Boarding Royal Carribean Tomorrow - Scanned copy of birth certificate

Hey everyone. I have a huge problem. I am boarding a cruise tomorrow and just realized my passport is expired. I checked the cruiseline's policy on closed loop cruises that leave and arrive back to the same port to Mexico.

The website says that to board you need A) a photo ID and B) proof of citizenship. I have a printed scanned copy of my original birth certificate from the city of New York. I talked to two different people at RC and they were not able to help me very much with an answer.

Would the scanned copy of the birth certificate count as a proof of citizenship? It has the birth certificate document number, birth date, name, hospital of birth, all that stuff. Would it help if I went to a bank and got that print out notarized? How about if I wrote a document saying something like "This is to certify that I, X, am a lawful citizen of the United States and the accompanying copy of my birth certificate is valid."

They're not going to allow you to type your own letter saying you're a citizen. Anyone can do that, so it's not legal.

You may have a problem with a scanned copy. Is there some kind of watermark that you can see in the copy? Bring your expired passport along with the birth certificate. Just be prepared if they don't accept it.

I work at the pier and copies are faxed in at least once a week because someone almost always forgets the correct paperwork. I highly doubt any of the employees will realize it isn't the original copy since we are looking to may sure it is official and not a hospital certificate. The most important thing is to have a birth certificate from the state or county health department. If anyone does notice it, most likely the pier will take a copy of the certificate. With copies that are faxed in, they do keep a copy of the birth certificate.

Bring your expired passport. I was able to use my expired one many times for cruises before I had it renewed. (I had the back up birth certificate and DL, but the check in people preferred to use the expired passport.) That's not to say that you'll definitely be able to use yours, but it might help to have it with you. Reentering the country, it was a toss up whether or not the agent preferred the expired passport, or the BC and DL.

The DHS regulations allow the original or copy of a birth certificate so unless the cruise line's policy is different you should be okay. I would also recommend bringing the expired passport because according to the State Department's website it is still proof of citizenship (although it is not listed as a WHTI compliant document).

Actually Royal Caribbean cannot accept the expired passport as proof. If a pier agent accepts the expired passport, they can get in huge trouble. The pier is really cracking down on documentation lately and closely checking passports. Occasionally the ship itself will allow certain documentation after checking with CBP, but even that is rare (Example: One person was recently allowed to board with a hospital birth certificate after the ship gave permission, though hospital birth certificates are not allowed).

Actually Royal Caribbean cannot accept the expired passport as proof. If a pier agent accepts the expired passport, they can get in huge trouble. The pier is really cracking down on documentation lately and closely checking passports. Occasionally the ship itself will allow certain documentation after checking with CBP, but even that is rare (Example: One person was recently allowed to board with a hospital birth certificate after the ship gave permission, though hospital birth certificates are not allowed).

Thanks for the clarification, I had always wondered about that.

A neighbor once told of being in the same situation - having just a xeroxed copy of his B/C. Realizing that check-in people are more interested in getting people on board than finding problems (and might not be all that sharp to begin with), he simply pressed his own notary public seal on the corner - giving the thing the appearance of being an original with raised seal - yes, it had a raised seal - which no one bothered to look at. He boarded with no problem.

I do no tknow what to say, but wish you the best of luck!

We haven't heard from OP today. Hopefully that means he is onboard.

there is so much bad information in this thread it's really scary.

there is so much bad information in this thread it's really scary.

Why would you say that and then not elaborate on what you think is the misinformation? Goodness.

A neighbor once told of being in the same situation - having just a xeroxed copy of his B/C. Realizing that check-in people are more interested in getting people on board than finding problems (and might not be all that sharp to begin with), he simply pressed his own notary public seal on the corner - giving the thing the appearance of being an original with raised seal - yes, it had a raised seal - which no one bothered to look at. He boarded with no problem.

Call me crazy but I think the authorities would have a big issue with that if discovered. I've seen people charged with fraud for a lot less.

there is so much bad information in this thread it's really scary.

What bad information are you referring to? I work at the pier and know they take faxed copies of birth certificates. I've experienced at least 3 people having to get birth certificates faxed to the pier on time to be able to board. If they don't get the copy they are denied boarding, which sadly happens a lot. Copies are accepted by Royal Caribbean. The only time there is an exception is if CBP and the ship clears it ahead of time, which occasionally happens.

Thanks for the clarification, I had always wondered about that.

At one time it may have been accepted but I know Royal Caribbean is having to be careful due to previous issues. If an expired passport is scanned, the system will actually notify the pier agent that the passport is expired. Least this way there won't be a mistake unless someone manually overrides it.

Bring your expired passport. I was able to use my expired one many times for cruises before I had it renewed.

A couple of years ago when on an RCI cruise, I met a woman who said that she was denied boarding in New Jersey because she mistakenly brought her old expired passport with her instead of her brand new one. She and her sister (who had a valid passport with her) went home and then flew to Puerto Rico to meet the ship.

FWIW my "official" BC looks exactly like the hospital one, except for a very slightly raised seal on the official one.

Why would you say that and then not elaborate on what you think is the misinformation? Goodness.

Bring your expired passport. I was able to use my expired one many times for cruises before I had it renewed.

The DHS regulations allow the original or copy of a birth certificate so unless the cruise line's policy is different you should be okay. I would also recommend bringing the expired passport because according to the State Department's website it is still proof of citizenship that should read a certified copy. if expired passport are proof of citizenship why would anyone need to renew them?

A neighbor once told of being in the same situation - having just a xeroxed copy of his B/C. Realizing that check-in people are more interested in getting people on board than finding problems (and might not be all that sharp to begin with), he simply pressed his own notary public seal on the corner - giving the thing the appearance of being an original with raised seal - yes, it had a raised seal - which no one bothered to look at. He boarded with no problem. you can print your own money until you get caught

folks just because other folks got away with it or it was just over-looked by over-worked folks doesn't mean someone might just be paying attention the day you figure to slip through. but, it' your money and it won't cost me anything one way or the other.

Prior to the implementation of the WHTI, it was acceptable to use an expired passport as proof of citizenship IF the passport had been expired less than 5 years. It was not, however, accepted as proof of ID, since it was expired. That all changed in 2004-2006 when the travel rules changed, and expired passports are no longer allowed for travel proof of citizenship.

Bring your expired passport. I was able to use my expired one many times for cruises before I had it renewed.

 

The DHS regulations allow the original or copy of a birth certificate so unless the cruise line's policy is different you should be okay. I would also recommend bringing the expired passport because according to the State Department's website it is still proof of citizenship that should read a certified copy. if expired passport are proof of citizenship why would anyone need to renew them?

 

A neighbor once told of being in the same situation - having just a xeroxed copy of his B/C. Realizing that check-in people are more interested in getting people on board than finding problems (and might not be all that sharp to begin with), he simply pressed his own notary public seal on the corner - giving the thing the appearance of being an original with raised seal - yes, it had a raised seal - which no one bothered to look at. He boarded with no problem. you can print your own money until you get caught

 

folks just because other folks got away with it or it was just over-looked by over-worked folks doesn't mean someone might just be paying attention the day you figure to slip through. but, it' your money and it won't cost me anything one way or the other.

No, the regulations do not require a "certified" copy of a birth certificate, a regular photocopy will do. Carnival accepts regular photocopies and if the regulations did not allow it they could not accept them (plus there is a port worker here who has stated they accept faxed copies of birth certificates). It is best to bring your original for other reasons, but in a pinch it is good to know that a copy will do.

As for an expired passport still being proof of citizenship that is what the State Department's website says. People renew them because while they may still prove citizenship they are no longer valid for travel. Here is the quote directly from the State Department FAQ:

"Q:I'm renewing my passport. Do I get the old one back?

a:Yes, we return the old, cancelled passport to you although it may be sent separately from your new passport. It is a good idea to keep it in a safe place as it is considered proof of your U.S. citizenship."

As for a notary public applying his seal to a document he made a copy of, well, I see nothing wrong with that, especially when his copy was just fine without it.

Call me crazy but I think the authorities would have a big issue with that if discovered. I've seen people charged with fraud for a lot less.

Unless there is a law that says that a notary public cannot notarize his or her own documents I don't see where he did anything wrong- he applied his seal to the copy he made of a document, that's kind of what notaries do:) .

Unless there is a law that says that a notary public cannot notarize his or her own documents I don't see where he did anything wrong- he applied his seal to the copy he made of a document, that's kind of what notaries do:) .

But he wasn't notarizing anything - he was just using his seal to make the birth certificate "look" more like an original than a copy. That's fraud.

Prior to the implementation of the WHTI, it was acceptable to use an expired passport as proof of citizenship IF the passport had been expired less than 5 years. It was not, however, accepted as proof of ID, since it was expired.

Should that be the other way around? I can see where an expired passport could be used as ID (it's still you), but not for citizenship, since you could easily give that up and still have an old passport.

But he wasn't notarizing anything - he was just using his seal to make the birth certificate "look" more like an original than a copy. That's fraud.

It's my understanding that it is only fraud if he was getting something that he wasn't entitled to. Since the copy of his birth certificate was sufficient by itself it can't be argued that he received something he wasn't entitled to (and he can't be accused of altering an official document because it was only a photocopy). It's not something that I would have done.

New poster

First post

Vague information?????

Hmmmmmmmm

Did not return to thread

Sea Ya

New poster

 

First post

 

Vague information?????

 

Hmmmmmmmm

 

Did not return to thread

 

Sea Ya

Everyone was a new, first poster at some time and He was presumably leaving on a cruise the next day.