Get your documents ready for you cruise |
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| Cruise Tips - Getting ready for the cruise | |
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You’ve finally made your decision: you’ve just booked the cruise holidays you’ve been longing for all your life. You’ve chosen a wonderful destination, you watched pictures of the luxurious ship you’ll be boarding and started dreaming of your fairy tale vacation. What could go wrong? Passport: your indispensable traveler ID First of all, you must always take your passport with you. Technically, if you won’t travel by air, and your ship sets from and returns to the US, you might not need your passport. But we highly recommend taking it anyway, in case any unexpected situation forces you to take a flight. What if your flight to your departure port was cancelled or delayed, and you need to be taken to the next port, in other country? What if you needed to fly home from a foreign port ? Check if your passport is still good. Adults must renew their passport every 10 years, while children under 16 need to do it every 5 years. Remember to apply for your passport as soon as you can: it can take up to eight weeks until your passport is in your hands. If you are a US resident (non-citizen) , you must take both a valid passport and the original copy of your Alien Registration Card (Green Card). You might also need visas to enter certain countries where this kind of documentation isn’t necessary for US citizens. Visas : your key to each country To enter some countries, a visa is required. You’ll have to identify all the visas needed and obtain them before your trip begins. Read your itinerary carefully and make a list of all the countries you’re going to visit. Then, check in all the embassies which is the documentation you’ll need, according to your nationality. You may find this information online. In many cases, you might not need to research this on your own: your travel agent may handle you a list of all the countries that require a visa. Traveling with children Minors must carry the same documentation adults need (passport, visas, etc). Special documentation is needed when children aren’t traveling with both parents. Adults who travel with children who are not their own, must have a notarized letter from both parents, granting their permission for the child to travel. If only one parent travels with the child, they’ll need a notarized letter from the other parent. This won’t be necessary if the parent who’s traveling has full custody over the child. In case one of the parents is deceased, a copy of the death certificate must be taken too. Passages, tickets, vouchers Once you pay for your cruise, the cruise line will provide you the travel vouchers and other necessary papers for your trip. Don’t forget to check if all information is complete and correct. Your cruise line will ask you to fill in a registration form before you sail out. Most lines offer you the possibility of filling it online two or three days before the departure, which is a great option to avoid having to deal with bothering paperwork when you could be enjoying the ship from the very first moment. Remember…
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