No Passport and No Birth Certificate! What to do?!?

[Princesstcase]

Well we received a phone call from my MIL about an hour ago....they got on the boat!!! We were so relieved! I guess she was the first one in line at check in and they just glanced at her birth certificate and gave it back and let them on.. no mention of it being a copy! AND they even got an upgrade!!! Can you believe her luck!!! They got upgraded from the cheapest inside cabin to a balcony room!! I am in awe! Man, this will surely be a vacation to remember! But I am pretty sure she will be more prepared next time!! Thank you all for your help! Although it did make us really worried! :D

[melissa76]

HI again,

 

Wow! That's great news for your MIL!

 

On the other hand, it's really bad news from a security standpoint. So, basically, they will just let anyone with no real documentation on their ships??

 

well, at least you can rest easy now,

Melissa :)

[caribbean dreams]

I'm glad she was able to beard but doesn't just make ya wonder just how good our Security really?

This is not only carnival but The Department of Homeland Security.

[crb04]

On the other hand, it's really bad news from a security standpoint. So, basically, they will just let anyone with no real documentation on their ships??

 

 

Well, it's just citizenship status after all, not like it's anything that's important or a liability issue to properly verify... Now, if she had tried to bring ALCOHOL or SODA onboard, no doubt at least the cruise line security would have been on that situation right away...:D

 

Seriously though, am very happy for your MIL that she got to take her cruise, AND with an upgrade to boot...sounds like she will have a wonderful time. :)

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I'm glad she was able to beard but doesn't just make ya wonder just how good our Security really?

This is not only carnival but The Department of Homeland Security.

 

I've known since our 2002 Southern Caribbean cruise that security is sadly lacking! We were in line to get back on the ship in St. Martin when the head security officer came to me and asked me to try to smuggle a very large knife on board (the blade was at least 12" long and a few inches wide!). :eek: I asked to see identification and told him he had to stay within my line of sight the entire time. I wrapped the knife up in our damp beach towels and started up the gangway. The first security guard wanded me and passed me through. I put the towels with the knife inside on the belt for the xray machine and picked them up on the other side without a problem. The security officer stayed where I could see him and took the knife from me after I was through the process.

 

My kids thought it was "cool," but as you can imagine, DH and I were less than thrilled. :(

 

Jayne

[cusyl]

the head security officer came to me and asked me to try to smuggle a very large knife on board (the blade was at least 12" long and a few inches wide!). :eek: I asked to see identification and told him he had to stay within my line of sight the entire time. I wrapped the knife up in our damp beach towels and started up the gangway.

Jayne

Why in the world would you do that?????? :eek:

Good grief. :confused:

[Cruisesquatch]

Sounds like he was testing his security staff...and they failed. I'm sure that was addressed later on out of the view of the public.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Why in the world would you do that?????? :eek:

Good grief. :confused:

 

It's not as if he came up to me and said, "Will you try to smuggle this knife on board?" and I just said, "Sure!" We had a lengthy discussion about it. He had very valid reasons, explained the situation well, and I was willing to help him test his employees. It would take too much time (and typing) to reiterate the entire conversation here.

 

Hopefully, this situation contributed to better training for the security staff, making us all safer.

 

Sounds like he was testing his security staff...and they failed. I'm sure that was addressed later on out of the view of the public.

 

Exactly.

 

 

Jayne

[yellowbird23]

Glad that your MIL got to go on her dream vacation. That would have been heartbreaking for her to be disallowed boarding at the last minute. I would still wonder what happened to her birth certificate as well as passport??? Six months is a long time. Let us know how she enjoyed her trip.

[momthecruisedirector]

The next area to be concerned about....is when she's trying to get back into the country. You have to show your b/c and/or passport when you get off the ship. That could be a problem. Homeland security is going to care less about your leaving the country then when you're coming in. Hopefully you can check her mail daily while she's gone and if necessary overnight it if she has trouble.

[dforeigner]

Does she have a voter registration card? That is also accpeted as proof of citizenship. If she does, she would also need a photo id like a drivers license.

 

Paul

 

Sorry but a voter registration card is not proof of US citizenship or a valid form of ID.

[Andy99]

You can go on the government web site for passports and track yours to see where the heck it is. I would try that. But why wait till now you should have been doing this two weeks ago!

[newmexicoNita]

Does she have a voter registration card? That is also accpeted as proof of citizenship. If she does, she would also need a photo id like a drivers license.

 

Paul

 

Paul sorry, a voters registration card has not been accepted for many years. She has to have a certified copy of her birth certificate plus a picture ID (government issued) Anyone can get a voters registration card. They don't ask for any id. NMnita

[newmexicoNita]

You should be able to go to the county clerks office in the town where you live and get a copy of the birth certificate. At least that is what I did here in Texas.

 

It's too late for that...They aren't open on Sundays or at least I have never known one to be open. LOL

[Gingee]

That is scarry about the copy of the birth certificate. Good for your mom though. Hope she doesn't have any trouble.

[mollyeilis]

Your MIL might be one of the luckiest people on earth.

 

 

....it's really bad news from a security standpoint. So, basically, they will just let anyone with no real documentation on their ships??

 

 

I agree. I didn't have much good to say about all the "security measures" they were doing...check my shoes and pat down my underwire, but don't make me take my 3 inch *with sharp metal tip* hairpins out (even when I take one out to ask if it's OK)...but this just depresses me...

[josephpaul]

I don't know about your State, but here in Colorado you can go to the Office of Vital Records and get a certified copy while you wait for $15.

[camperhawk]

Well we received a phone call from my MIL about an hour ago....they got on the boat!!! We were so relieved! I guess she was the first one in line at check in and they just glanced at her birth certificate and gave it back and let them on.. no mention of it being a copy! AND they even got an upgrade!!! Can you believe her luck!!! They got upgraded from the cheapest inside cabin to a balcony room!! I am in awe! Man, this will surely be a vacation to remember! But I am pretty sure she will be more prepared next time!! Thank you all for your help! Although it did make us really worried! :D

 

Purposely checked in here tonite after getting home from to see how she made out. So happy for her,:D and agree she must be very lucky! Hope no further problems arise in her ports or return, and let us know how she enjoyed her cruise!

[hajekfam]

As a previous poster stated, the only thing you have to worry about is passing immigration when coming back. Depending on the itinerary, it will be in a US territory (example: San Juan, St. Thomas) if that is the last stop before the end of the cruise or on the disembarkation day. This is where you really need your proper documentaion. The check before sailing is done by the cruiseline to see if you have the proper documents. The check for coming back to the US is done by the US Govt people. Hope the end of her cruise goes smoothly!

[Cotton]

Well we received a phone call from my MIL about an hour ago....they got on the boat!!!

 

I'm VERY surprised, but happy for your MIL.!:)

[Chigirlcruzin]

I found security to be a joke on my last two cruises. They didn't even look at my passport at disembarkation on the last one! I could have had any randon person's passport; it wouldn't have mattered.

 

Come back and let us know how MIL enjoyed her cruise!

[gdisney]

I'm confused - I thought the law had changed back in January 2007 that you needed a passport, even for Canada and Mexico now, and that even a certified birth certificate was not sufficient anymore. What did I miss?

[pms4104]

To my knowledge, airlines that allow people on board without proper documentation face a $10,000 fine per incident/passenger. Guessing the same holds true for cruiselines ... and a couple of hefty fines should bring them into compliance.

[pms4104]

Wondering ... if the current passport processing time is something like 10-12 weeks, did the OP's MIL really apply for hers some 6 months ago when she booked the cruise? If not, expedited processing, altho for a fee, surely would've meant true peace of mind.

 

Guessing that if she'd been denied boarding there would not have been any refund, even if she had travel insurance. Poor planning, IMHO.

[mollyeilis]

"I'm confused - I thought the law had changed back in January 2007 that you needed a passport, even for Canada and Mexico now, and that even a certified birth certificate was not sufficient anymore. What did I miss?"

 

That is for air travel. Land and sea, you can still use (supposed to be certified) b.c. and photo ID.