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Help I can't find my birth certificate and I have no passport

Shak123

By Shak123,
in Ask a Cruise Question

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idraconis

idraconis

Posted
Posted

Do a search on line. Check the Dept of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection. It states closed loop cruise, you must have a Enhanced Drivers License, a government issued birth certificate ( issued by Vital Records Dept of state of birth or U.S. passport. And a call to your cruise company may help. Enjoy your cruies.

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SpaceCowboy9

SpaceCowboy9

Posted
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Indeed -- expensive lesson. I'm already prepping for a cruise in August 2018 - my son's passport expires in February, so that's on my list. I have a reminder on my phone to deal with it in November/December. Call your mom or dad, they may have your birth cert.... Good luck!

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Bonnie J.

Bonnie J.

Posted
Posted

You contact the state's county you were born in. You should get the phone number for the county office. You should be able to find this on Google. Then call them and ask for the clerk.

If you live in the area go there- with some cash for a copy of your birth certificate.There is a cost but I don't know how much or if they take credit cards.They will send you a certified copy that you can use to get on a ship.

I did this when my birth certificate burned up in a fire where it was being stored. If you get a passport you must send this in, then it is returned with your passport.

We both have our 2nd passports. They are good for 10 years so divide the cost by 10 and you'll see they're not that expensive on a yearly basis! (We cruise a LOT!)

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Grandma Dazzles

Grandma Dazzles

Posted
Posted
You contact the state's county you were born in. You should get the phone number for the county office. You should be able to find this on Google. Then call them and ask for the clerk.

If you live in the area go there- with some cash for a copy of your birth certificate.There is a cost but I don't know how much or if they take credit cards.They will send you a certified copy that you can use to get on a ship.

I did this when my birth certificate burned up in a fire where it was being stored. If you get a passport you must send this in, then it is returned with your passport.

We both have our 2nd passports. They are good for 10 years so divide the cost by 10 and you'll see they're not that expensive on a yearly basis! (We cruise a LOT!)

 

Not going to happen. OP sails tomorrow. Today is Saturday and also a holiday weekend.

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Herfnerd

Herfnerd

Posted
Posted

Look, look and keep looking. Hopefully you physically saw it when you booked your cruise.

 

Mebbe it's just me, but I can't stand not having all my travel documents checked and ready well beforehand.

 

I am not aware of any sites that will allow you to take a screenshot of your BC. More importantly, other than Carnival, I'm not aware of any cruise line that will accept this.

 

But as your cruise departs tomorrow, on a holiday weekend, unless you find it soon, you're going to be watching the cruise depart from the dock

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Herfnerd

Herfnerd

Posted
Posted
You contact the state's county you were born in. You should get the phone number for the county office. You should be able to find this on Google. Then call them and ask for the clerk.

If you live in the area go there- with some cash for a copy of your birth certificate.There is a cost but I don't know how much or if they take credit cards.They will send you a certified copy that you can use to get on a ship.

I did this when my birth certificate burned up in a fire where it was being stored. If you get a passport you must send this in, then it is returned with your passport.

We both have our 2nd passports. They are good for 10 years so divide the cost by 10 and you'll see they're not that expensive on a yearly basis! (We cruise a LOT!)

 

 

 

County clerk's office won't be open on the Saturday of a long holiday weekend

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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navybankerteacher

navybankerteacher

Posted
Posted

Of course, more than once there has been a post like this discussing a last minute crisis - with a happy very last minute resolution. Some people like drama - not suggesting it here --- but such an attitude is not much stranger than this: not ensuring docs are available about the time you book the cruise.

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fishywood

fishywood

Posted
Posted

As has been discussed MANY, MANY times on here:

 

If the OP is on Carnival it does not have to be a certified copy of the Birth Certificate

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3409

 

Birth Certificate Information

 

The following are acceptable:

  • An original or copy of a birth certificate issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics
  • A clear, legible copy of a birth certificate that was originally issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics. The copy does not need to be notarized or certified.
  • Birth Certificate Card
  • A Consular report of Birth Abroad
  • Internationally adopted children (under the age of 18): If the adoptive parent was not issued a birth certificate, we will accept as proof of citizenship, a Certificate of Citizenship by the U.S. and adoption paperwork. A Certificate of Citizenship is issued by the U.S. once the adoption is finalized.

 

And because the Carnival site recommends Vitalcheck for obtaining your BC I gather that is where the OP is booked. Good Luck making the download work.

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Grandma Dazzles

Grandma Dazzles

Posted
Posted
As has been discussed MANY, MANY times on here:

 

If the OP is on Carnival it does not have to be a certified copy of the Birth Certificate

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3409

 

Birth Certificate Information

 

The following are acceptable:

  • An original or copy of a birth certificate issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics
  • A clear, legible copy of a birth certificate that was originally issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics. The copy does not need to be notarized or certified.
  • Birth Certificate Card
  • A Consular report of Birth Abroad
  • Internationally adopted children (under the age of 18): If the adoptive parent was not issued a birth certificate, we will accept as proof of citizenship, a Certificate of Citizenship by the U.S. and adoption paperwork. A Certificate of Citizenship is issued by the U.S. once the adoption is finalized.

And because the Carnival site recommends Vitalcheck for obtaining your BC I gather that is where the OP is booked. Good Luck making the download work.

 

OP did not indicate which cruiseline. He did say Vitalcheck did not work, for whatever reason.

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Shorex

Shorex

Posted
Posted

From the urgent tone of the OP's post, it should be safe to assume he does not any of the various documentation that would get him on the ship. If that is not the case, then much ado about nothing.

 

Good luck OP, hope you find your birth certificate. Then order extras from Vitalchek for everyone in the family - never hurts to have a backup.

 

(Posted before OP's confirmation of Carnival - any hope then? Any backup scans or photos which would suffice? We take photos on our phone of important docs, proof of insurance, etc.)

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Capt_BJ

Capt_BJ

Posted
Posted (edited)

had not heard of VitalChek and was wondering how they verified so did a dummy request

 

quickly saw that a properly submitted request on their web site would be submitted to the appropriate government office for processing the next business day ....

Edited by Capt_BJ
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