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No passport. How bad will it be?


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We applied for passports and they did not like the birth certificates we sent in so they won’t be here before we leave next week. We are really bummed, especially since we spent the money on them just for this cruise. Anyway, we have no choice but to travel with our birth certificate now. I just want to be prepared for how much trouble this will be for us. So go ahead and tell me! ?

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14 minutes ago, Kwevans said:

We applied for passports and they did not like the birth certificates we sent in so they won’t be here before we leave next week. We are really bummed, especially since we spent the money on them just for this cruise. Anyway, we have no choice but to travel with our birth certificate now. I just want to be prepared for how much trouble this will be for us. So go ahead and tell me! ?

Well...I guess the question has to be asked....

If the State Department didn't accept the Birth Certificate what are the chances that the cruise line will reject it as well ?

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4 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Well...I guess the question has to be asked....

If the State Department didn't accept the Birth Certificate what are the chances that the cruise line will reject it as well ?

Sorry, I should clarify. I sent in notarized copies not the originals. ??‍♀️ Totally my fault. We have the original BC we will be traveling with!

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2 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Well...I guess the question has to be asked....

If the State Department didn't accept the Birth Certificate what are the chances that the cruise line will reject it as well ?

I got into a similar situation applying for my passport. Fortunately there is enough time to get it done. What State Dept. wants is what Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics calls the "Long Form". What I sent them was the "Short Form". The long form contains a lot more info about your birth than the short form is all. I'm playing the game....hope I get it by December.

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If you are a resident of the USA and your cruise leaves from a USA port and returns to the USA the birth certificate will work.

 

For US Sailings 

U.S. Citizens may sail using their:

  • Official Birth Certificate and a supporting Government Issued Photo ID, like a driver’s license or an identity card. Please note that hospital Birth Certificates (baby feet Birth Certificates) are not accepted.

or

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23 minutes ago, Kwevans said:

We applied for passports and they did not like the birth certificates we sent in so they won’t be here before we leave next week. We are really bummed, especially since we spent the money on them just for this cruise. Anyway, we have no choice but to travel with our birth certificate now. I just want to be prepared for how much trouble this will be for us. So go ahead and tell me! ?

Well it really depends on where you are going as well. 

1. You might not be able to board the ship.

2. You  will be fine.

3. You will be detained, imprisoned and executed.

Number 3 is not that likely though.

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As of June 1, 2009, U.S. citizens embarking on a cruise that both originates and terminates at the same U.S. port are not required to have a passport, but will need proof of citizenship such as an original or certified copy of a birth certificate, a certificate of naturalization, a passport card, an enhanced driver’s license as well as a government-issued photo ID. Children are also required to bring proof of citizenship, and if 16 and over, a photo ID is also required. 

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3 minutes ago, fonemanbob said:

Hopefully you are not going to Canada or Europe where you will need a passport. 

Nope, just going on a short 3 night to Nassau and CocoCay. I'm most concerned we will be stuck in a long line that seems to take forever while everyone will be passing us by with their fancy passports!! Ha! 

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8 minutes ago, Kwevans said:

Nope, just going on a short 3 night to Nassau and CocoCay. I'm most concerned we will be stuck in a long line that seems to take forever while everyone will be passing us by with their fancy passports!! Ha! 

Nope will not happen at all, you will be just as quick as everyone else to board, or if you are early get into the waiting area.

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Are you departing out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale?  There is a passport office not far from the Miami port that does “emergency” passports.  You need to make an appointment but turn around can be same day.  If you are already traveling with your birth certificates you have the documents.   

https://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/miami-passport-agency.html

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Just sailing on NOTS with both me and my hubby with birth certicate only. Went with friends that had passports. The customs guy scanned their passports, and took a picture of our birth certificates and Id together. Took like 2 seconds longer since you had to get the ID lined up on the bc to get it all in picture. You will be fine. 

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22 hours ago, rtread said:

I got into a similar situation applying for my passport. Fortunately there is enough time to get it done. What State Dept. wants is what Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics calls the "Long Form". What I sent them was the "Short Form". The long form contains a lot more info about your birth than the short form is all. I'm playing the game....hope I get it by December.

Yes, my soon to be daughter-in-law's mother just had this same problem. Plus she couldn't order her long form BC from Vitalchek.com because all birth records from 1985 and before burned with the building in Dallas Texas that held them. We had to pay an extra $75 and swear on a stack of bibles that we were authorizing this company to rep her in Austin, TX to get it and mail to her. Crazy. We don't cruise until September 2019, so I'm hoping this will be enough time to get her Passport complete.

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The only real drawback to a birth certificate vs passport you can't leave a foriegn country with just a birth certificate. If you don't get kicked off the ship or miss the ship you'll be fine. If either happens then it'll rather expensive to get back.

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I can understand why folks don't get them after just applying for ousr at a cost of over $480 for 3 ,its kind of a hit to the wallet for something you can sail without.

Because of my medical history and my son being in a wheelchair our agent insisted we have these .

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yes, they are expensive, but they have multiple purposes.  Some drivers' licenses aren't valid for air travel, so a passport comes in handy.  Then there is the ID process when getting a new job - passports are a big help.  The 5 year expiration for kids isn't good, but 10 years for adults reduces the cost.  Passports are preferred over travel cards for cruises just in case you need to fly home for medical emergency or are stranded for other reasons.  And of course there are those Jason Bourne fantasies about being a secret agent....

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If you are married and don’t have a passport and are using Birth Certificates then YOU MUST Have A COPY OF YOUR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE that shows your wife’s  maiden name was legally changed. If your birth certificate has a maiden name and her driving license has her married name you MUST have that document bridge. If not your not getting on the ship. I’ve seen it happen many times. 

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57 minutes ago, RoyalGreek said:

If you are married and don’t have a passport and are using Birth Certificates then YOU MUST Have A COPY OF YOUR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE that shows your wife’s  maiden name was legally changed. If your birth certificate has a maiden name and her driving license has her married name you MUST have that document bridge. If not your not getting on the ship. I’ve seen it happen many times. 

That makes sense, but It doesn’t say anything about that online. We have already left town and will be flying to Orlando tomorrow for our cruise that leave Friday. I will call them first thing tomorrow morning!! Thanks for the heads up! 

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If its any consolation, once you have the passport its good for 10 years and in the future, to renew it is pretty simple. A short form, the old passport, a fresh photo, a fee and you are done.

 

There are some expediting services that can get your application moved to the top of the pile. Combined with guaranteed overnight delivery you can have a passport in a very few days if you are willing to pay the price.

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9 hours ago, Kwevans said:

That makes sense, but It doesn’t say anything about that online. We have already left town and will be flying to Orlando tomorrow for our cruise that leave Friday. I will call them first thing tomorrow morning!! Thanks for the heads up! 

It’s listed in the Cruise Contract. 

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1 hour ago, castle25 said:

Being from the UK, it amazes me how many US citizens dont have a passport.  For the sake of $150 dollars why wouldn't you get one!!   The same goes for the number that dont have proper cruise insurance..........

Being that the US is such a large country, just in size, you can see a lot without needing to leave the country, requiring a passport. I think Europeans, just from a logistical stand point, look at international travel differently. In the time it takes me to drive two states away, Europeans can drive two countries away. I know a lot of Americans that don't have passports, simple because they have never left the US.

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3 hours ago, RoyalGreek said:

It’s listed in the Cruise Contract. 

I called RC this morning and you are correct!! I will have to have my marriage license in addition to my birth certificate. Luckily I have a mother-in-law who lives down the street and is able to overnight it to our hotel while we're in Orlando. Otherwise, I'm not sure what my options would be!  Thank you so much for the heads up. I would have been highly upset when I went to board the cruise ship on Friday. 

Here's hoping this helps any other married women traveling with a birth certificate instead of a passport!! 

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22 minutes ago, Kwevans said:

Here's hoping this helps any other married women traveling with a birth certificate instead of a passport!! 

It's not just traveling.  Anytime you need to prove your identity, your name must match on all required documents or you need the marriage certificate (or divorce papers) to link the names together.  In cases where couples both hyphenate their names, they will both have to watch out for this too!

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12 hours ago, Kwevans said:

I called RC this morning and you are correct!! I will have to have my marriage license in addition to my birth certificate. Luckily I have a mother-in-law who lives down the street and is able to overnight it to our hotel while we're in Orlando. Otherwise, I'm not sure what my options would be!  Thank you so much for the heads up. I would have been highly upset when I went to board the cruise ship on Friday. 

Here's hoping this helps any other married women traveling with a birth certificate instead of a passport!! 

I just did a cruise on navigator with bc and they didn't ask for my marriage certificate to prove name change either getting on or off ship. That said more paperwork is always better than less 

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8 hours ago, Whizbank said:

I just did a cruise on navigator with bc and they didn't ask for my marriage certificate to prove name change either getting on or off ship. That said more paperwork is always better than less 

I'm hoping that is the case but then again after going to the trouble of having it overnighted to my hotel I want them to ask for it!! ?

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are back from our cruise and I wanted to give an update on how it went traveling with birth certificates....

I was NEVER asked for my marriage license (although I had it and was prepared if so)!!  Traveling with our birth certificates didn’t seem to increase any wait time compared to traveling with our passports. However, I will go with a passport next time for peace of mind in case of a medical emergency, etc. 

and for what it worth, our cruise was amazing and we want to go back RIGHT NOW!  Totally addicted to cruising!!

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5 hours ago, Kwevans said:

We are back from our cruise and I wanted to give an update on how it went traveling with birth certificates....

I was NEVER asked for my marriage license (although I had it and was prepared if so)!!  Traveling with our birth certificates didn’t seem to increase any wait time compared to traveling with our passports. However, I will go with a passport next time for peace of mind in case of a medical emergency, etc. 

and for what it worth, our cruise was amazing and we want to go back RIGHT NOW!  Totally addicted to cruising!!

So glad everything worked out and that you had an amazing trip!!  jane

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On 6/17/2019 at 7:02 AM, castle25 said:

Being from the UK, it amazes me how many US citizens dont have a passport.  For the sake of $150 dollars why wouldn't you get one!!   The same goes for the number that dont have proper cruise insurance..........

  Probably the vast majority of Americans cant afford to travel outside of the U.S. or cant get the time off work.  In the UK you are a short train ride to mainland Europe.   There are a large number that would be happy just to be able to see most of America.  So you are comparing apples to oranges.

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