Passport ?

[Beachgirl85]

I know we don't need one for our cruise but how many of you get passports for your little one?

[Kamloops50]

[quote=Beachgirl85;36677207]I know we don't need one for our cruise but how many of you get passports for your little one?[/quote

I would get passports for passengers over 2 years old. Better than carrying there birth certificate.

[mikesteg]

We got ours immediately, though we've never legally needed them as we've only been on closed-loop cruises. I don't regret getting them, but would probably have gotten the passport card also for proof of age when flying lapchild and other unusual needs... but I think they were $10 extra at the time.

It also depends on the parents' situation. If you have passports, it's an incremental investment. If you needed to disembark in a foreign country I don't know how much good a partial set would be. If you don't have them, probably not much sense in getting them for the kid only... and they are getting a bit pricey to get 2 adults plus kids in one shot.

Kamloops I don't understand the reasoning behind comment "over 2 years old" since there is no exception based on age.

FWIW, we also carry our BCs separately from the passports... just in case. No harm in having them in the front pocket of a bag.

[Warm Breezes]

My kids have sailed 9 times with BC....no issues.

[B_Mc]

Both my kids have had passports by 3 months!

[flhokie]

DD is going on her first cruise in May (will be 2 years 4 months). We will be getting a passport for her next month. While it is possible to do a closed loop cruise without one, we don't want to leave the country without one. If there were any type of emergency where we would have to fly home the last thing we'd want to deal with would be getting an emergency passport.

[arom729]

We got one--came in the mail yesterday in fact. Since we don't know when we might plan an international vacation, we figured it was simplest to get one now and to just have it for the next 5 years (DD is right now 1.5). Plus, I think it's easier to travel with than the other documents.

[bean24]

We got one for my son before his first cruise. He was 9 months old and had never gotten sick. On the cruise he developed bronchiolitis which is severe breathing difficulties for young children. We were in Bermuda and it was the day we were scheduled to leave. The ships dr suggested we go to the hospital since if something happened at sea they aren't really prepared for it, and he would have to be airlifted.
We went to the hospital and were able to leave the next day after steroid treatments, but now had to fly home. Thankfully we were able to get on a plane the next day and go home. I spoke to the social worker at the hospital and he told us it can take up to 2 weeks to get the passport if you are starting from scratch. Not as bad if you had one and lost it or it expired. I hope we never need it again but every passport we get him for the rest of his life has already paid for itself.

[Gunner22aa]

Depending on where you are in the world a passport may be the only officially accepted form of identification. It has been in many of the Asian and African countries that we have visited due to the visa requirements even for children.

[Warm Breezes]

Originally Posted by Gunner22aa

Depending on where you are in the world a passport may be the only officially accepted form of identification. It has been in many of the Asian and African countries that we have visited due to the visa requirements even for children.

That is a mute point here since Asia and Africa aren't included in the WHTI passport exclusion for closed loop cruises . If you were going to Asia or Africa you would need a passport period. If you were a US citizen doing a closed loop cruise to Canada, the Caribbean or Mexico then it is optional.

[Beachgirl85]

Thanks everyone. I made our appointment to get her a passport today. We sail in April so we have time.

[crusinmama06]

Originally Posted by Warm Breezes

My kids have sailed 9 times with BC....no issues.

You are a braaaaave soul

I have seen that ship med center TWICE with my kids. They are accident prone little buggers.

[Warm Breezes]

Originally Posted by crusinmama06

You are a braaaaave soul

I have seen that ship med center TWICE with my kids. They are accident prone little buggers.

Knock on wood....DS(18) hasn't needed a doctor except for well child visits since he was an infant. Considering he played basketball through 10th grade and has played soccer from the time he was 4 until even now playing collage intermurals, I think we can safely say he's not accident prone. DD(16) had one incident at 12 where she broke her foot landing a jump wrong in dance. Nothing else before or after. Since she is a competitive dancer I would say she's not accident prone either. The risk is extremely small that something will happen during the few hours we are in a foriegn port and you will get home with a little patience (which I have been blessed with). I am willing to take the chance. Others are not. But the choice is ours to make.

[RoadTripFanatic]

We've had one for DD since she was 2. That was when we had to have one for our cruise to Hawaii. (NCL went to Kiribati and they required one) We just applied for her 3rd passport. I've never needed it on a closed circuit cruise but I wouldn't take that chance.

[wyaracing]

Just got one for my 11 month old son, can't hurt, and worth it to make life easier we thought. Came in under 3 weeks without paying for the rush service!

[celle]

Originally Posted by Warm Breezes

That is a mute point here since Asia and Africa aren't included in the WHTI passport exclusion for closed loop cruises . If you were going to Asia or Africa you would need a passport period. If you were a US citizen doing a closed loop cruise to Canada, the Caribbean or Mexico then it is optional.

Not such a moot point really, since the original poster (quoted below) did not specify which part of the world she was talking about. While most posters on Cruise Critic seem to be from the USA, this is an international site, so not everyone is American.

Originally Posted by Beachgirl85

I know we don't need one for our cruise but how many of you get passports for your little one?

I got passports for my children before they were a year old.

My grand-daughters have had passports since they were a month old and both have flown long-haul by 6 weeks old.

[092306]

We got it for our son when he was 6 months old. We didn't want to carry his birth certificate with us and wanted it in the event we had to fly back into the country. Plus, his little picture was so adorable, I'd do it again just for that .

[milton333]

Yep, we got a passport for DS when he was about a year old. For cruising, crossing into Canada when visiting Niagara Falls with grandparents, and for flying.

[grandma*knows*best]

Originally Posted by Warm Breezes

That is a mute point here since Asia and Africa aren't included in the WHTI passport exclusion for closed loop cruises .

You mean a moot point