My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I should be enjoying a sea day on the NCL Star right now with the rest of my family. A long awaited vacation, planned to the most minute detail with help from the wonderful posters of cruisecritic. I say"should be" because I am writing this from a hotel room in Tampa. There is one detail that I did not double check. After xeroxing our passports, I idiotically left mine in the printer back home. I had the remaining three passports rubberbanded together and it appeared to be thick enough for all four. I handed them to the security man at the bottom of the escalator at the port in Tampa. He must have thought there were 4 also because he waved us on to the next check point. We made it through the metal detectors and were sent to Lattitudes check in - this is the point where we realized we were missing one passport - mine. At the time we thought we must have dropped it, since we thought the man at the escalator must have counted 4 passports. We spent 2 hours frantically tracing and retracing our steps even having husband and son walk back to Capital Parking (btw - they are fine and a real deal at the price they charge). When all the searching turned up nothing, I started to mentally retrace my steps to before leaving home. That's when I remembered the printer. We called a neighbor who has our key to go check, and sure enough it was there. UGGGHHHH! That's really not the word I want to type.

Time for plan B. The neighbor (who is a lifesaver and who has my undying gratitude) went to FedEx yesterday and shipped the passport - it should be here on Tuesday morning (fingers crossed) I now have an early Wednesday morning flight to Belize where I will meet my hubby and two sons - I will be too late for the cave tubing excursion but as long as I am showered with hugs when I see them, all will be well. They really knocked themselves out when looking for the passport - including looking through a trash can - I hope they can get enjoyment out of the first few days of their cruise and please go ziplining as planned in Roatan!!

I would like to take a moment to thank the NCL help desk at the Tampa Cruise Terminal - in particularly Monique. They have a tough job - I wasn't the only one with a document issue. When looking at the long line of check in counters - the help desk is the only one with a box of tissues - I for one needed them - my crying got ugly at times - but the help desk staff remained calm and gave us our options. If the next two days go as planned (please God) I will miss only one port day. All in all, if this is the worst thing that happens to me -my life has been pretty darn charmed.

So for all those obsessively compulsive cruise planners out there - take a moment to focus on documentation - without a passport the over the door plastic organizer, the oversized coffee thermal cup, the chocolate easter bunnies for the boys and the extra pair of sandals that match just one outfit...don't much matter.

Oh, how horrible! Many, many (((hugs))) for you. I'm so glad you'll be on your way soon. And I believe you deserve first dibs on all of the chocolate bunnies' ears, if you so desire.

Oh my, that is a bad day. I am glad that, with the assistance of your neighbor, you will be able to catch a flight to board the ship. I hope that goes well.

So sorry for your bad day. Glad you can salvage some of your vacation.

Oh my goodness how horrible! Great thanks to your neighbor though at least you'll get to enjoy some of the vacation!

Wow, I am so sorry this happened to you. You seem to be taking it okay now, but I'm sure it took a while to get to this point. Thank You for the extra warning. I check and recheck and recheck because I am so afraid I will do the same thing. I hope your family and you have a great cruise.

That's horrible; I'm sorry!! Hoping that everything else goes smooth and you can join your family on Wednesday. Hugs!

I feel so bad for you! What a disappointment. But, you are keeping everything in perspective and have a great attitude. Thanking the NCL staff for their assistance shows you are a classy lady. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Pat

Ensure that your passport has at least three months left before expiration. That's a requirement according to the site I just checked on. No visa required for U.S. tourists.

This is the most wonderful post! The OP didn't blame anyone else, acknowledged the help from all the good people at the pier, moved forward with appropriate action and kept eyes on the prize! Bravo!

How lovely that you can write such a beautifully coherent message even while experiencing such acute distress. My mother's favorite saying is "something good comes from everything." Your positive attitude and your desire to help others, even while missing your family and the first part of the cruise, are truly inspiring. It is obvious you will find the silver lining in this experience. The fact that you sent your family on without you says a lot about your generosity of spirit. Safe journey to Belize, and have a great time!

You poor girl! HUG

Akkk! That does qualify as a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad! As others have said, your attitude is wonderful and you're able to salvage most of the trip. Hopefully, the future will turn this into a funny story for your family to relate as the men recount their "guy time" and you counter with tales of relaxing and eating bonbons while watching chick flicks while waiting for that Fedex package. May the rest of the journey be all fun!

OH NO :( I'm so sorry this happened to you. Praying that everything works out for you to catch up with them in Belize

I am so sorry to hear of that. I am sure you will NEVER do that again. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!!

Wow! Kudos to you for keeping your chin up, having a plan B in place, and for hoping that your family manages to enjoy themselves until you get there.

I travel a lot, for business mostly, but for pleasure whenever I get the chance as well. My "out the door" mantra is "Passport? Credit card? Check!" because those are the only things that will stop you dead in the water if you forget them. Agree you can still enjoy your vacation if you forget the thermal mug or perfectly matching pair of shoes (worst case, you get to go shopping lol)

Enjoy the rest of your adventure.

This is the most wonderful post! The OP didn't blame anyone else, acknowledged the help from all the good people at the pier, moved forward with appropriate action and kept eyes on the prize! Bravo!

I agree! Kudos to the power of positive thinking and accountability!

I'm so sad for you but also happy that you will get to continue on with your vacation. Hope that Tampa is sunny for the next two days also! Since we have to fly everywhere I would know mine was missing when I got to the airport but that doesn't mean I can't lose it somewhere else LOL. Glad you are taking it as well as you are, you are a better woman than I!

I admire your attitude and spirit!

We are in Clearwater for Spring Break, it is a beautiful day here in Tampa Bay! Go to the beach and read a trashy novel and drink a slushy drink.

God bless you and have a great vacation!

What a travel nightmare! Hope you get your passport soon and can enjoy your cruise!

A big hug to I'amanewbie!

I feel for you! So Sorry, I hope you do make it to Belize & meet up w/ your family. KNK just traveled to Belize & it is a lovely place:) You are right all of the "little extras" do not matter a bit if you do not have your documentation. K N I Have a little joke we use from a TV comedy show that no longer airs in the US. ( AB FAB ) There was a bit where "Eddie" the main character is going to Morocco, through out the show she keeps saying tickets, money, passports, tickets, money, passports. She finally gets herself & all of her luggage out the door~~~Just to run back in screaming TICKETS, MONEY, PASSPORTS!!! SO we use this as our not so little joke- but it seems to work for us. Then we also--no matter how annoyed we get with this--we force each other to show each other our passports --once when leaving the driveway, once @ the hotel, once leaving the hotel & once again when arriving @ the airport. Only when they are locked in a safe to we relax a bit about it.

Big Hugs for you & your family. Hope you see them in Belize very soon!!

You time!! Wow, how cool is that! I know you miss them, but you sure are taking it in stride. Have a few drinks for me and a bubble bath if you can. Tomorrow will be here quickly, so have fun on your cruise as well! You time and a cruise...:cool:

I feel so bad for you but glad that you are dealing so well with it considering the circumstances. Glad your neighbor was able to send the passport on to you.

Now take a deep breath, find that book and head out to the beach and enjoy a mini vacation by yourself.

My worst nightmare! Thank you for sharing this horrible experience because you have reminded us all to double check everything before leaving the house. Thank goodness you won't miss the whole trip! Hope you still have the time of your life!!!