For U.S. citizens cruising to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda, the information in this blog could save you a lot of money and stress.
Imagine, you have been looking forward to your cruise for months. Taken time off work and flown half way across the country for your dream vacation. Everyone at work has wished you bon voyage and expecting their postcard.
Now, the time has finally come for you to check-in, and you are denied boarding because the name on your birth certificate is different to your license. Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, if your voyage starts and ends in the same U.S. port you don’t need a passport, instead you may travel with a government issued birth certificate and a government issued picture ID, like a driver’s license. However, if someone has different surnames on these documents, the person must bridge the difference with a marriage license for example.
So there you are at the terminal and not allowed onboard. Now you must frantically try to get hold of some one back home to break into your house, find your marriage certificate and fax it to the cruise terminal in time for you to board. The tension mounts as you pace back and forth waiting for people to return your calls, find the document in your house or find a fax machine to send it. If you are successful, great. But if not, your perfect cruise has come to an end before it even began.
Think this doesn’t happen? You would be surprised. On our last cruise to the Caribbean, there were four people denied boarding because of this.
Be prepared and have all your documents in order before leaving home.
To make the most of your cruise, read my book Cruise Ship Secrets. It will help you with beating sea sickness, cruising with kids, saving money, what to expect onboard, what to pack, and a lot more.
