question about birth cert and Dl Ids/w different spelling of first name(HELP)

[James&Rob]

Hello Im takeing 2 of my employees on a cruise in sept Ive been on like 7 cruises so I know what is needed for Ids but Yesterday when I was checking there I seen his name is spelled a little different on his Birthcert than his driver Licence it is only One letter and it is pronounced the same do you think this will cause a problem I call RCCL and they dont have a clue LOL. If you have any experiance with this please let me know if it caused you a problem His middle and last name is the same on both doc but his first name one letter is not there thanks in advance James

[digital_curator]

I have this problem-my mother changed the spelling of my first name 6 months after I was born but didn't do it officially.

 

My passport and official documents have the originally spelling, but everything I use in daily life has the other.

 

For travel id purposes- ALL ID MUST MATCH.

 

This is why I use my passport when travelling and all my cruise docs have this spelling.

 

Your employee could very well be denied boarding. In post 9/11 times this kind of thing is considered suspicious. I was denied boarding a plane once for this reason (my TA had messed up and used the spelling I usually used and I received my tickets the day I left) but luckilly it was a charter and there was an agent who could change the ticket so I was finally let on the plane!

 

I would have your employee get a new DI so that it reflects the spelling of his/her name asap.

 

Cheers

[Retired not Expired]

Wow, good question. I wouldn't even hazard a guess to how a cruise agent or a immigration agent might react to this one. I hope you let us know what happens.

 

Is there time in your state to get the driver's license changed? If not and you can't get an answer, I would make sure and take his SSN card, and any other item that would be an ID.

 

Good luck.

[James&Rob]

Hello again

Let me explaine His first name is Tubby Yes Tubby on his birthcert it is spelled Tuby all other name middle and last are spelled the same His dl Tubby, ss,Tubby everything is Tubby even his cruise doc Tubby He is 40 years old and said he never noticed that he always went by tubby not Tuby thank in advanse again James

[Retired not Expired]

Like Digital Curator said above, I've always been told, make sure all documents match exactly. If he can get the DL changed in time to the birth spelling and you can get the cruise doc's changed, I would do so. And then if flying get the airlines notified of the spelling change.

[tushgadol]

Ask the travel agent to have the travel documents changed to the name on the birth certificate, which is what would be needed for a passport..that would be a good idea, too. It's alot easier for the cruise line to change the spelling than to ask the motor vehicle department..omigawd

[digital_curator]

James&Rob,

 

My official name is Tracy but I spell it Tracey, so just like your employee it is only off by one letter.

 

Let me tell you that one letter matters! Especially on official documents. Make sure all the id that your employee uses to travel matches spelling and that the official spelling also matches the cruise documents and airline tickets.

 

It would be a shame if someone missed a trip just because something is spelled wrong but it happens......

[James&Rob]

Hello

 

Just got off the phone w/RCCL supervisior They said they would change the spelling on the doc to match the birthcert that the birthcert is the primary doc that there would not be a problem w/ the dl 1 letter being off she said sometime they have passengers who name is William and on there birthcert it say william but on Dl Bill. Im going to see if he can at least go to the DMV and get a state Issued Id with the correct spelling thanks so much James

[digital_curator]

Hi James,

 

Even if he doesn't get the DL changed in time for the cruise he should probably get it done at some point.

 

Yes, even the short forms get crazy. Not only do I have 2 spellings of my name, I am married to a Dave/David. He never uses David but again it is on all his official documents so that is how he is signed up for the cruise/airlines etc.

 

Your employees are very lucky that you are doing this for them- have a wonderful cruise!

 

Cheers,

[James&Rob]

Thanks digi

 

I called him this am and told him to go ahead and go to the DMV and carrie his birth cert and have everything spelled the same on his licence as his birthcert. Just to be safe thanks for all your imput. In our state they said there wont even be a charge to do this and we get our licence right then and there have a great day James

[karmom]

The spelling of my name was also changed in my grade school years but not on my birth certificate. I always use the grade school spelling and with the spelling, it changes the way my name is pronounced. However, Call me lucky I was on my 1st cruise when 9/11 happen and I have cruised several times since then and flown too many times to count. I have ALWAYS used my grade school spelling which is totally spelled different from my BC by like 3 letters...yet noone has ever said anything...EVER. It really never occured to me that I could have been stopped from boarding...now that we are getting passports I will be using my Birth Spelling and I'm also using my birth spelling when purchasing tickets for an upcoming Mexico trip. I guess it all depends on who's checking your id's when boarding planes/ships and customs. Just my .02

[Tillie]

The spelling of my name was also changed in my grade school years but not on my birth certificate. I always use the grade school spelling and with the spelling, it changes the way my name is pronounced. However, Call me lucky I was on my 1st cruise when 9/11 happen and I have cruised several times since then and flown too many times to count. I have ALWAYS used my grade school spelling which is totally spelled different from my BC by like 3 letters...yet noone has ever said anything...EVER. It really never occured to me that I could have been stopped from boarding...now that we are getting passports I will be using my Birth Spelling and I'm also using my birth spelling when purchasing tickets for an upcoming Mexico trip. I guess it all depends on who's checking your id's when boarding planes/ships and customs. Just my .02

 

My experience is very much the same. The last letter of my first name is legally spelled with an "e" however it is pronounced as an "a". Last year my TA spelled it with an "a" on our Cruise reservations I didn't notice until I received my doc's. I called RCI worried about the "all doc's must match" rule they told me not to worry it was only one letter off. Sure enough nobody noticed.

Tillie

 

Navigator of the Seas 10-29-05