18 year old who doesn't have license - what documents would she need to board?

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Sailing with an 18 year old who doesn't have license or picture ID.  Would she be able to sail with just her

birth certificate and no picture ID?  Sailing on Carnival.

 

 

[bluetardis]

The 18 year old would need a state ID card for cruise as well as air travel.

[Z'Loth]

Why not have the 18yo get a passport? They are good for ten years, and if they are college-bound, they may get some opportunities for overseas travel. 

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

Sounds like the 18 yr old needs to get a state issued photo ID pronto.  Does the 18 yr old have a HS or college photo ID?

[ldubs]

I don't know about Georgia.  Here, it is pretty easy to go the the DMV and get a picture ID.  

[sparks1093]

No, she will need some sort of government issued photo ID in order to sail. You don't mention when you are sailing and hopefully you didn't wait until the last minute to ask this question. As mentioned she can get a photo ID from the state which would do the trick.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 12/7/2022 at 10:26 PM, GeorgiaMomof4 said:

Sailing with an 18 year old who doesn't have license or picture ID.  Would she be able to sail with just her

birth certificate and no picture ID?  Sailing on Carnival.

Choice 1:  Get a passport. 

Choice 2:  Get a DMV identification card to go with the birth certificate.  Don't mess around with a school ID or whatever else.  

[Philob]

If getting an ID from the DMV, might as well get the REAL ID one.

[Davechipp74]

What kind of future responsible adult does not have a proper ID by the age of 18?   

[njhorseman]

26 minutes ago, DAVECHIPP1974 said:

What kind of future responsible adult does not have a proper ID by the age of 18?   

I was "a future responsible adult" who grew up in NY City and had no need to drive as I could take mass transit almost everywhere, so I didn't get a drivers license until I was 22 and had moved to the suburbs.

 

How about a young person who has physical or intellectual challenges and can't drive? A school ID probably would suffice for their other ID needs, but a school ID isn't valid for  cruising.

Edited December 12, 2022 by njhorseman

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, DAVECHIPP1974 said:

What kind of future responsible adult does not have a proper ID by the age of 18?   

 

Wow, good one!  

[bluetardis]

You need a state ID for even opening a bank account.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

I was "a future responsible adult" who grew up in NY City and had no need to drive as I could take mass transit almost everywhere, so I didn't get a drivers license until I was 22 and had moved to the suburbs.

 

How about a young person who has physical or intellectual challenges and can't drive? A school ID probably would suffice for their other ID needs, but a school ID isn't valid for  cruising.

My clients with significant cognitive impairments have government state IDs for voting, travel and for State/ Federal benefits.  

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, bluetardis said:

You need a state ID for even opening a bank account.

Not everyone has a bank account:

 

https://www.fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey/index.html#:~:text=An estimated 4.5 percent of,a bank or credit union.

 

"An estimated 4.5 percent of U.S. households (approximately 5.9 million) were “unbanked” in 2021, meaning that no one in the household had a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union."

[Mum2Mercury]

I taught high school seniors for 30 years.  In the last decade, more and more of my students didn't drive -- it was mainly about money:  lots of families can't afford insurance for their teens, and a lot of part-time jobs for teens disappeared.  I get it.  My husband and I were insuring two cars and a house.  We added a third car when our oldest turned 16, and our insurance literally doubled. 

 

Anyway, if you're a teen who doesn't drive and your family doesn't travel internationally, it's quite likely the only ID in your wallet would be your school ID.  

 

I talked to the credit union about opening an account for my infant grandson.  They told me I just needed to bring in his SS# -- not the card, just the number.  Of course, that was going to be what they call a "Minor by" account -- an account opened for a child by a parent /grandparent, and it would've been under my accounts /under my control. 

 

Did I show an ID when I opened my accounts?  I don't know; I've been with the credit union since I was 17 years old /about to start my senior year in high school.  

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[Davechipp74]

4 hours ago, njhorseman said:

How about a young person who has physical or intellectual challenges and can't drive?

Any person of lawful status at any age can get a proper non driver state ID 

[sparks1093]

I've seen a couple of folks say that a school ID isn't sufficient. The regulations only say that a government issued photo ID is required. Here is what one cruise line (Carnival) says in its FAQ:

 

Photo Identification

A non-expired government-issued photo I.D. is required of all guests 16 years of age and older. The following are acceptable:

• Driver's License (a temporary Driver's License with photo is acceptable)
• Driver's Permit
• School/Student I.D. (acceptable for guests 16/17/18 years of age)
• Government-issued identification card including a U.S. Military I.D. with photo (city/state/federal)
• Government-issued Trusted Traveler Program Membership Card (NEXUS/SENTRI/FAST) - for photo identification use only

 

As the bolded text says, a Student ID is acceptable for those who are 16–18-year-old. Now before anyone says "well, it's only Carnival" remember that while a cruise line may impose a stricter standard than what the regulations require, they cannot accept less (it helps that OP is sailing on Carnival as well). Also note that there is no distinction made between a public and private school. 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by sparks1093

[Honolulu Blue]

A short post about my list of IDs before this thread explodes:

 

Photo ID requirements have gone way up since I was a youngster, and especially since 2001.  I'm fairly certain I didn't have a photo school ID through high school.  I'm trying to recall if I had a school ID at all - I don't think so, certainly not before 10th grade.  In college I had an ID - its primary purpose was so that they could put a sticker on it, so they knew when I ate at the residence hall dining hall.  It didn't have a picture, I'm pretty sure.

 

Fun story about my first drivers' license... back when even perpetually broke school districts like mine subsidized things like drivers' ed, I was a pretty bad driver when I graduated that course (parents had a car that was too nice and weren't patient enough for much practice).  But I aced the final exam; my instructor told me that if I could do that well I'd eventually figure out driving well enough to be decent at it.  SPOILER ALERT:  I did.  But I got my first DL primarily for ID purposes as I was heading off to college that fall.  I suspect I wasn't the only one in that era.

[njhorseman]

6 hours ago, DAVECHIPP1974 said:

Any person of lawful status at any age can get a proper non driver state ID 

Of course they can get one, but that doesn't mean they actually have gotten one.

[d9704011]

11 hours ago, DAVECHIPP1974 said:

What kind of future responsible adult does not have a proper ID by the age of 18?   

Certain types of tattoos would probably qualify as ID.

[mjkacmom]

12 hours ago, bluetardis said:

You need a state ID for even opening a bank account.

My kids had bank accounts at 16, used their HS ID’s, drivers licenses issued at 17 here.

[Hlitner]

I want to caution readers that this thread is about closed loop cruises on Carnival.   Cruise lines can (and some do) have the right to impose their own ID standards.  Some lines (Oceania is one example) require all passengers to have a valid Passport.  Cruisers should also consider that if they must leave a cruise (during the voyage) in other countries, not having a Passport becomes a complicated problem.  Why do folks leave cruises early?  Personal medical emergency or problems at home (that require folks to quickly return) are just two reasons.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

19 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I want to caution readers that this thread is about closed loop cruises on Carnival.   Cruise lines can (and some do) have the right to impose their own ID standards.  Some lines (Oceania is one example) require all passengers to have a valid Passport.  Cruisers should also consider that if they must leave a cruise (during the voyage) in other countries, not having a Passport becomes a complicated problem.  Why do folks leave cruises early?  Personal medical emergency or problems at home (that require folks to quickly return) are just two reasons.

 

Hank

Good points- but not the sort of advice many Carnival cruisers want to hear —- and not relevant to theme of this thread.

[Mum2Mercury]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

... As the bolded text says, a Student ID is acceptable for those who are 16–18-year-old ... Also note that there is no distinction made between a public and private school. 

I hear what you're saying, but a school ID doesn't feel like "enough"; that is, the security behind it isn't nearly so strict as the DMV /driver's licenses.  I was in charge of school pictures for years, and the person who makes the IDs is often the photographer.  Our school IDs were just a picture and a name -- no birth date, no address, etc.; again, this makes the school ID feel "lesser". 

Many of our students were insanely excited to have those school IDs -- mostly because it was their first photo ID card.  

Anyway, I'd be afraid of having a fuss about it at the terminal and wouldn't be willing to go with "just that".  

Regardless, why would public and private make any difference?  

4 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

... In college I had an ID - its primary purpose was so that they could put a sticker on it, so they knew when I ate at the residence hall dining hall ... But I got my first DL primarily for ID purposes as I was heading off to college that fall.  I suspect I wasn't the only one in that era.

 

Yes, my college ID was my first school ID -- and, as you said, it got me into the residence hall and the cafeteria.  

I had a driver's license before I went away to college, but I didn't have a car of my own /didn't have insurance.  Today you can't have a license without proof of insurance, making a license much more expensive -- and, as I said above, many of my students' families just can't afford it.  More than a few of them drive without a license.  

54 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

My kids had bank accounts at 16, used their HS ID’s, drivers licenses issued at 17 here.

Mine had savings accounts and driver's licenses at an early age too, but we are a family that had resources and "thought ahead" to building a future for our kids. 

A whole lot of my students' families are just trying to put food on the table today -- even some who don't appear to be hanging on by a thread.  Those families aren't thinking about starting the kids out right with bank accounts, etc.   

52 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

... Cruise lines can (and some do) have the right to impose their own ID standards ... 

Why do folks leave cruises early?  Personal medical emergency or problems at home (that require folks to quickly return) are just two reasons.

This is exactly why I'd be nervous about traveling with a school ID as identification.  Additionally, since most people have a driver's license, a school ID is not what the cruise staff is used to, and "unusual" can prove to be difficult. 

As for leaving early, no matter what kind of ID you're traveling with, that's difficult to manage.  You'd have to wait until the ship reaches an island, then you'd have to hope the island's small airport had a seat available, and you'd have to be able to pay last-minute prices for that ticket.  Realistically, leaving a cruise early is difficult and expensive.  But I digress.  

Edited December 12, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[Hlitner]

This ID problem has long been a "hot button" issue here on CC.  We come at the issue from the perspective of a person who has cruised and traveled (all over the world) for more than 50 years!  I have made no secret of my recommendation that folks should not leave the country without having a valid Passport!  I understand that this is expensive and a royal pain for folks just taking a few closed loop cruises, but we have seen, and been personally involved, in multiple situations where having a valid Passport was very important.  Most recently, DW was injured on a cruise and sent, off the ship, to a nearby hospital in Mexico.  The first thing required at the hospital was our Passports.  If we had been forced to stay at the hospital, more than a few hours, and missed our ship we would have been fine since we had Passports and credit cards.  Otherwise, things would have become very complicated and likely delayed any departure (back to the USA) as we worked through the bureaucracy of two countries (Mexico and the USA) necessary before we would have been able to fly home.  All of us think that these things only happen to others, but that is akin to rolling the dice in a craps game.

 

I will add that even if you do not have a valid Passport, "things will work out" and eventually you would get home.  But the process can become very messy, cause multiple delays, and also get expensive.  And consider that if you are dealing with a real emergency (which is likely the case in such situations) a delay can be very frustrating and possibly dangerous (i.e. if it delays medical treatment).

 

Hank