Passport needed for baby?

[mfars]

Hi, I'm traveling with my 13 month old leaving out of NY going to port canavral, Nassau and GSC does she need a passport? Does my hubby? Or will a birth certificate be okay?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

if it is a closed loop cruise none of you need passports. You need a certified an original birth certificate and your drivers license. The baby also needs the birth certificate but doe not need a photo id.

 

closed loop means that you begin and end at the same port.

[Mrsdigi]

Hi, I'm traveling with my 13 month old leaving out of NY going to port canavral, Nassau and GSC does she need a passport? Does my hubby? Or will a birth certificate be okay?

 

We will be cruising with our 1 year old and 6 year old and will be getting passports. That way if something happens and we have to fly home from a foreign country we will have them for all four of us. As PP said, you don't NEED it but for me, I'd rather be safe than sorry as they say. Happy Cruising.

[crusinmama06]

Both above are exactly right :D

 

It is not required to CRUISE on a closed loop but it is certainly required to FLY BACK if anything happens on that closed loop.

 

And I know that there are people on this board that have been on dozens of cruises with their children without incident and use birth certificates.

 

Unfortunately - my family hasn't been that lucky. We have seen the inside of a ship's medical center - TWICE. Once was serious enough to be removed from the ship. The second time it could have been but by some blessing - we weren't removed. (Ohhhh I was holding my breath)

 

So my girls are on their 2nd set of passports. They are VERY worth it to us.

[flhokie]

We're taking 2 year old DD on her first cruise in May (closed loop) and are working on submitting for her passport within the next 2 weeks (trying to get acceptable photos tomorrow--the biggest challenge in our eyes).

 

She does not need one, but if anything happens that would require us to fly home at least we wouldn't have to deal with trying to get an emergency passport in a foreign country. DH and I both have them and wouldn't think of cruising without them.

 

As cruisinmama said, you never know when/why your might have to fly home. It could be your health, your child's health, a family emergency at home, missing the ship in port, mechanical issue with the ship, etc.

[celle]

I have only one more thing to add: there are no concessions made for the age (or youth) of any person.

 

• If an adult needs a passport for a cruise, so does a baby or child.
  
• If an adult does not need a passport, nor does a baby or child.
  

 

Once upon a time, children could be included on a parent's passport. Not any more.

[crusinmama06]

flhokie - you are having trouble with the pictures? The first set - my kids were really young (as young as your child) and we simply walked into one of those photo stores and said "we need passport photos".

 

For the renewals - we went right to the post office and they did them. I printed off all of the forms online and had them all filled out before we got there. (The child renewals are just like starting all over again).

 

We did make an appointment and both parents had to be there. (Or that would have been another form).

 

The photos were done in the time it took to snap the photo and the post office worker took my check - stapled it to my paperwork - stapled the photos to the paperwork and we were on our way :)

[laurasue]

flhokie - you are having trouble with the pictures? The first set - my kids were really young (as young as your child) and we simply walked into one of those photo stores and said "we need passport photos".

This! We went to Walgreens and they will reprint should there be any problems with the photo being accepted. Sure we probably could have tried ourselves, but this was easier/faster. Our 2.5 year old is pretty squirmy. ;)

[boulders]

I just want to point out that the information regarding birth certificates being accepted applies to: US citizens who are going on a closed loop cruise leaving and returning from the U.S. , who were born in the US and have a state issued original birth certificate. They must also have another form of photo ID if they are over 16. All others need a passport.

 

I read on the boards this weekend, the tale of someone who was not allowed on their cruise because their US birth certificate was issued in Germany.

 

For people travelling with minors, please also make sure that you have the proper documentation to show that you are legally allowed to take them out of the country.

[092306]

We will be cruising with our 1 year old and 6 year old and will be getting passports. That way if something happens and we have to fly home from a foreign country we will have them for all four of us. As PP said, you don't NEED it but for me, I'd rather be safe than sorry as they say. Happy Cruising.

 

Exactly! We go DS's when he was 7 months old for this reason. They're good for 5 years (adult is good for 10).

[dwjoe]

I read on the boards this weekend, the tale of someone who was not allowed on their cruise because their US birth certificate was issued in Germany.

That case was someone who tried to cruise using their German birth certificate, which does not prove US citizenship even if the place of birth is listed as a US military base. What he needed was a US Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

 

I just want to point out that the information regarding birth certificates being accepted applies to: US citizens who are going on a closed loop cruise leaving and returning from the U.S. , who were born in the US and have a state issued original birth certificate, or naturalization certificate, or consular report of birth abroad. They must also have another form of photo ID if they are over 16. All others need a passport, or for cruises within the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative countries, a passport card, enhanced driver's license, or other WHTI compliant document.

Clarifications in red. I do agree with your note of caution regarding the birth certificate, especially in unusual circumstances e.g. born abroad, unusual birth location, delayed birth certificate, unusual birth certificate format, etc. In such a case it can be advantageous to apply for at least a passport card, so that the birth certificate is pre-vetted by the Department of State.

 

FYI, all hospital issued birth certificates, as well as Puerto Rico birth certificates issued prior to 7/1/2010 are invalid for travel purposes.

[dwjoe]

I have only one more thing to add: there are no concessions made for the age (or youth) of any person.

 

• If an adult needs a passport for a cruise, so does a baby or child.

There is one exception to this: US and Canadian children under age 16 can use just a birth certificate for all cruise travel whether closed loop or not, as long as it's within the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative countries.

 

There is a difference in practice in two cases:

-A US child travelling on a non-closed loop cruise can use a BC. An adult cannot.

-A Canadian child on a closed-loop or non-closed loop cruise can use a BC. An adult cannot.

 

Yes it's all very convoluted. ;)

[bean24]

I'm with Cruisemama we have also seen the inside of the medical center twice once we stayed on after an in port visit to the land hospital. The second with my completely healthy 10 month old, in Bermuda, he was deemed too sick to risk 2 days at sea and we had to fly home. I can't imagine how much more stressful that would have been without passports.

[flhokie]

Thanks for the tips on passport photos. We went to CVS by our house & it went great---left her buckled in cart & right in front of the screen. We are going early Tuesday morning to apply.

[cherylandtk]

Just want to update one more thing, for single parents taking their minor child(ren) on Princess, a passport is now required, despite the WHTI exception. This only applies when there is only one adult traveling with minors.

[crusinmama06]

Just want to update one more thing, for single parents taking their minor child(ren) on Princess, a passport is now required, despite the WHTI exception. This only applies when there is only one adult traveling with minors.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I haven't personally been on Princess and I bet many wouldn't catch that one. From their web site.

 

PASSPORT REQUIREMENT WHEN MINORS TRAVEL WITH ONE ADULT ON VOYAGES GOVERNED BY THE U.S. WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL INITIATIVE (includes travel within BERMUDA, CANADA, CARIBBEAN, HAWAII, MEXICO, PANAMA CANAL, UNITED STATES) When minors are traveling with only one adult 21 years of age or older, Princess requires that all passengers must be in possession of a valid passport. We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more in your party to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all passengers traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the of the cruise or cruisetour fare.

[flhokie]

The Carnival Dream situation is a good illustration about why a passport is a good idea. Yes, Carnival is flying passengers back from St Martin, but there are most likely a lot of passengers without the necessary passport to fly to the US.

[dwjoe]

The Carnival Dream situation is a good illustration about why a passport is a good idea. Yes, Carnival is flying passengers back from St Martin, but there are most likely a lot of passengers without the necessary passport to fly to the US.

It may be a good idea to have a passport, but the Dream incident does not illustrate it. The passport requirement will be undoubtedly be waived by the State Dept and CBP due to extenuating circumstances.

 

The risk of travelling without a passport is if you get stuck in individual circumstances or a small group. No exception will be made and you'll have to get an emergency passport from the US consulate.