Traveling with Birth Certificate

[Scotico]

So I just realized that my passport will not be valid 6 months after our cruise so I set up a passport renewal and paid for expedited services.  I also had to order a new birth certificate which I received already from the state.  Will I run into any issues traveling with the birth certificate if my passport does not arrive on time?  I am sailing with RCCL and the cruise is at the end of February 2023.

[ldubs]

Birth certificate and driver's license will get you on board for some closed loop cruises out of US ports--  like round trip Miami to Caribbean or round trip Los Angeles to Mexico.    Your cruise doc's should specify what is needed.    

 

BTW, my brother in law did the expedited and had the renewal within two weeks.  Hope that works for you.  

 

 

[mrgabriel]

From Royal Caribbean's website: (link Here)

Accepted Forms of Identification

All guests will also need a form of identification to board the ship. Accepted forms of identification vary based on nationality, departure port and disembarkation port.

Please note that hospital Birth Certificates (baby feet Birth Certificates), as well as photocopies or images of any required travel documents are not accepted for boarding.

Accepted Identification for U.S. Citizens

• U.S. Passport book that is valid at least 6 months after your cruise ends. A U.S. Passport book is required for sailings that depart from homeports outside of the U.S..

• For sailings departing from U.S. homeports, an official US state-issued Birth Certificate is also accepted. Guests age 16 and older that present an official US state-issued Birth Certificate will also need to provide a valid Driver’s License or picture ID issued by the government.

• Puerto Rican citizens should review their birth certificates and ensure they are up to date. Puerto Rican birth certificates issued prior to July 1, 2010 are not valid forms of proof of citizenship.  The Government of Puerto Rico has partnered with document provider VitalChek to provide an expedited method for ordering new birth certificates. To apply through this method please visit:  www.vitalchek.com. Vital Check also offers a bilingual call center available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Processing and shipping fees apply. To apply through this method please call: (866) 842-6765.

• United States Permanent Residents must have a United States Permanent Resident Card. Additionally, a passport from your home country is strongly recommended. Click here for additional information.

• For all sailings that visit Colombia, all guests will be required to present a passport book valid for at least 6 months after the sailing’s return date in order to board. Colombian Customs and Immigration requires all visitors to have a valid passport book and will not accept any other travel documents for entry. Unfortunately, any guests without a valid passport book will be denied boarding.

No refunds will be given to individuals who fail to bring proper documentation.

For additional United States passport information visit the United States Department of State travel information website. Visa Central is the passport and visa service that we recommend, should our guests need passport and visa assistance. You may contact Visa Central for all your passport needs. Visa Central can obtain passports in as little as one day. US Residents, please contact VisaCentral online at www.visacentral.com/royalcaribbean, email rci@visacentral.com or call 800-858-8579, and be sure to reference Royal Caribbean account 44988 for reduced service fees. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by mrgabriel

[sparks1093]

If you are on a closed loop cruise where a government ID and birth certificate will get you onboard (and it sounds like you are) then there is no 6 month requirement and you didn't need to renew your passport. Royal's guidelines are poorly written in that regard.

[dolittle]

3 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

From Royal Caribbean's website: (link Here)

Accepted Forms of Identification

All guests will also need a form of identification to board the ship. Accepted forms of identification vary based on nationality, departure port and disembarkation port.

Please note that hospital Birth Certificates (baby feet Birth Certificates), as well as photocopies or images of any required travel documents are not accepted for boarding.

Accepted Identification for U.S. Citizens

• U.S. Passport book that is valid at least 6 months after your cruise ends. A U.S. Passport book is required for sailings that depart from homeports outside of the U.S..

• For sailings departing from U.S. homeports, an official US state-issued Birth Certificate is also accepted. Guests age 16 and older that present an official US state-issued Birth Certificate will also need to provide a valid Driver’s License or picture ID issued by the government.

• Puerto Rican citizens should review their birth certificates and ensure they are up to date. Puerto Rican birth certificates issued prior to July 1, 2010 are not valid forms of proof of citizenship.  The Government of Puerto Rico has partnered with document provider VitalChek to provide an expedited method for ordering new birth certificates. To apply through this method please visit:  www.vitalchek.com. Vital Check also offers a bilingual call center available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Processing and shipping fees apply. To apply through this method please call: (866) 842-6765.

• United States Permanent Residents must have a United States Permanent Resident Card. Additionally, a passport from your home country is strongly recommended. Click here for additional information.

• For all sailings that visit Colombia, all guests will be required to present a passport book valid for at least 6 months after the sailing’s return date in order to board. Colombian Customs and Immigration requires all visitors to have a valid passport book and will not accept any other travel documents for entry. Unfortunately, any guests without a valid passport book will be denied boarding.

No refunds will be given to individuals who fail to bring proper documentation.

For additional United States passport information visit the United States Department of State travel information website. Visa Central is the passport and visa service that we recommend, should our guests need passport and visa assistance. You may contact Visa Central for all your passport needs. Visa Central can obtain passports in as little as one day. US Residents, please contact VisaCentral online at www.visacentral.com/royalcaribbean, email rci@visacentral.com or call 800-858-8579, and be sure to reference Royal Caribbean account 44988 for reduced service fees. 

When we were getting our first passports a women at he post office insisted that her ''footise'' was her birth certificate that she had never had any other kind. Where I live (Pa) these were often taken as a B.C. B.T.W. do hospitals still give these out.

[Essiesmom]

I’ve been retired for a lot of years, but not all hospitals I worked in gave souvenir BC with footprints.  But for many years we had a sheet of shiny paper that we put the footprints on and it stayed in the chart.  I think it started as an attempt at ID, like fingerprints, when infant abduction was a problem.  By the time I retired we had stopped doing that, but we still had the ink pads for the occasions parents had a baby book that had a page for the footprints.  And sometimes handprints…and boy, are they difficult to do.  EM

[dolittle]

11 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I’ve been retired for a lot of years, but not all hospitals I worked in gave souvenir BC with footprints.  But for many years we had a sheet of shiny paper that we put the footprints on and it stayed in the chart.  I think it started as an attempt at ID, like fingerprints, when infant abduction was a problem.  By the time I retired we had stopped doing that, but we still had the ink pads for the occasions parents had a baby book that had a page for the footprints.  And sometimes handprints…and boy, are they difficult to do.  EM

The ones I had as a kid (born 1955) did look very official a lot of seals and fancy writing . It is no wonder people think they are real .

[sanger727]

As long as it’s a closed loop sailing, you should be fine with your birth certificate and drivers license. People cruise with those all the time. 

[Essiesmom]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

As long as it’s a closed loop sailing, you should be fine with your birth certificate and drivers license. People cruise with those all the time. 

As long as that closed loop does not visit Guadeloupe or Martinique.  EM

[sparks1093]

3 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

As long as that closed loop does not visit Guadeloupe or Martinique.  EM

I think few do because of the passport requirement.

[Charles4515]

37 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I think few do because of the passport requirement.

Before the passport requirement there were only a few. I have been to Martinique and it did not seem much interested in cruise ship visits. 

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

Before the passport requirement there were only a few. I have been to Martinique and it did not seem much interested in cruise ship visits. 

Hence (probably, anyway) the passport requirement for cruise ship passengers.

[Charles4515]

14 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Hence (probably, anyway) the passport requirement for cruise ship passengers.

Martinique and Guadeloupe are not independent countries. They are part of France and the EU. They have representatives in the French government. The residents are French citizens. France makes the rules. If you were visiting France you would need a passport. I suspect that is the reason. 

Edited January 14, 2023 by Charles4515

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

Martinique and Guadeloupe are not independent countries. They are part of France and the EU. They have representatives in the French government. The residents are French citizens. France makes the rules. If you were visiting France you would need a passport. I suspect that is the reason. 

Same as St. Barth’s

[ldubs]

23 hours ago, dolittle said:

When we were getting our first passports a women at he post office insisted that her ''footise'' was her birth certificate that she had never had any other kind. Where I live (Pa) these were often taken as a B.C. B.T.W. do hospitals still give these out.

 

The only BC I have is the footsie.  I wonder what I used however many years ago when I got my first passport.   I just can't remember.   

[Mary229]

Gary Bembridge did a video this week and made the valid point that if you are evacuated from the ship for any reason that you will need a passport to fly home.  It is something I never considered.  This was an issue with the Norwegian Escape last year.  

[Charles4515]

23 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Gary Bembridge did a video this week and made the valid point that if you are evacuated from the ship for any reason that you will need a passport to fly home.  It is something I never considered.  This was an issue with the Norwegian Escape last year.  

That is true but it is a remote possibility. When it happens a temporary passport has to be obtained. If there is a need is to be evacuated a waiver is obtained. About 50% of passengers who ar eon a closed loop cruise travel with a birth certificate. Even though a passport is recommended many do use a BC.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Charles4515

[Mary229]

5 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

That is true but it is a remote possibility. When it happens a temporary passport has to be obtained. If there is a need is to be evacuated a waiver is obtained. About 50% of passengers who ar eon a closed loop cruise travel with a birth certificate. Even though a passport is recommended many do use a BC. 

Gary mentioned that 300 passengers did not have passports and only by corporate seeking a waiver did one materialized quickly.  If one were to break a leg or become ill you may have no waiver.  Anyway, I always travel with a passport , it was simply an angle I had never considered 

[Shmoo here]

8 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

When it happens a temporary passport has to be obtained.

Just going to add - temporary passports are not full passports (only valid for a limited time - usually a year).  But it costs the same as a full passport.  

[Charles4515]

5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Gary mentioned that 300 passengers did not have passports and only by corporate seeking a waiver did one materialized quickly.  If one were to break a leg or become ill you may have no waiver.  Anyway, I always travel with a passport , it was simply an angle I had never considered 

It is too bad the OP sent in their perfectly valid passport for renewal because if confusion. Hopefully the renewal will arrive in time. If not  they have no choice but to use their birth certificate. One thing people should understand is that if it is a closed loop cruise where a birth certificate can be used then the passport does not need 6 months. Think about it..... birth certificates have no expiration date. 

Edited January 14, 2023 by Charles4515

[Mary229]

13 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

It is too bad the OP sent in their perfectly valid passport for renewal because if confusion. Hopefully the renewal will arrive in time. If not  they have no choice but to use their birth certificate. One thing people should understand is that if it is a closed loop cruise where a birth certificate can be used then the passport does not need 6 months. Think about it..... birth certificates have no expiration date. 

I understand your point and when I cruised a lot in the Caribbean I never gave it a thought.  

[Charles4515]

41 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Just going to add - temporary passports are not full passports (only valid for a limited time - usually a year).  But it costs the same as a full passport.  

I didn’t know that they were usually good for a year. Longer than I would have guessed. 

[Essiesmom]

7 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I didn’t know that they were usually good for a year. Longer than I would have guessed. 

Actually, a temp used to be only good for 6 months.  Back in 1988 I was on a group tour that gathered in SFO.  The tour escort handed out envelops of docs, etc., and passports of those who had sent them to the agency to get their visas.  One woman had been registered on another tour that was cancelled, so she transferred to this one and expected the agency to transfer her passport.  They didn’t.  She had to stay in SFO and get a same day passport, joined us a couple days later in Hong Kong.  I think the tour was two weeks, visiting HK, Bangkok, Singapore and Bali.  When we got to Bali, there was a problem at immigration.  Indonesia required six months remaining on passport.  Her temp was now short of six months.  With a little money under the table by the escort, she was allowed in.  EM

[ldubs]

 

56 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

It is too bad the OP sent in their perfectly valid passport for renewal because if confusion. Hopefully the renewal will arrive in time. If not  they have no choice but to use their birth certificate. One thing people should understand is that if it is a closed loop cruise where a birth certificate can be used then the passport does not need 6 months. Think about it..... birth certificates have no expiration date. 

 

That makes nothing by sense, but is it in fact practiced?  

[sparks1093]

The DHS regulations that give us the closed loop exemption also contain a provision allowing for a waiver of the passport requirement for emergencies and humanitarian reasons. In every situation that I'm aware of from Cruise Critic the cruise line coordinated with CBP and the passengers in question were granted waivers allowing them to board flights direct to the US where they were cleared in secondary inspection.