Documentation help needed

[ineed-a-vacation]

I have a question about documentation that may be needed to board the ship? My girlfriend's passport has expired, and I doubt we will have time to renew it before our cruise in June. She plans to bring her driver's license, and her previous marriage certificate, but that may be the problem. She married her previous husband twice, so the marriage certificate she has shows that her last name doesn't match her birth certificate, and the only way to show all of the changes is to have the marriage certificate from the first marriage, which she doesn't have. Is this something that is going to be required to board the ship, or am I just worrying for nothing?

[beachbum53]

I have a question about documentation that may be needed to board the ship? My girlfriend's passport has expired, and I doubt we will have time to renew it before our cruise in June. She plans to bring her driver's license, and her previous marriage certificate, but that may be the problem. She married her previous husband twice, so the marriage certificate she has shows that her last name doesn't match her birth certificate, and the only way to show all of the changes is to have the marriage certificate from the first marriage, which she doesn't have. Is this something that is going to be required to board the ship, or am I just worrying for nothing?

 

A phone call to Carnival might be your best bet. I'm thinking she may be okay with just her driver's license and birth certificate. Since she has been married, obviously the last name on her birth certificate won't match her marriage license. I don't think Carnival or the U.S. Customs people will be concerned about her marriage status, only that she is a legal resident of the U.S. If need be, she can have her passport renewal expedited, but there would be an additional fee.

Edited April 29, 2014 by beachbum53

[Fitzget]

She has time to renew. Do it now and expedite it. Expedited service is taking no more than a few weeks.

 

 

 

 

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[Marigold252]

For an extra fee you can get your passport expedited. I got my last one in only about three weeks, but it was a renewal. I didn't realize soon enough that for many countries your passport has to be valid for six months after the trip.

 

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[SadieN]

You can use an expired passport for renewal. Mine was expired for 10 years and was accepted.

 

Check on the website for the exact amount of years.

Edited April 29, 2014 by SadieN

[chengkp75]

As others have said, a passport renewal is the better way to go.

 

When going the BC/DL route, the BC shows that someone with a certain name was born in the US on a certain date, showing citizenship. The DL or photo ID shows that the person standing in line has the same face as the person on the ID, who has a certain name and was born on the same date as the BC. The marriage license is the "bridge document" that shows why the names on the BC and DL are not the same. Bridge documents are technically required by CBP anytime there is a name change between forms of ID (marriage, divorce, adoption, etc). Normally, for cruises, they are not looked at, but that is not to say that a check-in agent (at embark who enters your data on the passenger manifest), or a CBP agent at disembark, having a bad hair day couldn't ask to see the bridge document.

[sparks1093]

As others have said, a passport renewal is the better way to go.

 

When going the BC/DL route, the BC shows that someone with a certain name was born in the US on a certain date, showing citizenship. The DL or photo ID shows that the person standing in line has the same face as the person on the ID, who has a certain name and was born on the same date as the BC. The marriage license is the "bridge document" that shows why the names on the BC and DL are not the same. Bridge documents are technically required by CBP anytime there is a name change between forms of ID (marriage, divorce, adoption, etc). Normally, for cruises, they are not looked at, but that is not to say that a check-in agent (at embark who enters your data on the passenger manifest), or a CBP agent at disembark, having a bad hair day couldn't ask to see the bridge document.

 

Bridge documents are not required by the DHS regulations governing closed loop cruises and I would think if it were that important an issue it would have been included (I've read the regulations and they sure did include everything else;)). Yes, a CBP officer has the authority to request additional documentation but that doesn't mean that they are likely to ask since it is quite common for a married women's name not to match her birth certificate. All passengers are vetted through a multitude of databases which is one of the reasons why birth certificates are allowed in the first place.

 

OP, I would suggest that you bring her marriage license and her expired passport. The expired passport is still proof of citizenship and could serve as a secondary backup (I would not present it until there was an issue).

[okgirl]

Does she have a copy of her divorce decree? I would think that would be the bridge document to produce IF she is asked for one which they rarely do at embarkation or debarkation.

[dljones]

Absolutely Passport. Like the old American Express commercials used to say "Don't leave home without it! But honestly, I would never step foot in a foreign country without one in hand!

[092306]

I wouldn't chance it with the marriage/divorce documents. The expedited passport may be costly, but not as costly as being denied boarding. I'd rather have the peace of mind of the passport.

[dljones]

I wouldn't chance it with the marriage/divorce documents. The expedited passport may be costly, but not as costly as being denied boarding. I'd rather have the peace of mind of the passport.

 

Or worst, getting into trouble in a foreign country! :eek: Just don't never know what can happen.

[Need-a-vacation]

I would do the passport too, but like today! They have a fillable form online where you type in your info and print it off. Takes about 15 minutes. You can get passport photos at Costco for $5. Odds are good you'd get it in time without expediting, especially if your trip is later in June. Expediting would just be insurance. Make absolutely sure you put a travel date on the application and fudge it to a couple weeks early. I can't prove it, but I have sometimes suspected those without a travel date get shuffled to the bottom. If it doesn't come in time, you can still do the DL/BC/other papers route.

 

Mine also took about 3 weeks for renewal and I dropped it off sometime during Christmas week. She may need some extra documents for the name changes. The passport web site does an excellent job of spelling it all out.

 

Only caveat would be if she was under 16 when her current passport was issued (i.e. it expired in 5 years instead of 10), she actually has to apply for a new one at a passport acceptance location and sending in her BC. I found this out the hard way when I went with my 19-year-old son assuming his current passport was adequate proof of identity, citizenship, etc. I knew it was a new application, not a renewal, but figured the passport superceded the BC, etc. They still wanted the birth certificate even though there was nothing in the paperwork that specified the BC. It was a nuisance to go back and get it.

[dhdelrod]

She has plenty of time to renew her passport, just go get it done now.

[CruisinCarps]

Some passport offices process everything right there and you can have it in a matter of days even. (We are stationed in El Paso and husband's was in the mail like 4 days later.)

 

I am on board with the "just get a passport" crew.

[TeresaJ]

Get a passport. Only takes 3-4 weeks at most. Well worth it IMO.

 

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