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Children's Passports?

shanty831

By shanty831,
in Royal Caribbean International

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shanty831

shanty831

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Do you use passports for your children, or stick with birth certificates? I've read that there is no need to get them for chdren, but I didn't know if in the event of an emergency if flying home kids have the same passport requirements as adults. Hubby and I have our passports, but we're trying to decide if we need them for our boys, ages 9 and 5. This will be their 1st cruise, our 2nd. Sailing on Indy out of FLL to Cozumel and Costa Maya.

 

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leosmom08

leosmom08

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We cruised this year with our 7 year old. We got him a passport. We were concerned about the "what if" something happens in port and the ship has to leave without us. Having our passport would be the easiest way to get home with fewer hassles.

 

This was his first but certainly not last, cruise with us.

 

We are overly cautious people. :)

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CRUISEFAN0001

CRUISEFAN0001

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We cruised this year with our 7 year old. We got him a passport. We were concerned about the "what if" something happens in port and the ship has to leave without us. Having our passport would be the easiest way to get home with fewer hassles.

 

This was his first but certainly not last, cruise with us.

 

We are overly cautious people. :)

Agree it's a good idea for children 5 and up.

 

You are not overly cautious, rather, you are smart and caring. :)

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shanty831

shanty831

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This is what I was thinking, I was just hearing from so many that we were wasting out money. We're hoping to make cruising an annual vacation, so they will get their use out of the passport. Now the challenge will be to find a location that does passports on Saturday morning when the 4 of us can go!

 

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CRUISEFAN0001

CRUISEFAN0001

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This is what I was thinking, I was just hearing from so many that we were wasting out money. We're hoping to make cruising an annual vacation, so they will get their use out of the passport. Now the challenge will be to find a location that does passports on Saturday morning when the 4 of us can go!

 

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Passport all the way. You never know what can happen.

Indeed...and parents should ignore the naysayers.

 

Having a passport for a child's identity is also prudent for other reasons beyond just going on a cruise. Children are abducted, and whenever traveling outside the native country...the risk is even higher.

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CruisinQueen2013

CruisinQueen2013

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Not going to tell you what to do but we have two kids - 4 and 1 and as soon as we had our first cruise booked for each kid, they got passports. They are good for 5 years and we travel every 18 months or so. My thought was you can't put a price on peace of mind if something happens on a cruise and you need to fly home. There are all sorts of stories of people needing to head home mid-cruise - medical reasons, family emergencies or deaths back home, etc. In the event of something happening, the last thing I want to do is be worried about trying to get proper IDs, paperwork, etc. together to get home.

 

I also figured it was good to have an official form of ID as most of the time, you don't get an official picture ID until you're of driving age. I've used their passports other times (opening bank accounts, etc.) and it's been nice to have.

 

Ultimately, it's a personal decision but to those saying it's a waste of money, well, it's my money to waste. To each their own...

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CruisinQueen2013

CruisinQueen2013

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This is what I was thinking, I was just hearing from so many that we were wasting out money. We're hoping to make cruising an annual vacation, so they will get their use out of the passport. Now the challenge will be to find a location that does passports on Saturday morning when the 4 of us can go!

 

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We just had to do this earlier this year for our then 10 month old. Lots of post offices have Saturday hours for passport acceptance. Check https://iafdb.travel.state.gov/ for locations. Call early as those Saturday appts. fill up fast. When I called, they were scheduling 2 months out where we live.

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mollyeilis

mollyeilis

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Kids have the same need for passports as adults do. If you have to fly home, they need them as much as you do. So if you're worried about that, get the passports for everyone.

 

And read the application info for minors. There is no need to have both adults go. As is spelled out, you can have one adult fill out a form and have it notarized for the adult with the easier schedule to take with the kids. If getting everyone there is a hardship, there is a simple way around it. All on the minor passport pages on state dept site.

 

 

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Havingfun2010

Havingfun2010

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Do you use passports for your children, or stick with birth certificates?

 

Traveled many years without passports for kids and adults.

 

I've read that there is no need to get them for chdren, but I didn't know if in the event of an emergency if flying home kids have the same passport requirements as adults.

 

There is no need for a passport on a closed loop cruise. Kids are people too, and the rules for passports is for any human regardless of age. By the way, did you kidnap your kid from another country? Sounds silly, but that is why a kid needs a passport, to prove they are a citizen and to prove they belong with you (same name and address).

 

 

Hubby and I have our passports, but we're trying to decide if we need them for our boys, ages 9 and 5. This will be their 1st cruise, our 2nd. Sailing on Indy out of FLL to Cozumel and Costa Maya.

 

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The answer to your question is you don't need them. The only reason to get it is the fear of having something happen. Now if something happens, it becomes an extreme hassle to get worked out. So the passport prevents all of that in the extreme minor case that it happens to you.

 

It's your comfort level.

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jamesr3939

jamesr3939

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There was a recent posting on CC about somebody who had to deal with a medical emergency and did not have a passport to fly home. Luckily it wasn't a real serious illness, but they choose to fly home.

 

While it wasn't a huge deal to get the OK it's just something I wouldn't what to have to deal with during an already stressful situation.

 

I got our granddaughter her first passport at eight weeks.

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nivek82

nivek82

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I'll add another vote to getting a passport. They are good only for 5 years but the piece of mind it brings is worth it.

 

We had our DD's since she was 6 months old. (That's why they are only good for 5 years).

 

Also from what I have seen and experienced myself is that check in is also easier when the kids / parents have a passport.

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LeesSummitCruiser1

LeesSummitCruiser1

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Do you use passports for your children, or stick with birth certificates? I've read that there is no need to get them for chdren, but I didn't know if in the event of an emergency if flying home kids have the same passport requirements as adults. Hubby and I have our passports, but we're trying to decide if we need them for our boys, ages 9 and 5. This will be their 1st cruise, our 2nd. Sailing on Indy out of FLL to Cozumel and Costa Maya.

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Forums mobile app

 

My daughter is 12 and is on her third passport. She is our bonus baby and she got her first passport for her first cruise at 4 months (just before RC raised the minimum age to 6 months) she has been on multiple cruises (none of which required a passport) and multiple trips to Europe, Canada, DR and Mexico which did. Even on cruises we take our passports to get stamped at each port. And its nice to have an official ID. She has her old passports in a shadow box. They are not that expensive considering the price of the cruise. I also recommend a passport.

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lbjen

lbjen

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I think I might win this one, I sent in the application for my oldest's first passport when she was 10 days old! Actually we lived overseas and were not citizens of that country so it was vital to get her a passport in case we needed to travel in a hurry. My younger one had his first one at 2 months. We have dual nationality so I have to pay for 8 passports altogether, but I wouldn't travel without them.

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LeCricket

LeCricket

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Both my girls had their first passport pictures taken when they were less than a week old! We were about to move to Italy right after our first was born, and we're living there when our second was born. They need them for the overseas travel we do, but it's nice to have them for cruises and emergency identification as well! I say get them!

 

 

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happygo

happygo

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As if you need another yay for passports but I say absolutely. When we went to England many years ago my hubs and I had to renew ours. Our son, 3 at the time, was not going but we got him one just in case. Fast forward 3 years and we decided to go to Costa Rica on a whim. 10 days from the time we decided to go to jumping on the plane. Never would have been able to do that had we not gotten our son one when we did. It's piece of mind for us.

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