Passport

[medi130]

Do I need a passport for a closed loop carnival Mexican riviera cruise? Thanks 

[CruiserBruce]

No.

[medi130]

Thank you 

[jas283a]

They recommend it in case of an emergency (like medical) and you need to evacuate by air. However, unless that 2% chance happens, no need to obtain a passport. My wife and I have it for other reasons, but never got for kids and never a problem!

[PekingeseLady]

I've cruised 25 cruises without a passport.  But now that DH is 70 I have just purchased our passports.  I figure the chances of something happening are greater.  I don't want to be stuck not being able to fly home.  It is cheap insurance as they last 10 or 15 years.  I pay the same for Travel Insurance and it only lasts the length of my trip, lol

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, PekingeseLady said:

I've cruised 25 cruises without a passport.  But now that DH is 70 I have just purchased our passports.  I figure the chances of something happening are greater.  I don't want to be stuck not being able to fly home.  It is cheap insurance as they last 10 or 15 years.  I pay the same for Travel Insurance and it only lasts the length of my trip, lol

They last 10 years. NOT 15.

[MamaFej]

My 17 year-old's passport has expired. We are booked on a closed loop LA-Mexico cruise for his spring break. I'm debating whether to get him a new passport for this cruise, as I know he can get by without it. The next one we buy will be the last one on our dime, and I'd like to extend his next expiration date as far into the future as possible.

 

If the extremely unlikely happens, and one of us gets hurt in Mexico and we have to evacuate, does anyone know if the fact that he's a minor traveling with his parents would make it easier to get out of the country? 

[njhorseman]

17 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

My 17 year-old's passport has expired. We are booked on a closed loop LA-Mexico cruise for his spring break. I'm debating whether to get him a new passport for this cruise, as I know he can get by without it. The next one we buy will be the last one on our dime, and I'd like to extend his next expiration date as far into the future as possible.

 

If the extremely unlikely happens, and one of us gets hurt in Mexico and we have to evacuate, does anyone know if the fact that he's a minor traveling with his parents would make it easier to get out of the country? 

I can't say whether being a minor traveling with parents would make things easier, but since your son is 17 his next passport will be valid for 10 years, not 5 years like his previous passports, so it will have the extended expiration date you're looking for. Given that he will now get a 10 year passport it seems to make more sense to just get the new passport before your next cruise rather than risking that you'll run into a problem, particularly since you intend to pay for his next passport eventually anyway.

[GradUT]

6 hours ago, MamaFej said:

My 17 year-old's passport has expired. We are booked on a closed loop LA-Mexico cruise for his spring break. I'm debating whether to get him a new passport for this cruise, as I know he can get by without it. The next one we buy will be the last one on our dime, and I'd like to extend his next expiration date as far into the future as possible.

 

If the extremely unlikely happens, and one of us gets hurt in Mexico and we have to evacuate, does anyone know if the fact that he's a minor traveling with his parents would make it easier to get out of the country? 

I agree with NJHorseman that it makes sense to go ahead and get a new passport now.  Reasons:  1) it's good for 10 years now that he's 17 years old, 2) you intend to pay for his next passport anyway and 3) now is a relatively quiet time for passport processing, so you should get it fairly quickly. 

 

Having experience with the repatriation of U.S. citizens from foreign countries -- the age of the person trying to return to the U.S. is not really the issue.  The issue would be the reason for the return.   If it's a serious medical emergency, the paperwork to get you home will be done quickly.  If it's a lesser emergency, the wait will likely be longer.