raised seal on birth certificate

[snowmouse]

My mother will be cruising with us in a few weeks. I confirmed with DCL that her birth certificate would be just as good as a passport. They did mention, however, that it should have a 'raised seal'. I had my mom dig it out and she says it has no such thing. It is a fill in the blanks by hand type, signed by the commissioner of Health and the mayor, city of New York, circa 1931. In the center is a printed, not raised seal. Is this any potential problem??

 

[taswira]

My mother is on my Nov. 10 cruise with me. Since she will be 80 years old and her original birth certificate also did not have the raised seal, I had her renew her passport to avoid any problems. It is awfully close to your cruise now for you to have your mother get a passport though. Call DCL immediately and see what they say. They specify that the birth certificate MUST have the raised seal, but I don't think any of them that long ago did!

 

[DISNEYGATOR]

Some states do not have raised seal...

And I could be wrong, please someone correct me, but I think raised seal does not necessarily mean its raised off the paper, just that it is certified, and stamped on, not a photo copy of a stamp...

I would call DCL, but last year I went and my B.C doesn't have a raised seal and I had no problem, and I went post- 9/11.

 

[4nana]

DISNEYGATOR is correct, not all states have the raised seal.
If they are marked 'certified' they should be acceptable.

 

[taswira]

DCL just recently (they did not do this for my May cruise but have for one coming up) started putting a BIG orange sticker on the document packet that says they will deny boarding to Guests without proper documentation. Among other things, it clearly states that a Passport or Birth Certificate (original with raised seal) and Picture ID issued by Local, State or Federal Government is required, and that <B>Copies of birth certificates without a raised seal are not acceptable</B>.

I know what you are saying about not every state having a raised seal, and my mother's from Georgia 80 years ago did not. I am only passing on the info that DCL is now making SURE is more than ever <I>in our faces</I> on the document package. To ensure that this statement does not mean they will no longer accept birth certificates without a raised seal and that those guests MUST have a passport (which is what they SEEM to be saying), I would certainly call and inquire before showing up without one!

 

[DISNEYGATOR]

What documentation do I need to bring?
All U.S. and Canadian citizens must travel with proof of citizenship, which is a valid passport, or certified birth certificate (with official raised seal) and picture identification, or a certified naturalization certificate with a picture identification. Acceptable forms of picture identification are state or provincial driver's license, or federal, state, province, or local government photo I.D. card. Guests age 17 and under who are U.S. or Canadian citizens are only required to have proof of citizenship, excluding picture identification. These guidelines are based on U.S. government regulations which are subject to change at any time. It is the Guest's responsibility to check with their Travel Agent, government agencies, embassies or consulates prior to their vacation to ensure that they have proper documentation. Any Guest traveling without proper documentation will not be allowed to board the vessel and no refund of cruise fare will be issued.
New security guidelines require all adult Guests to show a picture I.D. to embark and disembark the ship in all ports, excluding Castaway Cay. Please be advised that anyone under the age of 18 wishing to go ashore unaccompanied will be required to have a consenting parent, guardian or other responsible adult with them at the gangway, to provide their signature as authorization.


That is what the DCL website states... I still think a certified copy of a birth certificate is okay, because it is "raised" meaning its not copied on... but I would DEFINITELY call and check! And get a clear answer does raised mean "embossed" or can it be certified with a orginial stamped "seal of the state" but a seal that is not necessarily embossed...

 

[4nana]

Well I guess we will find out at check in
Taswira, I hear what you are saying and also have read the notice at top of board concerning Doc. Req. However, I have called Disney several times on this issue for our grp. and as of just yesterday was told: "We realize all states do not have raised seals. As long as your B/C copy reads 'certified' fr Vital Records it is legal, with or w/o raised seal". Half of our grp have passports and the other half have 'certified' copies fr Vitial Records. Maybe someone who has recently cruised can offer more advise.

 

[KLDESQ]

If you were born in NYC you can get an "official certified" birth certificate from a centralized office that is somewhere in lower Manhatten. I can't remember exactly where the office is but it should not be a problem to find. They literally have the records of everyone born anywhere in the 5 boroughs that can be printed out and certified with the seal, etc. on the spot for a very small fee.

I am only in my late 30's but my original birth certificate is handwritten, etc., much like your Mom described. I only had a copy of it which did not work for the passport. I got the cert copy in person in NYC and it worked just fine.

To be safe (especially if you are in the NYC area) I'd take a quick trip into the city and pay the $5 or whatever the rate is now to save some potential headaches. The other good thing is that the entire process took less than 15 mins if memory serves.

Good luck!

 

[Michelle]

DCL is causing UNNECESSARY anxiety regarding this issue because of their latest statement.

All that is required, DESPITE what they say in the printed materials, is an ORIGINAL OR CERTIFIED COPY of the birth certificate plus an acceptable photo ID. As others have said, not all states do the RAISED SEAL yet those birth certificates are still CERTIFIED COPIES. As long as it is not a PHOTOCOPY of the birth certificate (that is not certified) it's fine.

 

[macbasset]

when we did our first cruise in 99, my sister found out that the seal on the birth certificate had to be raised and while at WDW for the land portion, was able to get the state of Pennsylvania to make a certified raised seal copy that they overnight expressed to her in time to make the ship. my Dh and myself born in the 50's as well as Ds born in 1988 (Maryland, NewYork, Pennsylvania)all had birth certificates that did not have a "raised" seal. we contacted the office of vital statistics in each of these states and paid from $6-$15 and received new, raised seal birth certificates. all of our original ones said they were "certified," but none had raised seals. all of the new ones do and YES, you can actually feel the raised seal on them. they recent issue dates. Now as we go on our 4th cruise, i take both sets of birth certificates as back ups, but they want the raised seal copies. It is possible to get these raised seal birth certificates in a short period of time if necessary and if you pay for fed ex., etc. barb

 

[disvaclub92]

Michelle - Thank you for confirming that. I too have called several times and was told that as long is it says certified and not a photo copy we were fine. We live in PA and they do not have a raised seal.

 

[HappyGilmore]

Sometime back someone posted a link to a website that one could use to order a birth cert from any state and they would even fedx them for an additional charge. I don't remember the name of the company but maybe someone else does??? If not and I come across later (can't seem to find it now) it I will post it myself.

 

[Michelle]

Carolyn, I think you mean:

www.vitalcheck.com

 

[BethC1952]

1. I just paid off my cruise yesterday!!!!

2. For the birth certificate story: We tried to get my father-in-law a passport for this trip. DH and I took last Friday off from work, picked him up, got his picture taken and went to the county courthouse to file the application. He's very proud of the fact that he has his original birth certificate from New York in 1926. I called the county office to make sure that, even though the seal wasn't raised, it would be accepted as an official, certified birth certificate. No problem, they said.

What I didn't know (and neither did he) was that my mother-in-law had checked his papers the night before, and saw that you couldn't read the name very well. So she wrote over it. And made a mistake. And crossed it out and rewrote the name.

Guess what? We're waiting for the new official birth certificate to come from Manhattan!

Fortunately, we still have enough time to get his documents in order for our December cruise!

Beth

 

[Lowe6]

Just to let ya know we just went on the DCL on 9-15. Our birth certificates come from a state where they don't have raised seals. They had no problem accepting them at all.