16 year old photo ID accepted?

[John&LaLa]

I have a 39 year old state issued ID. 🤣🤣

 

Wonder if it's still valid

[reallyitsmema]

22 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

How old must the child be to need a photo ID?

 

Kids aged 16 years and up need a government issued photo ID as well as a birth certificate to board if they don't have a passport.  

[DaniDanielle]

Good to know,thanks. 

[poocher]

Appears to be 16.

[cruisinfanatic]

3 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Probably not, but it doesn't preclude me from making the observation that if $165 is stretching someone's budget then spending thousands of dollars on a cruise is probably not the most responsible thing to do, especially when you have a 16 year old kid who might want to go to college in a couple years.

Who said anything about spending thousands of dollars on a cruise? The OP didn't.  Maybe that's what YOU spend. The OP may have a very inexpensive cruise booked or in mind that costs a few houndred per person. $165 for a passport (which probably isn't necessary) is a big expensee for such a vacation

[ARandomTraveler]

17 minutes ago, cruisinfanatic said:

Who said anything about spending thousands of dollars on a cruise? The OP didn't.  Maybe that's what YOU spend. The OP may have a very inexpensive cruise booked or in mind that costs a few houndred per person. $165 for a passport (which probably isn't necessary) is a big expensee for such a vacation

🙄

[RobInMN]

9 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

$165 for a passport (which probably isn't necessary) is a big expensee for such a vacation

It's good for 10 years, so $16.50 per year for peace of mind and never needing to worry about what ID combination may be accepted. Plus, it allows for other travel & cruises outside of the United States. Most driver's licenses (or state IDs) are only good for 4 years. In Minnesota, it's $21.50 for an ID, $50.25 for a DL. So multiply those by 2.5 for the same amount of time the passport is good for.

Chances are, if they are on this forum, they are not 1 & done on cruises. They will cruise again.

[Joseph2017China]

Why can't the question be answered?  Why does the poster not call RCCL and ask this question?  Why do people think a school issued ID is not government?  Is not a school run by a Government?  

[mscinmia]

9 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

Why can't the question be answered?  Why does the poster not call RCCL and ask this question?  Why do people think a school issued ID is not government?  Is not a school run by a Government?  

Royal accepts for closed loop cruises for those 16 + with birth certificate a State issued driver's license or ID, Student ID, or Military ID. 

[RobInMN]

4 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

Why can't the question be answered?  Why does the poster not call RCCL and ask this question?  Why do people think a school issued ID is not government?  Is not a school run by a Government?  

I would be surprised if any school ID has any form of security measures. I think that's the point of being Government Issued. My daughter didn't graduate that long ago, and her school ID was no better than something I could make in Microsoft Word, even 15 years ago.

 

Plus, a government issued ID is easy to identify. Even if you are not familiar with it personally, there is a government website that will show you what it should look like. Can you imagine trying to validate any school ID out there as not fake?

 

Relevant links on the RC site. Note that the first link only says that a minor child needs a birth certificate, no mention of a photo ID.

However, why on earth would anyone risk it? Just get a government issued ID. Peace of mind.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/minor-identification-forms

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/united-states-citizen-travel-documentation

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-travel-documents-are-required-for-cruises-from-united-states-ports

 

[Joseph2017China]

29 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

I would be surprised if any school ID has any form of security measures. I think that's the point of being Government Issued. My daughter didn't graduate that long ago, and her school ID was no better than something I could make in Microsoft Word, even 15 years ago.

 

Plus, a government issued ID is easy to identify. Even if you are not familiar with it personally, there is a government website that will show you what it should look like. Can you imagine trying to validate any school ID out there as not fake?

 

Relevant links on the RC site. Note that the first link only says that a minor child needs a birth certificate, no mention of a photo ID.

However, why on earth would anyone risk it? Just get a government issued ID. Peace of mind.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/minor-identification-forms

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/united-states-citizen-travel-documentation

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-travel-documents-are-required-for-cruises-from-united-states-ports

 

The idea of the ID is to match a face with the name, and since a 16 year old is still not an adult, and they must travel with the adult that also vouches for them, the school ID is valid as a government ID.  However, you should always check with RCCL to verify. 

 

This is not an argument if it will work or not, or "opinions" on it, but rather why you need a picture, and why they don't specifically say what is acceptable.  It never says a state ID card, it is just assumed it by random people who have no first hand knowledge.  School ID's were fine for my kids, but unless you call, you won't know for sure

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

Not all families have easy access to a DMV to obtain a state gov't issued photo ID for their minor children 16 yrs old and younger.  Most 17 yr old kids have a driver's license.  This is why a 16 yr old can use their HS photo ID.

As someone who has checked in passengers, I deal with this weekly during the cruise season.  We are not going to tell a family of 5 that mom, dad, and the kids aged 14 and 11 can go on the cruise, but their 16 yr old with a birth certificate and photo ID from Riverside HS is denied because we don't accept HS photo IDs.  Not happening.

Luckily, common sense wins out.  If it truly was an issue, the cruise terminal managers would hear from the Customs and Border Patrol officers, and then accepting a HS photo ID would be stopped.  Fortunately, in Seattle for the Alaska cruises it's not an issue, and it is one less thing that families have to be concerned about.

Personally, I can't imagine any homeport in the US denying a 16 yr old boarding who shows up with a HS photo ID and a gov't issued US birth certificate for a closed loop cruise.

[RobInMN]

I just don't understand the mentality of risking it. I would rather be overly cautious. Just get a government issued photo ID, and you'll never have to worry about it. And, as a bonus, if you go the passport route, you are set for any international travel for the next 10 years.

[moposh]

1 hour ago, RobInMN said:

It's good for 10 years, so $16.50 per year for peace of mind and never needing to worry about what ID combination may be accepted. Plus, it allows for other travel & cruises outside of the United States. Most driver's licenses (or state IDs) are only good for 4 years. In Minnesota, it's $21.50 for an ID, $50.25 for a DL. So multiply those by 2.5 for the same amount of time the passport is good for.

Chances are, if they are on this forum, they are not 1 & done on cruises. They will cruise again.

Passports for minors are only good for 5 years.  I do think it easier to get a passport than have to worry about all the additional paperwork, but that's me.

 

[RobInMN]

4 minutes ago, moposh said:

Passports for minors are only good for 5 years.  I do think it easier to get a passport than have to worry about all the additional paperwork, but that's me.

 

Partially true. It's only true for 15 & younger. 16 & up (as per OP), while still "minors" are 10 years.

[shellunderwater]

Glad I read this one, just forgot to make some popcorn first. 

[mjkacmom]

32 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

I just don't understand the mentality of risking it. I would rather be overly cautious. Just get a government issued photo ID, and you'll never have to worry about it. And, as a bonus, if you go the passport route, you are set for any international travel for the next 10 years.

Just maybe Rob, folks who live in other states don’t want the huge hassle of getting government ID if they don’t need to. It took me 1 1/2 years to renew my drivers license. My 16 year olds were able to use their student ID’s to open bank accounts.

[Ferry_Watcher]

I will say that as someone who has checked in passengers, nearly everyone that I come in contact with now is traveling with a passport, including young children.  There seems to be a trend towards the use of passports for the entire family, rather than birth certificates.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Ferry_Watcher

[reallyitsmema]

23 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I will say that as someone who has checked in passengers, nearly everyone that I come in contact with now is traveling with a passport, including young children.  There seems to be a trend towards the use of passports for the entire family, rather than birth certificates.

 

People sailing out of Seattle are typically cruising to Alaska.  Those cruises have many excursions that cross into Canada via land that requires people to have a passport.

[cruisinfanatic]

2 hours ago, RobInMN said:

It's good for 10 years, so $16.50 per year for peace of mind and never needing to worry about what ID combination may be accepted. Plus, it allows for other travel & cruises outside of the United States. Most driver's licenses (or state IDs) are only good for 4 years. In Minnesota, it's $21.50 for an ID, $50.25 for a DL. So multiply those by 2.5 for the same amount of time the passport is good for.

Chances are, if they are on this forum, they are not 1 & done on cruises. They will cruise again.

You're making a lot of assumptions without knowing any facts.

I can drive with a license, but not with a passport

[S.A.M.J.R.]

3 hours ago, RobInMN said:

It's good for 10 years, so $16.50 per year for peace of mind and never needing to worry about what ID combination may be accepted. Plus, it allows for other travel & cruises outside of the United States. Most driver's licenses (or state IDs) are only good for 4 years. In Minnesota, it's $21.50 for an ID, $50.25 for a DL. So multiply those by 2.5 for the same amount of time the passport is good for.

Chances are, if they are on this forum, they are not 1 & done on cruises. They will cruise again.

Personally, I don't think you can compare the cost/year.  You need to compare the cost/use.  If you only take one international trip in 10 years, the cost of that passport was $165 for that trip, to say nothing about how many family members you need to supply.  

 

If someone doesn't want to get a passport, that's on them.  Why some get so up in arms about how others decide to spend (or not spend) their money is beyond me.  

 

Do I think a passport is a good thing to have for a cruise?  Yes.

Do I think you will NEED a passport for a closed loop cruise?  No. 

 

It's basically insurance.  I also think insurance is a good thing to have for a cruise.  But I'm not going to fault someone for not purchasing it. 

[Lane Hog]

20 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Not an apples-to-apples comparison. You don't need a car to get around, but it's generally a requirement by the governments of the entire world that you have a passport to travel internationally.

 

The fact that there's a gray-area loophole allowing people to use a birth certificate and government issued ID to cruise shouldn't be a reason to forgo getting the passport. For one, some people (like this 16 year old) don't have the proper documentation to even do it that way. 
 

Second, if something happens and a person needs to fly home instead of complete the cruise, you can't do that with a birth certificate.

 

So many issues could be caused by getting stuck in another country without a passport, and it seems like someone who thinks $165 is a lot of money might not be able to afford the astronomical costs of getting stuck in another country. 
 

 

 

20 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I agree that it's low, but it's something to consider when weighing the risk. 
 

And my other point still stands - $165 isn't a lot of money. It should just be considered part of the cost of traveling. And if it IS a lot of money, maybe one shouldn't be spending that kind of money on a vacation 👀.

 

Depends on where you're cruising from.  The cost of that passport might be 50% the cost of the cruise in some markets...

 

19 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

I have a 39 year old state issued ID. 🤣🤣

 

Wonder if it's still valid

 

A drivers license issued in AZ at 17 used to be good until age 62.... so it's possible.

 

7 hours ago, RobInMN said:

It's good for 10 years, so $16.50 per year for peace of mind and never needing to worry about what ID combination may be accepted. Plus, it allows for other travel & cruises outside of the United States. Most driver's licenses (or state IDs) are only good for 4 years. In Minnesota, it's $21.50 for an ID, $50.25 for a DL. So multiply those by 2.5 for the same amount of time the passport is good for.

Chances are, if they are on this forum, they are not 1 & done on cruises. They will cruise again.

 

I have no choice about that cost for a drivers license.  The passport is only good for international travel. 

Less than 40% of US citizens have a passport.  I've needed the expansion pages twice, but two of my kids' passports had only one stamp in them when they expired.  The third kid had two stamps...

Not exactly the best return on investment when you think about it in terms of need vs. how many bucks per year...

[Mum2Mercury]

I read this as, "Can I present an ID from 2006 to board the ship?"  

[John&LaLa]

6 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I read this as, "Can I present an ID from 2006 to board the ship?"  

 

That's what I read as well.

 

Some titles here are crazy ambiguous 

[Mum2Mercury]

On 8/14/2022 at 10:52 AM, matj2000 said:

Why don't the 16 yo have a Drivers License?

Why doesn't any 16 year old have a license?  Things really have changed over the last -- decade? -- or so.  From a high school teacher:  

- Our schools charge for Driver's Ed now, and that fee is a real problem for some kids.  

- Driver's Ed is after school.  More parents are working longer hours /second jobs, and some of them can't provide pick-up for that after-school class.

- It's harder to get a seat in Driver's Ed now -- not sure why we don't offer more classes, but LOTS of kids can't get a seat until they're close to 16 /even over 16.  After taking the class, they must keep their Learner's Permit for a year -- the result is that most kids don't qualify for a license until they're 17+ .  

- Teen insurance is so expensive -- I didn't "get it" until the bill came.  We were paying X to insure two cars and our house, and when our oldest turned 16, we started paying 2X.  Yes, literally double.  Seriously, a lot of people can't afford that. 

- I teach at a middle-to-upper class school; most of our kids live in single-family homes and have at least one college-educated parent; still, a whole lot of them can't afford it. 

- Something I saw more and more over the years:  Teens getting a Learner's Permit at 16 and keeping it until 18.  Why?  Because a Permit doesn't require insurance.  I've always railed against this idea because I didn't want my kids to turn 18 and head away to college with little-to-no solo driving experience, but other people's kids /other people's choices.  

- Fewer and fewer of my students -- even before Covid -- have part-time jobs, so they can't contribute financially to a car /insurance.  

21 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I would not cruise without a passport but having done over 60 cruises I have never had to fly home. So the odds are pretty low. 

Exactly.  Your chances of needing to fly home as tiny, and -- with or without a passport -- you're probably not flying home easily: 

- The ship may not reach an island for a day or two. 

- Islands don't have big-time airports; you may not find a flight back to the US for another day or two. 

- A last-minute plane flight, if available, will be expensive.  

- Realistically, flying home mid-trip -- with or without a passport -- isn't an easy thing at all.

21 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

probably none of your business what others consider a lot of money

1. Agree. 

2. $165 x 3-4 people in the family is real money.

7 hours ago, RobInMN said:

I would be surprised if any school ID has any form of security measures.

Agree.  I just retired from teaching high school, and pretty much every teacher in the school knew how to run the ID machine.  On my last day teaching last June I made myself a new ID (looking as old as possible) 'cause I still want to get community discounts in retirement.  I need that BOGOF Chipolte burrito on Teacher Appreciation Day.  

6 hours ago, RobInMN said:

I just don't understand the mentality of risking it. I would rather be overly cautious.

That's the right phrase:  overly cautious. 

You're sooo unlikely to NEED a passport on a cruise.  If it makes you feel better or if you need it for other travel, get a passport -- but no one should tell someone else they NEED a passport just for one cruise.  Rather, look at your own circumstances, and decide whether you personally need a passport.  

4 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Personally, I don't think you can compare the cost/year.  You need to compare the cost/use.  If you only take one international trip in 10 years, the cost of that passport was $165 for that trip, to say nothing about how many family members you need to supply.  

Agree.  If you travel twice with that passport and leave it in your safe for the other 9 years and 50 months, the actual cost was $82.50 per use.  

 

Also, though it's a small point, the actual length of usefulness is 9 1/2 years.  If you read the cruise line's documents -- I did -- they will not let you board with a passport that's expiring within the next 6 months. 

44 minutes ago, Lane Hog said:

I have no choice about that cost for a drivers license.  The passport is only good for international travel. 

Yes, reasonably, I have to drive to live my life here in the suburbs.  I NEED that license, and no other option exists.  If I let my license lapse, I can't have car insurance.  If I don't have car insurance, the sheriff will come to my house and take my license plate.  

 

I don't think this is an unusual situation:  I really have no choice but to pay for a driver's license every X number of years.  But I can take a whole lot of trips, a closed-loop cruise being one of them, without a passport.  

Edited August 15, 2022 by Mum2Mercury