My husband Khalid and I ventured on a cruise to the Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific. We planned to fly into Auckland, New Zealand, do a land tour, and then board a cruise ship, and after two weeks of sailing, disembark in Seattle.
When I mentioned our plans to my friend Laila, who had just returned from a trip to New Zealand, she cautioned me that the country is very strict about letting tourists in.
I checked out the entry requirements on the New Zealand website, and that’s when the fun began.
Issue #1: The requirement clearly stated: The name on your ticket should match the name on your passport.
The problem is with Khalid‘s name. His name is Khalid Laeequr Rehman.
However, on his passport, his middle name is listed as part of his first name, as in:
First Name: Khalid Laeequr
Note: Two names as First Name.
On his airline ticket, his first name is combined with his middle name as one word:
First Name: Khalidlaeequr
See that! No space between the two names.
On his visa for New Zealand, and yes, we needed a visa for New Zealand, it says:
First Name: Khalid
Three travel documents, three different first names. Total mismatch.
Clearly, we did not meet the guidelines. So, I was reasonably worried and wondered if we would be turned back from the airport. But there was nothing we could do about it, so we left it in God’s hands. Whatever will be, will be.
Issue #2: Proof is required that you plan to exit New Zealand
Our problem: Since we were picking up a cruise from New Zealand, we had a one-way ticket. We would have to prove that we were indeed planning to leave New Zealand, but not by Air New Zealand, and not by any other airline either, but by another route—a ship. The instructions clearly stated that we must print out all this information; digital stuff/phone App will not be accepted. So, we printed out the cruise confirmation on paper, ready to hand it over to them. Done!
Issue #3: Have all vaccinations in place.
O.K. Will do. I checked out the WHO and the CDC websites, which stated that New Zealand did not require any vaccinations. Anyhow, to be on the safe side, we kept our vaccination cards with us. We decided to arrive early enough at the airport so that if they insisted we get HepB or other vaccines, we would have time to get them there before boarding.
Oh, you can do an E check-in, but you cannot get your boarding passes until you show up at the check-in counter with proof that you have tickets to leave the country by other means.
So, we show up at the airport, proceed to the check-in counter, and I keep my fingers crossed. I said ‘my’ and not ‘our’ as Khalid is a super cool guy; he can keep his cool and his fingers uncrossed.
The woman at the counter looked at my passport. “What is your final destination?”
“Seattle. We are taking a cruise from Auckland and disembarking in Seattle.”
She handed me our boarding passes.
And that was that.
She did not ask for any proof, did not ask for any health clearance, and did not raise the question of Khalid’s name not matching.
Phew!
As always, there is Security.
We got in line, got to the desk, the officer looked at Khalid’s passport, took his photo, and handing him his passport, said, “You are over 75. You don’t have to remove your shoes.”
“That’s nice,” I said to Khalid. “I wonder when that rule went into place. How thoughtful!”
Know that it is always an effort for Khalid to remove his shoes. He cannot wear slip-ons (that’s another story), so that means untying the shoelaces, one shoe at a time, while balancing oneself on one foot with no support to hold on to, forget about a seat.
As we get in line, I still can’t help musing about this 75+ dispensation.
“Do you think someone lost his balance and sued TSA, and they changed the rules? Or maybe some senior TSA official’s dad was planning to travel, and worried about his dad losing his balance, he (or she) made a case for relaxing the rules for the elderly? Do you think…”
We get to the conveyor belt, Khalid grabs a tray, loads up his carry-on items in the tray, and proceeds to the metal detector. With his shoes on.
“Remove your shoes,” the agent tells him.
“I was just told that since I am over age 75, I do not have to remove my shoes.”
“Remove your shoes.”
So, Khalid begins his balancing act.
“Show me your passport,” the agent says. Apparently, he is having second or third thoughts.
We stepped out of line, pulled out our tray on the belt, pulled out our bag, retrieved the passport, and handed it to him.
He looked it over, nodded, and gestured to proceed. Shoes on.
I guess one hand didn’t know what the other hand was doing. Or should I say foot?
Was the airport experience the most notable episode of our trip? Of course not. The most memorable experience of the trip was not the gorgeous vineyards and glowworm caves of New Zealand, or the awesome beauty of the water gardens in Tahiti. It was experiencing two Sundays in a row.
Got that?
Sailing through the Pacific, we turned in for the night late on Sunday. The next morning, I turned on the TV to see the navigation screen. It showed the date as Sunday.
“But today is Monday,” I said to Khalid.
Then an announcement came over the PA system.
“Happy Sunday. Please adjust your watches. We just crossed the date line.”
Comedians on the night show couldn’t get enough of it.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Today is tomorrow.”
Then we crossed the date line again. My iPhone was losing it.
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