Is a passport required yet to cruise from Galveston to Cozumel?

[cynt]

I'm thinking about booking a last minute 4 night cruise from Galveston to Cozumel. Will my dad need a passport? I already have one but I was going to take him with me for a much needed vacation.

[sappygirl]

No. Just a birth certificate is needed for now.

[firefly333]

Just make sure its the official birth certificate, usually with a raised seal.

[zqvol]

Just make sure its the official birth certificate, usually with a raised seal.

 

Please do not tell people that birth certificates need raised seals, they don't. they have to be certified. Most certified documents no longer have raised seals, they have special paper or inked stamps.

 

The OP needs to make sure that the BC is certified by the issuing government agency.

[Hendricks Clan]

Please do not tell people that birth certificates need raised seals, they don't. they have to be certified. Most certified documents no longer have raised seals, they have special paper or inked stamps.

 

The OP needs to make sure that the BC is certified by the issuing government agency.

 

Here in South Carolina the county you were born in issues your birth certificate, and thus always have to go through them to get a new one. These do not have a raised seal. However, when we applied for out passports they were not accepted and our application were returend with a letter saying we had to send a birth cert. with an "raised seal." We had to go through the state and get them from Columbia. So, It must be hit or miss but I do know in order for us to get our passports we had to have the ones with a raised seal. I have also read on here and on other message boards before where people have been turned away at the port for not having a birth cert. with a raised seal, and if im not mistaken they were from SC.

[Magic City Cruiser]

You can get a BC pretty quickly from the local government office. Ask about the "raised seal" thing. Better safe than sorry!

And, if you miss the ship while in a foreign port, it's gonna be difficult to get home as you have to have one to fly IN to the US. I hope you get the BC thing worked out and just don't miss the boat!

[tkportersat]

I second this, it just has to be "certified". On our new Texas copies it is a rainbow stamp.

 

Please do not tell people that birth certificates need raised seals, they don't. they have to be certified. Most certified documents no longer have raised seals, they have special paper or inked stamps.

 

The OP needs to make sure that the BC is certified by the issuing government agency.

[Luv4dacruise]

I second the double checking on the raised seal thing. You guys can argue all you want about it not having to have a raised seal, but until they change what is required to get a passport, it does need a raised seal.

 

As far as needing one at the port if you are just using your drivers license and b/c to embark, i don't know, but better safe than sorry.

[cherylandtk]

Well, here is one more for the certified vs. raised seal. I won't begin to explain the issue with SC, but it does seem odd that both the county and the state issue birth certificates*. That might explain why one is considered official and the other isn't. But the passport agency only looks for a "certified copy of the original, issued by a state or local government". They say nothing about a raised seal being the only acceptable mark to certify a BC. They also accept hologrammed or watermarked papers and special color shifting ink.

 

*Edit: I looked up BC's on the South Carolina department of vital records website. Turns out the county-issued BC's are short forms (don't contain parents names or filing dates) and are thus not certifiable for travel. Only the state-issued long forms contain all the necessary information for travel use.

 

http://www.scdhec.net/administration/vr/birth.htm

[cynt]

He has a BC and we're not from SC so I'm pretty sure his is raised. I'll have him check the raise seal tonight and if need be order him another one tomorrow that is raised.

 

Thanks again. I'm just glad he doesn't need a passport.

[wildcatksu]

Our BC did not have a raised seal. They say certified copy. We used them to cruise with no problems. Only place you will need them is when you board and when you get off. Customs did not even look at our drivers licenses or my marriage license. They just asked who is Nathan? Who is so and so?

 

When I applied for the bc the reason I stated was for a passport. With the watermarks on the certificate they do not use a raised seal. It must be state by state.

 

Robin

[LemurCat]

Please do not tell people that birth certificates need raised seals, they don't. they have to be certified. Most certified documents no longer have raised seals, they have special paper or inked stamps.

 

The OP needs to make sure that the BC is certified by the issuing government agency.

 

Actually, the requirements for what makes a birth certificate official varies from state to state, just as the method and delivery of said certificate varies. People should check with the state in which they were born for the proper procedure for replacing or verifying they have the proper paper work.

[nrdsb4]

I second the double checking on the raised seal thing. You guys can argue all you want about it not having to have a raised seal, but until they change what is required to get a passport, it does need a raised seal.

As far as needing one at the port if you are just using your drivers license and b/c to embark, i don't know, but better safe than sorry.

 

But that's just not necessarily true. In Texas, BC's no longer have raised seals. We took our daughter's BC with watermark, applied for a passport, and we had no trouble. I would certainly ask about the raised seal in your state, but we are proof that it is not necessary in all instances to have a raised seal BC to get a passport if your state no longer offers you that option.