Should A Passport Be Packed For A Cruise? - Expedited Passports

Cruises are meant to be relaxing and fun. They are a great way to get away and spend time with loved ones. That didn’t work out so well recently for passengers of the Carnival Triumph. An engine fire turned their relaxing getaway into a living condition disaster with spoiled food and unworkable plumbing. What made the cruise even worse was that since it was a “closed loop voyage,” it wasn’t required for cruise passengers to bring their passports.

A “closed loop voyage” means the cruise ship begins and ends at the same U.S. Port, even if it makes stops outside the country. Carnival officials had initially planned to tow the ship to a Mexican port and let passengers fly home. Unfortunately though, 900 of them didn’t have passports which is required when flying into the U.S. If all the passengers had passports, an emergency like this may have been fixed a lot quicker. So if you decide to go on a cruise in the future, it is definitely recommended you make sure to bring your passport, just in case.

Is your U.S. passport expired? Did you lose your passport? Don’t worry; there are expedited U.S. passport services available like Rush My Passport that can help get your U.S. passport FAST. If you have a limited amount of time before your vacation trip (less the standard processing time of 4-6 weeks which it normally takes to get a U.S. passport), visit RushMyPassport.com and learn how to get a U.S. passport FAST. They can even help with getting your U.S. passport to you within 24 – 48 hours!

The clock is ticking on your dream vacation. Without a passport, you’ll be stuck at home, staring at the cracks on your walls. You know the process usually takes weeks or even months. How can you get a passport quickly enough?

Don’t worry, here’s how to cut through the passport application process like butter:

Gather Your Documents

First, get your paperwork together. The documents you’ll need depends on the application form you’ll be using.

Form DS-11: Applying for a New Passport or Replacing a Lost or Stolen Passport

Form DS-11 is for first time applicants; applicants whose most recent passport was lost, stolen or damaged; applicants whose passport was issued more than 15 years ago or applicants whose passport was issued before they turned 16.

You must submit Form DS-11 in person at a passport office. For a complete list of the required documents, see How to Apply for a New Passport. Also, there are special requirements in place for kids under 16. See How to Get a Child Passport for details.

Form DS-82: Passport Renewals

Use form DS-82 if you’re applying for a passport renewal. You can use this form as long as your current passport meets the following qualifications:

• Is in your possession and undamaged.
• Was issued less than 15 years ago and after you turned 16.
• Is in your current legal name, or you can submit a marriage certificate or court order to support your name change request.
• To get your passport within the next two weeks, you’ll also need a copy of your itinerary.

See How to Apply for a Passport Renewal for a checklist of the documents you’ll need to renew.

Choose Your Approach

Next, decide how you’re going to expedite your passport application. You have three options to get your passport quickly: (more…)

Most travel experts tell you to apply for a passport at least a couple of months before you plan to leave the country, and that’s definitely the safest way to go. However, depending on how much time and energy you’re willing to put into the endeavor, you may be able to acquire one much more quickly than that.

Regular  Processing

If you apply for your passport by mail or at the post office and don’t request any sort of special handling, you can expect to get it back in around six weeks, depending on the State Department’s workload at the time. Be sure you read the application instructions carefully, as mistakes can delay your passport.

Expedited Processing

If regular processing takes too long, the Department of State does offer an expedited processing option for an additional $60 charge. If you pay the $60 and spring for overnight delivery to and from the passport office, you should have your passport in about three weeks’ time.

If that still doesn’t cut it, you can get your passport even more quickly by making an appointment at one of the country’s 24 regional passport agency offices. These offices issue emergency passports only, so in order to make an appointment you must have already booked a trip out of the country that leaves in the next 14 days.

However, if you also need to get a visa for your destination country, you have a little bit more leeway and can make an appointment within four weeks of your travel date. Once at the office, you should have your passport within 24 hours provided you brought all of the required documents.

Of course, with only 24 offices serving the entire country, visiting a regional passport agency in person is extremely inconvenient for many people. Office hours tend to be limited, so people who work during the day have to take additional time off.  Plus, depending on where you live, it could take hours to get to the nearest office, or you might even have to take a plane.

An expediting service like RushMyPassport is a worthwhile investment because you don’t have to make an appointment or travel. Just go to the nearest post office, get your documents officially “sealed,” and send them to us. We personally deliver them to the Department of State, then FedEx your passport right back to you, often in as little as 24 hours. Plus, we take you through the application process one step at a time,  so you can avoid making common mistakes that might slow down your passport.

Need to get a passport quickly? Contact us today!

Fall is already one of the best times of year to visit Paris. The air cool and the summer crowds have begun to die down. Even better, a series of outdoor festivals and events take place in the city and surrounding countryside starting in September. Here’s a rundown on why this month is worth making the trip:

The Techno Parade

On September 17th, thousands of electronic music lovers will gather in Paris for a 3-mile-long parade through the city. Originally organized as an act of defiance against authorities that tried to quash the burgeoning rave scene of the 90′s, the Techno Parade is now recognized by the government. This year, the focus is on introducing Parisians to this unique subculture and its signature dances. Tommy Vaudecrane, the co-president of parade organizer Technopol, told the New York Times that “Many people in France do not dance and know very little about the dance culture associated with electronic music, such as house, vogueing, rave and the Melbourne shuffle. We have an official dance that was choreographed by professional dancers, which will be performed all day during the parade by dance schools.” Peace, love, unity and respect!

Fête de la Gastronomie

The Fête de la Gastronomie is a celebration of traditional French food. This is the festival’s first year, though organizers hope to make it an annual affair. On the 23rd of September, the entire country will join in paying tribute to France’s unique culinary heritage by feasting on it. Participating restaurants can be found all over Paris, of course, as well as the surrounding countryside. For more information, see the website (though it helps if you know some French).

The Autumn Festival

The Autumn Festival is an arts and music festival that runs from September the 15th to New Year’s Eve. Whether you like modern art, music, dance or cinema, you’re sure to find something exciting at the Autumn Festival. The program is available online. (more…)

When you apply for a passport for the first time, you are required to appear in person to do so. Does that mean that you can’t use an expediting company to get your passport quickly?

At RushMyPassport, we get this question a lot.  It’s natural to be concerned, but the answer is reassuring: Of course you can! You’ll still need to appear in person at a passport acceptance facility, but there’s no need to wait weeks for your passport to arrive like it you would if you submitted it without our help.

Passport acceptance offices are often located in post offices or libraries, so there’s almost certain to be one in your area. You can find the nearest one by searching for your city and state on the Department of State’s website.

When you go to the acceptance facility, bring the following documents:

• Proof of identity
• Proof of citizenship
• 2 passport photos
• A check or money order to pay the required fees.
• A copy of your itinerary to show that you need your passport in a hurry.
• An “authorization letter” from the expediting company

At the acceptance facility, you’ll fill out passport application form DS-11, show the acceptance agent your ID and provide them with your proof of citizenship. Let the acceptance agent know that you are using a private expediting company, show them the authorization letter, and the agent will place your documents into a special sealed envelope that you can then send overnight to the expediting company.

This process saves you the hassle of having to make an appointment and possibly travel out of your way to an emergency passport office, while still allowing you to get your application processed in as little as 24 hours. When you consider that standard processing times at a passport acceptance office without the assistance of an expediting company are 6 weeks or longer for routine service and 3 weeks for “expedited” service, the advantage of using an expediting company is clear.

For passport help, contact us today!

Summer is Venice’s high season, so most travel guides recommend visiting the city in spring or fall instead. But what about winter? As New York Times reporter Rachel Donadio recently discovered, winter in Venice has its own special magic. In the article, she writes about seeing the city in winter for the first time: “The light, as always, was beyond compare and there was a watery chill in the air. I loved it immediately. ”

In winter, it’s easy to get into normally busy attractions like the Doge’s Palace, and the damp chill can be easily kept at bay with hot coffee. Even better, Alitalia is having an excellent special on tickets at the moment. You can fly directly to Venice from Chicago for $867 round trip, or fly into Milan from New York for $622 and then take the train to Venice. If you take the Eurostar, you’ll be there in less than three hours. For more potential itineraries and prices, see Smarter Travel.

The sale is on until March of 2011. If you’d like to take advantage of it, keep in mind that you’ll need a passport if you don’t already have one.

If you apply for a passport without expedited processing, you can expect to get your passport back in the mail about 6 weeks after you send your application in. The State Department’s expedited passport processing normally takes about 3 weeks, which is still a long time to wait.

If you need to travel sooner than that, you have two options that can further reduce the time it takes to get an expedited passport. First, you can apply in person at a regional passport agency office. You’ll have to make an appointment to do this, and you may have to spend a lot of time and even money to get to the office since there are only 21 passport agency offices that serve the general public in the United States.

The second option is to order an expedited passport from a private expediting company like RushMyPassport. We meet with the Department of State on your behalf to submit the application, so you get processing times as low as 24 hours with no need to make an appointment or travel to a passport agency.

Apply for your expedited passport with us today!

Every year in August, crowds of tourists and locals pour into the streets of Buñol, Spain, for La Tomatina, a festival that is otherwise known as the world’s biggest food fight. The festival takes place every year on the last Wednesday of August, but the action starts with partying and drinking the night before. When the sun comes up, the tourists who couldn’t get beds in town start to pour in for the “Ham Up a Greasy Pole” Contest, in which contestants try to climb a greased wooden pole to reach the ham on top.

To prepare for the big food fight, approximately 90,000 pounds of very ripe tomatoes are trucked into the town square, the epicenter of the combat. At precisely 11:00am, the fun begins, as locals and tourists alike begin pummeling each other with the tomatoes. Traditionally, women wear white to La Tomatina- I wonder if Clorox or another detergent/bleach company has considered a corporate sponsorship? Men have it easier, as they are traditionally shirtless.

No matter what you wear to La Tomatina, you should expect it be absolutely saturated with tomato juice and sauce by the end of the fight, which lasts for an hour. Clean up involves hoses and, if you’re staying in another town, waiting in line for the showers in the local train station.

If you’d like to attend La Tomatina, you’d be wise to apply for an expedited passport if you don’t already have one. Generally, if you apply with standard processing, you can expect to wait at least 6 weeks before receiving your passport in the mail. If you apply for the government’s expedited passport processing, you’ll still have to wait at least 3 weeks, and that’s cutting it close.

If you need to get your passport more quickly, the most convenient option is to use a private passport expediting company. An expediter, like RushMyPassport.com, can hand-deliver your application to the Department of State, resulting in processing times as low as 24 hours, without the hassle and inconvenience of making an appointment at one of the Department of State’s passport offices.

Apply for your expedited passport today!

Have you always fantasized about visiting a tropical Caribbean beach but never thought you’d be able to afford it? What if your plane tickets were only $2?

At first glance, joining Spirit Airlines’ fare club seems like it just might be the ticket to bring your dream vacation within reach. Membership costs $39.95 per year, but it allows you to access sales that aren’t available to non-members. For example, right now club members can fly from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the Bahamas for just $2 round trip, and from Fort Lauderdale to Cancun for $18 round-trip (plus the usual fees and taxes, of course).

Spirit has a members-only sale once every 6 weeks, and as long as you move quickly, you can snag those cheap fares on all the tickets you purchase.

But is it worth it? SmarterTravel.com took a look at the program last year after it was announced and concluded

If you frequently fly between the cities Spirit serves (a heavy emphasis on Florida, the Caribbean, and Latin America), membership is worth the cost. If, for example, you can snag a $2 fare, even with the membership cost and taxes and fees, you’ll still be getting a bargain compared to other airlines’ prices. But, you must keep in mind that availability is often very limited. You’ll find that fares are only offered on about a dozen select dates, and even then, you must rush to book early or risk the best deals selling out.

Some deals are also last-minute. For example, many of the cheap flights in the sale I linked to above depart in August, and it’s now late July. So, if you’re thinking of using the Fare Club to try to snag cheap flights to Spirit’s international destinations, you may find yourself needing an expedited passport.

Generally speaking, it takes about 6 weeks to get your passport application processed if you order regular service. If you use the Department of State’s expedited passport service, it could still take up to 3 weeks or longer. A private passport expediting company costs a little more but provides you with much faster service, often providing expedited passport service in as little as 24 hours without requiring you to take additional time off work to visit a passport office.

Apply for your expedited passport today!

It’s July 4th, and while most Americans are setting off fireworks,drinking beer and gorging themselves on hamburgers, hot dogs and potato chips, in France a very different scene is unfolding.  The Tour de France began today in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This grueling race will not end until July 23rd  in Bordeaux, France. During this time, according to Wikipedia, the riders will climb “the equivalent of three Everests.”  Yikes!

Is it worth it to travel to France to watch the Tour De France in person? That depends-some people feel that they can get a better view of the entire race by watching it on TV. While that may be true, according to former Tour de France spectator Mike from ChainReaction.com, “there’s very little that compares to the thrill of being on a steep mountain climb and watching the shattered peloton come through.  You are so close to the action that you become almost a part of it (especially if you’re flinging a handbag around), and the drama unfolds in front of you over a significant period of time, not fleeting seconds.”

One interesting highlight of the Tour de France for spectators is the sponsor caravan, which stays a little bit ahead of the riders.  The caravan throws bunches of goodies and small souvenirs to the waiting crowds-kind of like Mardi Gras, except there are no beads and everyone keeps their shirts on.

According to FranceTravelGuide.com, the best place to see the Tour de France is in the mountains, so renting a car is recommended. Another important tip to remember is to stay out of the way of the bikes-there are no fences or barriers, and you don’t want to get run over!

Since the race doesn’t end until July 23rd, there’s still time for last-minute trip.  The official Tour de France website has more information about the route as well as additional suggestions for other area tourist attractions to visit while you’re there.

However, if you don’t have a passport yet, you’ll need to get one before you leave. If you apply for an expedited passport directly from the Department of State, you probably won’t get it in time: expedited service costs an additional $60 plus overnight delivery costs and it takes 2 to 3 weeks door-to-door.

However, there are other ways to get expedited passport services that will get your passport in time. Using a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport is the easiest and most convenient method. Instead of having to make an appointment at a passport agency office, taking time off work and traveling to the office, you simply send your expedited passport application to the expediting company and let them do the dirty work for you. RushMyPassport offers processing times as low as 24 hours, depending on which option you choose.

Need an expedited passport? Apply today!

According to the US Department of State, it usually takes about 6 weeks to process a passport application and issue a new passport. But what if you can’t wait?  There are lots of reasons you could need an expedited passport; anything from a sudden unexpected international trip to a passport that isn’t where it was last time you checked. Philadelphia residents who are unable to wait 6 weeks for a new passport have 3 options.

Expedited Passport Processing

The first option is to simply request expedited passport processing when you apply for your new passport. This costs an additional $60, plus overnight delivery fees to and from the passport processing facility, and it cuts processing time down to 3 weeks.

If 3 weeks is still too long, the other two options are faster.

Making an Appointment at the Philadelphia Passport Agency

The Philadelphia Passport Agency office can issue passports on-site. However, you can’t just walk in. You must make an appointment either online or by calling 1-877-487-2778. Appointments will only be granted if you have tickets to leave the country in the next 2 weeks or if you are traveling internationally in the next 4 weeks and you need a visa.

Additionally, the Philadelphia Passport Agency office is only open from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday through Friday. So, you’ll more than likely have to take some time off work, which could be tricky if you already have time off scheduled for your trip.

Using a Private Passport Expediting Service

The most convenient option for getting an expedited passport in Philadelphia is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. With an expediting company, you pay an extra fee, but the process of expediting your passport is much smoother and more convenient. You get expert help with your application and a handy checklist, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting something important and delaying your application when you can least afford to. Plus, you don’t have to worry about getting additional time off from work to make an appointment at the Passport Agency.  The expediting service handles all of that for you!

RushMyPassport offers quick, professional service with processing times as low as 24 hours. Apply for your expedited passport today!