DL and Birth Certificate !

[Etabler]

I've called the RC customer service but I haven't been able to speak to a supervisor. My birth certificate has both of my middle names and my drivers license only has my first middle name. The lady I spoke with assured me as long as my first and last name match, I can board the ship. Is this true?? I have 2 weeks until my cruise! 

[Traveler]

The best way to be sure will be to have a passport.

If you do not have a passport and you willing to pay extra 60 $ for expedite process you can use this service and get it ready for your travel , once you have it you can make sure the name on the passport is identical to the reservation (if not , you can ask RC to change the name)  .

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/services/expedited.html

Regarding if it will work as RC told you with the driving license/birth certificate   , I can not answer , one of the most problematic thing in RC is to get firm answer  from them.

Hope it will work well for you (most of the chances it will) 

[Matt]

I would also recommend getting a passport. Simplifies things greatly, and it is far more useful should you ever get stuck somewhere.

[DunkelBierJay]

8 hours ago, Etabler said:

I've called the RC customer service but I haven't been able to speak to a supervisor. My birth certificate has both of my middle names and my drivers license only has my first middle name. The lady I spoke with assured me as long as my first and last name match, I can board the ship. Is this true?? I have 2 weeks until my cruise! 

I did this cruel thing to all three of my kids and have never had an issue...I just got them passports...much easier, and a great investment for future travel.

[monorailmedic]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure anywhere here will be able to give you a conclusive answer, because there is a certain level of subjectivity to what they accept.  That is to say that someone may have been rejected under simliar circumstances, while others may have been given the go-ahead with documents that had more significant discrepancies.

That in mind, my gut is that you'll probably be alright, however my gut doesn't matter here.  What matters is a combination of the requirements (which are a tad fuzzy) and how they're enforced.  You can read here the exact verbiage we got from CBP as well as some of the ambiguities around using a birth certificate.

I'd do one of the two following things to shore up your chances.

1. Bring more supporting documentation. Have anything with your photo, or even just your DOB which also uses both of your middle names?  Bring it.  If it's a government issued ID, great, but even if it's not - just bring other documents that will, in the event they ask about this (they may not), tie the name on that birth ciertificate with the information on that drivers licence (or vice-versa).
2. As others have mentioned, get a passport.  I know this isn't the one you want to hear, but it's the best possible thing to do.  You'll have no question at that point with regard to your documentation, and you'll prepared in the event that you were to miss the ship, have to leave the cruise early due to a medical emergency, etc.  Being in another country without a passport probably isn't a good time.  They're good for ten years, so divide that cost out across ten years and it's quite reasonable.  

Let us know how it ends up working out.  Good luck!

[MikeK]

  Another option would be to go to your local drivers license agency and get your drivers license changed to show both middle names like your birth certificate.  Tell the drivers license person that you anticipate a problem getting on the ship since your drivers license doesnt match your birth certificate exactly.  Most drivers license agencies can issue a new license while you are  there.  If your license is close to your renewal date you could do that at the same time and have the name changed.   Also make sure the name is the same on the ship manifest.  Good luck

[melski94]

26 minutes ago, MikeK said:

  Another option would be to go to your local drivers license agency and get your drivers license changed to show both middle names like your birth certificate.  Tell the drivers license person that you anticipate a problem getting on the ship since your drivers license doesnt match your birth certificate exactly.  Most drivers license agencies can issue a new license while you are  there.  If your license is close to your renewal date you could do that at the same time and have the name changed.   Also make sure the name is the same on the ship manifest.  Good luck

Changing the DL was my initial thought too but if you are flying your airline ticket must match your ID exactly. Changing the name on your airline ticket may give you a headache if you have TSA precheck. If you don't have TSA precheck then changing your name on your airline ticket shouldn't be that hard.  

Just curious, how do married women cruise with their birth certificate? Often the names won't match?  I have a passport so not an issue to me but it makes me wonder if the names isn't as important as the DOB. Of course, I'd hate to for someone to show up at the gate and not get on their cruise.  

[bcarney]

44 minutes ago, melski94 said:

Of course, I'd hate to for someone to show up at the gate and not get on their cruise.  

This has almost happened to us - THREE TIMES - because RC's brain-dead check in people have no idea what a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative-compliant ID is.  

In Michigan and several other border states, we have drivers licenses and underage IDs that are WHTI compliant - this allows us to travel to/from neighboring countries on land without a passport, and on closed loop cruises (departing and returning to the same port), without any additional ID like birth certificates since the background check was done at the time of application for the DL/ID.

Because the IDs are WHTI compliant, we do not need the birth certificates to board...unless the untrained monkeys at the port insist you do, and you are denied boarding for over an hour while they get their act together, as has happened to us three times - once in Tampa, and twice in San Juan.

My advice: despite officially not needing any additional documentation, bring it along anyway.  You never know when you might need it.

[Guest toodle68]

My humble advice is to take your passport anytime you are leaving the country.. even if rules/law says you don't need it..  because arguing with people demanding that you are right is mostly pointless at best, and likely to get you tasered at worst.  

[Gears]

This is a 'pick your pain' situation. 

A. Go with your current docs and cross your fingers. If you run into problems you will wish you got those stinking passports.

B. Deal with the near term battle of getting passports. Relax on your vacation.

[FLGooner]

Why take a chance, just get passports.

[mbk999]

4 hours ago, toodle68 said:

My humble advice is to take your passport anytime you are leaving the country

Agreed, much simpler with less stress.   I know getting a passport(s) at the last minute isn't the cheapest option but it's best in the long run (imo).