wallet stolen night before cruise boarding with no id??

[Fido Chuckwagon]

How do you suggest that people quantify Y and Z logically? It seems to me that no matter how low Y is, it is still greater than zero. And since Z is approximately infinity… I agree with jethrojam's math.

 

Z is not infinity and Y is extraordinarily low even for an average person (given that on most cruises containing thousands of people nobody misses the boat). It's the same thing with travel insurance. Just because someone doesn't buy travel insurance does not make them an idiot, so long as they are aware of the risks and what could happen if they get sick.

[ColinIllinois]

[Pet Nit Noy]

... everyone should stop mocking people who don't have passports as if they are idiots.

 

I'm don't mock people who don't have passport as if they are idiots. I do think they are missing out on the ability to see more of the world than they can see without a passport. For me, it's not a matter of dollars and cents; it's a matter of opportunity.

 

If you're content to restrict your trips to the 50 states along with Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa you won't need a passport. However, travel pretty much any other country and you'll need a passport. (Even the days of visiting Canada and Mexico on nothing more than a US driver's license are a thing of the past. Sure you don't need a passport to enter Mexico or Canada by car by you'll need a passport, passport card, enhanced driver's license, or trusted traveler status to return to the US by car. And if you're flying into Mexico or Canada, US citizens must present one of the four (above) items both coming and going.

[hawkeyetlse]

It's the same thing with travel insurance. Just because someone doesn't buy travel insurance does not make them an idiot, so long as they are aware of the risks and what could happen if they get sick.

It's the same reasoning, but the bottom line is different. Someone can logically choose not to add 10%-15% to the cost of every trip, but still feel that $110 for unlimited trips over 10 years is a fine idea. Edited March 20, 2016 by hawkeyetlse

[Pet Nit Noy]

You have no idea if the answer is above 110 as it is different for every person.

 

 

Actually that's not a correct statement! The cost is higher only if an applicant ...

... chooses to get both a passport book and a passport card.

... chooses expedited processing.

... chooses overnight delivery.

 

If you only want a passport and use standard handling and standard mailing you'll have a new passport in six weeks or less for $110. Not a penny more. Not a penny less. Just head to the US State Department's web site; the costs are clearly stated.

 

I renewed my passport in January 2016 and I had my document in my hands in 8 business days for the lowest price: book only, standard processing, and standard mailing. (Technically, it took 16 business days; however, 8 of those were related to the mail getting grounded after the January 24 blizzard. I know the date my passport hit the National Passport Center post office box in Philadelphia; eight days after it was placed in that P.O. box, my mail included my renewed passport. Admittedly, there are fewer applications being processed in the winter than in the spring or summer, but even 16 business days is lighting fast having paid nothing extra for special handling.

 

Passport Costs:

Passport Book $110 (Valid for all international travel)

Passport Card $30 (Valid only for return to the U.S. by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean)

Passport Book & Card $140 (Apply for both documents at the same time)

 

Standard processing: No charge.

Standard shipping: No charge.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[goldesq]

For what purpose?

 

We see this type of post all the time, but I never see a post saying "I used my color-copy passport to board the ship."

 

I'm just not certain what a copy of a DL does for anyone.

 

The OP is in a rather unique position to to crush this copy of DL/passport nonsense once and for all. I hope they return to update the situation.

 

I also travel with these items. When I travel and lose the original passport, it is MUCH EASIER to get a copy of your passport issued in the country you are in then without a copy of the passport and DL. I am talking hours as compared to days. I know someone who didnt have a copy and had to stay overnight so the passport could be issued the next afternoon.

 

As for credit cards, if you lose a card or its stolen, its faster to have the correct phone number that's on the back (each type of card for each bank has its own (or several) phone numbers(s)). To even have the credit card number makes replacement/stopping the card faster when you call in. Imagine calling information (our 411) from a foreign country just to get the number for the credit card company then hanging up and calling the credit card company itself? Then, the rep has to ask you oodles of background questions to look up/ research what your card number actually is? Having all this info right at hand makes everything go faster. It helps also if you decide to file a police report to have that info handy as well if you go that route first.

[GeezerCouple]

 

For starters, you sure about the signs in all of the above?

[helen haywood]

Does anyone know the equation for the likelihood of Karma's coming back to post on whether he was able to board or not?

[sparks1093]

I'm don't mock people who don't have passport as if they are idiots. I do think they are missing out on the ability to see more of the world than they can see without a passport. For me, it's not a matter of dollars and cents; it's a matter of opportunity.

 

If you're content to restrict your trips to the 50 states along with Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa you won't need a passport. However, travel pretty much any other country and you'll need a passport. (Even the days of visiting Canada and Mexico on nothing more than a US driver's license are a thing of the past. Sure you don't need a passport to enter Mexico or Canada by car by you'll need a passport, passport card, enhanced driver's license, or trusted traveler status to return to the US by car. And if you're flying into Mexico or Canada, US citizens must present one of the four (above) items both coming and going.

 

Many people don't have the time or the money to travel the world. That was our position for many years, we wanted to, sure, but reality sometimes prevents what one wants from happening. One can travel on a closed loop cruise without a passport, so one must determine if they are comfortable with the low risk (for most) that entails. If one isn't comfortable with the risk or if one's risk is too high then of course obtaining a passport is the answer for them. But travel isn't a one size fits all proposition and neither is travel documentation. Perform your due diligence and choose the documentation choice that works best for you.

[GeezerCouple]

Does anyone know the equation for the likelihood of Karma's coming back to post on whether he was able to board or not?

 

In statistical terms: "vanishingly small"

 

Troll?

[Fido Chuckwagon]

 

 

Actually that's not a correct statement! The cost is higher only if an applicant ...

... chooses to get both a passport book and a passport card.

... chooses expedited processing.

... chooses overnight delivery.

 

If you only want a passport and use standard handling and standard mailing you'll have a new passport in six weeks or less for $110. Not a penny more. Not a penny less. Just head to the US State Department's web site; the costs are clearly stated.

 

I renewed my passport in January 2016 and I had my document in my hands in 8 business days for the lowest price: book only, standard processing, and standard mailing. (Technically, it took 16 business days; however, 8 of those were related to the mail getting grounded after the January 24 blizzard. I know the date my passport hit the National Passport Center post office box in Philadelphia; eight days after it was placed in that P.O. box, my mail included my renewed passport. Admittedly, there are fewer applications being processed in the winter than in the spring or summer, but even 16 business days is lighting fast having paid nothing extra for special handling.

 

Passport Costs:

Passport Book $110 (Valid for all international travel)

Passport Card $30 (Valid only for return to the U.S. by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean)

Passport Book & Card $140 (Apply for both documents at the same time)

 

Standard processing: No charge.

Standard shipping: No charge.

 

I wasn't referring to $110 being a different cost for every person to get a passport. I was referring to the chance of a person missing a boat, multiplied by $110 multiplied by some factor for inconvenience being different for every person. Hence why it makes sense for some to get passports but might make perfect sense for others to not get passports. If a person rarely or never travels, is going on a cruise which they do once every five to ten years, and is responsible and.won't miss the boat unless there is some sort of act of God, then it is perfectly rational for them not to pay $110 for a passport they will almost certainly never need or use. That is just one example.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Many people don't have the time or the money to travel the world. That was our position for many years, we wanted to, sure, but reality sometimes prevents what one wants from happening. One can travel on a closed loop cruise without a passport, so one must determine if they are comfortable with the low risk (for most) that entails. If one isn't comfortable with the risk or if one's risk is too high then of course obtaining a passport is the answer for them. But travel isn't a one size fits all proposition and neither is travel documentation. Perform your due diligence and choose the documentation choice that works best for you.

 

This exactly.

[xcell]

This is like insurance...some people buy and never use it, whereas others don't buy it and then when then need it the most....

[lindaler]

Does anyone know the equation for the likelihood of Karma's coming back to post on whether he was able to board or not?

 

If he did get on then he would be disembarking today. (March 13 to March 20th) He hasn't been on the forum since he started the tread, so it is a good chance he got on the ship and will write soon about how it went.

[Pet Nit Noy]

I wasn't referring to $110 being a different cost for every person to get a passport. I was referring to the chance of a person missing a boat, multiplied by $110 multiplied by some factor for inconvenience being different for every person.

 

I'm curious to know what percentage of cruisers you believe get passports for a miss-the-boat scenario?

 

I suspect most people applied for passports because of the opportunity they represent since there are cruises which visit every area of the world. Until reading the miss-the-boat scenario in this thread, that reason never crossed my mind.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[sparks1093]

 

I suspect most people applied for passports because of the opportunity they represent since there are cruises which visit every area of the world. Until reading the miss-the-boat scenario in this thread, that reason never crossed my mind.

 

Whenever anyone asks if they need a passport for a closed looped cruise the reasons given for getting them are 1) you'll need if you miss the ship or 2) you'll need it if something happens at home and you have to leave the cruise early. Both of which are true of course, but the risk of either happening varies by individual.

[RuthlessBoss]

If he did get on then he would be disembarking today. (March 13 to March 20th) He hasn't been on the forum since he started the tread, so it is a good chance he got on the ship and will write soon about how it went.

 

Glad someone else traces back for statistics:D They are so revealing at times and fills in unanswered parts of posts.

[helen haywood]

I think if the OP had been able to board they would have posted before sail away when they still had cell service.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[goldesq]

I think if the OP had been able to board they would have posted before sail away when they still had cell service.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Some how I don't think the OP, of he was able to board the ship, was thinking, 'OMG I now need to post to Cruise Critic I was able to get on board'. Rather, I think he had a hefty drink or three, took a deep breath and relaxed.

[Warm Breezes]

I'm don't mock people who don't have passport as if they are idiots. I do think they are missing out on the ability to see more of the world than they can see without a passport. For me, it's not a matter of dollars and cents; it's a matter of opportunity.

 

If you're content to restrict your trips to the 50 states along with Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa you won't need a passport. However, travel pretty much any other country and you'll need a passport. (Even the days of visiting Canada and Mexico on nothing more than a US driver's license are a thing of the past. Sure you don't need a passport to enter Mexico or Canada by car by you'll need a passport, passport card, enhanced driver's license, or trusted traveler status to return to the US by car. And if you're flying into Mexico or Canada, US citizens must present one of the four (above) items both coming and going.

 

Not having a passport does not restrict you from the ability to get a passport should you need one (expedited if needed quickly) for the type of travel you have listed. Most travelers can not and do not take off on that kind of trip without some planning. Most travelers who cruise without a passport do not have any current plans to do that type of travel and they accept the small risk of needing a passport on a closed loop cruise since they don't need a passport currently for any other type of travel....It is usually a matter opportunity, but not usually caused from a lack of passport, more like a lack of wanting to do that type of travel, time, and/or money to do that type of travel period....passport or no.

[sail7seas]

They are NCL personnel - perhaps not full time, because they may work for other lines as well, but when they check you in, they are acting for the cruise line, and not for the port authority.

 

HAL used to have employees who ran port operations and handled embarkation/check in at the various ports. That is no longer the case. They have an agency that now does it for them. This company (I think it is called Intercruises or something like that) does the work the HAL employees used to do and follow the instructions of CBP as to what documentation is sufficient to permit embarking a guest. I know for sure HAL does not check in guests at Port Everglades or in Boston or, I think, anywhere in the world.

 

I do not know specifically if NCL has such a company also or if they still do their own shore work.

 

[sail7seas]

Does anyone know the equation for the likelihood of Karma's coming back to post on whether he was able to board or not?

 

I came late to this thread but have skimmed through the whole thing to see if they got on the ship. :)

 

[bruadhin]

HAL used to have employees who ran port operations and handled embarkation/check in at the various ports. That is no longer the case. They have an agency that now does it for them. This company (I think it is called Intercruises or something like that) does the work the HAL employees used to do and follow the instructions of CBP as to what documentation is sufficient to permit embarking a guest. I know for sure HAL does not check in guests at Port Everglades or in Boston or, I think, anywhere in the world.

 

I do not know specifically if NCL has such a company also or if they still do their own shore work.

 

 

I would say it is much the same at every port. From what I understand, someone could be working check in for Carnival today, RCCL tomorrow, and NCL the day after depending on the port and scheduling.

[helen haywood]

I came late to this thread but have skimmed through the whole thing to see if they got on the ship. :)

 

 

Haven't yet heard back from the OP. Differing opinions from those who think he did and was too busy relaxing and enjoying himself to post while on board...or since he debarked and those who feel he must not have been able to board and was too disappointed to post and those who feel it was a troll post.

[hawkeyetlse]

if they keep their documentation in their safe as they should, security removes the documentation from the safe and deliveries it to the port authorities. when the person finally shows up at the dock the port authorities give them their paperwork. security on board ship then clean out the cabin and document everything there and bring the items back to the port of embarkation.

I see this mentioned a lot, but can anyone confirm first hand that NCL does this? In the reports I've read from people who actually missed the ship, the ship's staff did not enter their cabin to look for passports or anything else. So unless it's one of those cruises where they collect everyone's passports (or unless you somehow contact the ship and give them specific instructions what to retrieve from your cabin), I think you're out of luck.

 

If you simply don't show up at all-aboard time, they don't know if your passport is in the room somewhere (not necessarily in the safe), or if you took it with you ashore, or — for closed-loop cruises from the US — if you even have a passport (because you may be extremely logical and/or an idiot :D).

Edited March 21, 2016 by hawkeyetlse