Lost my passport the day before we sail :(

[patseacruiser]

I love a happy ending and am so glad the OP actually came back to tell us!!!

[JMHAM1]

YAY! You are forgiven your "stupid" moment. It was not stupid after all. Almost everyone has had moments like this at one time or another.

 

Glad you found it before the ship sailed. We have all been waiting for news. I will be sure to check, double check and triple check mine before our cruise in Jan. Losing it on the way to the ship is a HUGE fear of mine.

[GSLMOM]

Love happy endings too!!!

 

I was on my cruise last week and was wondering about you too!!

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[jennygirlmt]

I can't believe so many people cared :-) Thanks so much, I was surprised to see that pages were still being added. I smiled at so many of your crazy stories. It makes me feel so much better. I think my favorite was the $1000 cash stuffed in the baby's coat, how crazy do parent's brains get?

 

DH is now in charge of documents. It worked much better on the trip home. I kept track of DD and Duck (almost as important as passports ;-) ) and he kept track of IDs and Boarding passes. That's the new go to plan.

 

Thank you for all the anecdotes and well wishes!

 

PS-To the poster who said they were still confused-I did indeed use my passport in the airport and did safely tuck it away in my backpack once I boarded the plan. I then unpacked it when we got to the hotel and put it in my large suitcase that had been checked into the airline.

[lotsofkids]

I too was following this thread and waiting to "officially" hear you made it on the cruise! This was (and is) a great topic, spawning lots of wonderful advises and funny stories (I also loved the $1000 stuffed in the baby's coat)

 

I am the designated passport holder for my family (7 in total). We have relatives overseas on my husband's side and travel internationally quite frequently. Immediately after going through customs or security, the passports are collected and back in my purse. For the next hour my DH will follow-up a couple times asking "do you have all the passports?" "did you visually check that you have all the passports?" "did you count them, and have ALL the passports?" You get the point!

 

Between the both of us....thankfully, we have never lost a passport. (Although, I recently left a credit card at a local restaurant LOL)

 

Hugs...and SO happy you enjoyed your cruise : )

[bsblindab]

Well it will be a vacation that you won't forget...:)

[gooch47]

My hubby is the keeper of all documents. Even my driver's license. That way I can blame HIM if anything gets lost.

[nycmode]

I read through all 11 pages and was glad to hear the OP made it a-okay!

 

I really felt for the OP in her initial post. I once too lost a very very important document (my I-94) and I seriously felt like my chest was going to burst. Luckily after doing another painful search (I was moving, so I had to plow through like 40 sealed cardboard boxes), I found it and was able to get on my plane ...

 

Thank goodness she found her passport!

[dforeigner]

 

Now we can all sleep sound tonight knowing that it all worked out. :D

[maryn680]

I read through this thread the whole time, pulling for the op and happy when she came back on. Also enjoyed everyone's opinions, however not all of them are correct.

 

We are going on the Pearl to Alaska on August 21 and this morning I got a call from Norwegian (I was excited it must be the upsell fairy), it was however a recording regarding required identification on cruises to Alaska with ports in Canada. Passport or Original birth certificate, and same for Canada.....I think there must have been some confusion on this thread (although there was some very good information also), that led Norwegian to go to the extra step.

[peg013]

I read through this thread the whole time, pulling for the op and happy when she came back on. Also enjoyed everyone's opinions, however not all of them are correct.

 

We are going on the Pearl to Alaska on August 21 and this morning I got a call from Norwegian (I was excited it must be the upsell fairy), it was however a recording regarding required identification on cruises to Alaska with ports in Canada. Passport or Original birth certificate, and same for Canada.....I think there must have been some confusion on this thread (although there was some very good information also), that led Norwegian to go to the extra step.

 

What confusion are you referring to? :confused: She lost her passport, and didn't bring an original BC since she planned to use her passport. Since she flew in she couldn't just run home and get the BC if she didn't locate the Passport.

[oceanseagle12]

Agreed with Peg- no confusion. That is why people suggested that the OP get someone to secure her birth certificate for her.

[maryn680]

Some of the replies said you only needed a copy of your BC. There were even some quotes from authorities. This is what NCL's McAllen was "copies are no good". And you nosed your passport in canada. Sorry for the confusion

[njhorseman]

Some of the replies said you only needed a copy of your BC. There were even some quotes from authorities. This is what NCL's McAllen was "copies are no good". And you nosed your passport in canada. Sorry for the confusion

 

Now I'm confused...

[ladyjane]

We were on the Star the first week of June. Our friends brought expired passports not realizing they grabbed the wrong ones. NCL said the only way they would be allowed on the ship is if they could have someone fax a copy of their birth certificates. It has to be a very clear fax. They need to be able to read it clearly. Fortunately for them, their daughter was able to do this for them. They were not allowed to go into Canada so when we got to Skagway, we gave our car to another couple and took the train. We had to do the train that goes up and back - they couldn't get off.

[sparks1093]

Some of the replies said you only needed a copy of your BC. There were even some quotes from authorities. This is what NCL's McAllen was "copies are no good". And you nosed your passport in canada. Sorry for the confusion

 

I believe that was me. I would rather rely on the plain language of the DHS regulations than an NCL Rep, but my comfort level is higher in this regard than most. In any event, ladyjane's post confirms what I was saying.

[slidergirl]

Someone asked why someone would fly domestic and use their passport for ID. Simple - the passport has no personal information other than my name. No address, no phone #. Keeps the TSA smurfs from copying down that stuff and telling their friends where I live so they can rob my home.... Hey, they steal at checkpoints, why not houses???

[ceebee]

The exact same thing happened to me. Because my hands were full at the time, I tucked my passports in the pouch in front of my seat on the airplane. Of course I completely forgot that I had put them there and when I arrived for check in we were denied boarding. They suggested I have someone at home fax a copy of my birth certificate to them. Unfortunately, our birth certificates were in the safe deposit box at the bank. I called the lost and found at the airline but no one answered. My husband and I had the very sad experience of watching the Epic sail away with the rest of my family. The airline called 4 days later to say the found our passports. We are now going to be on the Epic in November and I will be wearing my passports around my neck.

[willysgrandma]

I spoke to a rep. from the State Dept. and this is not true. She told me it can take days to get another passport, it is not always a one day thing. The consuls are not always open, you will need to get a new passport picture taken somewhere and you must also pay for an expedited passport for a replacement. There are some countries that the places to get replacements are few and far between and you may have to travel a distance to get to an office where you can have it replaced.

 

She told me that you better make sure yo have a credit card with you that will have enough to pay for a few days in a hotel because it sometimes does take a few days for a replacement.

 

what it does is allow for a much faster replacement. As they can immediately locate the file. In an emergency a replacement can be made in hours and sometimes an authorization to travel without a passport can be issued.

[goodml]

The exact same thing happened to me. Because my hands were full at the time, I tucked my passports in the pouch in front of my seat on the airplane. Of course I completely forgot that I had put them there and when I arrived for check in we were denied boarding. They suggested I have someone at home fax a copy of my birth certificate to them. Unfortunately, our birth certificates were in the safe deposit box at the bank. I called the lost and found at the airline but no one answered. My husband and I had the very sad experience of watching the Epic sail away with the rest of my family. The airline called 4 days later to say the found our passports. We are now going to be on the Epic in November and I will be wearing my passports around my neck.

 

:(Sorry to hear that. I hope your upcoming vacation will more than make up for the disappointment.

[Diving Rabbit]

I love that you all saw me come back on :-) Last night while I was rocking DD to sleep I browsed CC on my itouch, like I have for the past few months, not sure what I'll do now! I guess it's time to make her sleep through the night :-)

 

Obviously since I haven't been on for a week, you hopefully rightly assumed that I got on the ship. I thought about coming back with a great story (read that as lie), that I went to the airport at 6am, they opened the lost and found and there was my passport! But I can't lie, so I will sheepishly update you that it was in my suitcase the whole time.

 

I didn't sleep that night and at 6am, DH and I dropped DD off with my inlaws (I was sobbing) and we took the light rail to the airport where they pulled out other people's passports, just not mine (She also had tons of psps, ipods, phones and ipads!). I then proceeded to bawl in the airport before DH hauled me back to the hotel. We decided it was time to dissect the luggage one more time. So DH took my back pack ("the" carryon culprit) and I did DD's suitcase (also a carryon). No luck. Then I said "Should we even bother with the suitcase that was checked?" Of course. So I opened it up and began pulling things out when SIL said "Is this it?" WHAT?! It was in the mesh flap of the lid behind the shoe organizer (damn shoe organizer! but it was great for keeping our little items at hand). So I did the happy dance, attacked SIL with big hugs, which DD joined in on after wondering what the heck was wrong with Mommy. My stomach immediately felt better so we went down and ate a big breakfast at the hotel to celebrate. I guess I was so exhausted that I didn't remember putting it away and when we got to the hotel and everyone went to their rooms, all I could think was "I wish DH was here." So I guess at some point between giving DD a bath and taking a nap, I moved my passport to my suitcase, which I did check, just not well enough I guess.

 

After going through embarkation DH said "My gosh there was no way you were getting on that ship without a passport or original birth certificate." Who knows, I'm just glad we didn't have to worry about it. I felt like an idiot the rest of the trip, but it didn't matter. Because we had the most spectacular cruise! I'm halfway through a review. I planned to write daily while DD was napping...but MIL bought the ladies spa thermal suite passes, so I spa'ed instead :-)

 

I'll read through all the replies eventually! Thanks for everyone's advice and thoughts!

 

Misplacing any item is bad, but your situation was madness. In my family, I am known as "The finder of lost things" and my success is due to three things: 1.) My line of questioning about the lost item, 2.) my thorough search of every possible place, including the ones that someone else is assuring me there is no need to look in because they have already looked and 3.) my belief that nothing is really lost, it just can't be found right now.

 

I am really glad to hear that you "re-located" your passport and had a great spa-filled cruise. Sounds like you needed it more than ever after all that anxiety and lost sleep.

[DMH15]

I was telling my mom about this thread and she reminded me about the time we were going on a trip and she couldn't find her passport. She sat down at her desk and looked down at my dad's picture and said "Don, help me find my passport". (My dad died in 2000.). She went on to do a little paperwork and her passport fell off the shelf right in front of her. She is certain she had thoroughy checked the shelf. This really happened to her.

[Ms belp]

I was telling my mom about this thread and she reminded me about the time we were going on a trip and she couldn't find her passport. She sat down at her desk and looked down at my dad's picture and said "Don, help me find my passport". (My dad died in 2000.). She went on to do a little paperwork and her passport fell off the shelf right in front of her. She is certain she had thoroughy checked the shelf. This really happened to her.

 

I don't this story for a minute. Thanks for sharing. Dad was there for her.:)

[Ms belp]

The exact same thing happened to me. Because my hands were full at the time, I tucked my passports in the pouch in front of my seat on the airplane. Of course I completely forgot that I had put them there and when I arrived for check in we were denied boarding. They suggested I have someone at home fax a copy of my birth certificate to them. Unfortunately, our birth certificates were in the safe deposit box at the bank. I called the lost and found at the airline but no one answered. My husband and I had the very sad experience of watching the Epic sail away with the rest of my family. The airline called 4 days later to say the found our passports. We are now going to be on the Epic in November and I will be wearing my passports around my neck.

 

We always wear our important documents around our neck. We even store them when we aren't traveling this way so they are good to go. Get the kind that can store some currency and airline tickets, your license and a credit card as well. Travel Smith and Magellan carry high quality. Sorry you missed your cruise.

[Basketweaverz]

So glad it was found!! What kids do to us!!

 

Another passport story...in 2005 we went to Germany to visit our exchange kids. One boy and his parents took us to Prague. We got to the Polish border and handed over our passports, 3 German and 2 US. The border guard motioned us out of line and we were surrounded by guards. After a few tense minutes, it was discovered that the customs or immigration guy at Copenhagen Airport had not stamped our passports for entry into the Eurpoean Union. Poland stamped them and we went on to the Czech Republic and then when we went to re-enter Germany on the way home, Germany had to admit us because Poland was not a member in 2005.

 

It was sort of scary for us because of the language barrier and I am sure now to watch and be sure the passports are stamped. You should too!!