Passport questions

[bumbershoot]

I’ve been told you need one in the case of an emergency (having to fly back) but I’m not sure?

Yes. That is true.

So if someone gets terribly ill or injured, or if something awful happens at home, and your party needs to fly home from a foreign country, before you do so you’ll be in a bureaucrat’s office paying a lot plus expediting fees to get a limited-time-use emergency passport.

I choose to not have to do that. So I have a passport.

Frankly we tell family if there is an emergency at home, we'll deal with it when we get home at the end of the trip.

So true. My now-ex is the POA, and I was the main caregiver for, for his mom, and if we were traveling internationally we told everyone what her choices were. Even if the worst happened, things could wait for most trips we took

You'll get probably 50/50 opinions. Weigh the cost of a passport against the possibility of an emergency. We always go with a passport, but we do other travel as well so it's a no brainer. I would say I'd be very nervous sailing without a passport during one of these government shutdowns. And since they seem to happen about once a year, I'd go with a passport.

What would a passport do during a shutdown that brings you peace of mind?

Nine US States require a passport for domestic travel now and the rest will follow eventually.

No states require a passport for flying domestically at this time. You can get on a domestic flight with NO ID still. See below.

Run Disney race DH left his wallet on the bus. While he went to try to chase down the bus, it hit me that his license was in the wallet and he would not be able to fly home the next day

Not currently true.

Look at the part under Forgot Your ID?: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification

That’s how my dad flies. He’s locked in a battle (in his mind) with the California dmv and hasn’t had a license or ID for years. And he flies about once a year. He gives himself plenty of time to chat with TSA.



Should any of the passport/real id stuff actually happen (look at the number of years it’s been going on and how many times it’s been postponed for an explanation of my hesitation to worry about this),then that’ll change. But until then...

Is a passport card enough to get back into the states in case of emergency?

Nope. Not by air.

The card is absolutely no better than birth certificate and ID for cruising on itineraries that don’t require passports.

And FYI this isn’t a Disney Cruise thing, it’s on all cruiselines that have the itineraries that allow it.

 

[mmouse37]

I stand corrected about the nine states currently needing passports to fly domestically. The article I read was obviously outdated.

Thanks for the correction. But I do stand by that we will need them for flying domestically in the not too distant future.

MJ

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Thank you for the information you have been very helpful.

Yes. That is true.

So if someone gets terribly ill or injured, or if something awful happens at home, and your party needs to fly home from a foreign country, before you do so you’ll be in a bureaucrat’s office paying a lot plus expediting fees to get a limited-time-use emergency passport.

I choose to not have to do that. So I have a passport.



So true. My now-ex is the POA, and I was the main caregiver for, for his mom, and if we were traveling internationally we told everyone what her choices were. Even if the worst happened, things could wait for most trips we took



What would a passport do during a shutdown that brings you peace of mind?



No states require a passport for flying domestically at this time. You can get on a domestic flight with NO ID still. See below.



Not currently true.

Look at the part under Forgot Your ID?: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification

That’s how my dad flies. He’s locked in a battle (in his mind) with the California dmv and hasn’t had a license or ID for years. And he flies about once a year. He gives himself plenty of time to chat with TSA.



Should any of the passport/real id stuff actually happen (look at the number of years it’s been going on and how many times it’s been postponed for an explanation of my hesitation to worry about this),then that’ll change. But until then...



Nope. Not by air.

The card is absolutely no better than birth certificate and ID for cruising on itineraries that don’t require passports.

And FYI this isn’t a Disney Cruise thing, it’s on all cruiselines that have the itineraries that allow it.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Passports are going to be needed in the future for domestic travel in the US. I use my passport as ID even when I fly NY to FL. It is not required yet but it is my go to form of ID when I travel anywhere. Nine US States require a passport for domestic travel now and the rest will follow eventually.

MJ

This is what we do. Being from Ma, they just rolled out the real ID thing last year. A bit of a mess. Not sure how things are going now. Don't have to rush or pay for an early license renewal since I have the passport for travel. We have had passports for years now. Kids too. Factored into the price/budget of our vacation. Legal document for your identification in most situations. Worth the cost and peace of mind for us.

 

[squirk]

I hate being cheap but after spending thousands on a cruise, over $400 on passports is painful... but probably smart.

I am guessing you are spending - at a bare minimum - at least $1,800 per person for that 7-day E. Carib. cruise. Probably more, if you are using more than one stateroom and/or anything better than a Cat 9. Is tacking $400 onto the cost of a +$6,000 cruise going to break you, or otherwise make the trip unfeasible?

Another way to put it - are you buying trip insurance? Because if so (and as @mmouse37 said), the reasons you buy the trip insurance are the same reasons you would want to buy the passports: you would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

I am guessing you are spending - at a bare minimum - at least $1,800 per person for that 7-day E. Carib. cruise. Probably more, if you are using more than one stateroom and/or anything better than a Cat 9. Is tacking $400 onto the cost of a +$6,000 cruise going to break you, or otherwise make the trip unfeasible?

Another way to put it - are you buying trip insurance? Because if so (and as @mmouse37 said), the reasons you buy the trip insurance are the same reasons you would want to buy the passports: you would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

I think we will go with passports. We do have travel insurance as a benefit on our credit card. Covers trip cancellation and interruption for up to 10k.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I think we will go with passports. We do have travel insurance as a benefit on our credit card. Covers trip cancellation and interruption for up to 10k.

How about medical/evacuation coverage?

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

How about medical/evacuation coverage?

I don’t know about evacuation coverage.

I did call our health insurance who said that we are covered out of the country as long as we are seen in an emergency room.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I don’t know about evacuation coverage.

I did call our health insurance who said that we are covered out of the country as long as we are seen in an emergency room.

That generally means that any emergency room visits would be covered. But not actual hospitalization, or evacuation.

It's not a bad idea to get the exact coverage spelled out, just so you know.

And, you'll be paying out of pocket at the time of treatment, and then request reimbursement once back home.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

According to the DCL website:

• Make sure your passports aren't expired or about to expire. Many countries require your passport to be valid up to 3 months after the completion of your cruise. Check the passport policies in the countries you plan to visit ahead of time.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/ships-cruises/required-documents/

 

[PrincessShmoo]

According to the DCL website:

• Make sure your passports aren't expired or about to expire. Many countries require your passport to be valid up to 3 months after the completion of your cruise. Check the passport policies in the countries you plan to visit ahead of time.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/ships-cruises/required-documents/

That "many countries require...3 months" thing generally doesn't apply to Caribbean cruises. Most of those countries that have such a requirement are in Europe.

To find out specific requirements for any country use this: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

That generally means that any emergency room visits would be covered. But not actual hospitalization, or evacuation.

It's not a bad idea to get the exact coverage spelled out, just so you know.

And, you'll be paying out of pocket at the time of treatment, and then request reimbursement once back home.

Ohhh okay. So can we get covered just for hospitalization and evacuation? We don’t need cancellation.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Ohhh okay. So can we get covered just for hospitalization and evacuation? We don’t need cancellation.

If you use one of the travel insurance comparison sites (google that), you can put in the parameters of what you want covered, and they will show you several different company's policies for you to choose from

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

If you use one of the travel insurance comparison sites (google that), you can put in the parameters of what you want covered, and they will show you several different company's policies for you to choose from

Thanks. I did that and found a policy that covers emergency evacuation.