Birth Certificate and Bahamas

[katti michele]

Not sure if I should be posting this under the forum for my cruise line (Carnival) or here, but i'll try here first. I do NOT have a passport and will be using my original BC for my 7-night cruise from New Orleans to Key West, Freeport, and Nassau. What are the procedures for this? This is my first cruise so I'm pretty clueless. Will I be carrying around my BC with me around the Bahamas in order to get on/off the ship? I don't mind what I have to do, I just want to prepare myself and know what I need to have/do! Thank you guys so much!

[tracyanns]

Not sure if I should be posting this under the forum for my cruise line (Carnival) or here, but i'll try here first. I do NOT have a passport and will be using my original BC for my 7-night cruise from New Orleans to Key West, Freeport, and Nassau. What are the procedures for this? This is my first cruise so I'm pretty clueless. Will I be carrying around my BC with me around the Bahamas in order to get on/off the ship? I don't mind what I have to do, I just want to prepare myself and know what I need to have/do! Thank you guys so much!

 

You will need your sign and sail card and your picture ID, no need to bring your birth certificate...

[katti michele]

That is great news. So the only time I would need my BC/Passport would be to board and depart the ship in New Orleans?

 

Sorry if these are silly questions, I am just so anal and anxious and want to have an understanding of what the procedures are so i'm not taken by too much surprise, haha. I'm such a Nervous Nellie!

[Pookeybear1966]

BC and photo ID to embark and disembark thru customs.

When in the Bahamas you only need your drivers license or pic ID. No need to bring BC. BC has to have the raised seal.

 

Passports are so much easier :)

[NCTribeFan]

After you board, lock your BC and other items you won't need in the cabin safe. While on the ship, you'll only need your card (no cash).

 

When I go ashore, I take my passport (as my photo ID and, well, just in case something horrible happens and I don't make it back to the ship - much easier to get home with a passport), only the cash I think I'll need, a credit card, and my phone (for emergency use only).

 

Some ports, you only seem to need your ship card (called a Sail & Sign, or S&S, on Carnival). But in the Bahamas, you need a photo ID and that card, to reboard the ship so be sure to take your driver's license with you, too, in both Nassau & Freeport.

 

Don't feel bad about asking questions! Better to ask now and be prepared than to sail uninformed.

 

And if you haven't done so yet, there should be a Roll Call for your sailing. They vary greatly in the amount of CC member participation, but some of your fellow CC members on your sailing will be able to answer a lot of your questions there.

 

Have a great cruise!

[katti michele]

Thank you guys so much.

 

I have my original birth certificate that was issued when I was born, I have my fingers crossed that it will be good enough!

[dwjoe]

Hospital birth certificates are not acceptable, nor are Puerto Rican ones issued prior to 7/1/2010.

 

A certified copy of the BC is strongly recommended. This is a BC issued by a government entity (state, county, city) with either a raised seal, watermark, or printed on multicolored paper so that it appears "official".

[beauty1492]

BC can be tricky ---when I first applied for a passport the "birth cert " I have used for everything was not Offical. It was a county birth cert not a state cert. So be sure it will work. Would hate to see you denided your trip.