Birth Certificate question

[buckeyefrank]

Congratulations on getting your passport renewed with same day service. You did the right thing. A passport in hand is the only document you should have when leaving the country. Sure birth certificates are accepted by the cruise line, but government officials do not need to accept them. If you need to leave the ship for any reason, you will need a passport to board a plane home. If you need to identify yourself to foreign authorities, things will go well if you have a passport.

 

Have a great time aboard, you can sleep well knowing you carry the gold standard for international travel.

 

I agre that passports are 'safest' but Government officials DO have to accept BC for closed loop cruises in the US because it's the law. It's part of the WHTI. Another point is that no documentation is REQUIRED to return to the US if you are a US citizen. Anyone without a passport (or even any type of ID) will be delayed in getting back, but a US citizen is allowed to enter the US at any time and any border. I'm sure families have lost their passports and BC / Drivers License while traveling internationally. Once your identity is established you can board a plane or cross the border. That can be done with DL or even by giving the relevant information and getting confirmation from the state BOV.

[oncruisecontrol]

Made a noon appointment time for today... i was NOT confident on getting the same day if going at noon, reschedule it to 9am, all the horror stories on google and yelp, i didn't experience, except the $20 an hour to park and $2 every 20mins. i had to leave to get gas, so i ended up paying $46 total for parking, since i needed to wait to pickup..which is the story now. arrived at 8:10am an hour early. Walked right in, gave my paperwork after going through security, was given a number. Called within 20 mins, paid. And had a good rapport with the clerk, talking about business. He said it would be tuesday for priority mail. i said i don't wanna take a chance and i can't drive 5 hours to comeback, can you see if i can get it today? He said let me look..and he told me to come back at 230 to get it today. I went back to the car napped and then went to get gas, and publix. Went back to the outside... where there was no line ever at all today to get in, stood around for 30 mins because it wasn't 230, i noticed around 2pm lots of people going in there..and i figured nobody is arriving this late for appointments, so i walked in as well early, and they let me drop off my receipt, again another 10 minutes i was called, got my passport and on the way. During the entire time, nobody was obnoxious or rude, saw one security guard before i left who was very short with people. But, i acted as if i was going to court, or how i would act if i ever had to go court. Yes sir, no ma'am thank yous and have a good day. Being nice to people always helps.

 

When i got my passport, the room was full of people. Crazy how busy it was at 2pm.

"You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar" as my mom used to say. Glad you got it. I was so paranoid about forgetting the renewal of my passport that I put a prominent reminder on my desk years earlier (renew by Oct X year). My passport was set to expire in October of a certain year and I put a written reminder on my wall calendar starting in January on the first day of every month that read something like "renew passport by June 20XX". Wanted to renew early just in case of some unforseen whatever. OCD, I know. But I needed such reminders for my peace of mind. Glad it worked out for you. Enjoy your cruise.

[grandmarnnurse]

"You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar" as my mom used to say. Glad you got it. I was so paranoid about forgetting the renewal of my passport that I put a prominent reminder on my desk years earlier (renew by Oct X year). My passport was set to expire in October of a certain year and I put a written reminder on my wall calendar starting in January on the first day of every month that read something like "renew passport by June 20XX". Wanted to renew early just in case of some unforseen whatever. OCD, I know. But I needed such reminders for my peace of mind. Glad it worked out for you. Enjoy your cruise.

Smart traveler! I renewed mine in January of the year mine was due to expire in June.

[sparks1093]

I would much rather renew our passports based on our travel plans than the expiry date alone so if we have no immediate travel plans I would let them expire.

[grandmarnnurse]

I would much rather renew our passports based on our travel plans than the expiry date alone so if we have no immediate travel plans I would let them expire.

For people that travel infrequently, I can understand that, but we are retired and travel frequently whenever the mood strikes us. And because we live on the Canadian border in Buffalo, NY, we make frequent day trips to Canada. So keeping my passport current, without worries for delays is necessary.

[sparks1093]

For people that travel infrequently, I can understand that, but we are retired and travel frequently whenever the mood strikes us. And because we live on the Canadian border in Buffalo, NY, we make frequent day trips to Canada. So keeping my passport current, without worries for delays is necessary.

 

Yes for some having the passport current is necessary and for some it is not. We live 8 miles from the border and use.our EDLs to cross (and can use them for cruising too). We cannot travel when the mood strikes for at least 10 more years. We are in Germany at the moment and this trip was in planning for over a year.

[TrinaLC]

Did you read the thread and notice that this information has already been given?

 

 

 

Wow, aren’t you a ray of sunshine.

 

 

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[gingersvp]

Bizzy I'm glad you were able to get that passport renewed! I want to add some information for the benefit of other readers - just a note for ladies, that if you have had a name change and the name on your birth certificate does not match the name on your government ID (driver's license) you will need the birth certificate AND a bridging document (i.e. marriage certificate).

 

I had an incident where I brought 2 copies of one kid's birth certificate and none of the other's and was in the office calling to have the other faxed. There was a line of women trying to get their bridging documentation. (I know passport is best but I had a custody issue where my ex was making getting their passports impossible.)