Anxiety over Traveling with kids Birth Certificates

[Eddie Wilson]

Having never cruised with toddlers, please help relieve my anxiety of documents required to embark. Leaving and returning to Seattle.

 

We went to county records department and have in hand official birth records.  

 

Thats it?  Just show them at pier?

 

Eddie

 

[cruisegirl1]

If you really want to reduce anxiety and know that you can easily return to the US in an emergency, consider passports.   

 

M

[RD64]

Simple solution - get them passports. Best form of ID.

[DaniDanielle]

Birth certificates are fine.  It is better to have a passport but you can show the certificates.

[klfrodo]

If you can send your kids to school without body armor with no anxiety, going on a cruise with only birth certificates is a no brainer. 

[Mapleleafforever]

Both our kids had their own passports at 6 months of age. Easy peasy no stress involved. 

[RD64]

15 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Both our kids had their own passports at 6 months of age. Easy peasy no stress involved. 

That’s because we are Canadian!  We don’t blink an eye at getting a passport - just a rite of passage for those of us from the Great White North. I had my first passport at four years old, and will be turning 59 this week. I have kept every one as a souvenir.

 

My parents - 85 and 84 years renewed their’s in April. They have no intention of travelling - but renewed “just in case” for the next ten years. Perhaps it is a European thing- we also have our EU passports “ just in case”.

 

For some reason there seems to be a hesitancy of our American counterparts - who seem to get very defensive at the very suggestion of getting a passport - let alone two.

Edited June 23, 2023 by RD64

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

4 minutes ago, RD64 said:

For some reason there seems to be a hesitancy of our American counterparts - who seem to get very defensive at the very suggestion of getting a passport - let alone two.

Because THEY. ARE. NOT. NEEDED.  Some people don't like spending money they don't need to.  

 

For the OP... what are you anxious about?  That you won't be allowed to board?  Assuming they are state issued, official birth certificates, you're fine.  

 

If you're anxious about something happening during the cruise and you'll need to fly back from another country, then you might be better with passports.  BUT, keep in mind the lead time to get passports (you don't say when your cruise is).  

[rockmom]

Just now, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Because THEY. ARE. NOT. NEEDED.  Some people don't like spending money they don't need to.  

 

 

They are not needed--until they are, and you have to fly home, but you can't.  Because you or your child doesn't have a passport. Then you are dealing with the embassy and a whole lot of grief rather than getting home for whatever the emergency might be.  Very terrifying if you are ill or injured and would much prefer to be in the U.S. for care.  

[RD64]

With all due respect - if the cost of a passport amortized over - say - 10 years is going to break the bank, then perhaps it is something that needs to be budgeted for the future. Without a passport you are severely limiting your options to discover the world.

[sanchica27]

IMO get the passport. If you're paying for a cruise this is a drop in the bucket. I have taken all of my kiddos on cruises and always with a passport. I even got them their state non-driver IDs, even as kids. These are my kids and I'm not taking any chances I don't need to. 

[gluecksbaer]

33 minutes ago, RD64 said:

That’s because we are Canadian!  We don’t blink an eye at getting a passport - just a rite of passage for those of us from the Great White North. I had my first passport at four years old, and will be turning 59 this week. I have kept every one as a souvenir.

 

My parents - 85 and 84 years renewed their’s in April. They have no intention of travelling - but renewed “just in case” for the next ten years. Perhaps it is a European thing- we also have our EU passports “ just in case”.

 

For some reason there seems to be a hesitancy of our American counterparts - who seem to get very defensive at the very suggestion of getting a passport - let alone two.

 In Canada it appears to cost less than half the amount, take less than half the time, and be less than half the hassle.  That probably accounts for at least half the difference.

[klfrodo]

23 minutes ago, gluecksbaer said:

 In Canada it appears to cost less than half the amount, take less than half the time, and be less than half the hassle.  That probably accounts for at least half the difference.

$10 less than an American passport and good for 10 years also. They can get an adult 5 year passport for about $40 less than our 10 year

[gluecksbaer]

3 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

$10 less than an American passport and good for 10 years also. They can get an adult 5 year passport for about $40 less than our 10 year

I was looking at child passports since that's the subject of this post.  I see that adult passports are pretty similar.

[topnole]

57 minutes ago, RD64 said:

With all due respect - if the cost of a passport amortized over - say - 10 years is going to break the bank, then perhaps it is something that needs to be budgeted for the future. Without a passport you are severely limiting your options to discover the world.

5 year amortization if you want to be precise.   And you can’t really use it too close to the deadline and you have to account for lots of extra time beforehand.   So more like 4.5 years.  For some it isn’t worth it if they only plan to cruise once.  

[Tatka]

3 hours ago, gluecksbaer said:

 In Canada it appears to cost less than half the amount, take less than half the time, and be less than half the hassle.  That probably accounts for at least half the difference.

 

We are talking about cruise.. travel, not the last penny to buy grocery.

If you need to fly back to States and kids do not have passport, it will be WAY more expensive and problematic.

[topnole]

2 hours ago, Eddie Wilson said:

Having never cruised with toddlers, please help relieve my anxiety of documents required to embark. Leaving and returning to Seattle.

 

We went to county records department and have in hand official birth records.  

 

Thats it?  Just show them at pier?

 

Eddie

 

Yep.  That is all you show them.  No problems.   I’ve done this many times with my kids as toddlers.  

[topnole]

1 minute ago, Tatka said:

 

We are talking about cruise.. travel, not the last penny to buy grocery.

If you need to fly back to States and kids do not have passport, it will be WAY more expensive and problematic.

If you need to fly back it will be very expensive regardless of documentation.  

[rockmom]

7 minutes ago, topnole said:

If you need to fly back it will be very expensive regardless of documentation.  

yes, but at least if everyone has a passport, they can all get on a flight. 

[Tatka]

3 hours ago, topnole said:

If you need to fly back it will be very expensive regardless of documentation.  

 

Do you thing adding more expenses and headache is worth it?

 

You cannot even fly straight home without passport. So you will incur more expenses for absolutely no reason, Get passports... they are good for 5 years (kids), 10 years adults. It is not even one time trip insurance spending, but for many years! 

[LibertyBella]

1 hour ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Because THEY. ARE. NOT. NEEDED.  Some people don't like spending money they don't need to.  

 

Hopefully this will be the first of MANY years of cruising, and since adult passports are valid for ten years, and children's for five, who can say where one might go in the future?  So many children are traveling internationally with their families, so being prepared in advance in always the smarter move.  

Have a great cruise!

[Eddie Wilson]

16 minutes ago, topnole said:

Yep.  That is all you show them.  No problems.   I’ve done this many times with my kids as toddlers.  

 

Thanks so much Bella, that’s what I needed.

They aren’t my children, so I can’t get a passport for them and since they didn’t have them I specifically chose the round trip via Seattle.  I think we pull up to the docks in Vancouver for a cup of coffee then leave.

Also chose Seattle to avoid LONG flights from Anchorage with toddlers, for their benefit and that of the other airline patrons.

 

Just have not travelled with Birth Certs before, which ginned up some anxt.

 

[bayportkat]

2 hours ago, Eddie Wilson said:

Having never cruised with toddlers, please help relieve my anxiety of documents required to embark. Leaving and returning to Seattle.

 

We went to county records department and have in hand official birth records.  

 

Thats it?  Just show them at pier?

 

Eddie

 

We have always gotten passports for our kids, but it is my understanding that the birth certificate would be fine. If you are going out of Seattle, then I am guessing an Alaskan cruise?  The only foreign port is likely Canada.  I am not sure what the regulations are now for crossing the Canadian border, but they used to be different than other foreign countries (I don’t believe you need a passport, or at least you didn’t, but May now need an enhanced drivers license). What I am getting at is that we travel with passports for all in case of the need to fly home in an emergency situation. Since you will likely be in mostly American ports, this should to be as big an issue for you.  Just something to think about. Have a great trip!

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

22 minutes ago, LibertyBella said:

 

Hopefully this will be the first of MANY years of cruising, and since adult passports are valid for ten years, and children's for five, who can say where one might go in the future?  So many children are traveling internationally with their families, so being prepared in advance in always the smarter move.  

Have a great cruise!

And if it's not?  Yes, it's a gamble.  But one where the odds favor NOT needing the passport.  How many tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people cruise that DON'T have to fly back mid way?  

 

For the record, I have a passport and bring it when we cruise.  But I won't tell someone they HAVE to have one when they don't.  

[gluecksbaer]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

 

We are talking about cruise.. travel, not the last penny to buy grocery.

If you need to fly back to States and kids do not have passport, it will be WAY more expensive and problematic.

Having known someone who's passport went missing while he was in another country, I'm not convinced that it would be any more hassle than getting a child's passport in advance.  

We got passport cards for the kids when we went to Alaska because we could take a train/bus/rental car over the border if we happened to end up in Canada.  We have full passports for everyone for our upcoming cruise.  I feel more comfortable that way and feel that it is worth it even if it is a relatively low risk of needing them.

I was just pointing out that the difference between US and Canadian philosophies on child passports is probably related to the difference in price and hassle to acquire them.