A different kind of birth certificate/boarding drama....

We leave on the Elation on Nov 6 (myself, hubby, 2 kids, mom & step father). My mother is 60 years old and has never been out of the country before and until now apparently never had a need for her birth certificate. So she goes in person to purchase a copy of her birth certificate and the clerk informs her that they cannot find one in the system for her. After more investigation they do finally find 1 but my mom said this isn't me (her maiden name is spelled ENTIRELY wrong). And they said yeah it is...its what we have on you. So, now she has to go through a alot of paperwork stuff through the state capital with notaries & affidavites to get the spelling of her name corrected. It takes between 2-4 weeks. Which would be cutting it very close to our departure date. Anyway, to go on the cruise does she really have to have a corrected one? I mean all she needs is her birth certificate & drivers license....she is married so the names aren't going to match anyway right? Of course she is going to get it corrected and all but WHAT IF it doesn't happen before our departure date? Yes, they said 2-4 weeks but we are talking about the government here......

Did you book your cruise just recently? If you booked it awhile back, it seems you may have waited too long to get all your papers in order. Do they have an option to expedite? It would probably cost more, but would definitely be worth the piece of mind.

Make sure it's a true Birth Certificate with raised seal. There have been some problems with people not being allowed to board because they brought Certificates of Live Birth, which apparently aren't the same thing. Call Carnival and explain what you have and see what they say.

In the future, if your Mom plans to take more cruises definitely invest in a passport. It's soooooooo much simpler!! Good Luck!

But of course she can't get a Passport without her birth certificate...

Did you book your cruise just recently? If you booked it awhile back, it seems you may have waited too long to get all your papers in order. Do they have an option to expedite? It would probably cost more, but would definitely be worth the piece of mind.

 

Make sure it's a true Birth Certificate with raised seal. There have been some problems with people not being allowed to board because they brought Certificates of Live Birth, which apparently aren't the same thing. Call Carnival and explain what you have and see what they say.

 

In the future, if your Mom plans to take more cruises definitely invest in a passport. It's soooooooo much simpler!! Good Luck!

Becca, this isn't about making sure it's the right certificate, it's about whether or not her mother needs to have the certificate amended as the official vital record is misspelled.

Christine, it's the last name, correct? Not the first name? My opinion (which is worth nothing) would be that she can take her chances. I haven't read of anyone needing a marriage certificate lately. I would suggest contacting your local STATE legislative representative (as this is a state issue) and seeing if they can't help you expediate getting it fixed in time for your cruise. Not sure how willing they'll be to help though.

Yes, I know a passport would have made things much simplier but seeing that she is 60 years old and never had the need for her birth certificate until now needing a passport is a mute point. Of course, if she enjoys cruising and wants to continue in the future she will invest in a passport (after getting the BC mess straightened out of course). We have had this trip scheduled for a while and until a few weeks ago she thought she had a copy of her birth certificate when it was actually the other thing issued from the hospital.

Becca, this isn't about making sure it's the right certificate, it's about whether or not her mother needs to have the certificate amended as the official vital record is misspelled.

 

Christine, it's the last name, correct? Not the first name? My opinion (which is worth nothing) would be that she can take her chances. I haven't read of anyone needing a marriage certificate lately. I would suggest contacting your local STATE legislative representative (as this is a state issue) and seeing if they can't help you expediate getting it fixed in time for your cruise. Not sure how willing they'll be to help though.

I understood her question, just wanted to make sure she had gone to Vital Statistics Dept and was trying to get the right type of Certificate. Carnival even sent out a mass email recently pointing out true Birth Certificates vs. Certificates of Live Birth (very confusing!). :eek:

This is why I don't get that they still let people travel with a birth certificate and a driver's license. Without the marriage certificate substantiating the name change, it seems a little silly....and then you take someone like me, who's had a couple of name changes. The paper trail gets a little confusing. I don't see how they could tell that it's wrong so long as the dates match.

Why would they know (or care) what her "birth" name is? I would say as long as she has her current drivers license, and her official birth record (raised seal) it will be fine....

Is her maiden name (correct spelling) on her drivers license? If so, then you may run into a problem. If it is not, she should be fine as long as the first name is correct.

I can't help but wonder why she never had the need for her birth certificate before age 60. Im 57 and had to have birth certificate to start school, get a driver's license, get a marriage license, etc. Did she not ever have to produce a birth certificate for any of those or other reasons?????:confused:

I can't help but wonder why she never had the need for her birth certificate before age 60. Im 57 and had to have birth certificate to start school, get a driver's license, get a marriage license, etc. Did she not ever have to produce a birth certificate for any of those or other reasons?????:confused:

I'm guessing not...like I said she did have that certificate of live birth from the hospital....maybe she was allowed to use that for everything she needed? She has been married twice, has a drivers license, went to school and is retired from the post office. How she has gotten by for the past 60 years without having a copy is beyond me but she has....kinda strange huh?

Yeah, that is strange. Seeing as how the thing that you get from the hospital is nothing more than a souvenier copy for the proud parents. Here in SC the hospital copy is good for absolutely nothing.

... Carnival even sent out a mass email recently pointing out true Birth Certificates vs. Certificates of Live Birth (very confusing!). :eek:

I'm guessing not...like I said she did have that certificate of live birth from the hospital....maybe she was allowed to use that for everything she needed? She has been married twice, has a drivers license, went to school and is retired from the post office. How she has gotten by for the past 60 years without having a copy is beyond me but she has....kinda strange huh?

Christine (OP).

Carnival generally does not ask for bridge documents to match the birth certificate. The BC is proof of your Mom's citizenship, her DL is proof of her current identity. The usual thing is for the cruise line to compare first names and birth dates and you are good to go. If you are really worried, have her take her marriage license to show the name change to her current name. But chances are about 99% that they will not even ask, so don't point out the misspelled maiden name and you should all be fine.

Not really, lots of places, especially schools, still accept the hospital version or baptismal records. My husband entered the military with one AND obtained his first passport with it. Wasn't until his second time in Grad school that he had to get a true certified copy, that was about 10 years ago.

Up until a couple of years ago, many state bar associations still accepted names written in family Bibles and baptismal certificates as well.

Is her maiden name (correct spelling) on her drivers license? If so, then you may run into a problem. If it is not, she should be fine as long as the first name is correct.

?? Her Maiden name would not be on her license:confused:

Answer..NO, it will not matter if last name on BC is missed spelled, she will be using her DL with Married last name, they will be looking to make sure the first name & date of birth are correct only.

I say fix the BC when you get back.

took my DIL 1 year to make a correction to her BC thru the state.

have a great family cruise:)

If her maiden name is wrong, who cares as her DL will have another name on it anyway (assuming she has her married name on her DL).......... Leave well enough alone.

?? Her Maiden name would not be on her license:confused:

 

Answer..NO, it will not matter if last name on BC is missed spelled, she will be using her DL with Married last name, they will be looking to make sure the first name & date of birth are correct only.

I say fix the BC when you get back.

 

took my DIL 1 year to make a correction to her BC thru the state.

 

have a great family cruise:)

Sometimes the maiden name is listed on the DL as a middle name if you choose to list it that way. Mine has my maiden name instead of my middle name on it.

OK Since grandma is cruising now,it is best that she get a passport,That way she wont have to have 10 pieces of I D,and a meltdown,to get on the ship and have fun:p;)

OK Since grandma is cruising now,it is best that she get a passport,That way she wont have to have 10 pieces of I D,and a meltdown,to get on the ship and have fun:p;)

Yeah, but unfortunatly the only way to do that is to get her current mess straighted out

I'm guessing not...like I said she did have that certificate of live birth from the hospital....maybe she was allowed to use that for everything she needed? She has been married twice, has a drivers license, went to school and is retired from the post office. How she has gotten by for the past 60 years without having a copy is beyond me but she has....kinda strange huh?

My father went through most of his life without one, including serving in the Army. Somewhere around age 60 he went in to get a BC and he wasn't in the system, he was born at home, and the only record was an entry in a Bible. He had to have someone that knew him most of his life attest as to who he was and how old they figured he was. His friend died the next day! My father got the delayed BC and was then able to get a passport.

He was able to go through school, the Army, get a driver's license, credit, etc. He only ran into a problem when he needed it for the passport.

?? Her Maiden name would not be on her license:confused:

)

Normally, when you marry, you take your husbands last name, and keep your maiden name as your middle. :)

Sometimes the maiden name is listed on the DL as a middle name if you choose to list it that way. Mine has my maiden name instead of my middle name on it.

Thank you, vacruizer. My maiden name is also on my license as my middle name. Same for my passport. ;)

Normally, when you marry, you take your husbands last name, and keep your maiden name as your middle. :)

 

 

 

Thank you, vacruizer. My maiden name is also on my license as my middle name. Same for my passport. ;)

My wife has her own middle name on her license and her last name. Her maiden name is nowhere on that document, her government retirement card, social security card, passport, etc.

Did you book your cruise just recently? If you booked it awhile back, it seems you may have waited too long to get all your papers in order. Do they have an option to expedite? It would probably cost more, but would definitely be worth the piece of mind.

 

Make sure it's a true Birth Certificate with raised seal. There have been some problems with people not being allowed to board because they brought Certificates of Live Birth, which apparently aren't the same thing. Call Carnival and explain what you have and see what they say.

 

In the future, if your Mom plans to take more cruises definitely invest in a passport. It's soooooooo much simpler!! Good Luck!

Enough of the raised seals! Most states DO NOT issue birth certificates with raised seals, but they do provide certified birth certificates.