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Passports for children?


lovebears
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Do those of you that cruise the children have passports for them? I understand the closed loop rules and the need for a passport if there were a medical emergency. I just am curious how many go ahead and get passports. We are taking our grandson 10 & 6 on their first 5 day cruise in November. They probably won't be needing a passport within the 5 yrs following this cruise. Thanks in advance

 

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We've had one for my 14 yr old for five years now...DH and I were getting our passports and saw no reason to not get his at the same time.

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  • 1 month later...

Always had a passport for our DD (now in college). We cruised places and travelled places that needed passports -- and why we could take advantage of those opportunities was because we all had passports! But even for those trips that did not require them, we took them -- peace of mind.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are taking our first cruise with our kids in June. We got them passports. The travel agent insists we don't need one. However the cruise line strongly recommends each passenger have one and more importantly, the U.S. State Dept. says you absolutely need one - even if the cruise line says you don't. If one of my kids were to get sick/hurt and we were "stuck" in a foreign port because we didn't have the right documentation to fly out, I would never forgive myself.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html

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As a Canadian living within 30 minutes of the US border we all have passports and wouldn't consider not having them (so grateful Canada now offers 10 year). My daughter got hers when she was only a couple months old. She even has a Nexus card (it was free so figured why not when I renewed mine).

 

It seems to be a totally different story for US citizens and opinions vary widely.

Where do you plan to travel? How prepared are you for an emergency? How many passports do you need for your family (if you have to get several, staggered renewals hurts the least financially)? Its getting harder and harder to travel without one so I'd always recommend having a passport if possible. If you decide not to get them, make sure you are very clear on what your alternate documentation is (eg birth certificate, real or notarized copy??).

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  • 1 month later...

We are taking the kids on their first cruise in September and will not have passports for the kids for that trip, as it is only a 1 night from Seattle to Vancouver. We live in WA and will be driving home afterwards. We do have a Southbound Alaska cruise planned for Aug 2019 and will be getting passports for that one. (Husband and I have valid passports already.)

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We have an unusual situation because our children were adopted internationally and as part of that got their first passports very young. But we have renewed them each time needed mainly for cruising.

Hi lennythenose, Our daughter (17) is also internationally adopted and we have booked our first cruise with her. My husband and I have cruised before but not since we adopted her 15 years ago. She currently does not have a passport and I thought if you returned to the same port you sailed from that no passport was needed, only a birth certificate. I have been curious about the need for one for her though. Do you think she needs one? Also I hear others talking about close the loop rule. Do you know what that is?

 

Thank you!!!

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Hi lennythenose, Our daughter (17) is also internationally adopted and we have booked our first cruise with her. My husband and I have cruised before but not since we adopted her 15 years ago. She currently does not have a passport and I thought if you returned to the same port you sailed from that no passport was needed, only a birth certificate. I have been curious about the need for one for her though. Do you think she needs one? Also I hear others talking about close the loop rule. Do you know what that is?

 

Thank you!!!

 

This is a technicality. If anything happens and you need to fly out of a foreign port, you will not be able to without a valid passport. So while you "technically" don't need one for closed loop cruises, you are taking a risk. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the U.S. State Dept. says everyone needs a passport for any cruises, even if the cruise line says you do not. The cruise lines strongly recommend that everyone passenger over 2 have a valid passport. Since your child is 17, I believe the passport would be good for the 10 years, under 16 and they are only good for 5. This also might be nice to have handy if she has any college plans that might involve semesters abroad.

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We are not getting a passport for our upcoming cruise. We are a family of 5. I know the risks, but we never travel out of the country. This will be our first cruise, so if we like it and plan on going on more cruises, then we'll get one. I didn't want to spend $750 if we were not going to need them again.

 

 

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We are also a family of 5 and taking the kids on their first cruise next year. The cost is insane! We are leaning towards not getting them as well.

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Ok I’m going to give the answer to the what if scenario. My son was ten months old and we went on a family cruise to Bermuda. Because we cruise yearly we got him a passport. He had always been healthy but had his first bout with bronchiolitis in Bermuda. The ships doctor decided he was too unstable to come home on the ship. We were rushed to the hospital and after a few hours we were cleared to leave the hospital, but they said to wait at least 24 hours before flying home. This was Friday about 7 pm. One thing to know is Bermuda is a very expensive island. Because we had passports we were able to fly home on Sunday. If we didn’t have it, it would have been at least two more days of missed work and extra bills. Turns out it was $100 well spent.

 

 

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We got passports for our kids when they were each 2 months old. We like to travel a lot, so it is something we need. I never used to get travel insurance until I had kids. Now, we like to be safe. You never know if you'll need to fly or have medical treatment from port.

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We are going on our cruise in October. None of us are getting passports because it is a closed loop cruise to the Bahamas. We understand the risks of not getting them but are going to take our chances since it would be over a grand to get them for all of us and we don’t know if we will take them on another cruise anytime soon. If we decide to make a habit of cruising we will consider getting them.

 

 

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We are going on our cruise in October. None of us are getting passports because it is a closed loop cruise to the Bahamas. We understand the risks of not getting them but are going to take our chances since it would be over a grand to get them for all of us and we don’t know if we will take them on another cruise anytime soon. If we decide to make a habit of cruising we will consider getting them.

 

 

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I meant to say our first cruise and that we have 5 kids, that’s why it would cost over $1,000 to get us all passports.

 

 

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Ok I’m going to give the answer to the what if scenario. My son was ten months old and we went on a family cruise to Bermuda. Because we cruise yearly we got him a passport. He had always been healthy but had his first bout with bronchiolitis in Bermuda. The ships doctor decided he was too unstable to come home on the ship. We were rushed to the hospital and after a few hours we were cleared to leave the hospital, but they said to wait at least 24 hours before flying home. This was Friday about 7 pm. One thing to know is Bermuda is a very expensive island. Because we had passports we were able to fly home on Sunday. If we didn’t have it, it would have been at least two more days of missed work and extra bills. Turns out it was $100 well spent.

 

 

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Yikes! I'm glad everything worked out! This was exactly why I insisted we get the kids passports.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We have two grandchildren, one is now 14 months the other will be 4 in August. Both have passports, both have Global Entry because their parents do and if the kids don't have it they cannot really go with the parents, at least not without getting dirty looks. The almost 4 year old has already done some Caribbean visits with her other grandparents, the 14 month old had his first one coming up in a month. Bottom line is yes, play it safe and get them passports.

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  • 2 weeks later...

BC's are perfectly fine, but a passport is so much easier. We have a family of 8. We drive through Canada, go on cruises, it is so much easier with passports. They are more durable than BC's too. (I'm always afraid of them getting wet or ripped.) BUT if you are only going to go on one cruise in the next 5 years, I wouldn't bother with a passport. (kids only for 5 years) They are expensive. We just had to renew everyone's at the same time... $1000 for 8! Ouch! My husband travels for work and randomly I will go with him. Having a passport makes it possible to jump on a plane and just go. If you will use it, get the passport. If not, stick with BC. For the money it will save, It isn't that much of a hassle.

 

 

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Can you get a passport card (I think its cheaper than the real passport book) for a baby/child? Wouldn't that be an easier option and less expensive? I don't know much about them but I plan to research.

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Can you get a passport card (I think its cheaper than the real passport book) for a baby/child? Wouldn't that be an easier option and less expensive? I don't know much about them but I plan to research.
Papssport card is not easier (it is the exact same documentation /application process) , but it is cheaper. It only works for land and sea. Not air travel.

 

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