do my kids need passports for this trip?

[Lori in AZ]

We will be on Infinity going roundtrip from SF to Alaska. We will be visiting Vancouver and Victoria as part of the cruise ports. Both ports are Canadian. Do the kids need passports?

[CaptData]

Bye the looks of your signature you are not going for a couple of years yet, so yes under new rules they will require them. If you are going before Dec in 2006 check the US site for details on when they will be required.

[trcori]

I would VERY STRONGLY suggest you get passports for everyone.

We live in Seattle and go north of the border a couple times a year.

Post 9/11, the border guards on both sides started getting very grumpy with people who did not have passports. Even if that doesn't concern you, consider that the passport is your gold standard of ID as a US citizen. God forbid something should happen on a local or international basis while you are traveling, and suddenly all you have is a lower form of ID. All three of us (hub, me, son now 9) got passports in early 2002, before catching Cruise-O-Mania, and it is always comforting to have them along while traveling, whether they're "required" or not -- TR

[poetic license]

They will be required for travel outside the US, including Canada, 1-1-06. Passports for kids who apply under the age of 18 are only good for 5 years, though, so I would get them about 8 weeks before sailing. No need to have them when you won't need them using up precious months.

 

Also, both parents must be present when applying for them. It's a big pain, but I guess with all the parent-snatching headlines involving a foreign born parent spiriting children off to their native country from a few years back, the rules were tightened up to prevent such travestys.

[Happy ks]

A bit of mis-information here. The rquirements have changed, you will now be required to have a passport by 1/1/08. If you are 16 or older, the passport is good for 10 years, you don't have to be 18 for the longer passport.

 

For accurate information, go to the web site:

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

 

We got passports for our kids several years ago. Since we already had ours, it just seemed easier. They have come in handy a number of times and it does seem easier to travel with them.

 

You don't say when your Alaskan cruise is, if it is within the next couple of years, the next 2 years should be fine without them. Since they are a bit costly, we staggered ours, so we didn't have to pay for both all at once.

[Airb330]

They really should make them cheaper now. If you're going to need them for Canada and Mexico, there's a lot of people who need them just for that, and probably don't want to spend $80 some dollars. I do agree that they make traveling easier though :)

[Barry ATL]

I agree with trcori. What if (God forbid) a 9/11 happenes while out of the country and for some strange reason you ended up in a third country while trying to get home. During 9/11 lots of folks ended up spending a few days in countries they never intended to visit. What if our boarders are closed longer than a few days? I know those are gloomy thoughts, but things have happened in the last five years that we would never have thought possible a decade ago.

 

IMHO is a good idea to have passports for everyone even if it is not required.