Passport Question

[Col1874]

Hi There,

 

We're leaving Southampton and will be visiting Spain, Madeira & the canaries in October during our Cruise.

 

My wife and & I got married in 2007, but she has kept her passport in her maiden name.

 

She's used it in her maiden name since, when we went to Disneyland Paris, but since then, we have had a child with my surname.

 

My wife is booked on our cruise in her MAIDEN NAME, as that is what is on her passport.

 

As my daughter has MY SURNAME, and I am also travelling, I can't see why we would have any problems, especially if we bring the birth & marriage certificates for extra safety.

 

Despite my thoughts, A part of me feels that it is a big risk as I don't want to turn up at Southampton just for them to say we can't board the ship!

 

Does anyone else have any thoughts or has anyone travelled using a passport in their maiden name?

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends,

 

I think you should be fine. As long as she booked the cruise in her maiden name, and her passport is in her maiden name, obviously that is the legal name she uses.

 

Since you have the birth certificates and trace of paperwork for the child, there would be no problem.

 

As an interesting point of information, in many countries on the Continent, especially Spain where you will be visiting many ports, women do not lose their maiden names when they get married, so their legal documentation (passport and national ID card) will always keep their original name.

 

Happy cruising,

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[financialgrl]

My niece used her a passport with her maiden name two years ago (but when she got married she never wanted to go by her married name) so she has never used that. ALL reservations were booked in her maiden name but she also never changed her driver's license or put a name change thru the Social Security Administration either so in her case, all the government databases still "match" if you will.

[Eightydays]

I have been married for 16 years and kept my maiden name. When I travel alone with our daughter I always carry a copy of her birth certificate and my marriage certificate. I also carry them when I travel to Mexico, even if my husband is with us. I have never been stopped, but better safe than sorry.

[Ine]

Be sure your daughter is included in either your passport/your wife's pasport or has a passport of her own. I donot think a birthcertificate is enough to travel abroad.

Your wife will be o.k. as long as her passport and tickets are on the same name.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Not sure how it is with British passports, but here in Canada all children require their own passports.

 

It's also *dead* common for women to keep their maiden names. The birth certificate should take care of any ambiguity about who the mother is.

[tom_uk]

Your daughter will need her own passport, of course. Have a look at this document published by the UK Identity & Passport Service for voluminous details & instructions, the great majority of which won't apply to you.

 

As regards your wife traveling under her own name, why not contact the cruise line and ask them what their policy is as regards the documents they require passengers to have?

[Lsimon]

How is your wife's name listed on the child's birth certificate and other documents? What about her drivers license or governmental ID other than the passport? I would think that in the unlikly event that she needed to travel without you present, say if you were injured or there was some sort of other problem, it could be problematic if there was a difference between her passport and the child's information.

 

If you wife has kept her maiden name for all purposes then I'd think you'd have no issue as the documents would all be consistent with each other. But if she's adoped your surname for some purposes, including some ID and other legal documents, then it seem foolish not to make the change and get a new passport. If your trip is in October I'd think she would have pleanty of time to make the changes.