Neesa Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 While checking in for my 28 June 2020 sailing today ( I am keeping positive & honestly it made me happy fully realizing this may not happen ) I realized my daughter (14) has an expiration date of 01 February 2021 on the passport as it is only good for 5 years. Under 16 may not be renewed on-line and we must go in person for the renewal. My specific question is this, we have our Thanksgiving sailing (fingers crossed) scheduled for 20 November 2020 so her passport will expire within the 6 month window of expiration. We are embarking at Port Everglades going to Aruba, Labadee, and Curacao returning to Port Everglades. Will the current passport still be okay or do I need to renew it for the November sailing? I was hoping it would be okay and respond to the passport Office next year upon actual expiration of the document, plus we have our sailing in 2021 in August, thus leaving us plenty of time. Thank you for any knowledge regarding this uncertainty. Wishing everyone here and all those in our RCCL family safety & health Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean79 Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 While the passport is not needed for cruising (use Birth Certificate), I think you would need to renew the passport if you wish to use it if it expires within 6 months of your cruise. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 Haiti is the one that requires a 6 month validity, of those ports. The other two are "a U.S. passport valid for the duration of your stay" only. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 It’s a Closed loop cruise, I don’t believe you need a passport. You can use an original or certified copy of your birth certificate. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXcruzer Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 13 hours ago, KristiZ said: Haiti is the one that requires a 6 month validity, of those ports. The other two are "a U.S. passport valid for the duration of your stay" only. The 6 month validity rule is not applicable to those arriving by cruise ship Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXcruzer Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 19 hours ago, Neesa said: While checking in for my 28 June 2020 sailing today ( I am keeping positive & honestly it made me happy fully realizing this may not happen ) I realized my daughter (14) has an expiration date of 01 February 2021 on the passport as it is only good for 5 years. Under 16 may not be renewed on-line and we must go in person for the renewal. My specific question is this, we have our Thanksgiving sailing (fingers crossed) scheduled for 20 November 2020 so her passport will expire within the 6 month window of expiration. We are embarking at Port Everglades going to Aruba, Labadee, and Curacao returning to Port Everglades. Will the current passport still be okay or do I need to renew it for the November sailing? I was hoping it would be okay and respond to the passport Office next year upon actual expiration of the document, plus we have our sailing in 2021 in August, thus leaving us plenty of time. Thank you for any knowledge regarding this uncertainty. Wishing everyone here and all those in our RCCL family safety & health You will be absolutely fine with this Passport for your November itinerary. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesa Posted August 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2020 (edited) @Matt, @Lovetocruise2002, Related to this thread. I have gone ahead and submitted/requested/paid for my daughters new passport as the one she has expires soon. Of course they needed the birth certificate so we made a copy as of course "only the original" would be accepted. The processing times due to this COVID situation are "you should likely have it by the end of the year". Okay, so they have both her passport AND her birth certificate, will RCCL accept a photo copy of her original birth certificate? We have relocated so to get a duplicate birth certificate would really be a huge hassle. Not sure when we may start sailing again, but in the slimmest chance we do (we have a 11/20/20 4 night Mariner) still on the books just going to Coco 2X & Nassau (not leaving the ship) am I going to have to get another "original BC or will the photo copy do?? Thank you. Edited August 28, 2020 by Neesa Corrected sail date Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJones Posted August 27, 2020 Report Share Posted August 27, 2020 @Neesa I can't answer about whether RC accepts copies. But the county I live in allows you to request an original birth certificate via mail (would probably need to get the request notarized), or via a company called Vital Check. You might want to see what the options are for the county you relocated from. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 27, 2020 Report Share Posted August 27, 2020 Copies are never acceptable as there is no way to verify authenticity. Only the original raised seal BC is accepted. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 @Neesa we have always cruised with the kid’s passports so I have never looked into the birth certificate option. I cannot answer this one. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesa Posted August 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 @KJones, @twangster, @Lovetocruise2002, oh boy another I told you so moment in my home! Thanks for the 411, I went ahead and did the Vital Check and while it put me back 52.00$ I will have peace of mind knowing I have a duplicate original in about 5 days. It was a pretty easy and quick process with a computer....and credit card. 25.00 for document + 7.00 processing fee + 20.00 overnight mail for security purposes. Still much better then driving to NJ from Florida and then going to the local health dept. Again thanks for the info everyone! Have an enjoyable weekend. Mrs. RoyalMoyal, WAAAYTOOO, SpeedNoodles and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 We obtained second official copies of all our vital documents for just this reason. When our grandchildren were born, we purchased an extra copy for us to keep. Neesa and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 I have always had paid for duplicates when my children were born. Our children are 30, 28 and 26. We were a military family for decades and knowing that we would move often, we were told to do this by the legal advisers. 1 we kept with us. 1 was given to my Mom, in case it got lost during a move. The lawyers not only advised us to do that, but also during his active duty career my Mom had an official copy of our marriage certificate, living wills and last will and testaments. Once we retired and grown kids, I got the birth certificates back from my Mom. My kids have their original in their home, and I have an official in my home. Point being it is smart investment to do so for the just in case. WAAAYTOOO, Baked Alaska, Mrs. RoyalMoyal and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPPJJ-GCVAB Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 1 hour ago, Neesa said: @KJones, @twangster, @Lovetocruise2002, oh boy another I told you so moment in my home! Thanks for the 411, I went ahead and did the Vital Check and while it put me back 52.00$ I will have peace of mind knowing I have a duplicate original in about 5 days. It was a pretty easy and quick process with a computer....and credit card. 25.00 for document + 7.00 processing fee + 20.00 overnight mail for security purposes. Still much better then driving to NJ from Florida and then going to the local health dept. Again thanks for the info everyone! Have an enjoyable weekend. After all your troubles...I sooo hope you get to sail on your November cruise!! Best of luck... Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 We also stuck. My son's passport expires January (next potential cruise is March, then August). He turns 16 in April. DH is thinking if we can't get him a passport soon and March is out, then we wait for his birthday and apply for an adult one. Don't want to mail in his birth certificate so waiting for things to open for everyone where you can go in person...but then the backlog and line ups will be nuts. So worried when we can apply, that passports won't come in time. We're Canadian and we do have Nexus (and Aug we can potentially drive, although its a long drive) but not sure we are comfortable travelling without a passport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXcruzer Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 15 hours ago, Neesa said: @Matt, @Lovetocruise2002, Related to this thread. I have gone ahead and submitted/requested/paid for my daughters new passport as the one she has expires soon. Of course they needed the birth certificate so we made a copy as of course "only the original" would be accepted. The processing times due to this COVID situation are "you should likely have it by the end of the year". Okay, so they have both her passport AND her birth certificate, will RCCL accept a photo copy of her original birth certificate? We have relocated so to get a duplicate birth certificate would really be a huge hassle. Not sure when we may start sailing again, but in the slimmest chance we do (we have a 11/20/20 4 night Mariner) still on the books just going to Coco 2X & Nassau (not leaving the ship) am I going to have to get another "original BC or will the photo copy do?? Thank you. I don't understand why you had to send the BC for a renewal. Every renewal I have ever done, all you needed was the renewal application and the old passport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 20 minutes ago, TXcruzer said: I don't understand why you had to send the BC for a renewal. Every renewal I have ever done, all you needed was the renewal application and the old passport. I think it's different for kids renewals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 1 hour ago, Matt said: I think it's different for kids renewals Yes, for kids BC everytime. And! Just to make it more inconvenient, if you are renewing a non-expired (as of yet) passport, you have to send that in, additionally. Not at all convenient when your teenager needs to get his drivers license! Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesa Posted August 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 1 hour ago, TXcruzer said: I don't understand why you had to send the BC for a renewal. Every renewal I have ever done, all you needed was the renewal application and the old passport. @Matt and @Baked Alaska are correct. She is 14 and it is only good for 5 years and super inconvenient. Yes I had to ALSO send in her current passport in addition to the BC which is crazy because we did that previously to get the first one. Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 I was nervous about my original birth certificate getting lost in the mail, so I made sure to order an officially certified copy and I used that to send off for my passport. It was a small price to pay for the peace of mind that I still had a birth certificate on hand in case i needed it while they were processing my passport. Jax, Neesa, USCG Teacher and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJones Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 6 hours ago, Neesa said: @KJones, @twangster, @Lovetocruise2002, oh boy another I told you so moment in my home! Thanks for the 411, I went ahead and did the Vital Check and while it put me back 52.00$ I will have peace of mind knowing I have a duplicate original in about 5 days. It was a pretty easy and quick process with a computer....and credit card. 25.00 for document + 7.00 processing fee + 20.00 overnight mail for security purposes. Still much better then driving to NJ from Florida and then going to the local health dept. Again thanks for the info everyone! Have an enjoyable weekend. Yay! Glad it worked out for you! Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXcruzer Posted August 28, 2020 Report Share Posted August 28, 2020 6 hours ago, Matt said: I think it's different for kids renewals i learn something new every day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. RoyalMoyal Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 Yes, for minors, both parents/guardians (or some kind of permission from an ex) and the child need to go apply for a passport renewal, at the county clerk, on a weekday between 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM. It's a minor inconvenience... at least in the county and state we live in. I picked my son up early from school to do this, and the secretary gave me "the look" when I told her why we were taking him out of school 15 minutes early. We had the same itinerary you are inquiring about, my son's passport was to expire 5 months after the cruise. I worried about the same issue; but it was not a problem. This was BEFORE Covid..... Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesa Posted September 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 *****UPDATE***** I purchased the duplicate birth certificate due to the information received from this strand within 5 days I had it! Now this morning, I just received an email from the Department of State (passport agency) that my daughters passport was complete and they were mailing it out. Targeted date to be here in Florida is 30 September 2020, I have to sign for it. I went to my local Post Office with her old passport book and completed her application on 27 August 2020, so lightening fast! Just wanted to update here on the time it took I think doing it before sailing resumed may have been the smart move. Thanks again for all the help with this one! FYI we were told at the Post office we would be lucky if we had it by the end of the year. WAAAYTOOO, KJones, teddy and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 I never send original birth certificates. I keep those and have certified (raised seal) copies to submit for whomever might need it. Here in CT those are obtained by a 5 minute, $20 visit to the local Town Clerk. Hubby was born in New Hampshire but they have an on line request service, ordered 2 just in case. Those originals are kinda special and I would hate to have one lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.