Help ASAP - Canadian Passport question

Hi

I am hoping that someone at CruiseCritic can help me.

About 2 weeks ago I sent our passports to be renewed by mail via Priority Post. Not thinking we will need them before March.

Did not attend at the passport office due to the long line ups requiring hours of waiting. This is due to the new US requirements.

Today Air Canada has a 1 day sale Direct to Rome from Toronto in February, for $124 each way plus taxes.

I want to book 2 tickets but our passports are somewhere at the Passport office. I don't know if I book for the 23rd February if our passports will be back to us in time.

Does anyone know if I can cancel our mail in request and go directly to the passport office and ask them to renew there? Our original passports were mailed in with our apps.

Any suggestions? I have tried to contact the passport office but they are constantly busy.

Thanks

Only saw this now so it may be too late for you however FWIW - you can call the passport office and find out your status though that will undoubtedly take some patience.

You can call your MP's office - they may be able to ensure you get them in adequate time.

You can pray you get them back in time.

You can fogeddaboudit .

Those are pretty much your options.

And for the sake of clarity, you don't actually renew a passport, you apply for a new one just as if you never had one. I trust this is what you actually mean, or you will have an even longer wait LOL.

I just lined up this morning for over two hours to get a new passport, even though my current passport doesn't expire until the end of May.

I am cruising in April and Princess will not let you cruise unless you have 6 months remaining on your passport, with the delays at the Passport office I should have it back in March.

It's a good thing that I read the rules now on the Princess website. It would have been frustrating to fly all the way to Austrlia to board the ship and discover they won't let me on because the passport has less that six months remaining.

Thanks to everyone who responded :)

Yes, it is a new passport not a renewal.

I got through after waiting on the phone for about an hour to the passport office (open until 8pm, impressed with this!) They advised no problem, go online and complete a form that is signed by a notary public confirming that the passport is not accessible and apply all over again in person.

We went to the local passport office at 8.30am the following day. A freezing cold Saturday morning. Waited in line outdoors for about 1 hr and 15 minutes before we were able to get inside. To cut a long story short we had to produce our travel docs confirming our flight time and proof it had been paid for plus a "valid" reason to get our passports on an Emergency" basis" as regular passports would not be ready for pick up until 4 weeks later.

After doing this they advised that they could only provide us with passports valid until the expiry of our passports that were in the mail, June 12th 2007. This would cost $87 plus $10 pick up fee. We would then have to pay a further $87 plus $10 to renew again from June 12th 07. (We have a cruise booked in May and June so would definately need a 2nd renewal.

As a compromise, the agent agreed to request our passports be retrieved from the Gatineau office and sent to our local office. They expect this to take a week or so, we will then go back to the office to submit original docs and signatures and go back again in about 3 days to pick up.

This will be the first and last time that I will ever mail in passport applications :eek:

Kudos though to the staff at the passport office, although the line ups were long they managed the line up and # of people in a very efficient manner.

Lesson Learned !

Sorry about your frustrating experience.

I too, just had to get a new passport as mine is expiring in May, and I'm cruising in April. Got my picture taken, and they refused it (there was a white spot on my forehead), had to go back. I should get it by March 19, 2007. Only sailing at the end of April, so I've got a bit of a cushion there.

Good Luck !!!

Joanne