Don't apply for, or renew, A PASSPORT until you watch this video! | Passport Renewal (2023)

Introduction

It is a good idea to have a passport for travel outside the US and it is required for many cruises. Keeping your passport current is not as easy as it used to be. Or, is it?

▶︎ GENERATIONS VISA SERVICE: www.GenVisa.com
▶︎ US STATE DEPARTMENT: travel-state.gov

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Video

Both of our passports expire in December 2023, and we have cruises planned for June through August since many countries and cruise lines don't accept a U.S passport within six months of the expiration date.

We've got to renew our passports, but that can take up to 13 weeks to get a passport renewed, maybe longer between now.

And the time we are within our six-month expiration period.

We don't have 13 weeks between cruises.

So what do we do? This video is sponsored by Generations Visa service.

Hello, Cruisers and welcome to another Cruise report, Cruise tips.

Video, maybe one of the most important travel tips videos, I've ever posted on YouTube today.

I'm going to talk to you about U.S passports and cruise travel more specifically about how to get your U.S passport renewed.

Now if you're not a U.S citizen, you're going to have to check with the rules and regulations of your specific country of citizenship and with your cruise line for whatever their documentation requirements are.

And for the most current information on U.S, passports should always refer to the U.S Department of State website.

I'll put a link in the description anything I say in this video is subject to change if you're booked on a cruise that embarks in a foreign country, you will be required to have a valid U.S passport.

If you're booked on a cruise that departs from a U.S Port like say, Miami or Fort Lauderdale, you might be able to get by without a passport and use your birth certificate for embarkation.

However, rumor has it that cruise lines are considering a requirement for a U.S passport, even on these closed-loop cruises that depart from and arrive at a U.S port.

And we've always kind of wondered what happens if you cruise out of a U.S Port using nothing, but a birth certificate.

But then something happens like a medical emergency that requires you to be transported to a foreign country.

And they require you to have a U.S passport for entry into that country, I, don't know, the bottom line is if you're planning to travel to a foreign country and most cruises do you really should have a passport.

So not only are you probably going to be required to have a valid passport.

The passport expiration date cannot be less than six months from your date of departure.

So in our particular case, if we have a cruise booked for the end of June 2023 and our passports expire, the first of December 2023, we could be denied boarding, even though technically our passports are still valid at that time, because we would have less than six months remaining before the expiration date.

There are three ways you can renew your passport.

The first option is, you can download all of the required forms from the U.S state, Department website, complete that required information and mail those forms in to them along with a recent passport photo and your current passport and a check for any required fees.

Now, a normal application can take 10 to 13 weeks to be processed, but I want to emphasize that 10 to 13 weeks is the processing time that does not include the time.

It might take for the mail service to get your passports to the regional office or to have your new passports returned back to you right now.

The way the mail service is, it could easily take 10 days to two weeks for your application just to arrive in the mail before they even begin processing your application.

And while the state department claims, it could take between 10 to 13 weeks there's, a huge backlog of passport applications right.

Now, because the coveted travel restrictions have been lifted there's, a big demand for travel.

So it could take up to 16 weeks to get your passport.

The state department does offer an expedited service, which they claim reduces the processing time to seven to nine weeks.

But that comes in an additional cost of sixty dollars.

However, what if there's an error on your application or a mistake? It? Could take you seven to nine weeks, just to learn that you have to correct that error and start all over from scratch.

The second option is, you can make an appointment to go to one of the 26 Regional Offices in person.

You can take all your completed forms, your passport photos and your existing passport and do everything in person.

But keep in mind.

This service is only available on an appointment only basis for applicants with confirmed travel within 14 days, no walk-ins are accepted.

And you cannot request an appointment outside the 14-day window.

So it's for an emergency use, of course, the regional passport offices tend to be located in large metropolitan areas.

So if you don't live close to one of these offices, that means you've got the additional Hassle and the expense of traveling to one of these offices.

Fortunately, there is a third option, which is what we chose.

We chose to use the services of a professional passport expediter.

Now, professional expediters are private companies registered with regional passport agencies, and they undergo annual certifications to make sure they comply with strict government regulations when it comes to third-party submissions in 2012, we used one of these expediters to obtain Russian visas for a river cruise with Viking.

And that company was Generations Visa.

So I reached out to Generations visa and explained our situation as travel, journalists, I mentioned that we travel frequently and that our next Cruise was only a few weeks away.

And that at no point in our schedule, are we going to have seven to nine weeks where we could be without a valid passport.

So rather than sending our documents to a regional passport office.

We fedexed everything to Generations Visa, and they were able to quickly verify that all of our submitted documents were correct.

And then they sent them on from there.

We received confirmation from Generations Visa that they had received our documents and the old passports.

And that the processing was underway.

They kept us in the loop.

Every step of the way we opted for the most extreme expedited service they offer.

And while that does cost extra, we didn't have to deal with a government agency or take a day off from work to go to a regional office.

It took all the worry and the stress out of this entire process.

The end result was these Priority Mail envelopes arrived with our new passports inside in only 10 business days after they received our documents.

So we couldn't be more pleased with the service that we got from Generations Visa I should also mention that Generations Visa can assist with new passport applications and foreign visas.

So if you're traveling to Russia China, India and there's, many more places that require a visa to enter the country, Generations lists, all of these countries and visa requirements on their website.

Listen, if you like dealing with government agencies, go right ahead.

Try to do this on your own for us.

We just don't need the added stress or the hassle in our lives.

My recommendation is if you need a passport or a Visa reach out to Generations Visa so for more information, go to gen.

Visa.Com, you can download all the necessary forms from their website and get all your questions answered as far as the costs and required procedures for us.

We will certainly be using Generations Visa again in the future.

Hey, if you've enjoyed this video, please, remember to give it a thumbs up.

If you have questions, please, put them in the comments section down below thanks for watching.

And as always smooth sailing.