Passport vs Drivers License

[debnrick]

Still confused on what I am reading 😵‍💫

 

My mother-in-law’s passport was lost in the mail (working on that problem 😳) and we are boarding at the end of the month. She has a current valid Florida Real ID drivers license. Will that alone get her onboard?
 

She is 94 and can’t find her birth certificate, divorce papers and new marriage license to show name changes. Again, she is 94.

 

We are hoping and praying her passport shows up because we know if something were to happen off of the ship, a passport would be needed. 
 

Needless to say I am BEYOND STRESSED right now.

 

Thanks for any help and reassurances. Sail safe. 
 

 

[MRVEGAS711]

Expedite a new passport. You have time. Driver's license is not going to do it. City hall for raised seal birth certificate will do.

[mjkacmom]

She needs either a passport or her license and an original birth certificate.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Both @MRVEGAS711 and @mjkacmom are correct - your Mom needs at the very least her US issued birth certificate, along with a gov't issued photo ID for her closed loop cruise.

 

Don't relay in getting her replacement documents.

[DallasGuy75219]

People are getting REAL IDs confused with Enhanced Driver Licenses.  

 

REAL ID driver licenses are issued by all states.  They (or another REAL ID compliant document) will be needed to fly domestically and enter certain federal facilities. 

 

Enhanced Driver Licenses have citizenship data and can be used for specific international travel (i.e., certain land and sea crossings) and closed loop cruises from the US.  However they are only issued by a small number of states. 

[kaybee35]

Do we need to bring our birth certs or just a passport?

[nwcruiselover]

If you have an unexpired passport, that’s all you need.  It verifies both identity and citizenship.

Edited 18 hours ago by nwcruiselover

[n6uqqq]

If her name booked for the cruise matches her ID then you don't need to worry about divorce certificates. If this is the case then you are down to only needing a birth certificate or the passport. You won't need a marriage license either. Agents match the first and middle name along with birth date for verification. Only time these extras are needed is if cruising name doesn't match ID name.

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

She needs either a passport or her license and an original birth certificate.

The birth certificate does not have to be the original copy. If you do not have an original copy, you can get a certified copy from whatever jurisdiction issued the original. We had to do this when DW's Mom threw out the original and mailed her the hospital copy, a copy that will not suffice as proof of identity.

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

If you have an unexpired passport, that’s all you need.  It verifies both identity and citizenship.

Bad advice! A passport is invalid upon expiration, and an expired passport alone cannot be used to board a cruise.

 

This is why people need to read the cruiselines' documentation requirements rather than getting erroneous advice online.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

2 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

If you have an unexpired passport, that’s all you need.  It verifies both identity and citizenship.

 

4 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Bad advice! A passport is invalid upon expiration, and an expired passport alone cannot be used to board a cruise.

 

This is why people need to read the cruiselines' documentation requirements rather than getting erroneous advice online.

Huh? How is that bad advice?

[JMAE]

1 hour ago, kaybee35 said:

Do we need to bring our birth certs or just a passport?

Just a passport, it has a photo and identifies citizenship.  You would use a birth cert if you were using a gov't issued ID card, like a driver's license. or other types of approved gov't issued ID card.   

[JMAE]

2 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

If you have an unexpired passport, that’s all you need.  It verifies both identity and citizenship.

A passport must be good six months past the end date of your cruise to be used for a cruise.    

[DallasGuy75219]

32 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

 

Huh? How is that bad advice?

 Misread as expired passport.  

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

1 hour ago, JMAE said:

A passport must be good six months past the end date of your cruise to be used for a cruise.    

I believe this is only true for cruises to Columbia and greenland. 

[mz-s]

People really need to go to Carnival's website  for questions like this because there is always so much misinformation on these threads. Yes, I know that it's hard to go to Carnival.com and look for answers yourself.

Edited 12 hours ago by mz-s

[DallasGuy75219]

3 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

I believe this is only true for cruises to Columbia and greenland. 

Carnival specifically calls those countries out because a passport (or passport card for Columbia) is required for cruises that port there, even on roundtrip cruises from a US port--not because of passport validity requirements.

 

Multiple countries require a specific passport validity period (up to 6 months) to enter.  Instead of making the distinction itinerary by itinerary, most (all?) cruiselines simplify their documentation requirements by requiring a passport valid 6 months beyond the end of travel for all itineraries.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

13 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Carnival specifically calls those countries out because a passport (or passport card for Columbia) is required for cruises that port there, even on roundtrip cruises from a US port--not because of passport validity requirements.

 

Multiple countries require a specific passport validity period (up to 6 months) to enter.  Instead of making the distinction itinerary by itinerary, most (all?) cruiselines simplify their documentation requirements by requiring a passport valid 6 months beyond the end of travel for all itineraries.

Here is the actual wording for US domestic:

U.S. Domestic Cruises

For cruises that begin and end in the same U.S port, the following WHTI-compliant documents are acceptable for cruise travel. Please note that if the cruise visits Colombia or Greenland, a passport book (valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel) is required. A passport card with the same validity is also acceptable for cruises to Colombia.

 

• U.S. Passport Book
• U.S. Passport Card
• State Enhanced Driver's License
• Certificate of U.S. Naturalization
• Native American Indian Card
• US-born citizens may also use a birth certificate (issued by a government agency) and accompanied by government-issued photo ID; a Mobile/Digital version of a photo ID is not an acceptable form of identification.

 

A passport book (valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel) is required for cruises that visit Greenland.

 

A passport book or passport card (valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel) is required for the following cruises:

• Cruises that begin and end in a different U.S. port
• Cruises that visit Colombia, provided they depart from and return to a U.S. port

Edited 10 hours ago by PrincessArlena'sDad

[DallasGuy75219]

Just now, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Here is the actual wording for US domestic:

You left out the section below which precedes "US Domestic".  The requirement for 6 months passport validity isn't specific to Greenland and Colombia.

 

U.S. Citizens 

Proper travel documentation is required at embarkation and throughout the cruise. Even though a guest has completed registration using Online Check-in, it is still the responsibility of the guest to present the required travel documents at the time of embarkation. Guests should check with their travel agent and/or government authority to determine the travel documents necessary for each port of call. Any guest without proper documents will not be allowed to board the vessel and no refund of the cruise fare will be issued. Carnival assumes no responsibility for advising guests of proper travel documentation.

 

Except where it is a mandatory requirement, Carnival highly recommends that all guests travel with a passport book.  The passport book must be valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel.

[broberts]

23 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Here is the actual wording for US domestic:

U.S. Domestic Cruises

For cruises that begin and end in the same U.S port, the following WHTI-compliant documents are acceptable for cruise travel. Please note that if the cruise visits Colombia or Greenland, a passport book (valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel) is required. A passport card with the same validity is also acceptable for cruises to Colombia.

 

• U.S. Passport Book
• U.S. Passport Card
• State Enhanced Driver's License
• Certificate of U.S. Naturalization
• Native American Indian Card
• US-born citizens may also use a birth certificate (issued by a government agency) and accompanied by government-issued photo ID; a Mobile/Digital version of a photo ID is not an acceptable form of identification.

 

A passport book (valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel) is required for cruises that visit Greenland.

 

A passport book or passport card (valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel) is required for the following cruises:

• Cruises that begin and end in a different U.S. port
• Cruises that visit Colombia, provided they depart from and return to a U.S. port

 

16 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

You left out the section below which precedes "US Domestic".  The requirement for 6 months passport validity isn't specific to Greenland and Colombia.

 

U.S. Citizens 

Proper travel documentation is required at embarkation and throughout the cruise. Even though a guest has completed registration using Online Check-in, it is still the responsibility of the guest to present the required travel documents at the time of embarkation. Guests should check with their travel agent and/or government authority to determine the travel documents necessary for each port of call. Any guest without proper documents will not be allowed to board the vessel and no refund of the cruise fare will be issued. Carnival assumes no responsibility for advising guests of proper travel documentation.

 

Except where it is a mandatory requirement, Carnival highly recommends that all guests travel with a passport book.  The passport book must be valid for at least six months beyond the completion of travel.

 

Consult the original for yourself, https://www.carnival.com/help?topicid=3409.

 

US requirements, https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative.

 

[sparks1093]

8 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Carnival specifically calls those countries out because a passport (or passport card for Columbia) is required for cruises that port there, even on roundtrip cruises from a US port--not because of passport validity requirements.

 

Multiple countries require a specific passport validity period (up to 6 months) to enter.  Instead of making the distinction itinerary by itinerary, most (all?) cruiselines simplify their documentation requirements by requiring a passport valid 6 months beyond the end of travel for all itineraries.

Actually, most cruise companies recommend 6 months validity, some do require it for all itineraries but those are typically the upscale lines. It would be silly to require those with a passport to have six months validity while there are people boarding without a passport at all. (And regardless of Carnival's wording they are not going to deny boarding if someone's passport happens to have less than 6 months validity remaining if it is not actually required by the itinerary.)

 

OP, she will need a government issued birth certificate to board and it can be a copy. If she has had to give a copy of her birth certificate to anyone and they still have it then she could get a copy of that (as long as it's legible) and use it. (Not the best situation but better than missing a cruise.)

Edited 2 hours ago by sparks1093

[sparks1093]

14 hours ago, ontheweb said:

The birth certificate does not have to be the original copy. If you do not have an original copy, you can get a certified copy from whatever jurisdiction issued the original. We had to do this when DW's Mom threw out the original and mailed her the hospital copy, a copy that will not suffice as proof of identity.

The "original copy" is nothing more than a certified copy that was issued and one can have as many certified copies as they are willing to pay for. The "original" stays with the government and you won't get your hands on that. A photocopy is a copy of the certified copy (which is what most people consider to be their "original" copy) and yes, a photocopy is acceptable for a closed loop cruise according to the regulations.

[ontheweb]

51 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

The "original copy" is nothing more than a certified copy that was issued and one can have as many certified copies as they are willing to pay for. The "original" stays with the government and you won't get your hands on that. A photocopy is a copy of the certified copy (which is what most people consider to be their "original" copy) and yes, a photocopy is acceptable for a closed loop cruise according to the regulations.

OK, I'll accept your definition, but that is not the usual definition of "original"

 

Looking at a dictionary---the first definition is preceding all others in time, first, The second definition is not derived from something else.

 

I don't see any definition that at all means a certified copy issued by the government.

[sparks1093]

51 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

OK, I'll accept your definition, but that is not the usual definition of "original"

 

Looking at a dictionary---the first definition is preceding all others in time, first, The second definition is not derived from something else.

 

I don't see any definition that at all means a certified copy issued by the government.

Yes, but the original document remains on file with the government. Look at yours- it very likely says something similar to "certified copy of the record on file" and every certificate issued will have similar wording, whether it's the one given to your parents when you were born or the one you got last month.