To passport or not to passport.....

[jvas]

Ok DisFriends...want your advice.................

I am aware that passports are not really needed for the 4
day cruise but they do make boarding ect. much less of a hassle.
We will need to get 5 of them...at a cost of around $425.00.
Do you think it would be money well spent? I am not one who really likes carrying around a bunch of papers like birth certificates ect.....Thanks!

 

[Rippington'sFan]

If you want my opinion I wouldn't waste the $425 since passports are not necessary.

 

[Hans Solo]

Good Morning Jvas

My two cents worth on this subject is the passport is good for 10 years. If you plan to do any other travel outside of the USA in the next 10 years , I would go ahead and get the passports. Otherwise, just get the big envelope to hold the birth certificates. You will only need them to check-in before boarding.

 

[strasfamily]

I didn't think using birth certificate rather than a passport made it any more difficult. If I remember right, you only needed to show it twice, so it wasn't like you were carrying it around everywhere. Save yourself the $425 - that will buy you a lot of good souveniers!

 

[cjsmith]

I bring my passports that my husband and I have, but I bring my kids 3 birth certificates as they don't have passports. There really isn't any difference in the ease of either. Unless you plan on traveling over the next few years, I would save the money and just use the birth certificates. Spend the money on the cruise!

 

[amgpmg]

We are getting them this year. We did use bc in January and even though my bc had a raised seal, I was told that it was not acceptable because it was issued by a Military Hospital (Camp Pendleton) and not a county issued bc. Go Figure! They did let me cruise, but put me on an exception report. The CM that checked us in did say that it was better to get Passports as he was told that eventually that would be the requirement for check in. How true that was, I dont know, maybe it just makes his job easier. But I would rather be safe than sorry in my case.


Kathy

 

[SeaSpray]

I've had a passport for about 7 years now, DH got a passport last year when we were planning this past summer's cruise, and we will be getting DSs each a passport for our family cruise next summer.

Since there are 5 of you and you have over 200 days until you cruise, you can break it up, getting 2 or 3 passports now, then in a couple of months get the others. This way you won't have that big expense all at one time.

You don't NEED a passport to cruise, but we feel better having them and we feel it's worth it.

 

[kcashner]

I've always used my passport and my daughter's birth certificate. They were handled exactly the same way. There was no extra hassle because she was on a birth certificate only. I wouldn't spend the extra money, especially as kid passports expire more quickly than adult.

 

[wdwmom2]

My family will be using our bc's on our vacation in April. We considered getting passports, but personally I would rather spend the money, almost $400, on the vacation. I was concerned about using bc's, so I called DCL, and they said that there would be no problem. The $400 could buy alot of drinks and souveniers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Keggy]

I agree with wdwmom2! Use the $425 to spend on the cruise! My husband has a passport and I do not. I have used my BC on my past three cruises. The BC is no more of a hasstle than a passport. You show it once for a few seconds. I get an envelope that I keep all my important papers in. The BC, passport, cruise docs, etc - all go in there. I put them in the suitcase after I unpack and leave them there for the week!

Now, if you are planning on going out of the country other than a cruise, it would be a good investment. If not, don't worry about it.

Kelly

 

[MagicMouseketeers]

My DWs birth certificate was fairly beat up. So she decided to get a passport. I already had one that my employer had paid for. We plan on another trip outside the country in the next 10 years so it seemed worth it.

We choose not to get them for the kids since they don't need a picture id. The kids passport only last for 5 years, so it seemed like a waste of money.

 

[Lisa F]

I also wanted to add that if you are nervous about taking your only copy of birth certificates with you, you can probably get duplicates with fresh raised seals (so there won't be any question if you have older ones) for MUCH less than $425.

 

[wdwmom2]

Lisa F, yes that is what we did. I searched Yahoo putting in the birth state name and then vital records. I received the bc's in approximately 1 week and not a one was over $15. Price can vary state to state. Make sure that you click on the state's web site and not an agency that you pay extra for them getting the bc's for you.