Info to leave back home while away

[TheDivineMrsM]

What kind of information do we leave for family at home in case they need to get in touch with us?

 

On the chance that someone 'back home' needs to reach us, how do they go about doing that? What's the best way they can get a hold of us. Our phones will be off for the trip.

[Clarea]

What kind of information do we leave for family at home in case they need to get in touch with us?

 

On the chance that someone 'back home' needs to reach us, how do they go about doing that? What's the best way they can get a hold of us. Our phones will be off for the trip.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Extras&faqId=267&faqSubjectId=337&faqType=faq

Edited July 20, 2014 by clarea

[Leslie K]

I print out the page from cruise documents with cabin, itinerary, departure/return dates and write on it the phone number found elsewhere in the documents for how to call the ship.

 

 

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[dancinman66]

I leAve itinerary

Email and phone contact for me plus cruise line

That's all

 

 

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[marci22]

Not for emergencies, but to stay updated, when you are in port, usually there are pay phones. You should be able to find a store that sells international phone cards that can be used in many places. I bought one in Bermuda (at Dockyard) when I needed to call home. My cell phone charge would have been $1.99/min and this was 40cents/minute. The crew probably knows where you can buy them.

[cb at sea]

Leave your ship's name, the emergency phone number and your cabin #...that's all you need.

[blondie from arizona]

Be very careful. How much bad news do you want to hear from home while you are trapped on a ship? We give contact information to 1 person and that person is only to call us if they are confident that we can leave the ship the day they call us and make it home. If there is no way that we can get off the ship and make it home, they are not to call us and ruin our vacation. If someone passes, the services will just have to wait until we get home. I also have the people that watch my house set up to call other people while we are gone. Calling me while I am on a ship is not going to do any good. I give my insurance info to our house sitter too. If there is a disaster at our house, they can get the clean up team in there b4 we get home and everything else can wait. You have to think about every scenario and plan for it. We have done that and it sure makes us more comfortable leaving home.

[Sue Do-Over]

My siblings and I each have a printed list of passport numbers, drivers licence numbers and other key information -- the name of our bank, mortgage lender, insurance company (home, auto, life) and a few others. It's sealed in an envelope and kept in their safe at home.

 

If there was an emergency, they have access to key information to take action.

 

For example, if we missed the ship at a port, my sister could help me get my passport replaced more quickly because he has the original document number. You can think of a million scenarios where having basic information could be helpful - a fire, car accident, natural disaster.

[TheDivineMrsM]

blondie, you've given me something to think about but then again, sue's advice is sound as well.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I would take our itinerary info (ship's name, cabin number, a day by day listing of "at sea" or port/times), along with the ship's emergency phone (but I also add what a shore-to-ship call would cost). Also, my cell phone number (actually got my first cell phone ten years ago before our Alaskan cruise because my FIL was in his last days -- he did last until a few days after our return) and since we were buying an Internet package on our last cruise, my email address (with the caveat that I won't or can't be checking each day).

 

So far so good. No calls or emails from our neighbors or relatives during a cruise. My little sheet of info inspired a neighbor to start doing this for any long vacations they're taking.

 

I do like Sue's suggestions though.

[paul929207]

They have my email address

[LynnTTT]

Look at the cruise company web site. There will be an emergency contact number.

But I also just tell the family what cruise ship we are on and the dates.

[headhunterke]

A very handy piece of software that can help you here is TripIt. It can automatically read reservations from your mailbox but you can also add your own lines if you want to, to include some more detailed info. For my last cruise, it took my about 15 minutes to complete my 4 week travel scheme, including times in ports of call, telephone numbers of hotels, flight numbers, etc.

You can share it with anyone you want to (you do need to invite them by e-mail) and if you make any changes, those are updated right away so the persons on the other side have the same info you have. Wonderful, and I'm totally hooked on it :-)

[Keith1010]

We leave emergency phone number for ship, e mail address and cell phone number.

 

Keith

[Ehpride]

I create an itinerary that includes flight info, hotel info, cruise info and travel insurance. I also include any confirmation numbers, contact phone numbers for the providers, times, etc...

 

It actually serves a few purposes. First, I can leave a copy at home in case of emergencies. Second, it saves me from having to tell someone my flight times half a dozen times. Third, it has all my confirmation numbers on one sheet without needing internet access on my phone or a full battery.

 

Once, my brother and his fiancée were on a cruise that got delayed returning due to fog. He had his flight info in his e-mail, but didn't have enough of a signal to get his e-mail to pull up. So he had to call my mom and I to help him.

 

With my sheet, I have the phone number for my airline, times, confirmation number, etc handy just in case.

 

I can also do screenshots on my phone to have for back up (accessible without internet). It only really takes work the first time because I just use it as a template and adjust for future trips.

 

 

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[kirian]

I always leave a copy of the following with someone back home:

 

- passport

- driver's license

- credit card(s)... front and back (in case one gets lost or stolen)

- itinerary

- TA's contact info

- Ship's emergency contact info

- contact info for my dogs' vet

 

I might go a bit nuts, but I would rather have left more info than might be needed rather than less :)

 

Melissa

[TheDivineMrsM]

Thanks to all who replied, I made a list using most of the tips here and will be giving it to my sister.

[LA_CA_GAL]

We tell no one what ship, what cruise line, or where we are going.

 

There is NO emergency whatsoever for us that would require that we be contacted while on a cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Since we don't have any family, we give the neighbors watching our house our itinerary and ship with its telephone number.

They pick up the newspapers and our mail goes directly into the garage. Even though we have an alarm system, they still come into the house and check it every couple of days.

We also leave them the name of our furnace man, plumbers, etc. in case something happens and repairs are needed.

[Treven]

We tell no one what ship, what cruise line, or where we are going.

 

There is NO emergency whatsoever for us that would require that we be contacted while on a cruise.

I agree with this amount of info given. After all, what good would it do to tell me?

[YoungDubFan]

I leave a copy of the cruise itinerary, cabin #, flight info (airline and flight numbers), and a copy of my passport with 2 different family members. I figure in case there are any plane accidents or emergencies on one of the days I am flying, I want my family members to have the info they need to quickly know I am not on that flight. Considering what has happened in the last year, you never know when this could actually be needed. I also leave the emergency contact # for the ship, but make sure family is aware of the cost. I figure if someone needs me, they can send me an e-mail. This goes for my job as well as family. On my last cruise, I purchased 2 hours of internet time. This was enough to check e-mail once a day. This is the best way to get in touch with me when travelling. People know I may not check e-mail every day, and I really don't think this is anything that would happen that I would interrupt my vacation for. I don't want to sound callous, but if I'm out of the country, a funeral can wait. My step-father died while my sister was in Dubai. We had no problem holding his funeral until she could get back into the states. She was able to adjust her flight home to route her to my city versus her home city. She was on a work trip and her work did cover the change fee for the flights.

 

I live in a condo complex and we have a property manager who has access to my condo, so if an emergency would happen there, he can take care of it until I get home.

[nolatravelgirl]

I haven't done it in one neat little package, as I travel way too much for work to do that, but some general tips I have

 

• sent copies of my passport detail pages to my Mom and sister. Since I sent via gmail I could also access said details with a simple internet connection if I needed to have replacement issued in a foreign country.
  
• Mom & sister know my log in details for my bank accounts and could easily guess all my "secret questions" if they needed to impersonate me to cancel my credit cards
  
• I have an international mobile phone and turn it on in port so I wouldn't be out of touch for long
  
• I send along the email confirmations for hotels and flights as I receive them. My family is pretty tech savvy so they just open them and leave them in their inbox and will be able to search for them as needed
  
• I also pay for wifi on board, though I only check email/texts once or twice a day via my mobile phone/ipad/computer on sea days, so I would know pretty quickly about any emergencies
  
• I think I have pretty smart family members, so if there were a plumbing or electrical issue that needed immediate attention in my absence they would arrange the proper professional to come address the issue without needing to make a ship to shore call
  
• Probably not something everyone has the luxury of, but I have an account with 20K of my money in it that my sister is the primary owner of the account (yes I am REALLY trusting!) which gives her immediate access to funds, whether that is to pay a plumber or to buy me an emergency plane ticket out of XYZ country due to civil unrest.
  
• There are so few things that I believe I would need to know about immediately that couldn't be handled by one of the above.