Children and birth certificate questions.

This will be our first cruise. With children. We have passports. Always have. My questions. We have live birth certificates from the local court house in the county they were born. They have a raised stamp. Kinda like a notary stamp? Will this work? They also have the company name they they suggest. But I swear somewhere I seen that live birth certificate wasn't good enough. Question2. Do they also need a state issues I'd? Don't mind getting them. Just wanna make 100% we are getting on this boat! Thanks everyone.

You need a state issued BC which has to have a raised/printed seal certifying it is from the state. If they are over 16 they need a state issued picture ID.

This will be our first cruise. With children. We have passports. Always have. My questions. We have live birth certificates from the local court house in the county they were born. They have a raised stamp. Kinda like a notary stamp? Will this work? They also have the company name they they suggest. But I swear somewhere I seen that live birth certificate wasn't good enough. Question2. Do they also need a state issues I'd? Don't mind getting them. Just wanna make 100% we are getting on this boat! Thanks everyone.

maybe I am reading this wrong or not sure if I have the right policy but if you have passports as you say, you dont need anything else. no birth Certificate needed

as I said, maybe I didnt understand the question

Government issued certificates are fine. The ones not accepted are ones issued by the hospital itself.

If the live birth certs you have are from the county government with a raised seal, you should be fine. Per CCL's web site on birth certificate requirements:

"An original birth certificate issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics."

However, (and I almost hesitate to say this due to many reports of conflicting information coming from the cruise line reps) perhaps you should run this by Carnival for verification.

Pax 16 and older need picture ID to get back onboard from port.

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There's such a grey area. The raised seal is that the notary part? Or the circle with a picture on the inside.

Few localities issue RAISED seals nowadays. If it's from your department of Vital Statistics, it's fine. You can't use the hospital certificate of live birth. Has to come from the state or county.

There's such a grey area. The raised seal is that the notary part? Or the circle with a picture on the inside.

The seal that is important is simply the one from the government issuing it, that is what signifies it as an official document. For example mine says State of Georgia.

I contacted Carnival before our cruise back in June and was told we did not need to take our son's birth certificate because he was under 16. As long as he was with us getting back onto the ship, he didn't need anything other than his S&S card. And that was the case. We were never asked for any type of ID for him besides his S&S. If they are 16 & older, they need a state-issued photo ID.

By the way, the birth cert. that you got from the courthouse is the one you need. When applying for our passports, we got our birth certs. from our county clerk's office, but it's the same thing. If you'd like to take your son's just in case, by all means. Better safe than sorry.

We have passports, including our 16 YO daughter. Those stay in the safe on board. We do carry color copies of them with us.

In all of our cruises, we have never been asked to show picture ID to get back on the ship from a port of call.

Cruise card, yes, every time.

This will be our first cruise. With children. We have passports. Always have. My questions. We have live birth certificates from the local court house in the county they were born. They have a raised stamp. Kinda like a notary stamp? Will this work? They also have the company name they they suggest. But I swear somewhere I seen that live birth certificate wasn't good enough. Question2. Do they also need a state issues I'd? Don't mind getting them. Just wanna make 100% we are getting on this boat! Thanks everyone.

Your passports are enough.

We have passports, including our 16 YO daughter. Those stay in the safe on board. We do carry color copies of them with us.

 

In all of our cruises, we have never been asked to show picture ID to get back on the ship from a port of call.

Cruise card, yes, every time.

Canada - yes

Bahamas - yes

Both of these places always ask for ID. Never say never, and please refrain from offering advice that goes against what is recommended!

I contacted Carnival before our cruise back in June and was told we did not need to take our son's birth certificate because he was under 16. As long as he was with us getting back onto the ship, he didn't need anything other than his S&S card. And that was the case. We were never asked for any type of ID for him besides his S&S. If they are 16 & older, they need a state-issued photo ID.

 

You need the BC prior to boarding. They ask for it before getting on the ship, and when you get off the ship, customs ask for it. This is not a Carnival rule, but a Customs rule, in place of a passport.

 

By the way, the birth cert. that you got from the courthouse is the one you need. When applying for our passports, we got our birth certs. from our county clerk's office, but it's the same thing. If you'd like to take your son's just in case, by all means. Better safe than sorry.

Please take it, it is needed.

Canada - yes

Bahamas - yes

 

Both of these places always ask for ID. Never say never, and please refrain from offering advice that goes against what is recommended!

On our Skagway train excursion that went into Canada, they checked your passport before you even get on the bus. They did not ask for picture ID when reboarding the ship, only the cruise card.

We were in Bahamas in 2012 and so unless something has changed since then, no they did not ask for picture ID, only the cruise card.

I'm saying in all of our cruises, when reboarding the ship, they have never asked for a picture ID along with your cruise card.

On our Skagway train excursion that went into Canada, they checked your passport before you even get on the bus. They did not ask for picture ID when reboarding the ship, only the cruise card.

 

We were in Bahamas in 2012 and so unless something has changed since then, no they did not ask for picture ID, only the cruise card.

 

I'm saying in all of our cruises, when reboarding the ship, they have never asked for a picture ID along with your cruise card.

You don't need the photo ID to get back on the ship, you need it to re-enter the port area. Every cruise we've made to the Bahamas we had to show our ID and ship card to enter the port area.

Nassau, Bahamas, March 2016, needed both photo ID and cruise card to enter port.

Among the other ports that have always requested a photo ID to enter the port are Bermuda (Hamilton), Cozumel (may depend on the pier and cruise line), ports in Jamaica, Belize City, Bridgetown (Barbados), St Barth, and some that don't come readily to mind.

Last cruise I had to change my name on my passport but there was problems and I didn't get it back in time. I rushed to get my birth certificate and it said certified transcript of birth. It worried me because my kids say certificate of live birth. I called carnival and they said each state is worded different and that as long as it is from a government agency with a seal, it would be fine. I didn't have any problems

As long as the certificates of live birth meet the U.S. State Department requirements for a certified birth certificate, will they be accepted as proof of citizenship.

As long as the certificates of live birth meet the U.S. State Department requirements for a certified birth certificate, will they be accepted as proof of citizenship.

They have to meet DHS requirements, which are not as strict as State Department requirements. Any form of birth certificate will work for a closed loop cruise as long as it was issued by a government entity but the State Department requires birth certificates that have the parents' names on them in order issue a passport.

you can cure all this stress by just getting passports for your children. they are about $100 dollars and good for 5 years. then you do not need to worry about bringing anything else. Also remember that while you can use a birth certificate on the cruise ship if something happens in a foreign country that is a serious medical emergency that you cant board a plane or life flight back to the united states without a passport. a birth certificate does no good in that situation

They have to meet DHS requirements, which are not as strict as State Department requirements. Any form of birth certificate will work for a closed loop cruise as long as it was issued by a government entity but the State Department requires birth certificates that have the parents' names on them in order issue a passport.

True, but in the case of a Certificate of Live Birth, it states that you were medically born - that your mother gave birth to you whereas a Birth Certificate is an official record of your place of birth. In some jurisdictions, the CoLB is used to file with the Office of Vital Statistics or State Register to create the Official Birth Certificate and in many, they are one and the same.

I simply state that one needs to make sure that the Certificate of Live Birth is a valid Birth Certificate as defined by the State Department, whether it be registered with the City, State or Federal government and not the other, which may cause you some problems when you try to board with one.

True, but in the case of a Certificate of Live Birth, it states that you were medically born - that your mother gave birth to you whereas a Birth Certificate is an official record of your place of birth. In some jurisdictions, the CoLB is used to file with the Office of Vital Statistics or State Register to create the Official Birth Certificate and in many, they are one and the same.

 

I simply state that one needs to make sure that the Certificate of Live Birth is a valid Birth Certificate as defined by the State Department, whether it be registered with the City, State or Federal government and not the other, which may cause you some problems when you try to board with one.

Well, if State will accept it then DHS most certainly will:).

Nassau, Bahamas, March 2016, needed both photo ID and cruise card to enter port.

Same here, except ours was in June. Nassau was the only port in which we had to show our S&S card and photo ID to get back into the port area. But in regards to the OP's question about children, since our son was under 16, they didn't ask for an ID for him, just his S&S card.

You don't need the photo ID to get back on the ship, you need it to re-enter the port area. Every cruise we've made to the Bahamas we had to show our ID and ship card to enter the port area.

Don't need it for the ship because your picture pops up when your card is scanned. They do look. DD wore braids and glasses for her ship pic. Had her hair down and wore contacts in port. They stopped her, she realized her issue and 'corrected' her look.

Needed to show ID in Canada, Mexico and US ports.

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