FYI on Passport CARD

[144miller]

Important to note on the Passport CARD!!!

OK, I am new here (to this forum) and was reading through stuff to help choose a shore excursion when I came across the ever heated discussion about PASSPORTS.

 

I recently had the very same dilema, and what I decided was to apply and pay to ahve it expedited. IMO,that was an unnecessary $60 as I received the passport 3 1/2 weeks before my sail... BUT I do NOT have them for my kids...only BCs.

 

ANYWAY here's the NOTEWORTHY THING:

 

I was seriously considering the Passport CARD to save $, etc., and was on the phone with a live person in the Passport office (This was June 27). BE AWARE that the PASSPORT CARD is a brand new thing, and they are just now becoming available. In some cases, they are not prepared to issue them. (Published info says they are available in June and July of 2008, but this agent told me that some offices are still unable to process them and they would not be available until at least after July.) If I were sailing in the next 60 days, and considering the Passport CARD, I would DEFINITELY get on the PHONE and have a PASSPORT AUTHORITY AGENT tell you they ARE indeed 100% available for issue.

 

OK, everyone have fun, now.

[cherylandtk]

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience and concerns. One other thing about passport cards is that, on a cruise, they don't get you anything more than a Birth Certificate with a DL does. A full passport is far more useful for all kinds of travel.

[ecn81126]

We are sailing on the Imagination Dec. 1st. My husband and myself have cruised before, and have regular passports. We're bringing our children this time, and we just applied a week ago for the new Passport Cards. We were told that it would take at least 8 weeks to receive the cards, because they didn't start making them until mid-July and they already had over 350,000 applications for them.

 

Now, I'm not sure how accurate those numbers are, but we decided to take the chance just because we're not sailing for a few months. If we had been sailing any sooner, we would have applied for the regular Passport Books.

[cherylandtk]

If you think you won't get the cards in time, just make sure you have extra copies of the kids' Birth certificates and you will be fine. I do know that there is a big backlog (not sure of the numbers) and that folks who were among the first to apply in February are now starting to see the Passcards.

[Martin 5]

I applied for my passport on July 6, 2008 and my passport arrived July 13, 2008 1 week and $100:D

[lynyrd]

Important to note on the Passport CARD!!!

OK, I am new here (to this forum) and was reading through stuff to help choose a shore excursion when I came across the ever heated discussion about PASSPORTS.

 

I recently had the very same dilema, and what I decided was to apply and pay to ahve it expedited. IMO,that was an unnecessary $60 as I received the passport 3 1/2 weeks before my sail... BUT I do NOT have them for my kids...only BCs.

 

ANYWAY here's the NOTEWORTHY THING:

 

I was seriously considering the Passport CARD to save $, etc., and was on the phone with a live person in the Passport office (This was June 27). BE AWARE that the PASSPORT CARD is a brand new thing, and they are just now becoming available. In some cases, they are not prepared to issue them. (Published info says they are available in June and July of 2008, but this agent told me that some offices are still unable to process them and they would not be available until at least after July.) If I were sailing in the next 60 days, and considering the Passport CARD, I would DEFINITELY get on the PHONE and have a PASSPORT AUTHORITY AGENT tell you they ARE indeed 100% available for issue.

 

OK, everyone have fun, now.

 

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html

[coolbasset]

I applied for my passport on July 6, 2008 and my passport arrived July 13, 2008 1 week and $100:D

 

Yes, but you got the passport BOOK, not the passport CARD.