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Passports for children?


lovebears
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Do those of you that cruise the children have passports for them? I understand the closed loop rules and the need for a passport if there were a medical emergency. I just am curious how many go ahead and get passports. We are taking our grandson 10 & 6 on their first 5 day cruise in November. They probably won't be needing a passport within the 5 yrs following this cruise. Thanks in advance

 

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We did for our 4 yr old who was suppose to go on his first cruise this past Nov. Now he' not going til next year. But, we also plan on getting several uses out of it.

 

We did it just in case of emergency. I know it can be a tough call if you know it will only get one use.

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When we started cruising it would have cost about $850 for the 7 of us for a 4 day cruise. We analyzed the risk and decided that we would wait to get passports when we actually needed them for the type of travel we were doing. As long as you understand the risk (which is low for most people) and are comfortable with it then it's your decision.

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We have been cruising for 12 years and our sailing in 3 weeks is the first one where EVERYONE has a passport ( 10 of us). We have worked up to it and also now we have them expiring in different years which is easier on the budget. I am glad we all have them now, but we did get them in the order of need starting with parents, then kids who needed them for international land trips and then the little guys.

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We got our oldest a passport for his first closed loop cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. He used the passport for his first international flight to Copenhagen for a Baltic cruise, and needed a second passport for his second international flight to London.

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Yes — our son started cruising at age 4 on a closed loop cruise, but we have since taken him on a few trips/cruises that require passports, so we are very glad that we got him one.

 

Could we have waited? Sure. Do we regret getting him a passport when we did? Not at all!

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We waited until our child was 9 to get the 1st passport. Only negative is they are only good for 5 years and now the next time it expires, it's all his expense to renew. With closed loop travel you don't need one, but each time we were ask for documentation, we all were moved along with no issues.

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The experiences of other people cannot tell you what to do. The decision is totally based on how YOU weigh "risk" vs. "cost".

 

The risk of needing a passport for the child is low, but it does exist. If you feel that the cost outweighs the risk of needing the passport, then don't get it.

 

However, if you are a "risk-adverse", person, then the cost of the passport will probably be worth it to you no matter that the risk is small.

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Is it required? For a closed loop cruise leaving from and returning to the US, I think the answer is no. Does my 15 month old, whom we will be cruising with in May have a passport, yes he does. This is mostly because we traveled internationally with him when he was 6 months old, so needed a passport then, and it is valid for 5 years.

 

Would I get my son a passport for the cruise if he didn't already have one? Yes, for the same reason that I am renewing my passport because my expiry is within the next year. I like the peace of mind knowing we have the best documentation possible. We travel at least 1-2 a year and often like to travel internationally so like knowing that we can go anywhere a visa is not required on very short notice!

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We've had passports for our twins since they were months old, with their first cruise at 7 months. They are on their second passports now (age 8). They have only needed them once, for a land crossing into Canada while on excursion from an Alaskan cruise.

 

Would I get them again? Yes, but we cruise about twice a year. Given that, the cost is about $10 per kid per passport per cruise, so well worth the cost for the benefit.

 

Would I get them in your case? Given that they are unlikely to be needed again, and given that you're going on a 5-day cruise so likely just going to the Bahamas or such, probably not.

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Our twins got their first passports at 3 years old before their first cruise and always will have them. They were born prematurely and are prone to respiratory decompensations, so there’s no way we would travel internationally without passports and medical evacuation insurance.

 

We will be cruising yearly and possibly traveling internationally outside of cruising in the future, so they seemed a good investment for us.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

While not required, there aren’t many options for government issued widely accepted photo ID in kids, and I want our daughter to grow up travel ready with the mindset a passport is something you have. It can come in handy. It was cheap to add the passport card to the passport book order. Now I carry her card in my wallet so like my drivers license, I’ve got ID for her in case of surprises.

 

 

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We are not getting a passport for our upcoming cruise. We are a family of 5. I know the risks, but we never travel out of the country. This will be our first cruise, so if we like it and plan on going on more cruises, then we'll get one. I didn't want to spend $750 if we were not going to need them again.

 

 

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It is personal choice. My daughter has had her American and Ecuadorean passports since she was an infant, maybe 6 weeks old for the American and a few weeks later for the Ecuadorean one since we had to go to the embassy in Chicago. Still, we had to get her American passport renewed as a 24-hour emergency one year because I let it expire between trips and then my uncle got sick and we had to fly to Ecuador with barely over a day's notice.

 

If you don't have family overseas and don't particularly value international travel, then no need to pay the money. But in our family a passport is just a thing you need. You are more likely to take a last minute trip if you have your travel documents sorted out. I think we're going to take a trip to London and Greece next month but can't buy tickets until a couple of important dates get finalized. It would be a pain to have to do that whole emergency passport thing again, so for us it works better to just keep our travel documents current.

 

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I have em for simplicity's sake. Came in handy when we decided on an international vacation. TBH though, it's more for insurance in case we get stuck somewhere, lose their birth cert and/or social (I haven't seen mine in decades and use my passport as proof of citizenship for jobs, etc.).

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