CRUISE AND AIR TRAVEL GONE WRONG
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
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Cruise travel gone wrong story time. Sometimes there are challenges when traveling. That was certainly the case as I prepared for my bucket list cruise to Australia and New Zealand. I thought I was good to until I got to the airport in Orlando, Florida where I realized I had a $10,000 passport problem. It all worked out but here the story. Maybe it will help you in your travels.
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I weigh 375. This year, while focusing on the doctorate, Jon me in a weight loss journey.. cuz having a doctorate won't mean much when you dead.
I saved a colleague's honeymoon 15 years ago when he just happened to show his passport to me while at work. This was on a Wednesday late afternoon and he was getting married on Saturday, and then departing on Sunday to Thailand for his honeymoon. I noticed the expiration date and informed him that he had a serious problem. He was completely stunned and almost went into shock. Fortunately we were working in Washington, DC, and I had a close contact at the US Department of Sate who got him hooked up and the passport was issued on Thursday, allowing him to remain on his original wedding schedule of going to Atlanta on Friday, getting married on Saturday and flying to Thailand on Sunday for the honeymoon.
Did he ever repay you for that HUGE favor?
@@SwimminWitDaFishies I retired from that job 6 years ago. He has risen through the ranks and is now one of the Principals of the firm. I understand your query, but I am not the type of guy who expects repayment for doing good deeds. His and his wife's sincere gratitude and friendship was enough for me. We have remained as close friends to this day. Thank you for asking.
You were his guardian angel! Honestly, that’s a miracle! What a blessing!
Wow! How fortunate for your friend! Eagle eyes saved the day!
Wow thank goodness you noticed that expiry date what a good friend you are.
My husband and I came back from a cruise in April to the port of Miami. My husband got “pulled” by Customs for a special, in depth search of his luggage (which included mine as well). After that ordeal, we were rushing to catch a cab to the airport. About halfway to the airport, we realized my husband didn’t have his passport. We called the Customs office right away and they swore they gave it back to him. We had another cruise in six weeks! We called them again two days later (Monday) and they said to report the passport as missing. It wasn’t there. Needless to say, we had to jump through rings of fire to get a new passport for him (with a Rush fee added). We also had to jump through some more rings of fire to get a copy of my husband’s birth certificate in case the passport didn’t come back in time! My husband is 72 years old and it was not an easy deal to get a copy of that birth certificate, but at least we had a plan B in case the passport did not arrive in time. Thank goodness the next cruise began and ended in Miami. The day before we left for the next cruise, my husband’s “lost” passport arrived in the mail - from guess where? The Customs office in Miami. Of course, it had big holes in it because they checked it before they sent it and saw that it had been invalidated when it was reported lost. The new passport arrived in our mail hold the day after embarkation. All in all, it was a very expensive mistake that WE didn’t make!
You should have been able to get the Customs office to pay for at least the rush fee or something. Sorry this happened to you!
Terrible. Awful of them!
Good info for those that may not be in the know. We did the online passport renewal in 2022 and it worked as advertised. Once on a trip to Sydney (business class thankfully) I learned there was a problem with my new Australia travel visa when I went to check in at the airport. I waited there nervously for 50 minutes or so while the airline contacted the Australia visa people who then corrected a mistake they had made in their system. Always bring paper copies of all required documentation.
The online passport renewal webpage says it takes just as long as renewal by mail. Plus it is not always available.
I have an international vacation coming up next month and I nearly passed out watching this video because my passport expires in a couple months and the country requires 6 months of validity! Luckily I was mistaken and my passport expires next year whew! Thank you Tony for spreading this knowledge to the masses so we don’t get as shocked as I was right now.
That makes me shudder! Hubby was lecturing on an Australia cruise years ago. We applied for the visas & got them. Then, a few weeks later, we realized we better renew passports, as they were about 7 months from expiring. Got to the airport & had to buy the visas again cuz clearly, (duh!!), the visas must match the passport you applied with, & our numbers changed on the new passport. Glad you made it!!! Make sure when you use the birth certificate with the raised seal!! A plain old copy won't get it.
Tony - so glad it worked out for you! Our story was that we were packing our passports 2 days ahead of time to go on a trip from Atlanta to Rome. My daughter's passport was nowhere to be found. We had checked a month before, and they were in the right place, but it had disappeared. This was Christmas day, and our flight was on the 27th of December. Atlanta passport office was booked solid. The Houston, TX passport office had ONE slot available, so we hopped on a flight the next day, got the new passport issued (even after they said no guarantee, and we were off to Italy the next day.
My Australian passport expired in 2020 so I held off renewing it. 2 years later I was told renewal was not possible and I had to start the application process from scratch. This was not true. All I had to do was enter my old passport details online, print out a confirmation page and take that to a Post Office for payment and a new photo. They quoted up to 3 months wait. It took 3 weeks.
I proposed to my wife on a cruise ship. She's originally from Mexico and she needed an I-94 attached to her Visa to board the ship. We missed the ship, made our way down to Ensenada and caught up to the ship the next day. It was an experience. I proposed that night and here we are 17 years later. ❤️❤️❤️
AWEsome
I’m happy you prevailed in this situation, Tony!
I had my bag with my passport stolen in Paris in 2019. I was lucky this happened on a Thursday because Monday was MLK day and the US Embassy is closed on American holidays. My flight back to the US was Monday morning. The next day I went to the embassy when it opened and had an emergency passport in my had within 45 minutes.
Glad it worked out Tony. Ran into something similar last summer. Was taking a cruise with my significant other and two of her college age children. The younger one was 19 and his child passport was no longer valid. Our trip was three months away but the passport web site wouldn't guarantee we could get his passport in time. We did the same thing with contacting the passport office about an emergency passport and were told they could only do that for flights within 2 weeks. The agent made a point of emphasizing you needed to have ANY international flight within two weeks. The light bulb went off in my head and I used airline miles to book a one way ticket to Vancouver Canada for him two weeks away. We were able to call the next day and get an appointment for 13 days away, the first available appointment. We went and stood in line for over 4 hours and finally got all of the paperwork completed. We were then informed we would not be able to pick up the passport that day but would have to come back tomorrow. Several people were going to miss their flights because they were only to get an appointment for the day before their flight as well. Fortunately for us, it didn't matter and we came back the next day and waited in another 3 hour line to get his passport. I felt a little bad for "jobbing" the system but if we had followed their rules he would have likely missed the trip. Gotta love government efficiency.
Get a passport card for everyone, you can go on the vast, vast majority of cruises originating in the US with them.
@@karenvonbargen4472 You have to have a passport to get a passport card so it wouldn't have helped speed up the process. Also our cruise was in Europe so the card wouldn't have mattered anyway.
We did the renewal recently expecting it to take 6-8 weeks … we got it in less than 4 weeks. Watch your credit card … when it posts or your check is cashed … your passport won’t be long before arriving! We are headed out on our first cruise since Covid (husband medically can’t take vaccines-Guillian Barre). Excited to be back in the game!
Just had passport drama. I used my passport to sail from Galveston this fall. Successfully used the passport as ID to fly from Philly to Houston. The carnival check in staff looked at it for a long time and said “you’ve lost a lot of weight “ to which I said yes - I have in fact lost 140#. She accepted the passport. I get back into the country with facial recognition. Get to George bush airport and TSA says “nope this doesn’t look like you. I need another form of identification.” So I start worrying bc I have international travel plans for 2 months later. I call the passport hotline (which btw doesn’t have any prompts for my sort of question), the guy asks around and the consensus there is that I need a new passport. I was within 6 weeks of travel so I had to do the expedited renewal and I got my passport within 3 weeks but I was sweating!!!
My wife and I had a similar experience at Thanksgiving. A $42,000 family cruise on Celebrity Beyond. Delta gate agent refused us passage because we had our 2 service dogs with us. We showed her the paperwork from Delta Services as well as the vet clearance. Then she refused the bag allowance for their supplies. We got the supervisor over and had to read to him the language from the Delta Services letter. He still was reluctant. I eventually had to threaten them by taking their names and letting them know that I would file a complaint against them personally with the AG’s office and the fines were $10k a piece for each dog. Low and behold they suddenly decided we were good to go and issued our passes. These 2 dogs are federally registered and medically trained. And they only weigh 4 lbs! We had no problems with our connecting flights or our return flight out of Ft Lauderdale. Except all the gate agents thought they were so cute and wanted to pet them!
What kind of tasks do 4 lb service dogs perform?
@@rsvihla emotional support animals possibly.
I never want to sleep in that bed! Lol!
Tony thank you for your hard work,
So,we less travel have some knowledge. A real teaching moment
@@rsvihla size of the dog wouldn’t matter in the cases of alerting the owner to an oncoming seizure or alerting to an allergy, I’m sure there’s more but that’s the first couple things that come to my mind.
Having dealt with the public at large I can absolutely say by remaining calm and thinking through the problem allowed you to go. Now, had you thrown a hissy fit and made a scene there would have been a negative 30% chance you would have gotten on that plane and probably any other plane to anywhere for a long long time.
Good job 👍
Not passport but a birth certificate. Cruising with friends, all in our late 50’s, had taken many cruises together before. We get to the counter and the agent says “do you know there is no name on this birth certificate?” Under name it said “baby girl” and last name. One marriage and 15 cruises and no one, including my friend, had ever noticed that her name was missing
Lesson to be learned. Renew before it gets to six month from expiration date.
Unfortunately had a gentleman who couldn’t get on P&O Iona with his family in June this past year as his was under 6 months.. very sad, his family went, he had a quiet week at home
Tony, I had to cruise last March using my birth certificate and Drivers license because my PP was within two months of expiration. Glad you were able to figure things out and make your trip. I'm glad to see you pursuing your PhD, Congratulations and good luck. I was all but dissertation when an event prevented me from completing my course of study. I've always regretted it but at 73 I'm too old to correct it.
The benefit of being well informed and not accepting no for an answer. So many people would’ve just gone “oh ok” and accepted her word. My travel partner is like that, but I would’ve argued the point like you thankfully did.
its good to hear that you can now renew the passport online-I renewed mine via mail two summers ago (during this initial covid outbreak)) and although the passport came back in time, my birth certificate which is mailed back separately was lost. Since then, when I travel I seem to get pulled aside more often for security checks, Lord knows where my bc is now. On line would have been so much better for me. Glad your airport experience was resolved. I would have been in tears.
Thank goodness you had the presence of mind to tell her about the visas! Dang! That was crazy! My heart would’ve been thumping!
I’m surprised you had glasses on in your passport photo. The guidelines I read always say glasses have to be removed.
My passport has glasses on.
@@AW-jw2jd Weird, because on the application, the guidelines state glasses have to be removed. Just like at the DMV, when you get your Drivers license
I’ve got two passports - An Aussie one and a UK one. I left Aus on my Aussie one, entered and left Argentina on my UK one, entered and left Peru on my Aussie one, and finally entered the UK on that one…and that’s when trouble hit. I got quizzed by security because they wanted to know where’d I’d been in the month gap. They were quite worked up. They thoroughly examined my Aussie passport and then demanded to know how I had two. I’m a duel citizen. I was born in England and have the right to that passport. I became an Aussie citizen when we moved here, so I also have the right to have an Aussie passport. Basically it came down to visa requirements: I didn’t need a visa in Peru on my Aussie one and I didn’t need a visa to Argentina on my UK one. It was scary at the time even though I’d done nothing wrong
Canada was so delayed on passports, you either had to get a rush and be traveling within a month or so, or it could take up to 17 weeks. Mine wasn't expiring until early 2024 but I have so much travel this year that I needed to make sure I wouldn't fall too close to expiry. The only time I had a big enough window was to renew in September 2022. I mailed it off and had it back within 4 weeks lol. Ah well, at least it's done for the next 10 years. Bummer I lost a year on my passport.
Awesome to hear about your doctorate. What is in in? I went back to school at 55 years old and got my PhD in Business Management at University of South Alabama (plug). Hope you finish and do well.
We travel the world regularly and know very well about the passport requirement times. As well as global entry times. We took that same cruise and then stayed in Sydney for New Years Eve. My issue was I left the passports in the hotel room and had to get a taxi back to the room and get the reception to get them to me and the taxi back to the airport. My wife stayed at the airport with a clerk and that person walked us right through and on the plane. How lucky was that.
Cheers for higher education! Props for achieving your PhD at 55. =)
Tony, cruising while pursuing a doctorate is a perfect mix of work and reward! Also curious what field your doctorate is in?
A few years ago my wife and I were traveling to Japan. Two,days before we left she noticed that her passport had expired. She had to drive 4 hours down to Atlanta to get the in person interview. She was worried because of the last minute attempt to get the passport and the requirement of having a good reason to get the passport in person. Luckily they didn’t give her any hassle over it and gave her the passport. We had a wonderful trip. Now we check the passports as soon as we book a trip to make sure we won’t have issues.
I feel like this is the second story I have heard in two weeks with desk agents not knowing the entry requirements for each country. It would seem the safe standard protocol would be going to the Department of State’s website to validate the information. Glad you enjoyed your trip!
My husband and I had to go from Perth Australia to Bali for a wedding. When we got to Bali they held my hubby up because his passport had a few months left on it. We ended up having to pay a bribe of 200US to get into the country.
FYI--I just renewed my passport through the post office. The State Department online option was closed at the time. I completed the application online and printed it. The post office took my photo, attached it to the application and packaged it in a priority cardboard type envelope. I had it back in about six weeks. The new book, card and old passport (and card) were mailed back to me separately. The photo page of the old book had two holes punched at the bottom and the card had top left corner cut off. The old card was in a clear plastic sleeve and stapled to the signature page of the old book. It was $160 for book and card, $15 photos, $9.90 priority mail. The card is handy and worth the extra cost. I'm glad that process is done and I'm good for another ten years. Bon voyage!!
i work for an airline and the australian visa is the big thing. a lot of passengers forget that or think they can obtain it on arrival. Remember international travel is a privilege!
It’s funny that as much as you travel, that you didn’t renew it earlier. Oh, but you were traveling so much, that you couldn’t be without it. What a conundrum! You’re good for another 10 years! Glad that things worked out for you!😄
Hi Tony, my husband and I cruised on Princess in December. A few weeks before we l traveled I lost his passport. It was a Southern Carribian and Princess said he could board with his birth certificate and valid d photo ID so we thought we were good to go. On embarkation day we were checking in and were informed he couldn’t board without his passport! After about an hour of sweating and waiting for a decision he was allowed to board.
It was scary and we still wonder why it was an issue when we were told before we left home he could go with the BC and ID.
I heard you say that when you cruise next time, it will be with your birth certificate, and that you never done that before just a reminder with a birth certificate, you have to have a raised seal in order for it to be valid. I always enjoy listening to your comments. I’m glad everything worked out with that passport.
Thanks! Yes I got the raised seal. Hopefully I am good.
Similar situation, but not really. We decided during the pandemic to go on a last minute Alaska cruise. The cruise stayed within the United States. As we hadn’t been traveling internationally, I failed to renew my passport. My passport expired on embarkation day and my husband’s had 2 months left on his. I called and they said I could sail with a birth certificate. We’re okay. Well I get to the port and I give her my birth certificate and the agent is like you can’t get on the ship… he can, but you can’t. Uhhhh…. the ship isn’t even going to Canada. It’s staying in all American ports. Plus your agents said that I could sail on a birth certificate, otherwise I wouldn’t have flown across the country. She said because I had input my passport information online in my profile that I could only sail on my passport. Period. Thankfully I had brought my passport, which expired that very day, and she let me on the ship with THAT (but not my birth certificate). I was a little worried about customs returning, but I’ll deal with that next week. What are they going to do? Not let a citizen in the country? So I go through customs first with a passport that is a week expired and they said NOTHING. Whew. My husband who had 2 months left on his passport gave his to the customs agent WHO SCOLDED HIM BECAUSE HIS PASSPORT WAS ABOUT TO EXPIRE. 🤦🏻♀️ It was all I could do to bite my lip and shake, trying to hold in my laughter. Needless to say, we sent off for our new passports the very next day.
which cruiseline was that?
@@kevinw7560 Princess
Several years ago we did transatlantic cruise and ended in Rome (no immigration staff were present so walked off found our bags and left). We flew out next day with layover in Stockholm. When we went thru immigration in Stockholm they wanted to see our Italian stamp which we didn't have as there was no one their. We were almost denied boarding because of this but did make it, whew very stressful.
Larry
I’m so glad that we are having these issues again. Cruising is happening.
hey Tony! so glad you made it safe and sound back home!
just for you to know, yesterday January 17, Noordam wasn't able to dock in Burnie Tasmania due to adverse weather conditions!
...being from venezuela i have crazy passport stories, the most remarkable was during the lock down i was onboard the Nieuw Statendam, then they transfer me to the Caribbean Princess, while on the Caribbean Princess my passport expired, my parents live in Playa del Carmen, i couldn't go there, venezuela at the time had the borders closed and my only option was to flight to US with my expired passport but with my tourist visa still valid!
Which reminds me that I need to renew my passport, just Incase I ever get to travel again, prices went up so much, it’s ridiculous! Anyway I checked n my passport expires soon, aren’t they good for 10 years then? I have definitely used it but not sure about these days with the prices so high, glad a few trips locked in yet! Thank u Tony for all u do n for keeping us informed, great video! 😊❤️⭐️
what a valuable video. So many are clueless about the 6 month rule. While some countries are exceptions the 6 month rule is a good guide. So few airline employees are really well versed on this but good thinking...those visas would not have been issued unless you met the guidelines. This trip certainly had its challenges!!! Glad you made it back safely.
My husband lost his passport a few days before our cruise to Hawaii. We researched what we needed & got passport photo, birth certificate, forms, fee all ready for him to take to the passport office in San Diego. He got his passport in time.
Everyone says they like to have an adventure while travelling. However, when they encounter adventure, they don't recognize it and complain. I'm glad you made your flight. Preparedness and perseverance pay off.
I was in the test program for the on-line Passport renewal and it took only 3 weeks from submittal to receipt of my new passport. Worked great for me.
Possible other cautionary tale when cruising with a birth certificate rather than a passport - if something happens medically and a person ends up having treatment in a foreign port and not being able to continue on the cruise they might have issues with re-entering the US without a passport. I believe this is why cruise lines strongly advise traveling with your passport vs. birth certificate.
Absolutely. Passport is a must. Im bummed I have to rely on the BC for this upcoming cruise.
My husband left his bag (which had his passport in it) on a train in Berlin. We spent our first day in Berlin going to the Embassy to get an emergency passport. He did end up getting his bag back, but not until our last day there.
You are lucky my friend. Regardless how many active visas I have had to china, vietnam, etc... in my passport, they always required that I have 6 months plus on my passport before issuing me a boarding pass. YOU hit the right ticket agent!!!
Great storytelling! Loved this episode. Your skills in this medium are tremendous. I still want to know where you got the Flamingo suit. I want one!
Great story Tony……I was on the edge of my seat! I just hate it when people, who are in positions to make your life miserable, have no or incorrect information!😡
Thank you for this!!!! We are cruising out of Italy and did not even think to check the rules… we are so used to flying to the USA
My passport just makes it by one month and thank goodness no visa needed
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you!!!!
We all have passport stories. My wife and I live in Canada, decided we would do a weekend getaway to the states. Packed an overnight bag, our passports and headed to the border. While waiting in the lineup I looked at our passports, I had picked up my stepson passport instead of mine. Got to the border explained my dilemma to the agent who asked me a few questions, nationality, place of birth etc. Handed me back the passports and said have a good weekend. On our way back the Canadian agent couldn't believe it.
Yeah, checking to make sure you have the right passport is Passport 101.
I have every one’s passport in a passport cover that fits their personality to hopefully avoid this but I still check and recheck whose passport I have in hand. Lol
I was on the edge of my seat. You have made a strong case here for doing your due diligence.
Funny story. So my Mom& I went on a cruise in the middle of my school year (college). Being that it was the middle of the school year I brought my homework with me. So there I am sitting on deck doing my math homework and one of the bar waiters comes over and asks if I would like a drink. I tell him "Yes, a pina coloda." So he brings me the drink so I'm sipping my drink doing my math homework.
My family and me always make sure we renew with more than 6 months left. I don't want the unnecessary drama.
Hello! So weird, I just signed up for Scentbird two months ago! It is great, no problems getting the scents you want.
Safe travels to you and Jenny
Great story Tony! Really appreciate hearing about your experiences
My Renewal took 2 weeks by mail , just standard Priority Envelopes I was SHOCKED !! And The sent back the Old to be expired 5 months after , no markings , stamps nothing , I almost grabbed it for My Nov 27th sailing on Wonder, Luckily I rechecked expiration Dates which was April 23 , less than 6 Month , New Passport is NOV 32 , make sure you double check expiration Dates :)
Glad you got to travel! This was very helpful as we have an upcoming cruise and will be within the 6 month date for my kid’s passport. The link you provided verified I need to renew their passports now!
That is interesting that they allowed glasses on your photo. Happy your travels went well even with a stressful beginning.
Not the new one though
Not a passport, but the Orlando Airport flagged my driver's license as expired. It clearly said it expires in 2025, but the screen was showing a big red expired. I was coming back from a cruise so I had my passport. After numerous hours at our local DMV, they deemed that nothing was wrong with my license. I have flown numerous times out of other airports since then with no issues. I'm still perplexed as to why that happened.
Glad you were able to get on the flight. I recently traveled from Miami airport to Switzerland. I am a US citizen traveling with a US passport. Airline agent insisted I needed a visa to enter Switzerland and wanted to deny me boarding. He finally agreed to check with a supervisor -no, I don’t need a visa.
You will need a EU schengen visa next year
@@Donabate2 Yes thank you for noting this! ! I just learned that fact today on the Schengen VISA website. I think the new requirements begin THIS coming November.
If ever there was a reason to have written copies of everything, this is a perfect example of why you should not depend on others to be well informed. Due diligence is absolutely necessary and will save you hours or days of frustration.
I recently renewed my Australian passport on line. We do a printout and take it to the post office with our passport photos, pay the fee and then wait 5 to 6 weeks for it to arrive. My passport expired in 2020, but in Australia we can still renew after it had expired as long as it is under 3 years after expiration, but the expired passport cannot be used for identification purposes. After 3 years a new full application has to be made. Due to the pandemic and Australia closing off its borders for such a long time, people were not rushing to renew their passports as they didn’t want to pay and lose one or two years of use. Then when the borders reopened there was an avalanche of passport applications / renewals and the system couldn’t cope. Many people paid the extra fee for fast service and there were people queuing up for hours waiting to collect their passports from the passport office in each capitol city. I didn’t need a rush job, so was fine in waiting. I mainly needed it for ID to apply for a working with children check, but at least I know I’m good to go when I book my next overseas trip. The government only recently announced that the timing for passport renewal processing was back to normal.
A family member got her first passport for a European trip, which worked out great. However the US State Dept uses the postal service to return all items used to create the new passport, including her original birth certificate. The passport arrived a bit late but with plenty of time to travel. But yep, no birth certificate. She called and just basically got the old shrug, too bad it’s gone message from passport office.
Hey Tony. Wow, such a heart-sinking moment, huh? I'm sure most of us who have travelled even a little bit have had those kind of moments when you think you have done all your homework but are led to believe you messed up royally. An important reminder for us all to not take anything for granted and think we know what the rules are. We need to do our homework. You did just that and knew the entry requirements. The gate agent must have been inexperienced. Strange how she didn't ask to see your visas for AUS and New Zealand.
Tony, if you paid for the fast processing, you may have your new passport in less than 2 weeks…
It’s really really quick with the digital renewal…
There is no mailing in your old book or manual paperwork processing so the slowest parts have been cut out.
You should do a video on how quick the online renewal was…. 😊
This has always bugged me. If they want the passport to end 6 months earlier then just make it expire 6 months earlier.
The date is the date !
No kidding!
I had my passport stolen when the house we rented was broken into. I had to get a temporary passport thru the state department and a local office. I had to get interviewed by phone by state department. It was a frightening experience. Then when I finally got back to US I had to go through it all over again to get my permanent passport. It was quite the ordeal…
Kudos to you and Don for the patience you have for travel. I find the hassle to take away from enjoying the trip. Safe travels!
My mother was a travel agent and she taught me early on that when everything doesn’t go as part of the plan, it’s part of the adventure. I was on a 15 day Princess cruise from San Francisco to Hawaii. Two days out at sea the Coast Guard turned us around for the rescue of sailboat crew in distress. It took a whole day to rendezvous with the sailboat. Seas were high and the vessel’s main mast was snapped in half. The Captain had a ruptured spleen, and the first mate (the only mate) knew nothing about sailing. The sailors and security team on our ship were incredible. It was a very dangerous boarding in rough seas. Initially the sailboat crew was treated as pirates until identification could be made. Guns were out everywhere and two crewmen were stripped right there on the Promenade. ‘Serious stuff”! We missed Hilo, but it was quite the adventure.
The passport issue just happened to me and hubby. I booked a cruise in the beginning of November for 12/11. Thought we had another year on my passport. It expired on 11/23. Oh,oh. Waited until we were 2 weeks out (11/28). Called when agency opened. Got appt for Miami on 12/6. Long day but had new passport in hand. Yeah!
My passport story - we had a trip to the Dominican Republic scheduled. Our departure was in about ten days. I had begun gathering items in my suitcase that I wanted to take. This included my passport. I was doing my hair and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my cat - eating my passport! He chewed right thru the scan strip. Yikes! I applied for an expedited passport which costs extra and involved driving to the next town, Fedex etc. It was touch and go for a bit but my new passport arrived in time for out trip. Damn cat!
Ugh. I have to watch my cockatiel. She loves to leave her signature bite on paper lol.
I am very physically fit and traveling long distances is definitely taxing on the body. I can’t imagine how tough it is for larger folks.
Wow, that must have given you some heart flutters. My passport had to be renewed last year, and there was such a big back log of passport renewals here in Canada, that we had to cancel one of our cruises. I finally got my new passport renewed for another 10 years (if I live that long), thank goodness, and was able to continue cruising. Good for you that you'd thought to get Visas for NZ and Australia, otherwise Don might not have had your company or play mini golf with you. Glad you are on the right track now. Thanks for the warning, though. People need to be reminded of that requirement.
OMG Ive been holding my breath during your whole story
I went to Shanghai with a group of friends, but we took two different airlines there. There is an exception to needing a visa if you leave within a certain amount of hours (I think 72) if you are going to another country that isn’t the same country you flew in from. The person checking my friends in told them they needed a visa and couldn’t check in. So they missed their flight while the rest of us had no problem. Thankfully the airline refunded their tickets because they were wrong. I guess it’s always a good idea to have proof of things like just in case.
Unfortunately, yes, I had the misfortune of missing my flight to Barcelona Spain (for an Italian Cruise) because my passport was due to expire in 3 months. At the time, it was my first time flying out of the country and I was not aware of the international expiration rules. The person who helped me with booking my cruise only asked if I had a valid passport and I said yes. My husband and I lost our hotel (non refundable) and an entire day in Barcelona because we had to fly out the next day. To make matters worse, we were the last passengers getting on the cruise the next day... URGH! We're booked this year for another European Cruise but, this time we're ready. 🙂
I remember you saying that about your passport needing renewal and you hadn't said anything else, so I was wondering what you had decided. I am glad all worked out. I have enjoyed all the vlogs. Thank You
You could ha e got a same day you just have to book your appointment within 2 weeks of your travel...takes about 2 hours I did mine same day in detroit I just had to call in when I was 2 weeks out from my travel and they gave me a time to come in
Glad you could travel Tony. The State Department Website could also provide the rules for the Delta Counter Agent, but your visas worked perfect. They should know those rules before declining service, travel is hard enough. Glad the renewal is 10 years apart.
So happy to finally meet all family.Emily an granddaughters are beautiful
I decided to go to Germany on a whim and had to drive to DC to get a same day passport because I was flying the next evening. I was at the passport office for at least 6 hours. At one point I was called up to be told I'd get my passport in a couple weeks. I had to re-show my flight information for the following day. I got an exasperated look and an OK and more wait time. There weren't many people around when they finally called me up for my passport.
My only crazy passport story is about the last time we renewed. I received mine in the mail, put it away, no problem. A few days later my husband's passport arrived. I pulled the passport and his birth certificate out of the envelope (we had to include it with the renewal paperwork back then). Birth certificate?! Where mine?!!! I must have thrown it out with my envelope. Gone. 😭
A major faux pas.
Was going to Scotland right before the covid lockdown. Week before flight left I gathered our passports. Thought I had one more year on mine before expiration date, nope. Found out I can can same day passport so I booked a flight to nearest office which was in San fransisco. Spent the night and was one of the first ones in line at the passport office. Spent the day waiting around ad luckily got. Flew back home that night and was excited to go.
The day the flight was supposed to leave was the day of the travel ban so we were unable to go. Lol. Spent almost $1000 with last minute airfare, hotel and passport fee.
I got caught on something similar. If it weren't for the airline agent (who helped me get the electronic visa at the counter), I wouldn't have made it. At one point I even said, I'm glad you were here to help me. She was a bit older and said that if it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have made the flight.
OMG, what a mess! You were so fortunate to remember the visa!
My granddaughter flew to Fiji who refused her entrance and turned her around to fly home,
"a cruise I could not refuse" 😂
Craziest passport story - I washed mine. Left it in the pocket of my cargo shorts...that was an expensive mistake as it still had plenty of time left on it. Had to surrender it and do a whole new one - no replacements available. But the passport card is great for domestic air travel too - no issues with having to get a "Real ID"
Oh.. If possible obtain your passport in a year that's easy to remember every 10 years.. And set a reminder on your Internet calendar for 6 to 10 months before your renewal..My calendar reminder JUST now popped up!
Great story! I really enjoy your videos!
Heading to Bonaire on January 31, then to Aruba with an Oceania cruise to Barcelona followed by 8 weeks in Spain and 8 weeks in England and Scotland. My passport expires in June so I renewed on-line on Nov 23. AND paid for it to be expedited. Here I sit 8 weeks later with no passport and a flight in 11 days. I called and got an emergency appointment in Seattle for next week. But keeping my fingers crossed it may still come in time before I drive 1 1/2 hours for the emergency option. Jeez, louise!
Night before a cruise with my friend, she calls me to tell me she can't find her new passport. She got it, and instead of shredding the old one, she shredded the new one. Now we can get her on with a birth certificate right. Nbd. Get to the cruise terminal and they tried to tell her that her birth certificate was fake! Eek. It turned out ok and she was able to go to Chicago and get one for our European trip 3 weeks later! P.s. I was going on the cruise with or without her 🤣😂
I was totally thinking about those VISAs as you were telling the tale. I used to get Australia ones that actually were stuck in the passport (I had to send it away to get it) but the last time in 2019 nothing, All done electronic so thank goodness I print out copies of EVERYTHING.
Same here. I got an Australian visa back in 1980 and it was attached to a page in my passport. It was very colorful and I'm glad to have it. Kinda like immigration/customs stamps that used to go in passports. Too bad they don't use ink stamps in cruise ports. It's fun looking back at my old passports to see them.
what a crazy story. glad it all worked out Tony. Keep on trucking. :)
Research!!! Atta Boy Tony! Hey sponsors This is the Man!!!!
We just got our renewed passports last week after sending for them on November 14, here in Florida. They were due to expire mid July. Now they expire January 2033. So essentially, they gave us only 9.5 years of use.
Any travel agent knows a passport expiring in 6 months is not going to work for departing and returning to the USA! You will always be a spokesman for this important fact going forward!
Excellent info. Thanks!
If you have global entry, you also need to link your global entry to your new passport
glad it all worked out. It had me nervous for you just listening to the bag drop line portion. lol I've had a passport since 1980 and when it came to renewal this past year, I was so shocked at how long it stated it would take to get it back. I can recall up til 10 yrs ago at least, it would take tops 2 wks. and that was even including the time I had to have a name change when I got married to have an ammendment placed in the back. I learned my lesson with this past renewal. I tell everyone I know not to wait.
Me, too. Last time I renewed my new passport it was renewed within two weeks quickly followed by the old. The whole process took a month.
Yeah, instead of working faster when there's a backlog, there's an option to pay a considerable fee to expedite.
Wow!! Exciting story! Glad you were able to go & come back home.
Great reminder to renew those passports. Sounds like added stress Tony. I'm in shock over the 10k for a flight. Horrors. Maybe you can cover how many places you've traveled and what's left on your bucket list.
ten years ago i was living in South Korea and travelling to Canada and America to go on a cruise. A week before the flight, i realized I lost my passport. That week was Christmas. So I had to get a temporary passport. I went to seoul on Monday (3 hour train ride) to apply. Then I had to wait for it to come in. by Friday morning I hadn't heard anything, and my flight was the next day. at 11 am they called and said if I could get to seoul before 430 I could get the temporary passport. So i had to leave my job and go to the train station which i s 40 minutes by car away/ I get there and because its Dec 30 all trains are sold out. I have to buy a ticket on the movie train...a train car that shows a movie. But it leaves at 1230. I get to Seoul at 345 and taxii at 4:-00/. But its 4:00 on a holiday weekend so i am stuck in holiday rush hour traffic. I arrive at the passport office at 435. I had called to say i iwas on my way. but wasn't sure they would be open. I raced to the door and they stayed open for me. I was so grateful. But the drama doesn't end there. THe temporary passport is a beautiful white one with gold embossed lettering. So it definitely sticks out. WHen I go for my cruise, I get into the United States okay. But when I come back, US immigration flags me. I get the third degree. 'Whats this?' It's a temporary passport. "why?" Because i lost mine before I was to travel. 'WHy didn't you get a new one while you were in Canada?' ' Because I was in Canada for 2 days and that's not enough time to get a new one and I am living in South Korea. I will get my permanent one when i get back to South Korea. He eventually let me go but I felt like he thought i was a criminal.
Another example of a traveler knowing better than an airline employee. Over the years, I've had similar situations. Always research, always have your docs in order and of course never leave it at home.
My daughter did just that last month. It's a story to be told, but too long to do it here