Kids Passport or land sea card?

[steelebug]

Which do you do and why?

 

[kcashner]

What is a "land sea card?" Are you asking about a passport book vs. the passport card?

If so, the passport card is essentially worthless. For Bahamas/Caribbean cruises, no passport is needed. You need a certified birth certificate and people 18 and older need a government issued photo ID for these closed loop cruises. The passport card is good only for Canada/Mexico border crossings. People will argue that there is always the possibility of an emergency and the fact that you might need to fly home. The is true--there is always that possibility. In that event, a passport card is NOT enough and you would have to be issued an emergency passport by the US Embassy. It is a bit of a hassle to have to jump thru that hoop, but it would be done. Regulations require that when you return to the US, you must turn in the emergency passport and be issued a real passport.

The passport card is not adequate for European cruises.

My take--either spend the money and get a "real" passport, or don't spend anything and cruise with a certified birth certificate. Doing it half way makes no sense at all.

 

[MissReeRee]

Passport. Its so much more versatile.

 

[tvguy]

Passport. My kids used them frequently at home in place of their birth certificate for school, Little League and Soccer, getting their driver's licenses, first job, etc. So Passports aren't just for travel.

 

[n2mm]

All of my grandkids got passports this year. They are 1 yo, 3 yo, 5 yo and 16 years old. The 1 yo is going on two cruises this year and the others are taking their first cruise in November this year.

 

[Homemom]

Passport. Its so much more versatile.

I agree, we got them for everyone in our family.

 

[staffieri]

I like to have both. Passports are so expensive and I would hate to lose them, so when we got them it has an option for $10 to add a passport card. We did this. It has been great to have for cruises because it is the shape of a credit card and travel so easy and you can slip it in the carrier around your neck. I thought it was a great add on. So the passports stay home safe, and we use the cards when cruising or mission work in Mexico. Hope that helps.

 

[LydiaAch]

...The passport card is good only for Canada/Mexico border crossings....

From http://travel.state.gov/pdf/ppt_pptCard.pdf

"Valid when entering the United States
from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean
and Bermuda at land border crossings
or sea ports-of-entry. Not valid for
international travel by air."

 

[kcashner]

My point exactly--it won't do you any good if you have to make alternative arrangements to fly home in an emergency. It's only good if you return on the ship--in which case you didn't need it to begin with.

 

[bokolo]

My kids got passports 2 year ago at ages, 8, 6, 4. Yes they were expensive, but we wanted to make sure they could be transported by air in case of an emergency. It helped me with peace of mind not having to worry, since no one really plans on an emergency happening. Now I use them as an excuse to plan another trip so we feel like we got our money's worth!

 

[Anal Annie]

We all have passports...now we're all set for our trip next summer to Europe for the Med cruise. Going to Paris first then staying after in Barcelona for a few days. Soooo glad that we are all up to date on our passports. If you plan ahead you can stagger when you get them so you don't have a huge expense for everyone all at once when it's time to renew.

 

[deanna23]

We have passports just to be on the safe side. If anyone gets sick and we need to fly home, I want to be able to do this. Deanna

 

[kcashner]

Have passport prices increased yet? I know in April it was in the works, but I don't know what the effective date ended up being (in early April it had not been established yet). There is a requirement that after they decide to raise rates, it has to be posted for a number of days, etc. When we found that they were planning the increase, I renewed DD's passport rather than waiting 6 months or so as I'd previously planned.

 

[birkner]

Have passport prices increased yet? I know in April it was in the works, but I don't know what the effective date ended up being (in early April it had not been established yet). There is a requirement that after they decide to raise rates, it has to be posted for a number of days, etc. When we found that they were planning the increase, I renewed DD's passport rather than waiting 6 months or so as I'd previously planned.

I don't know what the planned increase was for but I paid $75.00 for non expedited when I renewed my passport on June 25 for the WBTA cruise in Sept. I didn't want to pay an additional $60 to have it expedited as I was told there is enough time. I do know that I can go to San Francisco if I don't get it in time or pay to have it expedited. DH's company paid a fortune to have his expedited when he had to travel to Asia and his passport was within the 6 month window so no it can be done. Got passport in a few days.

DH's doesn't expire for 4 more years and DD's is in 2015.

Good thing I checked!! I had forgotten I had renewed in June 2000 right before we went to Europe. Only reason I checked is to put our info on DCL site. I was told by Passport Agency I sent it to allow enough time to process.

 

[birkner]

Which do you do and why?

I vote for Passports for traveling, for school trips and identification. Having them allows me to take the kids and GK's on special cruises without much notice.

As a gift, I paid for the passports for all my kids and GK's. We made it a special occasion for the GK's as both mother and father had to be there to get them. We had pictures taken together, went to the Passport Office together and had a big lunch afterward.