Do It Tuesday...... Don't Procrastinate - Do You Want to Board That Ship?

Time and again, month after month, year after year, I read of a panicked hopeful cruiser who discovers days before their cruise, they can't find their passport and/or birth certificate. The stress and disappointment is so severe on them.

Promise yourself you will physically put your hands on your travel documents this week, you will make notes to yourself in places you will absolutely find where your passport and birth certificate are SAFELY stored. A month before your travel, confirm you can find them.

Stop this craziness about panicked search for passports. No reason anyone should put themselves in that position.

I feel sorry for them in a way but sometimes not. We read the intensity some people put into choosing their shore excursions, what the wine menu offers, and sometimes incredible minutiae but they don't give a thought to locating their travel documents.

Let's get our priorities straight. You aren't getting on the ship without your papers.

Excellent post!

I'm so paranoid that I check my folder with all my docs for the cruise at least every other day. You know, just in case they grew legs and walked out somewhere. I have nightmares that we are at the airport or cruise port and I don't have my docs. Even as we are in the car driving away, I have to be LOOKING at the BCs. OCD much? Nah! :D

I just checked our passports are right where they belong.

Also, be sure to check the expiration date on your passport and allow plenty of time to renew it.

Gentlemen - when DW does her weekly re-arrange of stuff in the home check where BOTH passports are!:rolleyes:

I call this "hold them, touch them, actually read them (expiration date that is)" and do the same for all sailing with you. Don't trust your teenage friends mom who says "no worries he has a passport" tell her if he's going to cruise with you, you will need that passport in the morning (sooner is better). Then put documents all together and store in one place!

Trust but verify!

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Great tip! I scan mine in color and have them available via email and in my photos on my phone. Then I put all my documents in a booklet with my boarding passes and luggage tags, and I stick them right on top in my luggage. When I go to place my toiletries in the bag the day of, I'll pull them out. Already packed.... Setting sail Oct 23rd!!!

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I just checked our passports are right where they belong.

 

Also, be sure to check the expiration date on your passport and allow plenty of time to renew it.

GOOD point. :)

I call this "hold them, touch them, actually read them (expiration date that is)" and do the same for all sailing with you. Don't trust your teenage friends mom who says "no worries he has a passport" tell her if he's going to cruise with you, you will need that passport in the morning (sooner is better). Then put documents all together and store in one place!

 

Trust but verify!

 

 

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Very good point! It seems to me that many of the panicked "What on earth are we going to do now :eek:?" threads are about someone in the OP's traveling party. It's often a family member or close friend who thought they had the required documentation -- but didn't. Proper documentation for everyone in your party is something that absolutely must be confirmed, prior to the deadline for final payment.

 

Also, be sure to check the expiration date on your passport and allow plenty of time to renew it.

And make sure that the expiration date is at least six months AFTER you disembark. Many countries require that a passport be valid for at least months after either your arrival or expected departure date (including the U.S. for foreign visitors).

I was thinking this very thing as I read a previous thread!

How can you get to within 48 hrs. of leaving and NOT know where your passport/birth certificate is?!

Those are extremely important LEGAL documents. They should always be in a specific place all the time, except when in use (says the woman who actually misplaced hers in a purse after using it as "proof" for a new job 10 yr.s ago).

:D I'm exactly the opposite.

I'm the one who realized both DH and my birth certificates were getting very 'tired' as we got older. As a precaution to one day needing them, though we have passports, I ordered new ones from City Hall. I ordered them at my leisure, by mail and had no stress waiting two weeks for them to arrive. That was years ago, and it's great knowing I have two.

We have a family cruise planned for New Year's 2015/2016. Each of the young adults is bringing their SO or a BFF to spend time with. I've already started reminding them they need a passport. I don't care that it is a closed loop cruise, I demand they bring a passport. I'm paying for the cruise itself, and I insist on documentation that will make it easy and take care of potential problems. I will start nagging them in Sept 2015, so that if they need to order a new one, they will have time to get it.

I also plan to request a copy of their birth certificate, just in case.

I call this "hold them, touch them, actually read them (expiration date that is)" and do the same for all sailing with you. Don't trust your teenage friends mom who says "no worries he has a passport" tell her if he's going to cruise with you, you will need that passport in the morning (sooner is better). Then put documents all together and store in one place!

 

Trust but verify!

 

 

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Yes on the 'touch them, hold them OPEN them' part. I am actually very very careful to have everything in order way ahead of time for docs, but I did have one close call.

At that time I kept our passports in the top desk drawer. Yep,pulled them out, night before, stuck them in my purse, all ready to go the next morning.

So, as we are pulling out of the driveway for our 2.5 hour drive to the airport to catch a plane to Florida and then go on a Transatlantic the following day, I decide to check our passports one last time--obsessive, right?

Ah, no. What I had was one passport and one navy blue address book almost the same size, shape and color as a passport, which for some reason was in the same place I kept the passports.

If I hadn't checked, no way we could have cruised to Europe. You can believe that the passports no long live in that drawer and they are physically opened and checked now for every cruise.

I have a cruise booked for Feb. 2015, my passport was due to expire during that cruise, well even tho I had months left I went ahead and renewed it in July!!:o I wasn't gonna take any chances!!:D

Saw this thread....and IMMEDIATELY pulled out the passport applications that have been sitting for a couple months. Ridiculous since it took us each less than 10 minutes to fill out! Our cruise isn't until April, so we are o.k. with time on this. Great reminder to NOT procrastinate!

I have a cruise booked for Feb. 2015, my passport was due to expire during that cruise, well even tho I had months left I went ahead and renewed it in July!!:o I wasn't gonna take any chances!!:D

Passports really have to be renewed six months in advance of expiration or they might not be recognized for entry into some countries. Many countries require six months validity remaining upon entry into their country and each country makes their own rules about it. Some cruise ships will not recognize a passport that does not have six months remaining.

Great you mentioned this as a heads up for some people who didn't realize.

Getting a passport is so easy. There is no reason to risk not having one.

Time and again, month after month, year after year, I read of a panicked hopeful cruiser who discovers days before their cruise, they can't find their passport and/or birth certificate. The stress and disappointment is so severe on them.

 

Promise yourself you will physically put your hands on your travel documents this week, you will make notes to yourself in places you will absolutely find where your passport and birth certificate are SAFELY stored. A month before your travel, confirm you can find them.

 

Stop this craziness about panicked search for passports. No reason anyone should put themselves in that position.

I feel sorry for them in a way but sometimes not. We read the intensity some people put into choosing their shore excursions, what the wine menu offers, and sometimes incredible minutiae but they don't give a thought to locating their travel documents.

 

Let's get our priorities straight. You aren't getting on the ship without your papers.

 

And I always try to remember what I heard a very long time ago from a caring teacher, "Stress kills."

Time and again, month after month, year after year, I read of a panicked hopeful cruiser who discovers days before their cruise, they can't find their passport and/or birth certificate. The stress and disappointment is so severe on them.

 

Promise yourself you will physically put your hands on your travel documents this week, you will make notes to yourself in places you will absolutely find where your passport and birth certificate are SAFELY stored. A month before your travel, confirm you can find them.

 

Stop this craziness about panicked search for passports. No reason anyone should put themselves in that position.

 

I feel sorry for them in a way but sometimes not. We read the intensity some people put into choosing their shore excursions, what the wine menu offers, and sometimes incredible minutiae but they don't give a thought to locating their travel documents.

 

Let's get our priorities straight. You aren't getting on the ship without your papers.

 

↑↑↑THIS↑↑↑

Absolutely.

Passports really have to be renewed six months in advance of expiration or they might not be recognized for entry into some countries. Many countries require six months validity remaining upon entry into their country and each country makes their own rules about it. Some cruise ships will not recognize a passport that does not have six months remaining.

 

Great you mentioned this as a heads up for some people who didn't realize.

 

Well, passports only really have to be renewed six months in advance only if one is visiting one of those countries that requires it or sailing on one of the cruise lines' that require it. As far as the US is concerned the passport is valid up to the expiration date for re-entry. And yes, it is important to know when your passport expires and to know where all of your important documents are.

I am always on top of passports and everything else related to a cruise.

I keep our passports and all other important documents in a fire safe box. They stay there until the night before we leave home then go in a special pocked in my purse along with our boarding passes for the flights.

Mary Lou

Well, passports only really have to be renewed six months in advance only if one is visiting one of those countries that requires it or sailing on one of the cruise lines' that require it. As far as the US is concerned the passport is valid up to the expiration date for re-entry. And yes, it is important to know when your passport expires and to know where all of your important documents are.

I think you are picking nits. :D My message was understandable.

sail7seas

Passports really have to be renewed six months in advance of expiration or they might not be recognized for entry into some countries. Many countries require six months validity remaining upon entry into their country and each country makes their own rules about it. Some cruise ships will not recognize a passport that does not have six months remaining.

 

Great you mentioned this as a heads up for some people who didn't realize.

 

Was this post that confusing? :confused: My use of "might", "many" and "some" indicated there is variation.

As to re-entry into U.S., a U.S. citizen can use their passport right up to the expiration day. I think I stated each country decides their own entry regulations and many have the six months rule. I would not want to be the person whose plane was diverted from a country that did not have the six months rule to a country that did because of any travel interruptions. In this crazy world, the more one provides for themselves in advance the smoother their experiences are likely to evolve.

If you want to save three or four months on your passport, go for it. You won't be alone, I am sure.

I just checked our passports are right where they belong.

 

Also, be sure to check the expiration date on your passport and allow plenty of time to renew it.

I got back from my April cruise and immediately sent my passport to renew it. It was good until later in the year, but why wait? The few months I lost cost me pennies and that loss was well worth the peace of mind to know I'm all set before my next adventure.

We keep all of these important documents in a fire safe in our home which is bolted down through the concrete slab. The house might blow away in a hurricane, but the safe will still be there.