Question regarding birth certs.

[ksmommyof4]

I am looking to book my second cruise. My husband and I have been on 1 before and we opted to get the passport cards instead of the passports. For our second cruise we would like to take our 4 children. We had our 4 kids before we got married so it is my maiden name on the kids birth certs. Do I need to bring my marriage cert.???? Thanks

[SuiteLady]

yes....I had this issue, as my name on my kids birth certificate was my maiden name and I had gotten married later....had to bring it because they need to have the paper trail to link you to ur kids as the parent....I didn't have any issues

[itchin2cruz]

I definately would. On my first cruise we only had bc's and dl's. They are extra thorough with children, especially with bc's...

[itchin2cruz]

but then again your maiden name would be on your bc and your husband's name on his. If that's the names on their bc you should be fine. I would take the extra info though just in case.

 

Edited because I didn't realize you had passport cards for the parents. Yes, take the marriage certificate lol

[Sinjan]

I've also heard that you will need a letter from the absent parent(s) giving permission for you to take the child(ren) out of the country. I believe court orders that state you can travel internationally are ok, but not sure. If the absent parent is deceased, you'll need a copy of the death certificate.

[abisha]

I just applied for my son's passport today, along with my own. I am remarried with a different last name than his. Since my prior married name was on his birth certificate, I still had to show proof that I was once using that name and that I am the mother..hence that's where my marriage certificate came in handy and I had to send that in with his paperwork.

 

On the other hand, when I applied for my own passport, it asked on the form any other names I've used, and again, in addition to my birth certificate, I had to submit the marriage license. So if you already got the passport card, then all that would have been taken care of. But I would still bring the marriage certificate which shows your maiden name and your married name...just in case..always better safe than sorry. I read somewhere that when the birth mother's current last name differs than that of what is on child's BC, you need to have the appropriate documention ready as proof.

[sfaalum2000]

I watched Extreme Cruises today and sometimes they required the child's father to sign something saying it was ok for the mom to take the children out of the country. ( i guess w/ all the child abductions and all...) something you might want to check. (it was royal caribbean)

[ferfoodle]

Is your husband the father of all 4 children? Because if he is and their surname match his, there should not be an issue. On my kids birth certificates, my name is my full given birth name. Usually the mothers name is always the maiden name and not the married name. Even my birth cert has my mom's maiden name - she just signed it in her married name as I did on my children's. They would expect this on birth certificates.

If he is not the father, do get a notarized letter from the natural father giving permission for you to travel out of the country with your children.

[lillian marie]

I would call CCL customer service just to be sure you have all the documentation that you'll need to cruise. On one of our cruises a family was denied boarding because of a lack of some needed documentation. A call is worth the security in knowing you'll have what you'll need.

[LizaMM]

When I got divorced I went back to my maiden name, therfore, my last name did not match my childrens. I brought the BC's along even if they had passports because BC showed my maiden name on it.

 

I also always got a notarized letter from their father saying I could travel with them. My Divorce decree gave me full custody and the ability to do this but I did not trust that some agent reading that would understand it properly!

 

When my ex-HB died I started to carry his death certificate with me when I travel with my underage kids.

 

I did all this at the suggestion of 2 good friends of mine who are in the travel business.

 

I have NEVER been asked to produce these documents but I always feel better knowing I have them. I do know some people who have been asked to show proof.

[ManyMore]

I hate to read or see that people waste their money on a passport card. You can do the exact same thing with BC and ID as you can with passport card. You can not fly home with a passport card so basically they are only good if you are going to drive to Canada or Mexico.

[cherylandtk]

I just applied for my son's passport today, along with my own. I am remarried with a different last name than his. Since my prior married name was on his birth certificate, I still had to show proof that I was once using that name and that I am the mother..hence that's where my marriage certificate came in handy and I had to send that in with his paperwork.

 

On the other hand, when I applied for my own passport, it asked on the form any other names I've used, and again, in addition to my birth certificate, I had to submit the marriage license. So if you already got the passport card, then all that would have been taken care of. But I would still bring the marriage certificate which shows your maiden name and your married name...just in case..always better safe than sorry. I read somewhere that when the birth mother's current last name differs than that of what is on child's BC, you need to have the appropriate documention ready as proof.

You did not have to submit the marriage license to prove your name on a first time passport, the form has only ever asked for the name(s) you have previously used, but not a paper trail from your birth certificate to the current name. To change a passport name from one that was used on a previously issued passport, yes. But not if you were applying for the first time in a married name.