Passports??????

[SandieT]

Ok,
I was just about ready to fork over the 400+ dollars needed for passports and then I heard that they changed it and you do not need them until Dec 31, 2006. We are cruising in Jan 2006. Can anyone confirm this or send me to a link that confirms this. I am having trouble looking this up.
Thanks

 

[dmensing]

Here is the link to the FAQ section regarding the new travel/passport policy:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2225.html

HTH,
Dan.

 

[SandieT]

Thank you

 

[musicgirl]

Sandie,

Here is DCL info from their site.

What documentation do I need to bring?

All U.S. and Canadian citizens must travel with proof of citizenship, which is a valid passport, original, state-certified birth certificate and picture identification, or a certified naturalization certificate with a picture identification. Acceptable forms of picture identification are state or provincial driver's license, or federal, state, province or local government photo I.D. card. Guests age 17 and under who are U.S. or Canadian citizens are only required to have proof of citizenship, excluding picture identification. These guidelines are based on U.S. government regulations which are subject to change at any time. It is the Guest's responsibility to check with their Travel Agent, government agencies, embassies or consulates prior to their vacation to ensure that they have proper documentation. Any Guest traveling without proper documentation will not be allowed to board the vessel and no refund of cruise fare will be issued.

Security guidelines require all adult Guests to show a picture I.D. to embark and disembark the ship in all ports, including Castaway Cay. Please be advised that anyone under the age of 18 wishing to go ashore unaccompanied will be required to have a consenting parent, guardian or other responsible adult with them at the gangway, to provide their signature as authorization.

Please note: The U.S. Government has proposed federal regulations that would require all travelers including U.S. and Canadian Citizens (including children) to have valid passports when entering or returning to the United States from the Americas, the Caribbean and Bermuda on or after December 31, 2006; therefore, guests who are booked on sailings with Disney Cruise Line on or after December 28, 2006 need to obtain a passport for each member of their family and provide us with the passport number at least 90 days prior to vacation commencement. United States citizens can visit the State Department's travel website at www.travel.state.gov, or call the U.S. National Passport Information Center at 877-4USA-PPT for more information.



DCL has said that they will not require them unless the govt. does.

 

[becka]

Just a few days ago I was still reading the 12/31/05 date so I spent $65 on passport photos. I guess now we should go ahead and get the passports anyway since we have the pics but I wish I had known this last weekend and I could have saved over $400.

 

[momoftwodisneykids]

We bit the bullet and got ours in August. It will be way easier than dealing with birth certificates and now we can travel anywhere we want to.

Joanne

 

[Tenorsinging]

For those looking, there are cheaper photo places, got my for $12 at Kinko's.

Lynne

 

[Colorado DISers]

We just received our passports in the mail today. It only took 22 days to get processed and delivered. We didn't really need them for our June 2006 cruise, but we'll be planning another trip for 2007. I figured that the price may go up by then so it was good to get them now.

 

[momoftwodisneykids]

For those looking, there are cheaper photo places, got my for $12 at Kinko's.

Lynne

We had ours done at Walgreen's for $7.50 a piece. Just make sure that the size is within the limits on the application. I guess others have had problems because the picture was too big or small. No problems with ours though. Got our passports in 3 weeks.

Joanne

 

[tvguy]

Don't know why passports are such an issue. I consider them as important as travel insurance. They do have one thing in common I guess, both are a waste of money if you don't need them, and priceless if you do.

 

[Jillpie]

Tvguy, how could you possibly compare travel insurance to a passport?? With travel insurance, you could possibly be saving yourself thousands and thousands of dollars. When DCL accepts a birth certificate as well as a passport for now, why would anyone go to the expense of a passport (especially if you have a large family) when going on a Disney cruise??

Apples to oranges as far as I'm concerned. And I don't find there is an "issue" over passports at all. You either choose to get one by the deadline or not. Simple. No need to get one if you have a birth certificate in hand.

 

[Tenorsinging]

Sorry Jillpie, gotta go with TV Guy on this one. If you are somewhere and you need that passport, no amout of copies of BC are gonna do. Passports are an extremely good form of ID. Which is really what he said, he said if you need it and don't have it, no amount of money can fix it, therefore priceless. Once you have a passport and it isn't expired, you never have to wonder "do I, don't I need it" because there won't be anywhere you can't go. If I were to ever go out of Country especially and I needed help, that Passport is GOLDEN and will get me the help I need. No longer do you have to worry about the heartbreak of going somewhere, thinking all you need is a BC, told you don't need one, and the airline or other official looks at it and says, "nope, don't know who told you you could use that, but you need a passport". To me, my passport is my insurance, I will get to go where I want to go.

Tenor

 

[Jillpie]

Sorry Jillpie, gotta go with TV Guy on this one. If you are somewhere and you need that passport, no amout of copies of BC are gonna do. Passports are an extremely good form of ID. Which is really what he said, he said if you need it and don't have it, no amount of money can fix it, therefore priceless. Once you have a passport and it isn't expired, you never have to wonder "do I, don't I need it" because there won't be anywhere you can't go. If I were to ever go out of Country especially and I needed help, that Passport is GOLDEN and will get me the help I need. No longer do you have to worry about the heartbreak of going somewhere, thinking all you need is a BC, told you don't need one, and the airline or other official looks at it and says, "nope, don't know who told you you could use that, but you need a passport". To me, my passport is my insurance, I will get to go where I want to go.

Tenor

I understand that fear if you are travelling in strange, international lands alone perhaps. But we are talking a Disney cruise here. That is all. A Disney cruise. We are going no where else.

 

[S.S.Oceanlover]

A Disney cruise still leaves the United States. If for some reason the ship left one of the ports without you, how would you get back into the United States?

Bill

 

[SueEllen]

I understand that fear if you are travelling in strange, international lands alone perhaps. But we are talking a Disney cruise here. That is all. A Disney cruise. We are going no where else.

Certainly not arguing for or against passports here--but you are not correct in saying you are ONLY going on a Disney cruise and "no where else." If you step foot off of that ship in ANY port you are in a foreign country (with the exception of St. Thomas, which is a US Territory.)

Should you have an incident in that country the passport can be a lifesaver.

Having said that all of my last 5 cruises have been with only my birth certificate and Driver's License. With the government in the process of requiring that travelers have passports to re-enter the country we went out and got ours (Staggered them over several months so we could spread out the cost.) All of this before the gov't decided to change the timeline once again so since we have a cruise coming up in October then another in 2006 we decided to get them now before the "rush" to get them later. It will make travel a bit easier, and I will only have to keep up with the passport and not have to worry about losing the birth certificate while traveling (I always worry that I'm going to misplace that piece of paper while on vacation.)

I think that making an informed decision is the only way to go. The government IS going to eventually require everyone that wants to leave and return to the US to have a passport for re-entry. Passports are good for 10 years (adult) and 5 years for children. Base your decision on that...
If you will not be traveling at all for any other reason in the next couple of years then it would not make much sense to get a passport now. If you know you will be cruising again in the future then it would be beneficial to go ahead and get the passport when you have the extra $$ to do so. Especially knowing how prices have increased over the last 2 years for passports (about 50%)

Sue Ellen

 

[tvguy]

Tvguy, how could you possibly compare travel insurance to a passport?? With travel insurance, you could possibly be saving yourself thousands and thousands of dollars. When DCL accepts a birth certificate as well as a passport for now, why would anyone go to the expense of a passport (especially if you have a large family) when going on a Disney cruise??

Apples to oranges as far as I'm concerned. And I don't find there is an "issue" over passports at all. You either choose to get one by the deadline or not. Simple. No need to get one if you have a birth certificate in hand.

I'll be honest. My Disney cruise was the first, and only cruise out of 7 I purchased travel insurance for. Never needed it, or used it, but this cruise WAS twice as expensive as any other I have taken. So I am a new convert to insurance, after reading these boards.
As I have posted before, I DID had problems traveling with my son to CANADA with just a birth certificate,(and a letter from the Canadian Consulate saying no Passport was needed) . And that was in 1989 when he was 2, and long before September 11. The Canadian Immigration officer made it clear if we had a passport for him, it would not have been an issue.

These boards are a great place to hear other people's experiences...and yes...opinions. But my opinion that you shouldn't leave the U.S. without a Passport is based on a bad experience.

 

[inthemood]

As I have posted before, I DID had problems traveling with my son to CANADA with just a birth certificate,(and a letter from the Canadian Consulate saying no Passport was needed) . And that was in 1989 when he was 2, and long before September 11. The Canadian Immigration officer made it clear if we had a passport for him, it would not have been an issue.

This statement has convinced me!! I was on the fence about this and now after reading your reply TVGUY, Our family will purchase BC. I have 2 adopted children who do not look anything like me or my husband, and we were wondering if we would have a problem on the Islands. Although I don't know what your problem was in Canada , I can say that if if happened to you back then , it can sure (or worse ) happen to us in 2006!!

Thanks for the push!!

ITM

 

[musicgirl]

If you got left behind out the country, how would you get back into the United States? Well, I do believe if I was left somewhere from my DCL cruise, I would simply use my bc and dl. If you have not forgotten, that is all you need to get back in from the Car. Mexico and Canada at this time.

Remember, the passport timeline of 12-31-06 is not that you need a passport TO the Carb, Mexico or Canada. but rather you will need them to get INTO the US.

So If I am on my DCL cruise in 6-2006 and I don't make it back on the ship from Coz, Costa Maya or CC,(now wouldn't that be a shame ), I still only need a DL and BC to get back into the US.

I have to be honest, when we go to Costa Maya, I'm only going to the area at the port, so how am I going to be left behind? I may go to a beach 2 miles down the road and I'm pretty sure I could walk that far if I have to. Perhaps I may break my leg on the way back and be stranded by the wayside. It would be so typical of my dh and ds to just leave me there to fend for myself.

What if you lost your bc? Well, I could still lose a passport or have it stolen just as easily. With the chips going in, they'll probably have more important info than a bc. And yes, I'm sure someone will figure how to get the info out of the chips.

Oh by the way, I have back up birth cert. for all of us that I bring. Copies at home should I lose both sets. You also don't know me, I am very a... well let's say over cautious about these. They will not get lost!!!

I DON'T NEED A PASSPORT! WE WILL NOT NEED PASSPORTS ANY TIME AFTER 12-31-2006 BECAUSE WE CAN NOT AFFORD ANYMORE TRIPS OUTSIDE THE US UNLESS I WIN THE LOTTERY!!!! I GET TO SPEND THE $300 ON FUN STUFF!!!

 

[musicgirl]

ITM,

I can definitely see why you would not want the risk with 2 adopted kids that do not look like you.

The 3 of us do not have that problem. No one can tell who ds looks more like. to top it off, people think dh and I are brother and sister-ewwww!!!

 

[miatamel]

Maybe someone can answer THIS question for me then:
My hubby and I are going 11/13 and will be traveling with BCs and DLs. However, my husband is a GERMAN citizen (everything I've read about pertains to US and Canadian citizens.) Our TA assured me as long as he has a valid green card and DL that is ALL he needs. We cannot find his passport--been years since he used it--and his birth certificate is in German.
Can someone please tell me what they think to be true as to what it is he needs for this trip?
(BTW, this trip is getting WAAAAY too complicated...)