Got to have one or the other or they may not let you sail. I was in South America with a client who decided the risk of yellow fever was really zero and thought they would not do anything about it once she was there.

She boarded the ship and she had a choice. Take the shot immediately or disembark. The ship had a few shots on board for an emergency like this but if they did not have them she would have been disembarked for sure. She was furious but honestly they made it clear it was mandatory.

Another client in the last few months lost his yellow official booklet with the yellow fever shot recorded. He got a letter from the clinic stating he had the shot. In fact all kinds of official documentation. This was all denied he had to have the shot again and get his little official yellow booklet.

Logic often has no place in these rules but they are requirements.

Another issue like this is that passports actually expire 6 months before the expiration date printed on the passport. I assume this to ensure if anything happens to a person while overseas they will still have a valid passport for six month to re-enter the country.

However so many people do not understand that rule and try fighting the date of expiration on the passport is valid. It happens with great regularity that people refuse to get a new passport as their passport clearly shows an expiration date of XXXX and therefore they can use it. Of course eventually they figure it all out but it causes so much confusion.

There should be a statement somewhere in the passport that covers this issue that people can read and understand.