Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit http://www.60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn Radio
Important documents
Before you head off on a cruise, especially when you are travelling outside of your home country, scan in copies of all key travel documents. Take paper copies along with you - packed in a different bag to the one carrying the originals.
eMail a set to you and a trusted friend or family member or load them onto one of the online cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive. After you have created the folder, simply send the link to your nominated emergency helper.
The documents should include copies of your passport, visas, prescriptions and bookings. If your original documents are lost, stolen or damaged you will have access to the copies to help facilitating and getting yourself out of the situation. By having a friend at home who can access the documents they can step in to assist if you are incapacitated or unable to get Internet access.
The advantage of using Dropbox or Google Drive is you can use that to keep key documents for as long as they are valid and do not have to remember do it for each trip. It is a bit of hassle to set up but may prove invaluable.
