Birth Certificate not good enough?!

[CruzVinnieCruz]

The question and answer you haven't supplied is how long did they have to spend in that foreign country (paying for lodging, food, transportation to and from consulate and then of course airfare) while the consulate was getting everything squared away so that they could fly home... :rolleyes:

 

My DW impression is that it wasn't that hard for them to get permission to fly but without all of the specifics of the situation it's just her impression. Most passengers will tell an F/A their life story especially if they are on board with special circumstances and if it was an ordeal she would usually hear all about it. Next time it happens she will try to get the specifics.

 

Even with a passport on some of these small Caribbean island nations cruise ships visit one might be days getting a seat on an available flight.

[linda_22003]

I for one can't figure out why $100+ to get one. It's a $2 booklet of papers with a photo you proivde.

Somebody is making a heck of a profit on doing these passports and it's not the guy behind the desk taking your information to get one.

 

I'm sure there is some profit, but it's hardly a "$2 booklet of papers". They are fitted with electronics now, specifically RFID chips.

[MsTabbyKats]

If they can't afford passports, they definitely can't afford to deal with the problems which might arise if they are out of the country and need them.

 

People have different ideas of what they can afford...

For me...if I can't pay cash...I can't afford it

For others....if there's credit available on the card...they "can afford it"

[CruzVinnieCruz]

I'm sure there is some profit, but it's hardly a "$2 booklet of papers". They are fitted with electronics now, specifically RFID chips.

 

Did you see the demonstration the British hacker did with an antenna and a RFID reader? He drove around San Fransisco for twenty minutes and lifted the details from two U.S. Passports from which he could have made a duplicate passport. That's why there is now a market for RFID blocking passport holders and wallets.

[Tbay-eh]

I'm sure there is some profit, but it's hardly a "$2 booklet of papers". They are fitted with electronics now, specifically RFID chips.

 

I was going to say the same thing, glad you touched on the card reading aspect of it. They scan it though a computer now. Also all the information you filled in is data entered by someone. There is someone checking out your references (this is done randomly - I have been called 2 times in the last couple of years on the 5 people I have been named a reference for). They run a police and criminal record check on you when you apply. And each passport is an original and not mass produced - must be bound individually. There is probably more to it than I have named - so it is definitely not a $2 booklet.

[Chief Cruiser]

It's a lie. Official BC is still good to cruise. Not a copy, official BC with raised seal. A photo copy of a BC is as good as a photo copy of a passport. Worthless. But an original or official BC will get you on the ship.

 

Not every state BC has a raised seal. South Carolina's does not and I never had a problem boarding the 10 previous cruises with a BC on Carnival or RCCL. I now have a passport because I do fly and haven't used a BC in a couple of years.

 

BC's are still on the acceptable list of ID requirements for closed loop cruises. I wouldn't worry another minute about it. I'm sure there are details that are not correct in the OP's story and they readily acknowlege that. If boarding was denied, I would think Carnival would have an appropriate and solid legal reason to do so.

 

Otherwise, they wouldn't have a snowball's chance in court for denying boarding to someone who meets the requirements as listed. Just ain't gonna happen.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

I was going to say the same thing, glad you touched on the card reading aspect of it. They scan it though a computer now. Also all the information you filled in is data entered by someone. There is someone checking out your references (this is done randomly - I have been called 2 times in the last couple of years on the 5 people I have been named a reference for). They run a police and criminal record check on you when you apply. And each passport is an original and not mass produced - must be bound individually. There is probably more to it than I have named - so it is definitely not a $2 booklet.

 

Then the question does it cost the government specifically the Government Printing Office a $100.00 to produce one passport since they are not allowed by law to make a profit but can only recoup costs.

[comeon530]

I skipped a few posts, so I hope this hasn't been mentioned. In my state, a birth certificate card is issued. But to cruise, a minor must have the long birth certificate which has both parents listed. The card is state-issued and acceptable for adults, but not for a child. I'm wondering if that is partly what happened in this case.

[Warm Breezes]

I just don't understand why so many people still don't want to get passports. The excuse of "I won't use it very often" is silly - they last ten years, and you don't know right now how often you'll use it. I'm 55 and have had a passport for over forty years. It's no big deal.

 

 

The reasons (not excuses) that we don't have passports:

 

1) It is not required for closed loop cruises - which at this time is the only type of foreign travel we do. If we wish to do otherwise we will get a passport. If it becomes required we will get a passport.

 

2) If for some slim chance we need to fly from an island to home due to a medical emergency, it may take cutting through some red tape to do it and some extra expense but it is not impossible to come home. The US will not leave you stranded.

 

3) I tell everyone when we leave for a cruise that if something happens at home before we get on the ship, we will head home immediately (depending on what it is of course). If we are on the ship, then we are gone until our ship our ship returns...Our normal cruises are only 5 days and it's very possible that even with passports if we had to leave the ship for something at home it would take us that long to get arrangements from an island to get there anyways.

 

4) I look at passports like insurance. Weighing the cost/risk/benefits.

a. Cost....$80-$100 for insurance for the 4 of us total, purchased for known trip that is already booked. $400 for passports for at least one known trip, that is good for any possible future trips in the next 10 years (which may/may not happen).

 

b. Risks....Odds of needing insurance are much higher than the odds of needing your passports. Insurance covers many more things that happen on a daily basis to many more people. Just take a look at the threads on these cruise boards as a sample of the cruising industry. How many people come on here saying they used/could have used insurance vs how many people come on here saying they needed a passport/or were delayed because they didn't have a passport to get home?

 

c. Benefits....Insurance covers trip cancelations, delays, expensive medical evacuations and hospitalizations. Passports only help you get out of a foreign country quicker if transportation is available.

 

I purchase travel insurance and have actually needed it in the past due to the death of an elderly Grandparent the day before our cruise. If her death would have happened after we sailed, we would not have come home until we returned to our home port. We would have been saddened for missing her funeral and our cruise would not have been as enjoyable, but I know DGM would have understood. More than likely it would have taken us just as long, if not longer, to try to get home from a port if had purchased passports then it would have to stay on the ship until we returned home. I feel the cost/risk/benefit make it worth my while to purchased travel insurance.

 

I do not purchase passports. I do not feel the cost/risk benefit make it worth my while to purchase.

 

Since it is not required, it is a personal decision based on the level of risk you are willing to pay for. I can afford it. I choose not to spend my money on it until it is required or until I choose to take a trip that requires it.

[KellyJ]

When we first started cruising-we went to talke to a Travel Agent who recommended that DH and I get our passports.

 

She said you don't need a passport to get out of the country, but you made need it to be your ticket back in to the US.

 

I believe that the passport even says on it that no foreign governmental agency can hinder you from returning to the us. (I am paraphrasing here.) To me it was money well spent.

 

Also from an HR standpoint, the I-9 form is used for hiring and citizenship verification. A passport can be used as one and only necessary form of ID. If you don't have a passport you have to provide 2 forms of government issued id.

 

It also makes it faster. If you have a BC the port agent has to look at it, possibly unfold it and check it. Most of the airports and all of the cruises that I have been on have had scanners for the passports, so your passport gets scanned so it is quicker.

 

We also have photocopies of our passports. I got some of the clear plastic coating pages like the kind you cover books with. I put it over the front and back of the passports copies and trimmed the edges. I can fold or roll the covered copy up and put in my travel wallet or even in my beach safe. The copies have lasted since 2004 and the plastic helps to protect the copies from water. It's not my official passport, but will help me with the passport number and id if needed.

[Cruise, J.D.]

And there are planned changes to passport regulation in the future which makes what I said a fact.

 

Can you please provide a link to an official US government website indicating these "planned changes" that will affect cruising?

 

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which includes the closed-loop cruise rule, went through the exhaustive rule-making process following the 9/11 incident. If the Department of Homeland Security and/or the Department of State are planning on proposing modifications to the rule they have to publish that intent and it will take a long time for it to take effect, if even approved.

 

Every few weeks we have someone come on here claiming the rule is going to be changed in the future. No one has ever cited to anything official.

[Warm Breezes]

When we first started cruising-we went to talke to a Travel Agent who recommended that DH and I get our passports.

 

She said you don't need a passport to get out of the country, but you made need it to be your ticket back in to the US.

 

I believe that the passport even says on it that no foreign governmental agency can hinder you from returning to the us. (I am paraphrasing here.) To me it was money well spent.

 

Also from an HR standpoint, the I-9 form is used for hiring and citizenship verification. A passport can be used as one and only necessary form of ID. If you don't have a passport you have to provide 2 forms of government issued id. If you have a certified BC and a DL who cares if it is 2 forms or one.

 

It also makes it faster. If you have a BC the port agent has to look at it, possibly unfold it and check it. Most of the airports and all of the cruises that I have been on have had scanners for the passports, so your passport gets scanned so it is quicker. I have all our BC and DL ready by the time we reach the port agent. When we returned from our cruise last year, the port agent just glance at it and let us through. Six cruises we have never been delayed or held up a line because of having BC and DL.

 

We also have photocopies of our passports. I got some of the clear plastic coating pages like the kind you cover books with. I put it over the front and back of the passports copies and trimmed the edges. I can fold or roll the covered copy up and put in my travel wallet or even in my beach safe. The copies have lasted since 2004 and the plastic helps to protect the copies from water. It's not my official passport, but will help me with the passport number and id if needed.

 

From my experience, there is not any additional problems caused from having a DL and BC going through customs than having a passport on a closed loop cruise so to me this is an invalid reason to have to get one. Plus the US is not going to leave you stranded in a foriegn country if you do not have one. They would not allow the closed loop cruise exemption to exist if they weren't going to allow you home in an emergency.

[bigpappabull]

me and my wife are crusing carnival in a week. i have a passport and she has an official bc. i just looked at her bc though and it has her madien name on it and her drivers liscense has her married name. is this a problem? i have no idea where our marriage cert is?

[Warm Breezes]

me and my wife are crusing carnival in a week. i have a passport and she has an official bc. i just looked at her bc though and it has her madien name on it and her drivers liscense has her married name. is this a problem? i have no idea where our marriage cert is?

 

As long as her DL is the name she is cruising under and the birthdate is the same on both documents then you should be ok based on personal experience and Carnival's website on required documentation. The people that have been requested to show their MC have ID's that do not match the name they are booked under. Six cruises married to DH with different last names on BC and DL...never had anyone question it or personally heard anyone being questioned about it.

[KevinKing]

Has anyone had trouble getting on without a BC that's certified? I have my DL and always figured my BC was official. After reading this stuff, I went and checked and it's not. Mine is really old but definitely looks like a copy.

 

Ugh, what are the chances that I can be denied boarding? There won't be a way to get one from Missouri to California in time either. Yikes! This thread sucks (for me)!

[crzndeb]

Kevinking,

 

When are you leaving?.....there is a site called vitalchek dot com, that you should be able to order one from any state. I'm not sure of the time frame, but I am sure if you want it expedited, you can pay a higher fee for that service.

 

Might be worth the peace of mind.

[bigpappabull]

thanks warm breezes. kevin i was also born in cali and from my experience it is the slowest state to get a bc from cause so many people were born there. but def try the expedited service.

[tkportersat]

The key word being "certified". It should say that on there as well.

 

It's a lie. Official BC is still good to cruise. Not a copy, official BC with raised seal. A photo copy of a BC is as good as a photo copy of a passport. Worthless. But an original or official BC will get you on the ship.

[KevinKing]

Kevinking,

 

When are you leaving?.....there is a site called vitalchek dot com, that you should be able to order one from any state. I'm not sure of the time frame, but I am sure if you want it expedited, you can pay a higher fee for that service.

 

Might be worth the peace of mind.

 

Cruise is this Sunday - closed loop Long Beach to Mex Riv.

 

I've seen VitalChek, but a google search made me fairly suspicious of their ethics. Lots of scam warnings popup. Plus, they can't get you a certified copy, only a regular copy from what I can see. That would be the same as I've got now I guess. Though I do agree, if a place was reputable I'd pay for the service for the peace of mind.

 

kevin i was also born in cali and from my experience it is the slowest state to get a bc from cause so many people were born there. but def try the expedited service

 

I know! Actually my wife got hers quickly. She was able to go to the records department locally. Mine is a bit trickier since I'm far away from my birth state.

[nrdsb4]

Cruise is this Sunday - closed loop Long Beach to Mex Riv.

 

I've seen VitalChek, but a google search made me fairly suspicious of their ethics. Lots of scam warnings popup. Plus, they can't get you a certified copy, only a regular copy from what I can see. That would be the same as I've got now I guess. Though I do agree, if a place was reputable I'd pay for the service for the peace of mind.

 

Kevin, I've not used VitalChek, but MANY posters on this site have reported using them with success. I'm not sure what you mean by "regular" copy of BC. If vitalchek is getting these BCs from the state agency (bureau of vital statistics or health dept.), they are indeed official certified copies.

 

I know! Actually my wife got hers quickly. She was able to go to the records department locally. Mine is a bit trickier since I'm far away from my birth state.

 

Kevin, I think you mentioned earlier that yours looks "really old" and therefore you think it may not be certified. My original bc (as in the very first one my parents received after my birth) looks very old as well :o, yet it is indeed an official certified copy. I did get another one later by calling my state bureau of vital statistics and ordering it by phone. If your BC came from the official government office in your state and is NOT the hospital generated souvenir bc, it should still be valid.

 

I would google your state name and "obtain birth certificate" to find out where to procure your BC if you are still worried about the validity of your BC. It should really not be that big of a deal to get ahold of another one.

 

For example, I googled "where to get copy of California birth certificate," and I got this link which gives all the pertinent information:

 

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/birthdeathmar/pages/certifiedcopiesofbirthdeathrecords.aspx

 

Try this for your own state of birth and see what you get.

[guineverekay]

That is interesting....I brought my marriage certificate with me just in case and the carnival rep at the desk laughed at me when I offered it in addition to the BC. She didn't even look at it, and my name on my ID certainly doesn't match my Birth Certificate.

Then when disembarking the ship, I offered it to the custom's official who was looking over all our docs and he kinda laughed and said no, we don't need that, all we need is the BC and ID.

 

I have read all different experiences with this, so I certainly will bring it again just in case (if I don't have my passport yet and I am so lucky as to go on another cruise soon:D)

I'll go you one better than that lol. I've been married twice, so when I cruise I take my certified birth certificate, my first marriage license, my divorce decree and my new marriage license. And of course, my drivers license :). It's overkill, but it makes me feel better and the person at the counter on both cruises laughed when I pulled out my folder 'o identification.

[KevinKing]

Kevin, I think you mentioned earlier that yours looks "really old" and therefore you think it may not be certified. My original bc (as in the very first one my parents received after my birth) looks very old as well :o, yet it is indeed an official certified copy. I did get another one later by calling my state bureau of vital statistics and ordering it by phone. If your BC came from the official government office in your state and is NOT the hospital generated souvenir bc, it should still be valid.

 

I would google your state name and "obtain birth certificate" to find out where to procure your BC if you are still worried about the validity of your BC. It should really not be that big of a deal to get ahold of another one.

 

For example, I googled "where to get copy of California birth certificate," and I got this link which gives all the pertinent information:

 

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/birthdeathmar/pages/certifiedcopiesofbirthdeathrecords.aspx

 

Try this for your own state of birth and see what you get.

 

Excellent info, I'll check the old one today and see if it is truly legit. As for the other search, leads me to the Vital Records department in Missouri. I don't think there's going to be time to get something here by Sunday, but all isn't lost yet I guess. The situation = dicey

[nrdsb4]

For anyone wanting info on how to get vital records, this is a great site. It provides links to your state where you can find instructions on how to get the records you are looking for (birth certificate, death certificate, etc.).

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm

[tamirpr]

Kevin, we used vital check years ago to get my DH's BC. We paid a heavy expedite fee, but we had it overnight or two days. I remember we had to call them personally.

[racegrrl]

I'll go you one better than that lol. I've been married twice, so when I cruise I take my certified birth certificate, my first marriage license, my divorce decree and my new marriage license. And of course, my drivers license :). It's overkill, but it makes me feel better and the person at the counter on both cruises laughed when I pulled out my folder 'o identification.

 

Man - I hope you don't fly to the port - you know the airlines charge you extra for checked bags and all that ID must take a bag by itself! LOL :p

 

Seriously, I would get a passport before I went through lugging all that along. I had a name change after I got my first passport and it was a simple fix - mail it in with the documents and within two weeks it was back with correction "on page 24".

 

For us, it's just easier to have passports. They fit so nice and easy in my purse, difficult to tear up fold or bend, and easily replaceable. And for that last minute trip to Cancun or Paris - no problem! :D But it all takes money and I understand where priorities for that money might be different than ours. It's just easier with a passport.