HELP!!! Cruising today. One in our Party left Passport at Home!

Help! One of the people cruising with me today left her passport at home! If you can get a copy of her BC faxed to hotel, will NCL accept this??

No... original required with raised seal

You can always go to the terminal and start the waterworks (crying) and that may get some sympathy but probably won't work to board

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Some people will say yes, some will say no. There is no way of knowing until you get to the port. It’s more than you have right now, so try it! The US government says a photocopy of a birth certificate is acceptable.

• ...The birth certificate can be original, photocopy, or certified copy.
  

Original is normally needed but you could see if they would take a copy.

Good luck.

Keith

I've had Royal accept a faxed copy but don't know about NCL

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Is there a way to fax something to the NCL counter at the port? Just found out that the fax machine at this crappy hotel does not work!!!

Some people will say yes, some will say no. There is no way of knowing until you get to the port. It’s more than you have right now, so try it! The US government says a photocopy of a birth certificate is acceptable.

• ...The birth certificate can be original, photocopy, or certified copy.
  

Can I please ask, where did you get this info about it being ok to have a photocopy? Can you give me the link or point me in the right direction? Thank you!!!

Some people will say yes, some will say no. There is no way of knowing until you get to the port. It’s more than you have right now, so try it! The US government says a photocopy of a birth certificate is acceptable.

 

• ...The birth certificate can be original, photocopy, or certified copy.
  

Complete misinformation about "US Government says a photocopy is acceptable" :

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

You may get a sympathetic official at check in but if they do it for them then how can they enforce the law with everyone else.... people will start showing up with no documents or half documents then when does it end

I'm not being cold or heartless and hope your friend can get on board but it's a slippery slope if they say yes to them

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Is there a way to fax something to the NCL counter at the port? Just found out that the fax machine at this crappy hotel does not work!!!

Can you scan or take a photo of the BC and print it at the hotel?

The challenge is not what the US Government will/will not accept. It will depend on what the cruise line will accept. You are dealing with port agents and ship's personnel at the port, not customs and boarder patrol. And you have to consider the requirements of each port of call. The cruise line has to assume the risk of having potentially fraudulent documentation and having the ship delayed at every port of call.

Get what you can get quickly, and head to the port and start working the issue.

Did you buy travel insurance? If so, now is the time to call them and ask whether they can do something to help! I've heard of travel insurance companies helping get documentation to passengers somehow.

Please share the final outcome. It "may" help someone else in the future!

Good Luck!

deleted..

Can you scan or take a photo of the BC and print it at the hotel?

 

The challenge is not what the US Government will/will not accept. It will depend on what the cruise line will accept. You are dealing with port agents and ship's personnel at the port, not customs and boarder patrol. And you have to consider the requirements of each port of call. The cruise line has to assume the risk of having potentially fraudulent documentation and having the ship delayed at every port of call.

 

Get what you can get quickly, and head to the port and start working the issue.

I'm a little confused that a cruise line's policy can overrule a country's law... and while it's true that the check in personnel are not Homeland Security officials..... when you re enter into the country you certainly pass through CBP and must produce legal documents and a photocopy is not.

If I forget my credit card at home, is a photocopy acceptable to secure charges?

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Where are you cruising out of, and which itinerary?

Some airlines offer a package delivery service. For a fee, they can get a package (i.e. your passport) on a plane to you to Miami some time today if the stars align and you have people able to get the package to an airport in time to make a flight that works. You would have to pick it up at the airport in Miami and then get back to port in time for departure.

Can I please ask, where did you get this info about it being ok to have a photocopy? Can you give me the link or point me in the right direction? Thank you!!!

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

Complete misinformation about "US Government says a photocopy is acceptable" :

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1139/~/documents-needed-to-take-a-cruise

 

You may get a sympathetic official at check in but if they do it for them then how can they enforce the law with everyone else.... people will start showing up with no documents or half documents then when does it end

 

I'm not being cold or heartless and hope your friend can get on board but it's a slippery slope if they say yes to them

 

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If it’s complete misinformation, maybe you should tell the government that their website is wrong?

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

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/whti_landsea_faq_3.pdf

If it’s complete misinformation, maybe you should tell the government that their website is wrong?

 

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

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/whti_landsea_faq_3.pdf

I stand corrected...... wow, supporting document does not read the same as the main website. Thanks for pointing it out.

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We were on Norweigan out of New Orleans a few years ago and I brought the fancy birth certificate not the orginal, we were not even allowed to the check in area. The agents would not let us on. It was a nightmare, they let me get my sister to fax original to them, then she had to overnight the original to them and had to deal with it when getting off the ship. I was lucky she was home and could do all this for me. So we did get on but it took a long time of dealing with waiting for all to be cleared.

You will need to go to the port to deal with all this, they will have the number to fax it to and where to send the original to. I feel for you guys, my party all waited with me, i felt terrible for putting everyone thru the stress. Hope it works out for you. I got a passport as soon as I got home from that cruise.

I stand corrected...... wow, supporting document does not read the same as the main website. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

 

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Believe me, I was surprised, too. I have always used a certified copy and thought it was a requirement, but someone on another board stated they always used a photocopy and the website backs it up. I’d never do it, though.

Your friend may luck out if they have an enhanced DL. Arkansas has started to issue them as proof of citizenship/ID. Is there a yellow star on their DL? Call NCL immediately, and see what can be done and if this is acceptable. No sense wasting time on CC when it's NCL that can help sort it out.

I'm a little confused that a cruise line's policy can overrule a country's law... and while it's true that the check in personnel are not Homeland Security officials..... when you re enter into the country you certainly pass through CBP and must produce legal documents and a photocopy is not.

 

If I forget my credit card at home, is a photocopy acceptable to secure charges?

 

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Yes. A company’s policies may be more restrictive than law to reduce risk. Let’s open a can of worms,,, there is no law that restricts you from carrying a bottle of water with you,,,, but the cruise line policy is that you can not carry it onboard due to the security risk it imposes.

The assertion above is that a photocopy of the BC is sufficient to enter the US by sea. But,,,, cruise line policy will dictate whether they will allow it for embarkation.

CBP only dictate actions at the US border. Not all counties of the world and specifically the countries visited on this cruise. People obsess on what the US government allows, quoting CBP policies, and not what the cruise line needs to consider with getting the ship cleared in all ports of call. Don’t want to delay a whole ship because of bad paperwork.

As an example, we were on a 3-day Sky cruise. A group on board had issues with their paperwork,,, which NCL allowed for embarkation. Upon return to Miami, the whole ship was held for two hours while this group was escorted off the ship and CBP processed them separately. CBP would not clear the ship until they were sure that they had accounted for everyone in thie group in question. The majority of passengers were standing in line on deck waiting to disembark because people with improper paperwork were allowed to embark.

Five years ago, my daughter's boyfriend forgot his passport. He had a picture of it on his laptop, which NCL did not accept. However, his father was able to FAX a copy to the Tampa port/NCL desk and the FAX was accepted. We actually boarded in time to have lunch in the MDR.

Good luck!

I can't offer suggestions but am crossing my fingers for you.

This is my worst nightmare. I hound my family members, they roll eyes and then show it to me.

At least you figured it out early and not surprised at boarding.

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It would have helped in telling us what itinerary they were on.

Yes, the enhanced DL might work.

Very good advice that can work is to take to airport and pay for airline to deliver it to the city where the OP is at.

And very important - it is not NCL rules in play, but the governments rules.