Disney’s reign as the king of family cruises may be over.  The children’s network Nickelodeon has teamed with Royal Caribbean  for their very first cruise scheduled later this summer:

The Nickelodeon Family Cruise with Royal Caribbean will depart from Los Angeles, Calif. on July 26 on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas, the largest ship to be home ported on the West Coast. It will sail to the exotic Mexican Riviera stopping in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Mazatlan, Mexico; and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Eastern Caribbean cruise will leave on Aug. 9 from Port Canaveral, Fla., on the largest cruise ship in the world–the Freedom of the Seas–and will sail to Nassau, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Royal Caribbean’s private island destination, CocoCay in the Bahamas. – About.com

The cruise will feature several of the Nickelodeon signature characters including the wildly popular Sponge Bob Squarepants, interactive game shows, and never before seen episodes of some of Nick’s best loved series.

With plenty of on-board activities for both kids and parents, and the  it’s little wonder that family-style cruises are so popular.

Are you planning a trip outside the U.S. this year with your family?  Let Swift Passport Services assist you in getting your travel documents prepared.

Many green card and visa holding citizens of the UK will run into the problem this year of what to do when they need to get their UK passport renewed or replaced. How do you do this while living in the US? Most will be surprised about how painless the process can actually be.

To begin, you will be required to submit a series of documents to the UK consulate. To prevent delays, it is best to prepare by gathering the following:

• Proof of United Kingdom Citizenship ( either an expired U.K. passport or a U.K. birth certificate along with your U.S. green card)

• Letter of Consent for children between the ages of 16-18 (written parental consent from both parents)

• U.K. Application for Passport (swiftpassport.com provides the application):

1. Adults (C1)
2. Under 16 (C2)

• Two Passport Photos

• British Embassy Fee (payable by credit card only; must download the credit card authorization form and submit it as means of payment)

1. C1 form 32 pages $211.00
2. C1 form 48 pages $255.00
3. C2 form 32 pages $134.00

*note: If you are a U.K. citizen with ties to Hong Kong, you will be required to use another application entirely
* Fees are the same for both new passports and renewals

As of August, 2007, the British Consulates sometimes require interviews to be conducted for applicants of both new and renewal passport applicants. Which applicants require these interviews and in what manner they are conducted are entirely up to the British Embassy. You will most likely be notified by mail, so it is best to begin the process of expediting your passport well in advance of your trip.

These consulates are jurisdictional so you will need to apply at the appropriate consulate. Call Swift Passport at 877.917.9438 to determine your jurisdiction and how to proceed. Swift will make the process fast and painless and will save you a ton of time.

Our trip to Africa was magnificent–here are a few photos of our time on safari:

SPS owners Rob and Laurie Dickenson Lee spent some time answering questions about their young business, their plans for the future, and what it’s like about working in the travel industry:

1. How long has SPS been in operation?

2007

2. What drew you to the travel industry?

Laurie and I have traveled extensively since we were kids. We were both very fortunate to grow up in families that traveled. My dad is British and explored the Antarctic for over 2 years in the 60’s. He has lived all over the world and always believed that traveling was an important aspect of being a well rounded human being. Laurie’s family travelled all over when she was a kid so it is in her blood too. We love experiencing new cultures, new foods, and remote places off of the beaten path. We had a 2 year stint in Costa Rica and Panama which was definitely a huge adventure. Now that we run a business we travel far less than we would like, but it is our goal to be able to run Swift Passport from virtually any location.

3. Who are your typical customers?

We basically have 2 types of customers: corporate and 1 time users who find us on the internet. Corporate clients have a close relationship with us and use our services on a weekly or monthly basis. Travel departments and HR departments essentially partner with us and use us for all of their passport and visa needs. Right now it takes as many as 6 weeks to obtain a passport. Business people who travel frequently often times do not have 6 weeks to wait between trips to get their passport renewed or replaced. Our service is invaluable to these kinds of people as we can obtain a passport in as little as 1 day! Other businesspeople just realize that spending a day in line at a passport agency or consulate and dealing with the headache of government agencies is simply NOT the best use of their time. We make the experience fast and painless- no headache required!

4. What is the most challenging part about owning SPS?

Good question. Getting away from the business is my biggest challenge. Most of the people who work with us have serious deadlines and the slightest error can cost them a business trip or vacation. Instead of sleeping in on Saturdays I find myself reaching for my iphone to see if our FedEx Saturday deliveries made it to their destinations on time! In the course of a sale our staff gets to know most customers on a personal level which means we share in their anxiety.

5. What is the most rewarding part about owning SPS?

There is nothing better than owning your own business. It’s the hardest work you will ever do but once you do it I think you could never go back to a 9-5. We are growing fast and really proud of our technological advancement. It is our goal to be able to operate from anywhere and I love researching new technology that will help us reach that goal. I once watched my wife make a sale on a cell phone while we were driving through the desert and she placed the order and faxed our client the forms they needed seamlessly from the passenger seat! We are responsible for our successes and accountable for the falls along the way. I imagine it is much like having a kid- that doesn’t sleep often.

6. What services do you offer at SPS?

We offer expedited passport and visa services to individuals and corporations. We can get a US passport in as little as 1 day (the government takes 6 weeks), and international visas to virtually any country. We work with corporate HR and travel departments who have a tendency to spend a lot of time sorting through the mountains of forms and instructions online looking for the information they need to obtain passports and visas. Others are sick and tired of having to work with the government and are frustrated with long processing times and zero communication. We hear horror stories everyday about what a nightmare it is trying to get answers and guarantees from the government. We often find that corporations such as aren’t aware that there is a way to totally avoid the misery that actually ends up saving them time and money

7. How often do you get to travel?

Sadly, our international travel plans have been paused while we grow our business. We travel domestically on business every few months and do our best to get off the beaten path wherever we go.

8. What is your favorite travel destination?

Missoula, Montana, Southeast Asia, and northern Patagonia in that order.

9. How do you see the travel industry changing in the next ten years?

There are so many great deals out there right now that people who normally could not afford to travel can now. Study abroad programs are booming- spending a semester abroad is pretty standard these days which is great. Its never been easier for a business to become an international business than now. Globalization means more world travel.

10. What are the future plans of SPS as a small business?

Currently we work with the Chicago and Houston Passport Agencies. We are waiting for permission to also work with the New York, San Diego, Seattle, and Denver Passport Agencies. We hope to grow and to cultivate a team and culture at Swift who will grow with us. We want people who work with us to love what they do as much as we do! We are working on a scholarship program that will enable college kids studying abroad to get passports for free, and look forward to expanding our presence nationwide.

Now that you are required to have a passport  to go to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean; the U.S. State Department has introduced a simpler style passport card which serves the same purpose as the original passport book–only it fits in your wallet like a driver’s license!  This card cannot be used for overseas travel, but for people who go to either Canada or Mexico on a regular basis–it makes life much easier.

Swift Passport Services is offering both the passport card and book expedited for quick travel:

• Adult passport book $135
• Adult passport book and card $155
• Child passport book $120
• Child passport book and card $$140