Have Documents? Will travel on a cruise.

After months of planning, it will be a shame to see your vacation vaporize before your eyes because you overlooked some important travel documentation. Here are a few pointers to make your trip memorable – in a good way.

You will need a valid passport, cruise documentation, if flying airline tickets or e-ticket confirmation, hotel confirmation (if staying at a hotel before embarking), vaccination certificate (if required), notarized child release if only one parent or guardian is travelling with a child, and travel insurance. It may seem a lot but if you make a checklist of these documents months before your cruise, you can put everything in place on time.

It is the traveler’s responsibility to obtain all visas and necessary requirements to enter a foreign country. Do not rely only on what your agent or cruise ship officials tell you. If you do not have the right visa and entry requirements, you can be stranded in the middle of your vacation. Even more, the cruise lines are not liable and will not refund your money.

Look through the itinerary and make a list of countries the ship will be docking. Whether the ship is docking for the day or just stopping to fuel, you may need a visa. Then, check with the country’s government authority to see what they require for your entry. Remember each country has their own immigration laws and visas may not be the only thing needed for entry. You may need inoculation or some other requirement. For example if you are debarking for more than 24 hours in Mexico, you must have obtained a Mexican Tourist Card prior to your departure.

CIBT is a very helpful site that aid travelers that are unfamiliar with the many forms and requirements needed for international travel. As far as whether a country requires inoculation, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) provide guidelines as to which vaccinations are required in each country.

Another requirement that may be needed is a notarized child release letter. If only one parent or guardian is traveling with a minor, some countries require a release from the other parent/guardian or they will not let the child travel. To be on the safe side if you are not bringing the other parent/guardian, get a release notarized and take it with you.

Your passport should be updated and make sure it will not expire at least six months after the end of your trip. This is important as some countries will not accept a visa that will expire less than that time. For more information about passports you can visit travel.state.gov.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) by the Homeland Security will request all US Citizens to have a valid passport or other approved documentation when traveling to countries that were exempt like Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. This initiative will come into effect in June, 2009. If you are planning to go on a cruise around that time next year, get your passport now! The rush to get a passport close to the time you are travelling is risky as there might be a stampede of applicants and you may not get your passport in time to receive necessary visas.

Make 3 copies of the following documents:

• Passport (make sure you copy any visa pages)
• Drivers License or any other identification
• Vaccination certificate if required
• Cruise documents
• Airline and hotel confirmation
• Notarized release for minors
• Credit Cards
• Travel Insurance

Keep one copy of these documents at home or with a friend. In case you lose your documents you can contact them to fax them over to you for faster processing. Keep one in a waterproof container in your luggage, and one also in a waterproof container in your carry-on.

So, you think you are ready for your cruise vacation? Review your list again, make sure you have the necessary entry requirements for ALL ports of call, make copies of your documents and Happy Cruising!