This is not the summer to get a passport...with no online processing and staffing shortages the process is crawling.
Travel expert Shayla Northcutt suggests an international cruise that both sails away and returns back to a U.S. port. "Being a 'closed loop' cruise - you do not have to have a passport to visit those beautiful destinations." That way you can take a daily excursions to foreign cities without a passport.
On the other hand, Leisure Travel Alliance's Bobby Godwin says an international cruise like that is officially ok without a passport - but he doesn't suggest it. "We suggest that you should have a passport on these cruises. If you got sick in Mexico, and the ship left without you, how would you get home?" He also suggests you check with the cruise company first because they could require a passport.
Northcutt says you could postpone your international trip till next year and adjust your travels this year. "Know that there are other places that you can go: Puerto Rico, Some Virgin Islands, you do not need a passport for Hawaii - you would not believe how many times I'm asked that!!!"
She says she is agonizing along with her clients whose passports are already months late, mostly due to government staffing shortages and the state department pulling online passport processing. Secretary of State Blinken says during the Covid lockdown they laid off contractors. Many are experiencing a wait over the predicted 3 months.
Like a losing baseball team - maybe you just want to wait till next year!!!
photo:Getty
Passports are delayed at the State Department.Photo: Getty Images