Self inflicted bad experience

[TravelinGert]

Knock on wood, in all my years of travelling I have not left anything vitally important at home.

When I send my wife off somewhere I stick a big note on the inside of the door. PASSPORT- CREDIT CARD- INSURANCE CARD- MEDS...

 

In hotels , where I tend to put valuables in the safe, I put one shoe in the safe as well.

That's a trick I teach my flight attendant colleagues. It's just too easy to leave a passport or id card on the safe when pick up is a 3.30 am from some unfamiliar hotel....

 

This is wonderful advice! Thank you!

 

Definitely using this on our next cruise. On our last cruise someone had left some things in the safe. Only some costume jewelry but one item did look very vintage. We gave it all to the customer service desk. Don't know if it ever made it back to the owner.

 

Normally I am in charge of the passports and copies of all travel documents while traveling while my spouse is in charge of the safe. My spouse always puts his laptop in the safe and when leaving knows immediately if he hasn't remembered to empty it because his plus one bag is very noticeably lightened by the absence of it. However he just got a new, much lighter laptop, so the shoe it will now have to be.

 

Just got one of those travel cross body bags with the safety closures and wire mesh preventing anyone cutting in. I carried it for a family trip over the holidays and have already discovered one small drawback. I haven't managed to master closing the zipper pull in the security clasp one handed yet. It tends to make one not employ this safety measure as automatically as one should for safety. Not a huge issue where I was during the holidays, particularly as I was normally surrounded by family, but something I need to work on.

 

Happy cruising everyone!

[evandbob]

Why would someone be denied boarding because they forgot their passport? Did this guy not bring any Government issued photo ID? What am I missing here? Was this an open jaw cruise or a repo?

 

from the op's post:

 

to make it even worse his wife had asked him when they were packing if he remembered his passport and he said he remembered it..... he really had not and planed to get it out of the safe but.... being so excited about the cruise and preparing to be out of town for 10 days he forgot to get the passport.

[Bizmark'sMom]

If you don't have a passport, you need govt. Issued ID and a birth certificate. He apparently didn't have the birth certificate with him, and forgot his passport.

 

I am anal about my passport. Everything else can be managed. Without my passport, the entire trip comes to a dead stop. I rarely cruise from US ports anymore, so I would be stuck at the pier in Buenos Aires, or Reykjavik, or wherever the cruise was embarking from.

[SRF]

I am anal about my passport. Everything else can be managed. Without my passport' date=' the entire trip comes to a dead stop. I rarely cruise from US ports anymore, so I would be stuck at the pier in Buenos Aires, or Reykjavik, or wherever the cruise was embarking from.[/quote']

 

No, you would not have gotten on the flight to get there. :)

[sparks1093]

No, you would not have gotten on the flight to get there. :)

 

Unless of course something happens to the passport between the flight and the cruise.

[Bizmark'sMom]

Heh! That's true. I was picturing loosing the passport between the airport and the ship.

[broberts]

Unless of course something happens to the passport between the flight and the cruise.

 

I cruised with someone whose passport was lost in transit. Fortunately, after a frantic few hours the airline called to say that cabin crew had turned in the document to ground staff before the aircraft left on its next flight.

[evandbob]

If you don't have a passport' date=' you need govt. Issued ID and a birth certificate. He apparently didn't have the birth certificate with him, and forgot his passport.

 

I am anal about my passport. Everything else can be managed. Without my passport, the entire trip comes to a dead stop. I rarely cruise from US ports anymore, so I would be stuck at the pier in Buenos Aires, or Reykjavik, or wherever the cruise was embarking from.[/quote']

 

 

And they drove to Tampa without his driver's license as well?

 

I always bring my passport on my cruises, and I'll take it with me when I'm off in port on an independent tour or on my own. It's just that for most closed loop Caribbean tours a passport while highly recommended is not mandatory yet. As you state, a Gov't issued photo ID will do. I even produced my County Gov't Senor pass photo card once!

 

Sure, someone can forget a passport, but if they bring their wallet, and the OP's post doesn't say this guy forgot that too, one should have appropriate ID to board a ship.

Edited February 2, 2018 by evandbob

[KamiKake]

I have a big red zippered folder that everything important goes into, from passports, to boarding passes, to excursion information printouts..and everything in between.

 

It's one step away from being chained to my wrist from the moment we get in the car in the driveway until the moment it goes into the safe in our stateroom. It pretty much doesn't leave our sight - seeing as how we are from outside the USA, losing (or forgetting) our passports would be the end of our vacation.

 

Mmmmmmm...I like the idea of the zippered folder! We actually have one that we rarely use for anything else but I haven't been able to bring myself to throw it away! How convenient to be able to put EVERYTHING in there and just unzip it and know it's all there and can't fall out or fall into the bottom of my carry on!

[Oshawapilot]

Mmmmmmm...I like the idea of the zippered folder!

 

It works. My wife (who’s a little more lackadaisical about things) thinks I’m a little bit crazy about how I treat it like an attache briefcase full of government secrets when we are on vacation, but given all the horror stories I’ve read here about people who were denied boarding or had their vacation ruined because of paperwork issues, I’m a little bit crazy about the “Red Folder” until we are safely settled in our stateroom. ;)

 

I even picked red specifically in case it ever got lost or misplaced - it stands out. And zippered so that if we accidentally drop it or sit it somewhere nothing spills out and we don’t discover until hours later that some critical piece of paperwork slid out or is missing without us noticing.

[KamiKake]

It works. My wife (who’s a little more lackadaisical about things) thinks I’m a little bit crazy about how I treat it like an attache briefcase full of government secrets when we are on vacation, but given all the horror stories I’ve read here about people who were denied boarding or had their vacation ruined because of paperwork issues, I’m a little bit crazy about the “Red Folder” until we are safely settled in our stateroom. ;)

 

I even picked red specifically in case it ever got lost or misplaced - it stands out. And zippered so that if we accidentally drop it or sit it somewhere nothing spills out and we don’t discover until hours later that some critical piece of paperwork slid out or is missing without us noticing.

 

Nope, I don't think it's crazy at all! I'm the same way! Confirmation numbers and paper copies of things we've paid for are always in my folder. It's just a few sheets of paper, and if it saves me ONCE because something got lost in a computer system, or makes a company do the right thing, it's worth it! I'm changing everything over from the binder on our desk to the zippered binder as soon as I get home today! lol

[griffy116]

We did the same thing (mine was bright orange) for our first Med cruise. I had sticky tabs on each for hotel,excursions, etc. and had them in chronological order so that what I needed next was what ended up on top. I STILL did a backup by scanning everything and e-mailing it to myself...just in case. We sorted everything out once on the ship and since the private tour guides we had booked wanted us to pay at the end of each tour with Euros, we put each excursion in a separate zip lock with the cash + tip for each day, and confirmation with phone numbers, used a sharpie to write the day, tour/port on the outside. All of this went into the safe. All we had to do was grab the zip lock bag. No scrambling around each morning. End of the cruise, we had our post-cruise hotel and transportation info ready to grab and go. Also, we had our airline confirmation,car keys and our parking information inside this zippered bag/folder for when we got back home to the airport.

[CrossBluePerchance]

On our Saudi project in the 1980s, a guy went home to Montreal for an R&R visit; arriving back in Riyadh, (having boarded a plane in Montreal, and having changed planes in Paris), it turned out that he was carrying his wife's passport! (How he got that far is a mystery.)

 

He was shipped back to Paris on the same plane, and had to sit in CDG until his own passport was couriered from Montreal.

 

Excrement occurs.

[SRF]

And they drove to Tampa without his driver's license as well?

 

I always bring my passport on my cruises, and I'll take it with me when I'm off in port on an independent tour or on my own. It's just that for most closed loop Caribbean tours a passport while highly recommended is not mandatory yet. As you state, a Gov't issued photo ID will do. I even produced my County Gov't Senor pass photo card once!

 

Sure, someone can forget a passport, but if they bring their wallet, and the OP's post doesn't say this guy forgot that too, one should have appropriate ID to board a ship.

 

Except how many people carry their birth certificate?

 

The requirement is Gov issued photo ID, PLUS proof of citizenship.

[CarolinaGirl2010]

I didn't even know having a picture of it would work as well. I'm going to do that immediately!

 

I always scan our passports, email a copy to my daughters and to myself, and bring a copy along, just in case. I figure if I'm prepared, nothing will go wrong.

[sparks1093]

Except how many people carry their birth certificate?

 

The requirement is Gov issued photo ID, PLUS proof of citizenship.

 

All it takes is a copy of one on a phone or the cloud that can be printed out.

[TNcruising02]

All it takes is a copy of one on a phone or the cloud that can be printed out.

 

Exactly. I scanned my birth certificate, my husband's birth certificate, my passport, and my husband's passport and saved the scans to my phone. These can be emailed and printed at any time.

[ldubs]

I always scan our passports, email a copy to my daughters and to myself, and bring a copy along, just in case. I figure if I'm prepared, nothing will go wrong.

 

 

Your fault we now have a new best practice!

[caitlyn20]

Sure, someone can forget a passport, but if they bring their wallet, and the OP's post doesn't say this guy forgot that too, one should have appropriate ID to board a ship.

 

You need proof of citizenship AND government ID. Having a driver's license does not make you an American citizen. "Acceptable proof of citizenship includes an original or certified copy of a government issued birth certificate (raised seal and signature) and a laminated government issued picture ID (typically, driver's license), Consular Report of Born Abroad Certificate, or a Certificate of Naturalization."

Edited February 3, 2018 by caitlyn20

[caitlyn20]

We almost had this experience. Hubby and I were headed to Mexico. We had an early flight, so were spending the night at the airport two hours from home.

 

The morning before heading to the airport, I had to pull the passports out of our safe to fill out boarding passes. Instead of putting my husband's back in his travel wallet, I laid it on top. As we were leaving for the airport, we did a check to make sure we had everything. He saw the travel wallet and assumed his passport was inside. We got to the hotel at 10:00 pm and he did another check and discovered his passport was NOT in his wallet.

 

We made the 4 hour round trip in total silence. He being mad at me for not putting it back where he had it. Me being mad at him because I ASKED if he had it and he said "yes" without actually looking.

 

Lesson learned. Now when we are ready to go, we put everything in the car and before driving away pull out our passport and make sure it is actually ours AND it isn't expired.

[Pudgesmom]

For the people emailing themselves documents, be sure to save a copy of those documents on your phone.

 

If you’re without cell service, you’ll still have them. Or just take a photo.

[broberts]

You need proof of citizenship AND government ID. Having a driver's license does not make you an American citizen. "Acceptable proof of citizenship includes an original or certified copy of a government issued birth certificate (raised seal and signature) and a laminated government issued picture ID (typically, driver's license), Consular Report of Born Abroad Certificate, or a Certificate of Naturalization."

 

No idea what is being quoted but it does not strike me as something from an official government source. There are jurisdictions that issue official birth certificates without a raised seal. Lamination does not make a photo id official.

[griffy116]

Not all official birth certificates from all states have a raised seal anymore. We learned that the first time one of my Grandson's friends sailed with us.

[snirpville]

My parents first cruise through Panama Canal. My dad had the carry-on, unzipped, with the passports. Mom told him to close it but he didn't. They go to check in and her passport is gone! Found the cab, nothing. Looked all over the dock, nothing. They did have a photocopy which they were eventually allowed to use to board the ship. Two hours later, after several calls to me in Canada to contact the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City, someone found the passport and brought it to the ship. We have yet to let my father forget this! A photocopy is better than nothing.

[gambit57]

Plan EARLY!

 

I don't have a copy of my birth certificate. I think my parents just have the hospital version, which isn't acceptable for travel and stuff. If they still have it. The county I was born in requires you to come in person. I should probably get it, but it's an incredible hassle. If I were to try and get it now, it would probably take a good couple of months, including an airplane flight, to go get it.

 

Luckily, I've had a passport since I was a little kid and I've NEVER let it lapse. I didn't have a SS card either until very recently (at least they let you order online). Used my passport as proof of citizenship and jobs and stuff for decades. That sucker either stays in my safe deposit box or when I have a trip, then it's practically physically on me at all times.