Birth Certificate

[dablondee525]

Are you still able to use a birth certificate sailing in a closed loop cruise leaving from FL?

[uksimonusa]

As long as it's a certified copy, you are an American Citizen and have a Government issued photo ID

[Clarea]

Are you still able to use a birth certificate sailing in a closed loop cruise leaving from FL?

Yes, certified copy of the birth certificate and government issued photo ID.

[waxing witch]

yup, my brother is doing this and i just verified that info with rci this week. as long as it is an original birth cert with a raised seal, that and a government issued photo id will work fine :).

 

depending on the state you're in, enhanced drivers licenses can be used at land and sea crossings like a passport card. dh and i are traveling with those.

[dablondee525]

Thank goodness! My boyfriend had a friend tell him they didn't accept B.C anymore. I was about to have a heart attack!

[sandy toes]

Royal still allows birth cert travel. Some lines say only passport travel as they don't want to deal with the problems involved with trying to get someone back to the US when injury occurs in another country. I think Princess and HAL are both saying passports only now or will in Jan.

[cb at sea]

Yes...that's all we use!

[edjny]

Are you still able to use a birth certificate sailing in a closed loop cruise leaving from FL?

 

If you have time, get the passport... Makes things a whole lot more simple.

[xxoocruiser]

yup, my brother is doing this and i just verified that info with rci this week. as long as it is an original birth cert with a raised seal, that and a government issued photo id will work fine .

 

 

 

depending on the state you're in, enhanced drivers licenses can be used at land and sea crossings like a passport card. dh and i are traveling with those.

 

 

 

A raised seal certificate is not the only acceptable forrm of a certified BC as there are several other methods used to denote it's authenticity. The actual requirement as directed by US Customs Regulations and Passport agency which the cruise lines has to follow requires that it be a CERTIFIED Birth Certificate issued from a government office. The definition of Certifited Birth Certificate as copied directly from the US Travel government website is:

 

*

A

certified birth certificate

has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal, registrar's signature, and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth. Please note, some short (abstract) versions of birth certificates may

not

be acceptable for passport purposes.

Most goverment agencies have ceased using raised seals as it's too easy to conterfeit. Most government agencies now use an impressed or impedded seal directly in the paper fibers similar to a paperwater mark.

[dancinman66]

yep and for kids is quite often the best for a local cruise

enjoy

[negc]

Royal still allows birth cert travel. Some lines say only passport travel as they don't want to deal with the problems involved with trying to get someone back to the US when injury occurs in another country. I think Princess and HAL are both saying passports only now or will in Jan.

 

If that is the case, and I doubt it is, they stand to lose a lot of business from people who don't have passports and who, according to US law, aren't required to have them when they are going on a closed loop cruise. Cruise lines may be within their rights to institute policies that are more restrictive than US law, but it doesn't make good business sense to do so. In most instances any hassle that would be involved for passengers trying to bet back to the US sans a passport, is between the passengers and the local authorities or the airlines, and the cruiseline need not be involved. If you "think" that Princess is saying something different and passports will be required "now" or "in January, you might want to check with them to be sure your understanding is correct, before further confusing folks.

Any change in the US passport requirements is a lengthy, time consuming process and so no such new requirements will be imposed by the US government in January or any time in the foreseeable future.

Perhaps the OP's friend was simply misinformed.

[edjny]

If that is the case, and I doubt it is, they stand to lose a lot of business from people who don't have passports and who, according to US law, aren't required to have them when they are going on a closed loop cruise. Cruise lines may be within their rights to institute policies that are more restrictive than US law, but it doesn't make good business sense to do so. In most instances any hassle that would be involved for passengers trying to bet back to the US sans a passport, is between the passengers and the local authorities or the airlines, and the cruiseline need not be involved. If you "think" that Princess is saying something different and passports will be required "now" or "in January, you might want to check with them to be sure your understanding is correct, before further confusing folks.

Any change in the US passport requirements is a lengthy, time consuming process and so no such new requirements will be imposed by the US government in January or any time in the foreseeable future.

Perhaps the OP's friend was simply misinformed.

 

It will not be any big deal as long as the customers are given lots of time to plan ahead to get their passports. Compared to the other expenses of going on a cruise, paying for the passports is next to nothing. There will be some who complain about it, but nobody is going to give up on taking a cruise because of it. There were the same complaints a few years back when the requirement was put in place that you had to have a passport to drive to Canada/Mexico. Lots of warning time was given and really did not amount to much of a problem.

[Ladysilver]

Royal still allows birth cert travel. Some lines say only passport travel as they don't want to deal with the problems involved with trying to get someone back to the US when injury occurs in another country. I think Princess and HAL are both saying passports only now or will in Jan.

 

My daughter and I were taken off the ship (Carnival) due to a medical emergency in Mexico without passports. We had no problems being flown back to the US.

[waterbug123]

My daughter and I were taken off the ship (Carnival) due to a medical emergency in Mexico without passports. We had no problems being flown back to the US.

 

I'm curious... can you expand on exactly what transpired and how? Not the medical situation, but what happened after as far as flying? Did you just show up at the airport, say "we don't have passports" and the airline said "ok, no problem?" Did the state department have to be contacted? Or anything at all out of the ordinary in order to check in and board the plane? And upon arrival, what happened at immigration/customs? Any questions about the fact that you had no passport with you?

[Mark_K]

A raised seal certificate is not the only acceptable forrm of a certified BC as there are several other methods used to denote it's authenticity. The actual requirement as directed by US Customs Regulations and Passport agency which the cruise lines has to follow requires that it be a CERTIFIED Birth Certificate issued from a government office. The definition of Certifited Birth Certificate as copied directly from the US Travel government website is:

 

*

A

certified birth certificate

has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal, registrar's signature, and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth. Please note, some short (abstract) versions of birth certificates may

not

be acceptable for passport purposes.

Most goverment agencies have ceased using raised seals as it's too easy to conterfeit. Most government agencies now use an impressed or impedded seal directly in the paper fibers similar to a paperwater mark.

It doesn't really matter what a government web site says is allowed, what really matters is what Royal Caribbean will let you get on the ship with.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

If you have time, get the passport... Makes things a whole lot more simple.

 

 

Plus it opens the world of travel to you!!! ;)

 

***

[Ladysilver]

I'm curious... can you expand on exactly what transpired and how? Not the medical situation, but what happened after as far as flying? Did you just show up at the airport, say "we don't have passports" and the airline said "ok, no problem?" Did the state department have to be contacted? Or anything at all out of the ordinary in order to check in and board the plane? And upon arrival, what happened at immigration/customs? Any questions about the fact that you had no passport with you?

 

 

Everything was taken care of through our cruise insurance. After spending 26 hours at the local hospital, an ambulance picked us up and drove us to the airport (we had to show ID's and birth certificates to an immigration officer there) where a lear jet was waiting. It was from Tampa Bay, Florida and flew us to Houston, where we were met by another ambulance and taken to a Houson hospital. I'm sure if we had been in Mexico on a "land vacation" it wouldn't have been that easy to get home without passports. It was all pretty smooth.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Everything was taken care of through our cruise insurance. After spending 26 hours at the local hospital, an ambulance picked us up and drove us to the airport (we had to show ID's and birth certificates to an immigration officer there) where a lear jet was waiting. It was from Tampa Bay, Florida and flew us to Houston, where we were met by another ambulance and taken to a Houson hospital. I'm sure if we had been in Mexico on a "land vacation" it wouldn't have been that easy to get home without passports. It was all pretty smooth.

 

 

WOW, sure hope all is well now!! And thank GOD for travel insurance!!!

 

 

***

[Gonzo70]

My daughter and I were taken off the ship (Carnival) due to a medical emergency in Mexico without passports. We had no problems being flown back to the US.

 

How did tha happen? Was this many years ago? A passport is required for entry o US via air. What you are describing is highly unusual and I bet there is more to the story.

[gerif]

Everything was taken care of through our cruise insurance. After spending 26 hours at the local hospital, an ambulance picked us up and drove us to the airport (we had to show ID's and birth certificates to an immigration officer there) where a lear jet was waiting. It was from Tampa Bay, Florida and flew us to Houston, where we were met by another ambulance and taken to a Houson hospital. I'm sure if we had been in Mexico on a "land vacation" it wouldn't have been that easy to get home without passports. It was all pretty smooth.

 

So, let me get this straight. You actually flew from Tampa to Houston, both within the US, so you did not fly from a foreign country (Mexico), correct? That would explain why no passport was required.

[negc]

It will not be any big deal as long as the customers are given lots of time to plan ahead to get their passports. Compared to the other expenses of going on a cruise, paying for the passports is next to nothing. There will be some who complain about it, but nobody is going to give up on taking a cruise because of it. There were the same complaints a few years back when the requirement was put in place that you had to have a passport to drive to Canada/Mexico. Lots of warning time was given and really did not amount to much of a problem.

 

I didn't say that anyone would "give up" a cruise because of it, but they might very well decide to cruise with another line that hadn't initiated a policy that doesn't is more strict than the US government requires. It isn't the amount of warning that is in question but the fact that the policy is different from what the other lines are following. In the instance you cite it was the US policy that changed and all of the lines had to follow it. In this instance it would seem that perhaps two lines would be substituting their rules for the ones everyone else has to follow. Given a choice between incurring the expense of getting a passport, or finding a similar cruise on a line that doesn't require one, I'm thinking that a lot of prospective passengers would vote with their wallets and Princess/HAL would be the loser.

[Ladysilver]

WOW, sure hope all is well now!! And thank GOD for travel insurance!!!

 

 

***

 

 

Exactly! We don't cruise without it! :)

[Ladysilver]

How did tha happen? Was this many years ago? A passport is required for entry o US via air. What you are describing is highly unusual and I bet there is more to the story.

 

It happened last January. More to the story? Explain exactly what you mean by that please? :confused:

[Ladysilver]

So, let me get this straight. You actually flew from Tampa to Houston, both within the US, so you did not fly from a foreign country (Mexico), correct? That would explain why no passport was required.

 

We flew from Merida, Mexico to Houston. The plane flew down to Mexico from Tampa. Sorry if you misunderstood. :)

[Gonzo70]

It happened last January. More to the story? Explain exactly what you mean by that please? :confused:

 

Since 2007 US citizens have been required to have a passport for air travel from Mexico to the US. Therefore something highly unusual occurred if you were permitted to do so - hence my thoughts that you may be leaving something out. Regardless you should not make it sound like this is commonplace as it may lead others to forgo procuring a passport mistakenly believing that they will be fine if an emergency occurs and they need to debark from a cruise early in a foreign country without a passport.

 

Are you sure your travel insurance (or someone) did not obtain an emergency temporary passport for you and your daughter from the US Embassy in Mexico during your 26 hours in the hospital?