. We ended up calling the passport processing office and reporting him bc he was so beligerent to me and DH. Long story short, he went to another post office and had no trouble.

http://travel.state.gov/specialreq.html

 

[randytenn]

DW and I just got our passports. We got them in less than 2 weeks, applying for them at a post office in the local mall.

Just be careful! You won't have your birth certificate while they are processing them!

 

[4crusinransiers]

We travel to Southern Mexico or Belize quite often to Ruin hop and Scuba~ We have passports for all of us including the 9 and 11 y/o. Sure makes things faster!

 

[my3kids]

Mrs.scooby: All of my children were born in VA and their certificates do have a raised seal. Mine range from 7 to 12. If yours are in that range, maybe what you have isn't a certified copy from the state? My VA birth certificate is hard, like a credit card, and my husbands if a dark blue or black with the information in white, so the official style does change from year to year, but all of my children's look exactly alike. Make sure your kid's certificates aren't the ones the hospital gave you. Of course if they are older or younger than mine, then the style could have been different that year also.

 

[MrsScooby]

Maybe my problem is that I'm comparing my daughters bc to the rest of ours (NY). The NY ones have definite raised seals made by a press. My daughter (5) has the watermark and raised border, but the seal feels flat. I'm probably being paranoid. Both copies I have say certificate of vital record. I'm going to compare them tomorrow with a friend who has a son close in age. I'm sure they're fine. I was just curious to see what kind of problems people had with a birth certificate.
Thanks for your response my3kids.
Laurie