Check-in.... Marriage certificate??

[PurpleLaurie55]

Hi!

 

I am taking my Mom on the Gem in November to Florida & the Bahamas for her birthday. She will be boarding with her original birth certificate and driver's license.

 

A friend of mine said that she will need her marriage license to show her name change since the last name on her license is different than her birth certificate. Does anyone know if this is true?

 

If it is.... If she were to get an enhanced driver's license, would she still need to show her birth certificate?

 

 

Many thanks in advance!

[Ms belp]

I would get your mom a passport and not worry about the rest. Everyone really does need one these days.

[PurpleLaurie55]

I would get your mom a passport and not worry about the rest. Everyone really does need one these days.

 

 

I would, but this is probably the only trip she'll ever go on.... so it seems silly to pay for it for a one time use.

[Sauer-kraut]

I'd check the State Dept. website you'll get the offical answer there.

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

 

Cruise ship passengers: U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (i.e., cruises that begin and end at the same U.S. port) will be permitted to depart or enter the U.S. with a birth certificate and a government-issued photo ID. Check with your cruise line to ensure you have the appropriate documentation. U.S. citizen passengers leaving their cruise ship and returning, for any reason, by air to the U.S. will be required to present their valid U.S. passports to airline officials before being permitted to board the aircraft

[SeaShark]

You've heard the saying about dotting the "i"'s and crossing the "t"'s?

 

That is what you have to do here.

 

 

It is wonderful that you care enough to take your Mom on a cruise for her birthday....a very nice gift.

 

 

You've managed to get the fantastic gift (cruise)...now you just need to dot your i's and cross your t's (passport) and EVERYTHING will be taken care of.

 

 

Don't take the chance and put yourself in a potential situation where there could be issues. You...and your Mom...deserve to have a worry free time. Get the passport.

[njhorseman]

I've seen reports on other Cruise Critic boards of some cruise lines requiring a "bridge document" such as a marriage certificate to prove the person on the drivers license is the same as the person on the birth certificate, so I think it's better to err on the side of caution and take the marriage certificate.

 

An enhanced drivers license is also acceptable as single document combined proof of citizenship and identity under WHTI regulations, so you could go that route if you wish. A birth certificate would not be required if she has the EDL.

 

My answers assume your mother is a US citizen.

[njhorseman]

I'd check the State Dept. website you'll get the offical answer there.

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

 

Cruise ship passengers: U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (i.e., cruises that begin and end at the same U.S. port) will be permitted to depart or enter the U.S. with a birth certificate and a government-issued photo ID. Check with your cruise line to ensure you have the appropriate documentation. U.S. citizen passengers leaving their cruise ship and returning, for any reason, by air to the U.S. will be required to present their valid U.S. passports to airline officials before being permitted to board the aircraft

 

Actually, the Department of Homeland Security is the agency that is responsible for these regulations, not State, and unfortunately there is some misinformation on State's site (in particular the countries for which the closed loop cruise exception to the passport requirement applies). It's far better to refer people to DHS's information than State's. (The particular paragraph you cited is correct, however.)

[fergusonvt]

At this point you are running out of time to get her a passport. We got ours in May and it took almost 8 weeks for them to be mailed to us. I think you can expedite for a fee.

[sparks1093]

U.S. citizen passengers leaving their cruise ship and returning, for any reason, by air to the U.S. will be required to present their valid U.S. passports to airline officials before being permitted to board the aircraft

 

I find that sentence strange, particularly in light of:

 

F. Individual Cases of Passport Waivers

The passport requirement may be waived for U.S. citizens in certain individual situations on a case-by-case basis, such as an unforeseen emergency or cases of humanitarian or national interest. (8 CFR Parts 212 and 235)

When the final regs were enacted one of the objections to the "closed loop" exception was that people would need a passport to fly home if they missed the ship. The above paragraph from the final regulations covers any such contingency. Granted there will be a certain amount of delay and red tape (more so for the drunk that misses a ship than for someone with a medical emergency) but if you leave the U.S. with the documents required by law you will be allowed to return, even if it means flying (and it's the State Department's job to facilitate that process, which is why the above sentence is strange).

[jackchris]

I would definitely get the passport. My grandmother got her first passport at age 90 years old. She is now 94 and has used it for two cruises. It is just peace of mind.

[billie5]

I would not bother to go through the (expensive) effort of obtaining a passport, since you say she is unlikely to travel again. Of course, some unlikely event could occur where a passport would expedite matters, but are you willing to travel by automobile with your mother on a highway on the day before Thanksgiving (traditionally the deadliest day of the year for auto travel)? We all take unlikely risks all the time.

 

I would check with NCL, but I think it probable that the marriage certificate might be required to reconcile the two documents.

 

Bi

PS: As sparks says, the U.S. is not going to keep you out. My wife is naturalized, and from time to time she has been missing required documents at various borders (France to Italy, Canada to U.S., etc.) After an adequate bawling out, she has always been admitted. No one wants to set up a Man without a Country scenario, at least if you are not suspected of ill intentions, or fit such a profile.

[Prinycesa07]

I was wondering the same thing. Im just going to bring both the marriage cert. and birth cert. to be on the safe side.

 

I wouldnt get a passport either in your situation.

[deckedout]

I have cruised using my bc a couple times, before I finally got my passport. Both times I brought my marriage certificate, just in case, but I wasn't asked for it either time. Carnival and NCL both let me on with just the BC and DL.

[NW Pacific]

I would not think that many birth certificates for females have their current last name? I don't know all the US rules but if on your cruise a passport is not required, a certified birth certificate and another legal document with at least the first and middle names match, I would guess would be sufficient, at least it was many years ago before 9/11. Let us know if your Mom has any problems.

[GORDONCHICK]

I went on three cruises before I had a passport. Was asked for my marriage license twice.

[darrengs]

Although the popular feeling on this board is to just get a passport, you currently are not required to get one and the price of one will cover your service charge for the week. We have never been asked to show a marriage certificate on any of the cruises we have been on since we have been married. With that being said, if she has her Marriage Certificate why not just bring it, to me that is worth the peace of mind.

 

More important though is you said that she has her "original" birth certificate, make sure that this is a raised seal certified copy from the state/county. I have heard of older "original" birth certificates being issued from the hospital where someone was born and that will not work.

[njhorseman]

I would not think that many birth certificates for females have their current last name? I don't know all the US rules but if on your cruise a passport is not required, a certified birth certificate and another legal document with at least the first and middle names match, I would guess would be sufficient, at least it was many years ago before 9/11. Let us know if your Mom has any problems.

 

Please, if you don't know the rules, don't guess.

 

Someone who decides to go along with your guess might not be allowed to board their cruise if your guess is wrong.

 

There are many posters here who know the rules, have years and years of cruising experience and regularly post the correct answers for those who have questions.

[flashdog_1]

And who knows, Mom may be addicted to cruising and use that passport. It's good for 10 years, and that's a lot of time for travel. Plus, it's the definitive form of identification anywhere.

 

Women who have kept their maiden names as their middle name in marriage have less difficulty. They can see the birth certificate last name, and that the middle name matches on the married name.

 

If there is a further complication, like a first marriage name on the driver's license, and a second married name on another piece of identification, then for sure you'd need the marriage license and/or passport.

 

I remember checking into a hotel in Gibraltar with my husband in 1968. I'd gotten my passport when single in 1963. There was a page in the passport showing I'd changed my name. The desk clerk had not seen that page, and indignantly stated, "

This is not a married couple!" (maybe there was a law there against cohabitation without being married. Who knows). I had to point him to the right page.

[billie5]

Our experience in Paris was just the opposite. At the time my wife was traveling on her Panamanian passport, which had been adjusted to her married name. However, as with many Latin countries, her name was written as (first name)(middle name)(father's name)(mother's name) de (new last name). Needless to say, it did not all fit in the name space, the new last name falling below the lines for the names (You would think a nation which appends names in this fashion would have lots of lines for the name, but, hey, it was Panama!)

 

In any case, the desk clerk evidently did not see the last name, as he looked at my wife and said "And under what name would Madame wish to register?" God bless the French -- they know how to be genteel.

 

Bill

[erdoran]

There is such a thing as a passport card, which is less expensive than a passport. I don't know under what circumstances you can use a passport card so you should check to see when it is accepted..but if it were me, I would just get the passport expedited for the peace of mind. Agencies are very, very nitpicky in the post-9/11 era, why take the chance? There's another thread here about someone whose Chinese aunt didn't have the proper visa for Canada because she was mis-advised by either her PCC or TA (not clear which) and wasn't allowed to cruise. I'm not saying that would (or wouldn't) be the case here, but the price of the passport is, IMHO, a cheap price to pay for peace of mind.

[billie5]

In that case she was a Chinese citizen who had just arrived in the U.S. to visit her nephew, and then crossed into Canada without a visa, expecting to board a cruise ship. Hardly comparable to a U.S. citizen going on a very tame cruise. I don't know why so many Americans seem, in my opinion, hyperfocussed on the relatively minor issue of passports, while they take so many risks in every other area. I would not waste $110 on an unneeded passport.

 

Bill