PASSPORTS FOR KIDS???

[Disbug]

We were going to only use our DD14's birth certificate, when we discovered her passport would expire just before we left on the Disney Fantasy Eastern on March 14. But after reading our travel insurance documents, I realized using the insurance for a life flight situation would not be much good without her having a passport. (We could get transported to the city of our choice, but could not enter the country!) So we paid the expediting fee and considered it additional insurance against an unforeseen emergency.

 

[Happy100]

I know I have mentioned this before on other passport threads. I have witnessed an older english speaking couple being denied entry to cruise area at one of the virgin islands by a port security officier because they didn't have passports. Their cruise ship card was not sufficient for him.

I understand these are adults but you just never know what could happen in a port with a certain port officier.

Your answer...no it isn't required. Most likely their will be no issue. Would I chance traveling out of the country without one. Never!

 

[KalamityJane]

Also, if you would need to fly, I believe the passport card is not sufficient, you need the actual full passport. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm going off of memory.

 

[KalamityJane]

Yep - http://travel.state.gov/content/pas...ifference-Between-Passport-Book-and-Card.html

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Also, if you would need to fly, I believe the passport card is not sufficient, you need the actual full passport. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm going off of memory.

You are correct. You need the full passport book in order to fly.

 

[icesk8abc]

We are applying for a passport for our daughter who will be 18 months at the time of our cruise. I am a part of the better safe than sorry camp.

However, depending on your itinerary, you may decide against it. If your cruise only travels to San Juan, St. Thomas, and Castaway Cay, then you are not in quite as a precarious position. You don't need a passport to travel to and from St. Thomas or San Juan. There is no airport on Castaway Cay. If you are traveling mainly to Mexico, you could rent a car and renter the United States by land without passports for your children.

Like I said before, I would suggest that it is better to have one. However the destinations frequented by Disney on a Caribbean cruise make it slightly less risky.

 

[MC0810]

We are cruising May 16th. If I go next week to get us passports will they arrive in time? Does it REALLY take 6 weeks?

 

[Disbug]

We are cruising May 16th. If I go next week to get us passports will they arrive in time? Does it REALLY take 6 weeks?

We got our daughter's expedited in about a week. Past applications have taken 3 to 4 weeks. If you have six weeks... you should be fine!

 

[MC0810]

We got our daughter's expedited in about a week. Past applications have taken 3 to 4 weeks. If you have six weeks... you should be fine!

did you pay for expedited processing ? thats so fast!

 

[Disbug]

did you pay for expedited processing ? thats so fast!

Oh, yes! It was about double. But worth it for the peace of mind.. this was our youngest daughter's first cruise. She applied for her first passport when my husband did. I knew his expired in 2020, but I forgot that children's expire in half the time! So rather than tempt fate...

 

[CharmedLife]

I just ordered new passports for my kids (DD14 and DS11) because theirs were expired. As PP mentioned, you cannot "renew" a child's passport and they are only good for 5 years instead of 10. Anyway, they came in 3 weeks - we did not pay for expediting. But of course every situation could be different...

We actually received 2 envelopes back for each child - one with their new passport, and one with their old passport (with holes punched in them), their birth certificate, and the second passport photo.

I'm in the "better safe than sorry" camp as well, but also in the "what if a super airfare deal came out and we wanted to leave the country quickly" camp so I figured I'd rather have the documentation, just in case...

 

[kiapepito]

Last weekend I noticed that out daughters passport would expire next mth and we need it for our trip in July. No need to expedite. $105 spent this week renewing it. Costco charges $4.95 for passport pictures.

 

[Ravenne]

This is one of the many reasons I'd get passports: http://abc7.com/news/los-angeles-man-stuck-in-mexico-after-identity-stolen/570060/
Truth be told, that story confuses me a bit. I'm not 100% sure how a passport would've saved the guy the headache, and prison time in this specific case, but I do know passports can help out a lot in a tough situation.

I know, getting passports for everyone is no small chunk of change. It's a tough choice to make when hundreds of dollars are involved, especially when you're already shelling out so much for a vacation. It's always nice to avoid extra charges and costs whenever you can. Chances of things happening is unlikely, but it can happen. The good news is, if you book another cruise on board, or cruise again within the next 5 yrs you'll already have passports and won't have to pay for them again.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you are traveling mainly to Mexico, you could rent a car and renter the United States by land without passports for your children.

Not sure I would choose to drive from a cruise port to the border...

did you pay for expedited processing ? thats so fast!

In case there was a misunderstanding, she expedited the one she got in a week. Other times it's been 3 or 4 weeks, without expediting.

I'm.... also in the "what if a super airfare deal came out and we wanted to leave the country quickly" camp so I figured I'd rather have the documentation, just in case...

So true. I'm in that camp! What if an amazing fare comes up just as I finally play Lotto and win a few thousand bucks!

 

[MC0810]

Last weekend I noticed that out daughters passport would expire next mth and we need it for our trip in July. No need to expedite. $105 spent this week renewing it. Costco charges $4.95 for passport pictures.

Thank you! Going to costco saved us $24 for the 3 of us. Everywhere else it was $12-13

 

[Disbug]

Thank you! Going to costco saved us $24 for the 3 of us. Everywhere else it was $12-13

You do not have to have your pictures done professionally. You can use your SmartPhone easily by downloading a free app to create your passport photo. (Check Apple or Google Play for ones with best reviews.) Also your digital camera can be used. The guidelines are on the US State Dept. website. Here is a tool from that website that lets you import your photo and properly crop it.
http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/passports/FIG_cropper.swf

You can also take your own photo and let Walgreen's, Walmart, Costco, etc... print it out in the proper size for about $1.

 

[cashe]

We are in Dallas, so there is a passport office downtown that if you are traveling w/in 2 weeks will issue a passport right then. I had to wait 45 minutes for mine. Granted, I paid the expedited fee, but either way, i walked out of the office w/ it in hand.

 

[Footnotegirl]

You might also want to check with your local passport office to see if they have a camera. We went out of our way to go and get pictures taken, and then when we got to the passport office, they had a camera that they were using for free!
The first time we cruised with our daughter, she was 14 weeks old, and we used only her birth certficate. We weren't planning on taking her off the boat except for Castaway Cay. We are also travelling in May and since she's 3 we got her a passport so that we can take her on a dophin excursion and also just in case. But in our case, we also visit my family in Detroit fairly often, and since usually trips to Detroit turn into trips to Canada fairly quickly, a passport is a good idea for us to have.
I think from handing in her application at the passport office to having the passport in hand took about 3 weeks, and that was without expediting. You can't depend on that though.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We got passports for our children for our first cruise in 2005. I always looked at it as insurance. While we might not ever need it, when you do, you do!

 

[KBinCO]

we got our 4 and 5 year olds passports just to be on the safe side.