lost documents- make copies

[JackieB]

We just returned from the Disney Wonder 4 day (8-11) and wanted to warn others as to how easy it is to lose your ID along the way. At Castaway Cay my Husband lost his Drivers Licence at some point. He filed a report on the island and notified everyone he could - both on the Island and on the ship. He did not have another picture ID that he could use as a replacement. The Cruise Line worked with us and he was able to get back on board. On the morning of the final day, he received a written report from Disney Cruise that showed that he had filed a missing /lost document form. We used this form along with his birth certificate to exit the ship. We then met up with a Delta airlines rep at the port terminal that gave us the name of the Delta Security rep at the airport. this person was able to get us through secuity and on to the plane to Atlanta. We had to deal with differnt people there so that we could get on our connection to San Antonio. Overall it was a mess and a hassle. Next time we plan to bring a couple of picture ID's (Disney suggested a Sam's membership card or anything that has a picture) and also make copies of everthing that you take so that you have back up proof. It should be noted that a copy of a Drivers licence will not be accepted as a primary proof of ID. It must be an original ID.

 

[angelaj]

Jackie, thanks for the advice. What a hassle you guys had to go through! I've decided to bring my birth certificate, passport, drivers license, and Sam's card "just in case." Glad everything worked out for you.

 

[albiats]

I think it was Prymsu that said a few weeks back that she had come up with a very versatile backup solution, and I' adopted it for my purposes, too.

She scanned copies of her important documents into her computer and then emailed it to herself, just before she left. If you use a Web-based email account, you would be able to access it from any computer in the world, provided it could be connected to the Internet. If you don't have a web-based email account, you can set one up for free at places like hotmail or yahoo.

To be on the safe side, I make a paper copy of the front pages of our passports and of our driver's licenses and I keep it in one of the suit cases. I have also scanned copies of them into my computer and I'll email them to myself a couple of days before leaving. I'm going to make one attachment per email so I would have no problems compressing or decompressing them.

Granted, a printed copy of your Driver's License wouldn't be very useful, except that you could show the DL number and show that you had one from the state or province you claimed to have one from.

hope that helps

 

[prymsu]

yes, we have scanned our passports and birth certificates so that we can get to it from anywhere in the world. It really eased my mind for a trip we took to China last year. I also made paper copies of everything too, including our driver's licenses. Thank goodness we didn't need to use or access the copies, but it was there just in case, and gave me peace of mind...