Passports

[StitchyPoo81]

hi,
Do my kids need passports to go to Nassau ? Or Castaway ?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

hi,
Do my kids need passports to go to Nassau ? Or Castaway ?

Legally, the minimum requirement for ID for US citizens on a closed loop cruise (begins and ends in the same US port) is a birth certificate, plus (for those 16 and over) a government-issued photo ID.

A passport would be necessary for flying home from a foreign port, if there were an emergency of some sort, however.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

hi,
Do my kids need passports to go to Nassau ? Or Castaway ?

It's not required, but it is recommended in case of an emergency where you would have to disembark and fly home. There's a high probability they wouldn't need the passport. It's just a question of do you want an additional hoop to jump through in the event of an emergency? I got one for my daughter and I view it as insurance. Chances are we wouldn't need it but it gave me piece of mind "just in case".

 

[MunFam]

I believe that you only need a passport if you do not have one with you. Therefore, we always have passports and never need them.

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

It's a closed loop cruise so you don't have to have passports (birth certificate and govt issued id for you and birth certificate for minor children is fine) but it leaves you open to the "what ifs".
If it is your first cruise and you're not sure if you'll ever do it again or not I may just wing it but if you think you'll be going again in the future (and odds are you will, Disney cruises really are amazing as everyone says) then i'd just put out the money for the peace of mind.
Your passport will be good for 10 years and your minor children's are good for 5.

 

[MUN]

hi,
Do my kids need passports to go to Nassau ? Or Castaway ?

No, not on a cruise.

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

No, not on a cruise.

Not on a closed-loop cruise, anyway.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

One more thing. They will need an official state-issued Birth Certificate in any case. Not just a Hospital one, one from the state they were born in.

So if you aren't sure if you have the right thing, double check.

We decided to get passports for our boys and the week before our appointment at the post office I went to the file cabinet drawer where I had (I thought) placed there birth certificates 14 and 15 years earlier, only to find that one of them was missing. It took 4 weeks for the state of to send me a new one. (The state DS was born in, not the state we now live in.) So I had to reschedule our passport appointment. Luckily we still had plenty of time, but for us, getting passports had the advantage of making sure we had their proper birth certificates. This will come in handy again in a couple years when they go to get driver's licenses. (Yikes!)

 

[StitchyPoo81]

Thanks. My oldest has a passport but not the other 2. I'm just going on the 3 day cruise I think I will just bring their birth certificates. Passports are crazy expensive

 

[bumbershoot]

Since they don't need them for the trip that's fine. And the number of places where you might end up having to get on a commercial flight if there's an emergency, while on a 3 night cruise, is low.

But...$105 for something that gives a kid the whole world for 5 years? Doesn't seem that bad to me.

 

[over50visits]

hi,
Do my kids need passports to go to Nassau ? Or Castaway ?

They do not on the closed loop cruises. If you are concerned about an emergency where you would have to fly home, then you might consider getting passports, just for peace of mind. However, if you believe your odds of having to fly home are minuscule, and want to save the expense of a passport, remember the US embassy can always issue an emergency passport for you to get back to the US. Inconvenient? Yes. Gets you home? Yes. This is where your comfort level comes in.

Many tens of thousands of people cruise the Bahamas and Caribbean every year without passports. A handful need to come back unexpectedly.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

When people consider traveling without a passport, I am not sure they envision all that could go wrong resulting in them needing one.

In this case, what would happen if your parent passed away unexpectedly and you needed to fly home? Wouldn't you all want to fly home together?

What would happen if your DH had a heart attack and needed to remain hospitalized while out of the country. Maybe Grandma would fly to where you are and get the kids so you could stay with your DH in the hospital. Grandma wouldn't be able to take the kids because they don't have a passport.

Or, what if your oldest child became ill and needed hospitalization and you chose to stay with him while Daddy takes the others home. It couldn't happen as they wouldn't have passports.

What if you missed the ship in Nassau and need to fly home? You'd be stuck.

My mind could go on and on with different scenarios. $105/pp is a small price to pay for complete peace of mind. Thousands of people travel every year without them, but I need complete peace of mind so we choose to travel with passports. I didn't enjoy paying the fee x4 -- no one does -- but it has been worth it.