Passport question

[ChrisnSteph]

I'm trying to find out if I need passports for my kids when we do our Disney cruise next March. We are going to the Caribbean. I thought we did, then I read this on the DOHS website regarding land/sea travel:

JANUARY 31, 2008
U.S. and Canadian citizens will need to present either a WHTI-compliant document, or a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. DHS also proposes to begin alternative procedures for U.S. and Canadian children at that time.

Does that mean that we can bring a passport OR an ID and birth certificate? I'm confused.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

anyone??

 

[mommasita]

I think you will, but the law changes so often

 

[mommasita]

taken from disneycruise.com


On October 4, 2006, the U.S. Government extended the deadline for Guests to obtain passports for sea travel to the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Mexico. The deadline is now expected to be as early as January 2008. Please note, however, that recent legislative changes may permit an even later deadline depending on whether certain requirements are in place by January 1, 2008.

For air travel, however, the deadline is January 23, 2007. This means that all travelers, including U.S. Citizens* and all foreign nationals, traveling to the United States by air on or after January 23, 2007, such as Guests flying to Orlando, Florida from Canada, are still required to carry a valid passport after the effective date.

Despite these new requirements, we encourage you to obtain your passport as soon as possible. Having a passport allows you to always be prepared to travel wherever you wish, and offers an added measure of security when you're traveling.

 

[sweet angel]

I would get the passports and be done with it. If you intend to travel out of the country over the course of several years, it will be well worth the investment.

Think of it this way, do you REALLY want to take a chance of being in another country and having them dispute your identification?

If you can afford a Disney cruise, you can surely spring for the passports (not meant to sound snarky!!)

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I would get the passports and be done with it. If you intend to travel out of the country over the course of several years, it will be well worth the investment.

Think of it this way, do you REALLY want to take a chance of being in another country and having them dispute your identification?

If you can afford a Disney cruise, you can surely spring for the passports (not meant to sound snarky!!)

Thank you. My dh and I already have our passports, but our 3 kids and a friends daughter that is going with us don't. The cruise is expensive which is why we've had it booked for two years. We've been paying it off, little by little and we are on a tight budget, so I didn't want to pay for passports if they weren't necessary.

 

[Beth76]

Being in SoCal, do you go to Mexico at all? Because you'll need passports soon for that. As for cruising, the dates keep changing. It was Jan 08, but I've also seen June 08. I know it's a big expense but I feel better having them. Then there's no question about having the right documents.

 

[KimAshton]

I would definitely get one. You do not want the kids not to be able to get on the boat

 

[Felicia]

FYI, kids passports are only good for five years.

 

[cepmom]

as of right now you do not need a passport to cruise to other countires. Next year however you will need a passports for every member of your traveling party. Not sure what date that starts though. We have a Disney Cruise booked for 2008 also and we were told by the DCL rep when we booked the cruise that we would need passports for 2008

edited to add:

SUMMER 2008
At a later date to be determined, the departments will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have either a U.S. passport; a U.S. passport card; a trusted traveler card such as NEXUS, FAST, or SENTRI; a valid Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business; or a valid U.S. Military identification card when traveling on official orders.

The implementation date will be determined based on a number of factors, including the progress of actions undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security to implement the WHTI requirements and the availability of WHTI compliant documents on both sides of the border. DHS and DOS expect the date of full WHTI implementation to be in the summer of 2008. The precise implementation date will be formally announced with at least 60 days notice.

so it looks like they are not implemeting the new rule until summer of 2008. You should be all set with photo ID and state issued birth certificates (not hospital issued) but I would call DCL to double check

 

[marybet]

We are thinking about taking the grandkids on a cruise this summer. From what I have read they will need passports if we go in June. They have changed it so often, they could change it again. So we are going to have their parents get them passports, we of course will pay for them.

We are taking DH's parents on a cruise in Dec. so we won't have to get them passports. We got our passports two years ago to avoid the rush.

That is an extra expense for you. Why don't you call Disney and ask. You may not need them yet in March.

 

[nealymouse]

Are you flying at any point of this trip ? If you are flying into any foreign country for this cruise you will need a passport.

If you are traveling by land and sea only your kids Birth certificates will do but they have to be original with a raised stamp no photo copies.

I do want to stress that this will change very soon and it really is best to spend the money as soon as you can affored it and get passports for your kids. Total cost per child will be $82.00 good for 5 years if they are under 16 yrs of age. If your kids are under the age of 14 both parents need to be present in order to apply for the kids passports.

I just started working for the Passport information center (this week still training) so this was a great question for me LOL.

I am not 100% sure I am giving you the right info so PLEASE call

1-877-487-2778

its the Passport Information Center

 

[HamTown]

My understanding is that you will not need them for the cruise, but if something happened and you needed to fly home, you would be out of luck. Cruisecritic.com would have all the latest info, but also has some pretty scary stories about people without passports who had to be medically evacuated from the ship in Mexico and without a passport, couldn't get home to the US.

Bottom line, go ahead and get the passports for the kids. Yes, it's expensive, but it may save you a headache down the line.

 

[sweet angel]

I have an odd passport question. You don't UPDATE your passport photo right? What you've got when you get it is what stays for 10 years (or 5 for kids)? That seems so weird to me as you really can change how you look over the course of that many years.

 

[KristiKelly]

We just got passports for the 5 of us. I was told by our travel agent that you will need a passport everywhere EXCEPT U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix & St. John) and Puerto Rico. We are taking our kids to the Dominican Republic for their Christmas present so needed them.

We were also told to allow 14 weeks to get them. We sent our apps off on 8/24/07 and we received all 5 passports on Monday 9/24. I was very impressed. I am still waiting on DS birth cert. to be returned though.

 

[Beth76]

I have an odd passport question. You don't UPDATE your passport photo right? What you've got when you get it is what stays for 10 years (or 5 for kids)? That seems so weird to me as you really can change how you look over the course of that many years.

Yes. That is correct. You keep the same picture for as long as you have your passport. Ten years for adults, 5 for kids--even infants.

We just got passports for the 5 of us. I was told by our travel agent that you will need a passport everywhere EXCEPT U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix & St. John) and Puerto Rico. We are taking our kids to the Dominican Republic for their Christmas present so needed them.

We were also told to allow 14 weeks to get them. We sent our apps off on 8/24/07 and we received all 5 passports on Monday 9/24. I was very impressed. I am still waiting on DS birth cert. to be returned though.

Anyone who is flying out of the country needs a passport now. It's the cruise travel that's up in the air right now. To cruise now you do not need a passport if going to the Caribbean or Mexico. But that is changing sometime next year. Maybe January, maybe June. It keeps changing.

As for passport processing time, I applied in March 30 and it took 19 weeks to get them. Apparently, they seem to have caught up in the past couple of weeks and are back to normal processing time. Although I would still get the apps in early just in case.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

For peace of mind I would get everyone in my family passports. If there is an emergency and you have to evacuated by air you are going to run into some red tape. I know it's an added expense, but I really think it is worth it.

 

[Bearvet]

DS18 and I just got new passports - our old ones expired a few years ago. It only took 2 weeks to receive them (from the date they were processed!)! Since DS is in college now, I wanted him to have a passport in case something came up.

I need to get DH to renew his and get DS14 and DS12 to get theirs for the first time. It is so much easier to keep them current and renew. We don't have a trip coming up but I wanted to be prepared. Better safe than sorry.

Just wanted to let everyone know that they are processing them very quickly now. Two week and it was NOT expedited.

 

[nealymouse]

I just learned in class last night that if you are flying say to Hawaii and your plan is re-routed to a foreign country and YOU DON'T HAVE A PASSPORT you cant get off the plane.

Jan the passport offices will again be bombarded with applicants due to the new laws and it may go back to waiting several weeks (13 weeks for some) VS 4 to 6 weeks now for your passport to come.

NOW IS THE TIME to apply if you want to beat the rush. I cant stress that enough

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Being in SoCal, do you go to Mexico at all? Because you'll need passports soon for that. As for cruising, the dates keep changing. It was Jan 08, but I've also seen June 08. I know it's a big expense but I feel better having them. Then there's no question about having the right documents.

Nah, we live about 2 hours away but we don't visit. TJ is a little too crazy and I defintely wouldn't take the kids there. My dh and I have our passports though if we needed to go for some reason.