Help!!

[dalmationlover]

I'm in a total state of panic. My husband assured me he had a certified copy of his birth certificate. We are leaving on July 16 and I had him pull it out for me so I could put it with all the other documents. It is a certified copy but it is torn and brown and can hardly be read. It looks like it was scorched in a fire or something. You can read his name and parents name and can feel the seal but can not read the doctors or hospital name or other information. It has been taped together. He was born in a different state and I just order another copy but it may not get here before the 16. Is what he has o.k.. He is a firefighter and has a picture identification from the fire department and his badge. He used this copy when he went through the security screening with the department. If he showed him that along with what we have could it work. I just can not believe this. Can anyone give me any information.

 

[xABearx]

You may want to call DCL and speak with a supervisor to see if what you have will do....you may also want to call DCL terminal and speaking with a supervisor there as well.....We used to use our BC everytime we cruised and decided this year to go with a PassPort which I think is the best thing do especially if you are going to cruise each year as we have for the last 4 years.....I hope it works out for you .... good luck !!

 

[Michelle]

You can usually get a copy VERY quickly through www.vitalchek.com .

I would get another one just to be sure.

Good luck!

 

[dalmationlover]

Thanks for the quick replies. I did order it through vitalcheck. They gave me three to five business days. If it takes 5 that will be the day we are leaving. Our cruise is not until the 19th so I maybe able to get someone to overnight it to us in Florida.

 

[outahere]

Possible option........

When I needed a copy of mine, the county (out of state) volunteered to overnight it to me for an extra charge.

What you have may be ok, but you might want to try the overnight route, just to calm your fears. The extra money would be worth it, just for the peace of mind.

 

[bengals01]

i forgot mine once, and i just had to sign some paper, also i had a very old one, they took it, i think if they can read name and birthdate you should be okay

 

[fredms]

We just traveled with my boyfriend's mom and she had a very old and torn birth certificate without the mandatory raised seal. It was stamped "official" and they took it no questions asked.

However we were only on the four day - I'm not sure if it's more difficult if you are on the 7 day with the additional ports of call.

 

[TootyJane]

I don't think you'll have a problem. It's not that the birth is not certified -- it's just worn. My dh was born in Kansas and had one of those credit card-type of birth certificates which is really not considered to be "certified." However, we have used it for all the cruises we've taken since getting married 19 years ago. I don't think it matters if you're going on a 4-day cruise or 7-day cruise. Last year, though, we got passports before the fees went up. HTH

 

[tezb]

dalmationlover....your DH and mine should get together...(we're on your cruise also). We just had a similar problem earlier this week when I realized NOT my DH that DCL no longer accepted expired passports and that is what he used on our last 2 cruises when they did accept them. He was using it because he didn't have his birth certificate nor did his parents...Anyway, something told me to double check things and I noticed DCL only takes valid passports now (since 9/11 I guess). Luckily we live near the same area we were born so he was able to drive to City hall in San Francisco and get the certificate w/in minutes...only cost 15.00. Whew...that was a worry since time is running out. At least your DH has his birth cert...i'm sure it would be fine as long as they can tell what it is. Good Luck!

 

[dalmationlover]

Thanks everyone! I'm not quite as worried anymore.