Passport Cards for minor children??

[JMHAM1]

Has anyone used the US Passport Card for children boarding NCL ships? I booked today and all 6 of our children are going. The TA said that should be fine but the NCL rep was unsure.

 

The cost of the passport card is about half of that of the passport book. The government website said the card is good for Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean and we are hitting the Caribbean and Mexico.

 

Please let me know if anyone has recent experience using these cards. Thanks!

[sparks1093]

Has anyone used the US Passport Card for children boarding NCL ships? I booked today and all 6 of our children are going. The TA said that should be fine but the NCL rep was unsure.

 

The cost of the passport card is about half of that of the passport book. The government website said the card is good for Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean and we are hitting the Caribbean and Mexico.

 

Please let me know if anyone has recent experience using these cards. Thanks!

 

The passport card can't be used if you have to fly back, so if you aren't going to get the passports just use their birth certificates (and government id if they are 16 or older). (Unless of course you live near a border and they will get more use out of the passport cards.) (And to answer your question the passport card may be used for cruises as the website indicates.)

[Drinksforall]

I just paid for the full blown passport because I have a 11 and 3 yr old. I was told by more than one person that in the event of an serious injury or sickness and you needed to be airlifted back to the states that the "card' would not get you thru customs!

[southerndude39]

Exactly... the Passport Card can't be used for air travel.

 

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The U.S. Passport Card can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry and is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book. The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air.

[dwjoe]

The cards will work for travel by sea from the countries listed on the government web site, but not by air.

 

www.getyouhome.gov has the detailed info.

 

The cards are $40 for minors, vs $105 for the book (including the $25 execution fee).

 

You can also use birth certificates... but make sure they meet current requirements. There's another thread today about someone who got denied with an older birth certificate.

 

Advantages of Passport Card vs Birth Certificate:

-Standardized federal ID, less likely to have issues than birth certificate

-laminated, smaller, and easier to carry around in a wallet

-if you get stranded on a foreign island and need to travel by air, easier to get an emergency passport book if you already have a passport card

 

You have to decide if that's worth the money.

 

I got both passport book and card. The card is only $15 more for kids if you're already getting the book. The passport book covers all eventualities, and the card as backup and for going ashore.

[Tiggertastic]

It depends where you are sailing to also - our friends got their children full passports as the cards were not accepted in some countries - definitely not allowed anywhere in europe.

[Sauer-kraut]

They're a great government issued I.D. card if you don't have a drivers license though!

[blindrid]

Don't bother wasting time with a PP card - for this trip just use the birth cert's and save the money until you can swing real passports.

[JMHAM1]

Thanks for all the responses. I think since we have time what we will do is get PP's for the older kids who may have school trips or other travel before the exp date and then use the birth cert for the younger children who are unlikely to need a PP in the next few years.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Dh & I have always had full passports. Don't want to limit ourselves in any way, for any "Just-in-cases."