Kids' passport question - would you get renewed or use BC?

[guy_incognito]

Our kids' passports have all expired, and we will be cruising this July. I initially was going to just "renew" them, but the thought of laying out that $400 when this is likely the only time they'll need it for another few years just makes me want to use their birth certificates.

For the experts here
Is there any reason you would choose to go the passport route for a closed-loop cruise like DCL vs just using a BC copy?

Thanks!

 

[lklgoodman]

We always have passports. My dd's passport will expire later this summer and I am going to renew it. Never know when an unplanned opportunity to travel could pop up. I would also want a passport in case an emergency came up when in another country.

 

[RogueX]

I prefer passports, but would advise to renew ASAP as there are delays now for expedited renewals, so standard renewals are delayed as well.

 

[guy_incognito]

would advise to renew ASAP as there are delays now for expedited renewals, so standard renewals are delayed as well.

Yep, that's why I'm posting this. ;-)

 

[guy_incognito]

We always have passports. My dd's passport will expire later this summer and I am going to renew it. Never know when an unplanned opportunity to travel could pop up. I would also want a passport in case an emergency came up when in another country.

Thanks. Zero percent chance we'll travel internationally otherwise, and likely only disembark on Castaway Cay. I definitely lean toward passports, but the 5 year expiration and cost just screamed at me when I printed out the paperwork.

 

[bumbershoot]

I always have a passport (well, I don't right now, but I'm also not traveling internationally right now).

But. If someone gets injured, if someone at home that you're in charge of gets terribly ill or worse, if for whatever reason you have to get back home, you'll get to spend time in a bureaucrat's office getting shorter-term, more-expensive, passports for the kids before they can get on a plane. So it's a delay and MORE money (for a one-year, I believe, passport).

For some cruises if you miss embarkation you can fly to another stop (it depends on where the "distant foreign port" is in relation to when you'd board IF you have a passport. If that's simply not possible due to the distant foreign port stop, or if it's a short cruise and you're only going to the private island, then that's not a factor at all in your calculations.

You know your risk-assessment mind.

(passports for under-16s aren't renewals, so you don't go by the renewal time estimates)

 

[Mommb]

The main reason to get a passport is to make it easier if your children for some reason need to fly home from a foreign country.

Other reasons include:

Ability to travel abroad other than on a closed-loop cruise for a future trip — even a quick trip to Canada

Single document to show identity and citizenship/employability when starting a job or getting an enhanced Driver’s License/State ID

Sturdier than a birth certificate

If you are absolutely sure your kids won’t be going abroad again in the next 5 years and if they won’t be applying for jobs/licenses in the next 5 years, you could do without passports, but as noted above, emergencies can happen during even a short cruise.

 

[MomOTwins]

This gets debated at least once a month on these boards.

Reasons in favor of passport are if you or kids get injured/have a medical emergency and need to be disembarked at a foreign port to go to a hospital, or if you need to get home unexpectedly mid-cruise (e.g. death in the family).

Reasons in favor of BC are cost and hassle of renewal.

No right answer, depends on your risk tolerance and preference.

 

[sponica]

My verdict would depend on the ages of said children. Are they old enough where in the next 5 years they would be able to travel internationally through a school group tour? My high school routinely had one or two trips a year available.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Our kids' passports have all expired, and we will be cruising this July. I initially was going to just "renew" them, but the thought of laying out that $400 when this is likely the only time they'll need it for another few years just makes me want to use their birth certificates.

For the experts here
Is there any reason you would choose to go the passport route for a closed-loop cruise like DCL vs just using a BC copy?

Thanks!

Passports are good for emergency travel, if something were to happen during the cruise. You can't fly home from a foreign port with just a birth certificate. I was on a cruise several years ago where a "perfectly healthy" 12 year old had an appendicitis attack, and didn't have a passport to fly home from the Mexican port where he was evacuated for emergency surgery.

Passports are also good for ID purposes back home (school/sports registrations, for example).

 

[Aimeedyan]

I personally wouldn't. And didn't.

We only just got our toddler one because we're on the transatlantic and it's required.

 

[NephieRN]

I’d just use the birth certificates. Child passports can’t be renewed so it’s a new passport every time. And they’re only good for 5 years. I personally won’t get one again for my kids until they actually need it. I got one for my 6 year old when she was 1 and we used it for one cruise, which it wasn’t even necessary for, before it expired. I’ve since done 2 cruises with only birth certificates for both my girls. I know it’s a risk but it’s one I’m willing to take.

 

[CamColt]

I look at it as insurance...just a little safety net in case.

On my last cruise I had a situation, I couldn't help but overhear (I felt really bad, wasnt trying to be nosey), but from what I got the grandpa was being taken to the hospital and the grandma of course wanted to go to be with him. Her daughter didnt want her going alone as she would be scared and alone in a strange place, however it seems the grand kids did not have passports and they were worried if they all went they might end up needing to stay (or miss the boat). I don't know how it ended but in my head I just kept thinking passports are SO worth the money! You never know! I thought of this family the rest of the cruise, hoping everything turned out for the best. My heart really went out to them.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[ScooterPie]

Passports. You never know…

 

[Heatherdbby]

i have a clumsy kid. we ended up in med bay two times on a four night cruise.
if he needed to get off the ship id want his passport.

 

[tvguy]

I had a VERY bad experience with Canadian Immigration when my son was 2 and we were traveling with a birth certificate, AND a letter from the Canadian Consulate saying a birth certificate was all we needed for our son.
The immigration folks in Calgary said, without a photo, they had no way of knowing if our son was the child listed on the birth certificate. From that point on, we only traveled with a Passport for all over us. Never had another issue. And I'm not sure parents appreciate just how often you may use the Passport at home for every day things. ID for youth sports like Little League and Soccer. When they get their first job and have to prove they are U.S. Citizens or have a right to be in the U.S. When my daughter got her first Driver's License I took her BC and Passport and the DMV clerk reached right for the Passport, because there is a three step process she would have had to have gone through with the BC. The Passport made that unnecessary. And you never know when your child is going to be in Band, Choir, Spanish or French or German Club and get a chance to travel overseas on a school trip and need a Passport.

 

[Flying Fish]

Everything that has been said on here is correct. A passport is far superior and good insurance to have. We have never cruised without them. BUT, we have and will travel more than your stated zero percent chance over the next few years. I would be willing to bet that many, many people cruise all the time on closed loops with nothing other than a birth certificate. If it's a short cruise, that reduces the chance of emergency even more. If you do it with the BCs and have no issues, you can come back and tell everyone it was fine. If, God forbid, something happens you'll have to come back and say everyone else was right.

I get your concern: you're adding $400 to the bottom line if you're not using them for anything else for the next five years. You'll probably be fine, but I think all of us on here are in the camp of "it's insurance and insurance costs something." Last thing, I'll say, is are you sure your math is right? We just did two of them expedited for $239. With a July date you should be okay with regular service, so that seems like a high number.

 

[guy_incognito]

Everything that has been said on here is correct. A passport is far superior and good insurance to have. We have never cruised without them. BUT, we have and will travel more than your stated zero percent chance over the next few years. I would be willing to bet that many, many people cruise all the time on closed loops with nothing other than a birth certificate. If it's a short cruise, that reduces the chance of emergency even more. If you do it with the BCs and have no issues, you can come back and tell everyone it was fine. If, God forbid, something happens you'll have to come back and say everyone else was right.

I get your concern: you're adding $400 to the bottom line if you're not using them for anything else for the next five years. You'll probably be fine, but I think all of us on here are in the camp of "it's insurance and insurance costs something." Last thing, I'll say, is are you sure your math is right? We just did two of them expedited for $239. With a July date you should be okay with regular service, so that seems like a high number.

We have three kids. It's $135 per passport.

 

[lanejudy]

Zero percent chance we'll travel internationally otherwise

You don't mention how old the kids are. I found with DD that the older she got, the more the Passport helped with non-travel needs. Camp registration, school trips, sports registration or trips, a part-time job, etc. So if any are approaching middle school within the next 5 years - you may find that document helpful.