Ever forget your passport?

[cascole]

Wow, do feel lucky! I forgot my passport one time... cruising to Mexico from Long Beach. I was really worried when I realized I had left it at home, but fortunately I kept a copy of it in my office. My boss was able to get it & fax it to me. Getting the fax # from at the port was a bit stressful, but once it was there - I had no problem. Of course, that was pre-9/11, but ever since I always keep a copy of my passport with someone I know I will be able to get in touch with while I am away!

[HRHMadonna]

Years ago we got a frantic call from a neighbor who was at the airport checking in and realized she'd left her passport at home. Fortunately we were able to get it and rush to the airport in time for her to make her flight. Ever since that experience, I have color photocopies of all our passports in a folder at the very front of my desk drawer. That way anyone can go in and easily retrieve them for us... or even fax a copy to us if our originals were lost or stolen while traveling. I've always heard it is easier to have a duplicate passport issued if one has a copy of the lost one....also travel with an extra photo copy. So glad your story had a happy ending!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Wow! I would have been one panicked traveler under those conditions. Glad it all worked out.

 

Did you get on the flight using your drivers licenses? We use the passport even at the airport and my panic would have started then and would probably missed that flight.

 

What a stressful day.

 

Enjoy that cruise:)

 

Bill

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

Oh man! I was also nerveous reading that story. Just goes to show there is no such thing as checking too many times!

 

Im glad it all worked out. :)

[chasetf]

I am sure many of us have had that nightmare and fear of leaving without our passports. Glad all worked out in the end and hope you had a great cruise after all of your blood pressures returned to normal.

 

On of my practices is to gather all the travel materials (tickets / reservation emails / maps / itineries / insurance papers.... / passports), go through to make sure all are there and in order of when we will need them. They all go into my computer bag in a folder with all my other "valuables" (which is my airline and cruise ship carry-on). Then I recheck three or four times (days before) we walk out the door.

[shofer]

Oh Shofer:

I was worried you did not make it because of weather when we did not see you at the bar area for a sailaway drink.

I was freaking out just reading this.

Hey, did you buy trip insurance? Will they reimburse those fees???? Would not hurt to check if you did. Sounds silly I know but, you never know.

:D

Glad you made it - the trip was awsome.

We made the deposit for another, my husband hounded me from the second day on. :)

 

Hi Jerri, Yes, we made it w/time to spare and I was so stressed I completely forgot about meeting you guys until the next day. I even went looking for the bar and never found one w/chess pieces. Glad you all made it ok and sorry I didn't get to meet you & your DH and all the others.

 

No we didn't have trip insurance so there is no reimbursement. Believe me, I was glad to pay almost any amount so we could get on the ship. Glad you had such a good time & booked another cruise. It is the only way to travel.

 

Sue

[shofer]

In addition to giving the Fed Ex guy a tip, I think you should give Donna a BIG tip.

 

DH is sending her flowers today and I am sending her a gift card inside a thank you card. We can't thank her enough. She has been our travel agent since 1993 and my entire extended family uses her services. After this, my kids say they will never use another person for their trips.

[shofer]

I posted this on all the major cruise line boards so it it helps even one person not to forget their passport, then it will have served it's purpose. I saw on the Carnival site, that some people have been able to board w/o them, but had to fill out several documents. I guess US law still allows you to sail in the Caribbean w/o one? Is this correct?

 

I don't know if I would have wanted to wait until I actually got to the pier to know if it was resolved or not. We had to show our boarding pass and passport before they would let us in the terminal!

__________________

[CrusinAgain]

I posted this on all the major cruise line boards so it it helps even one person not to forget their passport, then it will have served it's purpose. I saw on the Carnival site, that some people have been able to board w/o them, but had to fill out several documents. I guess US law still allows you to sail in the Caribbean w/o one? Is this correct?

 

I don't know if I would have wanted to wait until I actually got to the pier to know if it was resolved or not. We had to show our boarding pass and passport before they would let us in the terminal!

__________________

 

Apparently according the the government website, you need your certified birth certificate and your drivers license. They keep extending the deadline I can't keep up with it any longer since I did get mine in the height of the rush in and wait. Now, Washington state has it where you can get your passport on your drivers license. Obviously, this irks me since I just got it last year and a few months later they come up with this easy solution.

 

http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/index.shtm

[Scooter-n-GB]

Every dream I have about cruising, I always seem to forget it! :D

 

I'd call it a nightmare, but I'm on a cruiseship, so how bad can it be...:p

[M&MCruisin]

OP - you could have been a writer. Your story had me glued to the computer screen, at the edge of my seat. I thought for sure you were going to say you didnt get them! Glad it all worked out.

 

Here is a question someone might now. Would it be an idea to make a copy of your passport and keep it in your purse/wallet? When you found out that you forgot it, could you show this to the authorities and they let it slide? Im just curious because a piece of paper folded up in the pocket of my purse is nothing compared to the pounds of crap I keep in there!

 

Also, does anyone else have this problem...I always still have to show my drivers license at the airport even with my passport. Why is that?

[caribill]

OP - I always still have to show my drivers license at the airport even with my passport. Why is that?

 

 

Should not have to show both. A current passport is supposed to be acceptyable at the airline counter and in the TSA security lines.

 

I have never had to show both.

[Coral]

I had friends who drove from PA to Miami for their cruise. They arrived a few days early so that they could rest and relax before the cruise. The day before the cruise, they realized their forgot their passport. The husband ended up flying back to PA that day and then flying back the following morning with their passports. Thankfully everything went well.

 

I usually don't forget my passport. It goes in my purse about 2 days before my trip. I do worry about losing my purse though....

 

Glad it all worked out!

[Pia1913]

 

I usually don't forget my passport. It goes in my purse about 2 days before my trip. I do worry about losing my purse though....

!

 

There is no way I would forget my makeup, so......the passports (when they are taken out) stay with the makeup.

 

Pia

[Pam in CA]

Here is a question someone might now. Would it be an idea to make a copy of your passport and keep it in your purse/wallet? When you found out that you forgot it, could you show this to the authorities and they let it slide? Im just curious because a piece of paper folded up in the pocket of my purse is nothing compared to the pounds of crap I keep in there!

I seriously doubt you could use a photocopy of your passport rather than the real thing. Most airlines now scan the passport when they check you in (if you use a passport). The only thing I've heard helps if you have a copy of your passport with you is if you are somewhere, lose it and need a replacement.

[cbcloud]

...You can bet that I am going to give a trusted friend a key to my house from now on.

A great idea. (we have a neighbor lad who feeds our cat when we cruise, and his family has a key).

 

I had no idea your situation was so common. I have a similiar story, but with a twist... My son, wife and 2 daughters live in a Chicago suburb, and were going on a 2-week trip to Italy, leaving on a Monday. While packing on the Sunday, they were collecting their passports, and discovered that my son's passport had EXPIRED..! Great panic set in, because after checking with the airline, there was no way he was going to board that flight without a valid passport.

 

He called me Sunday evening, wondering if I had any suggestions. Many years ago when I was in the USAF on a remote tour in Thailand during the SEA conflict, I needed a passport to come back to the U.S. on leave. I went to the U. S. consulate in Bankok and got a passport in one day. I wasn't sure you could do that in the U.S., but I got on the internet and went to the State Department web site, and found that indeed you could get a passport renewed in a day under certain emergency circumstances.

 

Luckily there is a consulate in Chicago, and son was down there at 6 a.m., but already about 100 people in line ahead of him. His wife and daughters went ahead to the airport for their 1:30 departure, just sure that son would have to catch a later flight, or even one the next day. I'll omit the harrowing details, but through some AMAZING luck, he made it to the airport about 10 minutes prior to the boarding time for their flight.

 

Moral of this story is...check the EXPIRATION date on your passport several weeks ahead of any planned travel... Will save you much stress and grief...:o