My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

[turning40withMickey]

Amazing recovery, I'manewbie!

I am sure you will have a fantastic time when you catch up with your family.

Under MUCH different circumstances, the alone time in the hotel will be much better, IF you ever get to actually do that!

Thanks for sharing your pain, I am sure you are smiling thru your tears.

 

 

(love your title, too, Judith Viorst's books are favorites)

[greeneggbert]

Bummer!!! I am always triple checking that we have all of our passports.

 

I do have a friend that works for RCI and she states that you only need a birth certificate if you are doing a closed loop tour (same embark and debark point). I always thought you needed a passport......

[peg013]

Bummer!!! I am always triple checking that we have all of our passports.

 

I do have a friend that works for RCI and she states that you only need a birth certificate if you are doing a closed loop tour (same embark and debark point). I always thought you needed a passport......

 

You can do a closed loop cruise with a raised seal Birth Certificate and a photo ID (ie Drivers license) but if you need to fly back from anywhere, you need a passport. Of course if the OP was planning to use her passport, she would not have bothered to bring the birth certificate. (Just a BC won't do it)

[sippican]

As everything turns out well for the hero in the book of the same title as your post (Alexander), I'm sure it will for you too! (You must have read that to your sons - great lesson.)

Thanks for the positive spin!

[emcelh]

Thanks all for your warm wishes - writing the post was cathartic! I will update to let you know how it all worked out. If anyone knows how much a taxi is going to cost to go from the Belize airport to the tender port in Belize City - I would appreciate it! BTW' date=' is there a specific name for the tender port?

 

For the person who wanted to know how much the ticket cost - $529- one way from Tampa to Belize City. Kind of blows the vacation budget but in the long run it is worth it - it gives my kids and husband permission to enjoy their vacation. At first, I wanted to just stay in Tampa for the week (we drove from Maryland) it wasn't until the kids heard that I would be flying in to meet up that they started smiling. So, the $529 is well worth the price. It's just really ironic that I used up all my Marriott points that my husband accrued from work travel to pay for the 3 nights of hotels that i thought we would need. I paid for the parking at Capital Parking with a coupon that got me $5 off. We really try to travel frugally, so for us to decide in a flash to spend over $500 is testament to how important we value our family time.

 

I've been in the motherhood business for almost 22 years now and I often would say that I'd like to go to a hotel by myself for some "me" time. Now I know that "me" time is grossly overrated.

 

Hopefully happy updates will follow.[/quote']

 

Someone said they'd be happy to cruise with you and your family anytime. I'll second that. You sound like someone I'd like to know. You'll be in Belize before you know it, so enjoy the time with your family and the rest of the cruise.

[youngestof9]

oh my word - I'm so sorry for the panic and the ugly crying. I know ugly crying!! But what a great attitude you have - I hope the rest of your trip goes perfectly! Please come back and tell how you made out.

 

Enjoy your family time - very well deserved at this point!!!

[jvsnana]

I have great respect for you and your post. It is so refreshing to find someone who can stay positive when the going gets tough!!! Have a great trip and safe flight. I know its hard to believe now, but one day you and your family will look back and laugh about this. Thanks for not blaming the rest of the world for your oversight, its quite refreshing.

I second that!

I hope when you return from your cruise that you will come back and write a review of your adventures...you have a great way with words:)

[VIQT]

So happy to hear that it will work out in the end. Enjoy a great cup of tea or a glass or wine and spend the evening knowing you will be enjoying the rest of your well deserved (much needed) vacation with your family tomorrow.

[Ontario cruise duo]

Yes, this!

 

I had a similar situation with nobody to blame but myself. It was a RCI trip and I left ALL our passports at home. There was no way I would be able to drive from LA to San Diego and back before departure, but (somehow) RCI accepted photocopies that my neighbor faxed to them. They had a notary at the terminal who notarized the copies, and somehow they accepted the notarized version of the faxes. In hindsight we were very lucky, but to the OP - I completely understand this happening in the frenzy of packing and preparing. The best thing is to put it behind you, remedy the problem, and get on with the trip. I hope you have a great time!

 

Just a quick response to your reply. For the last couple of cruises we have taken I have put notarized copies of both my and my DH's passport's in both of our luggages and also in my carry on bag. I wasn't sure if these would be good enough to get us on the ship, but in the event that we did loose our passports while travelling it might help to facilitate replacing them. Another reason why I have done this, is in case our luggage should get lost, and the outer name tags were to somehow get removed, in my luggage would also be a copy of our passports in an envelope which also contained our home addresses. I work at a law office in Canada so keeping notarized copies on hand has always seemed like a good idea. Now I don't even remove them from our luggage, just keep them stored inside for the next time we should be travelling. While you stated that you were able to have your copies notarized at the terminal, I don't understand how they would even consider doing that, as we MUST produce our originals at the SAME time that a notarial copy is signed by a lawyer in Canada. Your laws must be different, or you were just truly lucky. Anyways, I'MANEWBIE, enjoy what's left of your cruise, as any time spent with your family is a bonus and years later, you'll never doubt that the cost of your airfare to Belize was money WELL SPENT!!

[hill6]

At least you will be joining them.

 

The day we were supposed to go on our last vacation was the day my husband got out of the hospital after being there for five days.

[Mom2B&Z]

Someone said they'd be happy to cruise with you and your family anytime. I'll second that. You sound like someone I'd like to know. You'll be in Belize before you know it, so enjoy the time with your family and the rest of the cruise.

Add me to the list. What a heartbreaking experience, but you reacted with a very rational response. I can see myself making the same mistake, and I'm well travelled. Moms are always looking out for everyone else, leaving ourselves last.

No one on these boards will say anything about people triple and quadruple checking their passport situation after this thread!

Enjoy your R&R time, the rest of the cruise will be just that much better because of the interesting trip getting there.

[mickeysgal]

Thank you for taking the time to post so that it can serve as a reminder to the rest of us. Hope all goes smoothly for you. Kiss that FedEx driver when he arrives with your passport! Safe travels.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Northern Bear]

Hang in there!

 

We just got back from 2 weeks at an AI that started with us (DW,DD) missing our flight. Long story short, it felt like we played Amazing Race and 23 hours later met up with everybody else.

 

You'll get there!

 

:)

[kerrytens]

OP, your positivity, despite the issues, is so refreshing. Keep up that great attitude and enjoy the reunion with your family. Most of all, enjoy your vacation ... you certainly deserve it! I am sure there will be some open arms to greet you in Belize:D

[peg013]

I guess if there's a good thing about all this......I'm sure you are glad it was your PP and not one of the kids or your DH's that was left behind. One of the kids missing would have required two flights to Belize and you'd never hear the end of it if it was your DH's. :D

 

I hope the half cruise you'll make, makes up for what you missed.

[I'manewbie]

I guess if there's a good thing about all this......I'm sure you are glad it was your PP and not one of the kids or your DH's that was left behind. One of the kids missing would have required two flights to Belize and you'd never hear the end of it if it was your DH's. :D

 

I hope the half cruise you'll make, makes up for what you missed.

 

You don't know how many times I've thought that in the past day!

[bonvoyagie]

I too hope and pray that everything all works out for you in the end. I think that your positive demeanor has kept this bad situation from getting totally out of hand. It is nice to hear someone saying some good things about the NCL staff and not blaming them for your mistakes.

 

Enjoy what is left of your cruise - you have earned it.

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

When you get home, you might want to look into getting passport cards. You can carry them with you in your wallet or purse just like a credit card, so it's always with you. Enjoy your trip, glad to hear you were able to get a flight to meet your family.

[Nalagh]

I wish you the very best of luck today in your tavel adventure! :)

The next time I go through something very difficult, I hope to handle it with the kind of grace you used in dealing with this huge dissapointment.

[Cmdr Cody]

I should be enjoying a sea day on the NCL Star right now with the rest of my family. A long awaited vacation' date=' 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.[/quote']

 

This is one of the reasons i always carry my passport CARD in my wallet along with my passport.

[mnmkit]

When you get home, you might want to look into getting passport cards. You can carry them with you in your wallet or purse just like a credit card, so it's always with you. Enjoy your trip, glad to hear you were able to get a flight to meet your family.

 

A passport book is needed when flying into or out of a foreign country, passport cards cannot be used for that. Cards can be used on a cruise leaving from and returning to the same US port. God forbid if you have to leave the ship in a foreign country and need to fly home, you need a passport book - a card will not get you home.

[halos]

I felt myself getting filled up with tears as well when reading your post. I am so sorry this happened to you. I hope you have a safe flight to belize and enjoy the rest of the cruise with your family. Please tell us about it when you get back.

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

A passport book is needed when flying into or out of a foreign country, passport cards cannot be used for that. Cards can be used on a cruise leaving from and returning to the same US port. God forbid if you have to leave the ship in a foreign country and need to fly home, you need a passport book - a card will not get you home.

 

True, but she would have got on the ship if she had one. Also, in an emergency situation, you will not get refused transport home because you have a passport card instead of a passport book. If you decide you want to fly to Europe for a vacation, then you are correct, the card will not suffice.

[che5904]

This story is so sad, I'm not even sure what to say. What a great attitude OP, you deserve the kudos of the week.

 

I hope when you finally reach the ship the HD gets wind of this and does something nice for you like delivering a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to your room.

 

I hope only wonderful things for the rest of your vacation.

[CruisingMouse]

I'manewbie any delivery yet?? Waiting so impatiently for you on the arrival of your passport. I won't be just beside myself.

This is sure to be one family vacation none of you will forget! Have you talked to your family are they enjoying themselves despite you not being there?

 

My heart aches for you, but all will work out and when you board order a big pitcher of DOD put your feet up and enjoy.