It's Time for a Passport (or Birth Certificate) Check

[wrp96]

Okay guys, let's all take the time to do a simply check to make sure our travel documents are in order.

 

1. Go and check that the passport for everyone in your travel party is where you think it is. Don't just glance - physically make sure every passport is there.

 

2. Check that the passport will still be valid for your cruise. If traveling with a birth certificate make sure it is a certified copy AND that your driver's license will still be valid at the time you cruise.

 

3. Put the passport back exactly where it is supposed to be stored.

 

 

Three simple steps to prevent a vacation nightmare.

 

 

This is public service announcement is brought to you courtesy of my boss who MIGHT forgive her husband by the end of her vacation. He was in charge of the passports and waited until last night to check their passports. :rolleyes: Unfortunately at that time he discovered that one of the passports was missing.:eek: After a night of pulling apart the house, they (lucky for the husband) found the passport at 5:30 this morning - of course their flight left at 7am, but they somehow managed to make it.

[deborahjo]

Okay guys, let's all take the time to do a simply check to make sure our travel documents are in order.

 

1. Go and check that the passport for everyone in your travel party is where you think it is. Don't just glance - physically make sure every passport is there.

 

2. Check that the passport will still be valid for your cruise. If traveling with a birth certificate make sure it is a certified copy AND that your driver's license will still be valid at the time you cruise.

 

3. Put the passport back exactly where it is supposed to be stored.

 

 

Three simple steps to prevent a vacation nightmare.

 

 

 

 

This is public service announcement is brought to you courtesy of my boss who MIGHT forgive her husband by the end of her vacation. He was in charge of the passports and waited until last night to check their passports. :rolleyes: Unfortunately at that time he discovered that one of the passports was missing.:eek: After a night of pulling apart the house, they (lucky for the husband) found the passport at 5:30 this morning - of course their flight left at 7am, but they somehow managed to make it.

 

We always say passports good for 3 months beyond cruise date. Just for safety.

 

That husband would not have been in good shape if that passport would not have been found. LOL

[Sue L]

hey Wrona,

 

May I please add a couple....

1. Make sure your cruise/air/trip is booked in the SAME name that is on the passport. Specifically maiden name vs. married name

 

2. Make sure you don't pack your passport in a checked bag

 

3. Make sure the birth certificate is your state certified copy, not the cute one with the foot prints, that is a SOUVENIR.

[wrp96]

That husband would not have been in good shape if that passport would not have been found. LOL

 

 

Let's just say we figure that the making up (even though the passport was found) will probably have to include expensive jewelry.

[mygrace777]

Its funny you posted this, somewhat, because I had a post like this back in April. I was set for a cruise in may 2011. I went to do my online checkin and it asked me for my passport number. I got up and went to my lock box where it's kept. Opened it up and it was no where in the box. I checked a second box I also have for different valuables, not there either.

 

By now I was not in a good mood. I know I had my hands on that pp just weeks earlier. No more than 6 weeks because I went to the box, got out the pp and checked the expiration date...just to be sure it was good for my cruise that was coming up. I got it out of the box, went through it and checked the date....good to go. Put the pp back in the box..the end.

 

So I know I had that pp just weeks earlier. I went back to the pc and changed my ID from a pp to a birth certificate and finished the online check in. Now, I am a very organized person and this was just not me. I still to this day can visually see that pp in my hand when i checked the date. I put it back in the box because it didnt need to come out and stay out so I know I put it back.

 

I tore my house upside down, three times..no pp. I could not believe it was gone. I still searched for it till time to cruise but never did find it. So, you are so right, everyone needs to check to see if it is where it is suppose to be. I thought mine was but I was wrong. I still can not figure out what happened but I cant imagine going to get it the day of, or before, the cruise to find its not there. I went this past tuesday and went through the process to get a new one. The old one expires in december but there is NOTHING in the world like....assuming its there and you go to find out..its not.

Good advice and i totally have been there done that. Its not a good experience.

[Grannycb]

We always say passports good for 3 months beyond cruise date. Just for safety.

 

 

Many places require at least six months before the passport expires.

[marci22]

I tore my house upside down, three times..no pp. I could not believe it was gone. I still searched for it till time to cruise but never did find it. So, you are so right, everyone needs to check to see if it is where it is suppose to be. I thought mine was but I was wrong. I still can not figure out what happened but I cant imagine going to get it the day of, or before, the cruise to find its not there. I went this past tuesday and went through the process to get a new one.

 

Wow, I can't believe you never found it. I have more guesses because this has happened to me: you put it on top/within a pile of papers and then moved that pile somewhere because it had a magazine on top of it. I have done that a lot. Old checks and expired coupons galore.

 

It got moved to the back of your desk/table and then fell behind it, and is perched on that narrow ledge of baseboard leaning against the table leg, hidden.

 

I know you think you put it back in the box, but you probably didn't. You've reimagined it so many times that now you believe your memory, accurate or not.

 

If you ever do find it, you have to come back and tell us where it was.

[Familygoboston]

I find that it helps to make a regular time to check...like checking the smoke detectors when you turn the clocks back.

 

My time is when I make the final payment...I do all the things the very helpful posters above have mentioned. I make sure I have the passports where I expect them to be, that they are not expiring (inside of the time window needed for the destination) and that spelling and details of the flights and other travel all match up (check flight dates and times too!)

 

I do a SECOND check to avoid another nightmare I have read about here many times...in the car in the diveway on the way to the port/airport. I put my hands on each persons passport/ BC, boarding passes (if needed), $ or credit card and any important meds needed. Too many times I have read about people leaving these things on the bed, in the driveway etc. :eek: So I always stop the car at the end of the driveway; I don't just think, "oh yes, I put them there", I physically lay hands on those things (I figure anything else I can buy or make do;-)

[rafinmd]

Does anyone know if RCI site will allow you do do an online checkin with a document that isn't valid for your cruise, such as a birth certificate for a transatlantic. I'm asking this because on my next RCI cruise, my passport may be out of my hands for visa processing for an Asian cruise a few weeks later, and I'd like to be sure that whatever backup document I use will work.

 

Thanks

 

Roy

[marci22]

I do a SECOND check to avoid another nightmare I have read about here many times...in the car in the diveway on the way to the port/airport. I put my hands on each persons passport/ BC, boarding passes (if needed), $ or credit card and any important meds needed. Too many times I have read about people leaving these things on the bed, in the driveway etc. :eek: So I always stop the car at the end of the driveway; I don't just think, "oh yes, I put them there", I physically lay hands on those things (I figure anything else I can buy or make do;-)

 

My mother is on a cruise now and before she left, I made her take out her passports and show them to me, lol.

[packedandready]

Can you imagine the conversation in that car on the way to the airport???

 

I'm so OCD that once I start packing I look at our passports probably 100 times.:eek:

[knewcrewzr]

Went to do our online check in and found that DS's passport had some how gotten wet and was not even legible (eeeeew, mold!!). We had to do an expedited order to replace his passport. Luckily, it did come back in two weeks (and they even sent the yucky one back too). Phew! dodged that one. Now all passports are safely stored in DH's lock box and ready for me to place in my CARRY-ON bag for our cruise next week. Oh, to make it even worse, DS had to have his SS card for registering for his job this summer and that had sprouted legs and walked off to. It took another trip to get that replaced but only 1 week to arrive in the mail. Now, DS isn't allowed to keep any of his documents (except DL) for any reason. His room is a bottomless pit when it comes to finding things.

 

Happy cruising!!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Love this!!!!

 

Wrona, your post is a great reminder for those who are traveling soon...even those who are not. Be sure to give us an update on your boss and her husband. :D

 

How many threads/posts have we've seen about the passports? The missing passport, misspelled names, wrong name, maiden to married name, expired passport..the list goes on and on.

 

Do it now!!!!! ;)

 

***

[bbbearden]

Many places require at least six months before the passport expires.

 

We leave for Europe in a little over a month on VOS. Several of the countries we are visiting will not allow us in unless our passport is valid for at least six months after the date of our entry into that country. This can be very important to remember.

I had to order new passports for two of my family members. We ordered them on 5/19/2011 and they are scheduled to arrive on 6/6/2011 according to the State Department website. We paid for normal delivery. I am very impressed at how fast they processed these.

Also, I download an app on my Ipad by shipmates. It has a customizable digital list to help you get ready for the ship and most of the functions work even when you are offline. Every time I read these posts I find myself adding something to my "to do" list or "things to pack" list. Check it out, it has worked well for me, and the deck plans are really great because they are large and easy to see on the Ipad if you zoom the view to 2x.

[FLACRUISER99]

Does anyone know if RCI site will allow you do do an online checkin with a document that isn't valid for your cruise, such as a birth certificate for a transatlantic. I'm asking this because on my next RCI cruise, my passport may be out of my hands for visa processing for an Asian cruise a few weeks later, and I'd like to be sure that whatever backup document I use will work.

 

Thanks

 

Roy

You must have a passport to check in for your transatlantic

[SliderNc]

Although not cruising related, a few weeks ago, we were in the process of packing for our wedding/honeymoon. I have a fireproof safe in my office that I store all of my valuable documents and some other odds and ends in. Since we had been living together for the past year before our wedding, I had given her the combination and a key to it and told her to put her valuables in there as well. That way, everything is in one place and unless the house burns for 4 hours, it should be safe. :)

 

It's Tuesday afternoon before we are set to leave for our destination wedding and I come home and the house is a complete disaster, like the Tazmanian Devil had just gone through there. I call for her to find out where she is and to make sure nothing is wrong, like we were just robbed. She comes running down the stairs in a tizzy with her passport in her hands screaming, "I finally found it!". I told her it was a good thing otherwise I was going to St. Lucia by myself. :P Back in October, when we had come back from our cruise, I had told her to get me her passport so I could put it into the safe with mine, but she said she would do it later. Ironically, she never did and it was stuck in one of her small bags and forgotten about. Normally, for her or I to find anything, we play "If I were [insert item here], who would have touched me last and where would I be?" Note, that her game lasted about 4 hours.

 

Ironically, when we go to apply for our marriage license, the county that we were getting married in required my social security card (not anywhere on their site or any of their forms). Since I don't carry it with me (it specifically says this on the card itself), I spent an early morning at the SSI office in the county, getting certified proof of my SS# as, you might have guessed it, it was in the safe with the rest of my valuable documents.

 

Anyway, great post OP.

 

And for anyone who can answer this: My wife's passport has her maiden name on it and currently has two active Visa's for work travel. In order to get a new passport and two new Visa's, it would take months and she has an upcoming trip in a few weeks to one of these places that she has a Visa for. I'm assuming that as long as her trip is booked in her maiden name and her passport is in her maiden name, there won't be any issues? This is the case in this instance and for our upcoming cruise in December of 2012. Since her passport is good for another 6 years, would it be better to spend $5 for another copy of the marriage license and carry that with the passport should she book an airline ticket/cruise with my last name? Is that sufficient enough for cruises leaving from the US/PR?

 

Thanks!

[wrp96]

Can you imagine the conversation in that car on the way to the airport???

 

Don't have to imagine. We were getting texts from her during her connections.:eek:

 

It's Tuesday afternoon before we are set to leave for our destination wedding and I come home and the house is a complete disaster, like the Tazmanian Devil had just gone through there. I call for her to find out where she is and to make sure nothing is wrong, like we were just robbed. She comes running down the stairs in a tizzy with her passport in her hands screaming, "I finally found it!". I told her it was a good thing otherwise I was going to St. Lucia by myself. :P Back in October, when we had come back from our cruise, I had told her to get me her passport so I could put it into the safe with mine, but she said she would do it later. Ironically, she never did and it was stuck in one of her small bags and forgotten about. Normally, for her or I to find anything, we play "If I were [insert item here], who would have touched me last and where would I be?" Note, that her game lasted about 4 hours.

 

A few years ago, I took my passport out to fill out some paperwork but didn't immediately put it back up. Well it ended up in a stack of paperwork that was out on my dining room table. A few weeks later my mom decided to clean my house for me which including filing my paperwork for me. Several months later I went to fill out some more paperwork and couldn't find my passport - it was a few days before I found it filed with my credit card statements. Since then, if it comes out of it's storage spot, it immediately goes back when finished. The first thing I do when I get home from a trip is go put it back up - unloading the suitcases can wait.

 

And for anyone who can answer this: My wife's passport has her maiden name on it and currently has two active Visa's for work travel. In order to get a new passport and two new Visa's, it would take months and she has an upcoming trip in a few weeks to one of these places that she has a Visa for. I'm assuming that as long as her trip is booked in her maiden name and her passport is in her maiden name, there won't be any issues? This is the case in this instance and for our upcoming cruise in December of 2012. Since her passport is good for another 6 years, would it be better to spend $5 for another copy of the marriage license and carry that with the passport should she book an airline ticket/cruise with my last name? Is that sufficient enough for cruises leaving from the US/PR?

 

Thanks!

 

Book the trip using the name on her passport.

 

If you want to book the trip using your last name, she'll have to get a new passport.

[cruiser-007]

I like reading passport stories! thanks for the thread. We're good 'til 2017 and I'm glad I checked because I couldn't remember exactly what the exp. date was. Thought about relocating the passport's to a different 'secret' location once, but didn't because I thought it would be a real bad idea.:o

[mjldvlks]

Does anyone know if RCI site will allow you do do an online checkin with a document that isn't valid for your cruise, such as a birth certificate for a transatlantic. I'm asking this because on my next RCI cruise, my passport may be out of my hands for visa processing for an Asian cruise a few weeks later, and I'd like to be sure that whatever backup document I use will work.

 

Thanks

 

Roy

 

I assume you'll have it back by the time of the TA [otherwise, as you appear to be aware, you won't go]. But for the online check in, you just need to fill in the info so keep a copy and use that to complete the online check in. Enjoy your cruises.

[enidcruiser]

I finally got DH down to get his cute picture taken for the renewal PP since they did not expire for 2 more months but got it done and sent them off.

They came back in 4 weeks. Good till 2021.

I made copies for the travel file and there the PP and copies sat. On my desk.

I kept meaning to put our PP back in the safe but they just sat here at my desk in the cruise folder and la la la, you know how that goes.

 

DH is digging in the safe one day and says, why do our passports have holes in them????

Whoops!!!

You bet I dug them out of the travel file real quick and they now reside in the safe, and the copies are out here so I can get the data without having to get them out of the safe.

 

I too, do the triple check when we leave. PP, sea pass, credit cards, voucher for transfers, DL for both, Excursion vouchers, money and Trav checks.

 

1. Before we walk out the door.

2. Sitting in the car as we get in.

3. Sitting at the end of the driveway.

 

Can't wait till we dig those real PP out for the next cruise.

[wolfcathorse]

Let's just say we figure that the making up (even though the passport was found) will probably have to include expensive jewelry.

 

or the making out to make up VERY good

[critterchick]

This is public service announcement is brought to you courtesy of my boss who MIGHT forgive her husband by the end of her vacation. He was in charge of the passports and waited until last night to check their passports. :rolleyes: Unfortunately at that time he discovered that one of the passports was missing.:eek: After a night of pulling apart the house, they (lucky for the husband) found the passport at 5:30 this morning - of course their flight left at 7am, but they somehow managed to make it.

 

Wrona, I assume that it wasn't his passport that was missing. That would have been too perfect.:p

[deborahjo]

Let's just say we figure that the making up (even though the passport was found) will probably have to include expensive jewelry.

 

Or another cruise very soon.LOL

[kc320]

Great thread...I actually checked my lock box to make sure mine was there..it was!:D

 

Can anyone point me to a list of countries that require your passport to be good for 6 months after entry? I am going on a cruise next year that ends in Canada..the cruise end's June 1st..my passport expires the end of August...I really don't want to re-new so early if I don't have to..but also don't want to miss my cruise because of passport issues...

[Fisical1]

Booked last min. Both kids passports expire 2 1/2 months after we get back. Leaving in 30 days. Cruise is closed end western caribbean. I have both their birth certificates. Was thinking of bringing passports and birth certificates.

 

What are your thoughts OK?