Passengers describe 'sewage running down the walls' and people acting like 'savages'

[Grammy23]

40. I took two cruises within a couple of months in 2011 and

when I was planning them, it became very clear that while I could cruise without a passport, it was strongly advised BY THE CRUISE LINES to have one anyway. And for the very reason that happened to the people on the Triumph. Things do not always go according to plan. You could get seriously ill and have to be airlifted from a foreign port and it's much easier to arrange that when you have the proper documentation.

On the Alaskan cruise that originated in Alaska and ended in Vancouver, BC we met a passenger who was traveling with her son and daughter-in-law. She had been "told" by someone that she could save a lot of money on her travel documents by getting the shorter version of the passport. It does not have the same use as the full fledged passport but costs less and can be used in some situations. Turned out it was NOT what she needed to re-enter the U.S. after we docked in Vancouver and it put her family in a difficult situation but the cruise line (Holland America) did what it could to help them figure it out. They were supposed to take a flight to Seattle but since she didn't have the right kind of passport she had to get there by bus while her son and daughter in law flew. A major inconvenience for sure and all because she was trying to save a few dollars on her passport. AND she believed what someone told her instead of thinking about the "what ifs" and reading the FAQs on the cruise line's website which clearly advised having the regular passport.

You are right, Wolverine, sometimes you just can't explain things to people who do not want to think it all the way through to what "could" happen. They'd rather live in a fantasy land where nothing unplanned or out of the ordinary ever happens!