10 year old and Passport

[PGCRUISERS]

We are taking our 10 year old granddaughter and her Mom on a cruise for Spring Break 2017. We all have passports but are unsure if she needs one or not. Any thoughts appreciated.

[seannyice81]

Her birth certificate will suffice.

[BeachChik]

We are taking our 10 year old granddaughter and her Mom on a cruise for Spring Break 2017. We all have passports but are unsure if she needs one or not. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

If you are doing a closed loop cruise, starts and ends in a US port, you do not have to have a passport. They are not yet mandatory for cruising.

[hftmrock]

no one (including your 10 year old) 'needs' a passport on a closed loop cruise

 

However....

 

in the worst case scenario and you all miss the ship at your ports or there is a medical emergency and you have to stay at a port, there will be some delay and cost in leaving the port while you obtain a temporary passport from the consulate of the port.

[dacsmom]

If you all have passports anyway I would definitely take it.

[Drazil65]

My 13 yr old DS has had a passport since he was 18 months old and we went to Europe for the first time. Would not travel with out it, in case of any medical or evacuation situation (including something happening to another family member on trip and you all need to fly back to USA from a port) the child would need the passport.

 

It's not a big deal to get and then you do not have to worry about it for 5 years (under 16 passports only good for 5 yrs), do it!

[loxley]

My 13 yr old DS has had a passport since he was 18 months old and we went to Europe for the first time. Would not travel with out it, in case of any medical or evacuation situation (including something happening to another family member on trip and you all need to fly back to USA from a port) the child would need the passport.

 

It's not a big deal to get and then you do not have to worry about it for 5 years (under 16 passports only good for 5 yrs), do it!

Or you can use his birth certificate and not worry about it either.

 

If something happens, everyone else has a passport. I would not worry about a ten year old child not having it. If no one had it, I might think different.

 

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[DaKa2002]

Our 15 month old grandson has his own passport. Get your 10 year old a passport.

Without it, you are playing the odds...

[ShakyBeef]

As others have said, it's not required for a close-looped cruise. But, since you said you're looking for any thoughts on it, as others have also said, I would not take my children out of the country without their passports.

 

My 9 yr-old is on her second passport already - she got her first when she was 10 months old for a fly-to trip to the Bahamas. It was funny when she was 4 yrs-old and the Customs agents would hold that passport picture of an infant (with my hands, holding her under the armpits, visible in the photo:rolleyes:) up beside her face and try to figure out if it was the same person.:p My 13 yr-old will be getting hers renewed along with us, this summer. All of my family members will always have passports and we will never leave the country without them. That's just how we roll.:)

[E&B]

Or you can use his birth certificate and not worry about it either.

 

If something happens, everyone else has a passport. I would not worry about a ten year old child not having it. If no one had it, I might think different.

 

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If something happens everyone else can get back to the US easily . . . except the 10 year old.

 

 

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[sparks1093]

Without it, you are playing the odds...

 

Since millions of passengers travel each year on closed loop cruises without any issues at all I'd say the odds are pretty good.

 

OP, a lot depends on what your travel needs are- if you are only going to be traveling by closed loops cruises once every year or so then the 10 year old having the passport isn't a bid deal. If you are planning on flying internationally in the near future then getting the passport now might be prudent. If you do go with just the birth certificate and there is an issue the only risk you face is the delay necessary to obtain an emergency travel document from the Embassy/Consulate. As I've said, the odds are heavily in your favor if you are like most passengers. (And just in case this thread gets moved some cruise lines require passports for all passengers regardless of itinerary, but Carnival is not one of them.)

[BeachChik]

Our 15 month old grandson has his own passport. Get your 10 year old a passport.

Without it, you are playing the odds...

 

People always say this but how many times have you ever heard of someone being stuck in a foreign country because they didn't have a passport? Hundreds of people per cruise travel on just birth certificates. Clearly it isn't that big of an issue or we would hear more about it and passports would be mandatory.

Edited February 21, 2016 by BeachChik

[katiel53]

The same rules basically apply to your granddaughter as for you. It is your choice to get her a passport. I got one for my 10 year old granddaughter last year and I thought it was a good investment. YMMV.

[loxley]

If something happens everyone else can get back to the US easily . . . except the 10 year old.

 

 

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You do realize that it is PEOPLE that make those calls. On the ultra small chance this child would need a passport if everyone else had one and had to go home, I bet something would be worked out real fast. The last thing border patrol would wasn't is an unaccompanied minor.

 

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[E&B]

You do realize that it is PEOPLE that make those calls. On the ultra small chance this child would need a passport if everyone else had one and had to go home, I bet something would be worked out real fast. The last thing border patrol would wasn't is an unaccompanied minor.

 

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They would require an adult stay with the child and accompany said minor to the US consulate to obtain an emergency passport. A much bigger process, causing delays, than if everyone had a passport and could just leave whenever they wanted. Would result in additional hotel and meal expenses as well. And the PEOPLE you refer to are government officials bound by law. Personal feelings do not play a part.

 

 

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[sparks1093]

They would require an adult stay with the child and accompany said minor to the US consulate to obtain an emergency passport. A much bigger process, causing delays, than if everyone had a passport and could just leave whenever they wanted. Would result in additional hotel and meal expenses as well. And the PEOPLE you refer to are government officials bound by law. Personal feelings do not play a part.

 

 

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The Consulate will act as quickly as the situation dictates to repatriate any citizen, including a ten year old. The circumstances will of course influence how long this will take, but the State Department does have the authority to waive the passport requirements for an emergency or for humanitarian reasons. A medical emergency will be dealt with differently than an overstay at Senor Frogs. It all depends how comfortable one is with the small risk involved.

[theplanner2010]

There is also a passport card ... Sort of like a drivers license ... It is much cheaper than a full passport although I don't remember all the details it might be a good middle option between passport and birth certificate.

[springs741]

There is also a passport card ... Sort of like a drivers license ... It is much cheaper than a full passport although I don't remember all the details it might be a good middle option between passport and birth certificate.

 

Worthless for international flights. Good for Driving across the borders into and out of Canada and Mexico.

[theplanner2010]

Worthless for international flights. Good for Driving across the borders into and out of Canada and Mexico.

 

You are correct ...good for cruising ID ...but not if you need to catch an international flight for any reason.

 

"The passport card is a wallet-size travel document that can only be used to re-enter the United States at land border-crossings or ports-of-entry by sea from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda

Edited February 22, 2016 by theplanner2010

[heatherhudson15]

We are taking our 10 year old granddaughter and her Mom on a cruise for Spring Break 2017. We all have passports but are unsure if she needs one or not. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

 

My husband and I have been traveling with our 3 daughters on cruises since 2002. They have been on 6 cruises, including the Sunshine 2 years ago (going again in 2 weeks). We have used their birth certificates EVERY time!!!! NEVER had an issue. We've done Mexican Riviera, Eastern and Western Caribbean and now Southern Caribbean. Like one of the other posters, if it was a major issue, Carnival would REQUIRE passports.

 

 

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[sparks1093]

Worthless for international flights. Good for Driving across the borders into and out of Canada and Mexico.

 

If the only travel one can do is crossing the land border and open/closed loop cruises in the Western Hemisphere then the passport card is a very viable alternative (so is an Enhanced Drivers License if one happens to live in a state that has them).

 

The passport card also has another advantage- if one does have an issue and needs to obtain assistance from the Embassy/Consulate then their information is already contained within the database making it much easier for them to issue an emergency travel document.

[CruiseBride926]

We've gone back and forth on this as well. My daughter will be 16 months when we cruise in September so my husband was worried her having a very outdated photo of her for 5 years but ultimately I would just feel better if she had one. It will more than likely be completely unnecessary but better safe than sorry.

 

 

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[ShakyBeef]

We've gone back and forth on this as well. My daughter will be 16 months when we cruise in September so my husband was worried her having a very outdated photo of her for 5 years but ultimately I would just feel better if she had one. It will more than likely be completely unnecessary but better safe than sorry.

 

 

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The outdated photo is accepted, just not incredibly useful for unscientific identification. But perfectly legal and allowed.:) It was always just a little chuckle-inducing moment for us (and the agent) when the agent would try to match up the faces.:p