The Pre Cruise Passport Nightmare

[Jane2357]

9 days till we leave for our cruise. The dog sitter is waiting, mail stop in, clothes laid out waiting to be put in suitcases, passports out. All is well .... or is it? :eek:

 

The nightmare started last night - just like it does before every cruise :mad: Despite being very prepared, I wake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night dreaming that the passports are missing, someone broke in and stole them, they've been eaten by the dog, they burned up in a fire ....you get the idea. :o

 

Lol - I guess this my mind stressing about being READY. Does anyone else have this happen close to cruising? My husband says I'm Abby Normal - brahaha.

 

[Essiesmom]

Oh yes, I have had dreams about that all the time. Not passports...Back when we used film cameras...packed the camera, no film, or no battery...No clothes. I get to the ship - but can't get to it...EM

[Langley Cruisers]

A number of years ago there was a thread on one of these boards about just this - the passports went missing prior to the cruise and of course, the OP was devastated. She looked everywhere, and then everywhere else. She finally decided that their nanny or maid (I don't remember) had taken them. Eventually, the truth came about that the family dog had absconded with the passports and hidden them somewhere in the house... I don't recall how she found them but all was saved. It made for interesting reading, though!

[VennDiagram]

Does anyone else have this happen close to cruising?

 

Yes it happens for me before every cruise. Mine are always "I can't get to the ship" ones. The road tar has melted and my feet are stuck. I get stopped by protesters and I have to fight my way through crowds of people, unsuccessfully. We turn the wrong way and walk so far that we we must run to the ship, which has already left. :rolleyes:

[montekat]

I have a cruise dream occ., but really wish I could stop dream about going to work--I retired 5 years ago!

[donaldsc]

Nope. We pack the day before the cruise except for my electronics and photo equipment which gets packed a few days earlier and then relax until it is time to leave. No big deal.

 

DON

[Bizmark'sMom]

Yep! I have the same nightmare.

This sort of thing did happen once... At the airport on our way to our honeymoon, Husband couldn't find his ID. He had it, we flew to CA where we stayed for a few days. Then, when it was time to fly on to HI, it was gone. They did let us board the plane after a whole lot of extra checks and shuffling around, and the full deal suitcase check and pat down at every possible checkpoint. I was in tears by the time we got onto the plane.

 

His parents were able to overnight his passport to our hotel, so there was no drama getting back. We never did find that drivers license.

 

Ever since, I am up nights worrying about passport and tickets. I really don't calm down until I am on the plane.

[sparks1093]

I do worry that I've overlooked something but since I have backup documentation that works I don't worry about the passports (and actually our upcoming cruise is the first one where we've had them).

Edited May 17, 2016 by sparks1093

[Krazy Kruizers]

The only thing I get nervous about -- flights!!

Will they be cancelled? Will we make the connections even though I booked with lots of time between flights?

And we did miss a cruise one time because of a major snow storm and airports closed for the better part of 5 days.

[CorgiNole]

I have some variation of this nightmare before any major trip. Probably stems from preparation for a work trip where it took over a week to find where I had last stashed my passport (not in husband's sock drawer where the rest of them were), and nearly had to shell out the funds to rush a replacement. Fortunately it turned up in the computer bag I'd used from the previous trip.

[cbr663]

Never get nervous. Actually, I drive my wife nuts as I rarely even get excited. My excitement doesn't start until I actually step on the ship.

 

My wife use to get nervous. She would start packing days before and run around the house looking for all sorts of things. I have convinced her that packing days before we leave actually adds to her anxiety and not reduce it. She took a big leap of faith and tried once not to pack early and her anxiety level was drastically reduced. No more early packing for us.

 

One cruise she actually had very little to do with it and just took my direction. I planned everything. She actually confessed to me on the plane that this was a new experience for her and she was enjoying it immensely. Letting go of all the planning worked really well.

[JimAOk1945]

I don't get nervous but my wife does . . . every time. She doesn't relax until we are on the ship and have everything unpacked. :D

Edited May 17, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[Blondilu]

I have dreams like that about work, never a cruise though. Not yet, anyway. However, I do get stressed out about my passport. I check and re-check that it's where I know I put it. Like it would spontaneously disappear. LOL.

[Sissaaaaaa]

We are at 40+ cruises, and I still do this :rolleyes:

[virginialucy]

My pre-cruise nightmare is that all of my credit card accounts will be closed the day before we leave. This would be TOTALLY irrational, but the day before my first cruise, I got a notice that one of my cards had been compromised and they were closing the account and mailing a new card. I called them in a panic saying I was leaving for vacation the next day and what was I supposed to do! I had another card but I didn't want to have just one card in case something happened. The guy on the phone finally agreed to keep it open for in-person purchases only which calmed me down. When I got home from that cruise, I had gotten all new cards. Thankfully the other companies didn't close the accounts before I got the new cards or I might have lost it!

 

And then, before my second cruise, it happened again! That time was only one card, and it was a few days before I went away so I was able to get them to rush the new card to me. After that happened I was convinced this was just going to happen every time I cruise. It hasn't happened since, but before every trip I still worry it will happen again.

[Jane2357]

In a sick way ;) I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one. I've laughed while reading through these.

 

I've never worried about the credit card issue (although a nation wide travel agency did have their info hacked and of course mine too, crooks tried to use it but AmEx stopped them) but I have dreamt that we've missed the ship for stupid reasons. I used to actually fly in the day OF the cruise and never had any issues - now that our cruises are longer and more expensive we fly in two days prior.

 

 

 

[CorgiNole]

Mom and I flew in a day early to Athens for our recent cruise as she has a history of luggage not arriving on time. This time her luggage arrived just fine, but her bank card would not work in any of the airport ATMs. Fortunately I was able to get cash for our cab fare.

 

Mom remembered to call her bank pre-trip. They claim it was a network issue. I forgot to notify mine but had no issues withdrawing funds in Greece and Italy. The only time I've had issues was years ago in Cameroon (not cruise related and I did specifically let the bank know where I would be traveling) and had to borrow cash from my boss to pay for my hotel room.

[alexspepa]

I remember a year or so ago a family was staying at a hotel in Charlotte prior to boarding a plane to catch a cruise. The father took the suitcases out to the car, came back to the room to get his family and someone had stolen their luggage in about 5 minutes with - you guessed it - their passports.