Planning A Vacation? Time To Get A Real ID For Your Upcoming Travels

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Tia Hamilton owns JNJZ Travelers and as a Travel Advisor she recommends being prepared before boarding a cruise and flying by plane. Her advice, go get your Real ID now rather than later. 

“I got my Real ID before they started saying we needed it. Before the deadline of May 7,” she said. “I encourage people to get it. We have passed the deadline, but they are still issuing those. If you don’t have one you can expect to wait in lines for longer periods of time.” 

She said you can still travel without a Real ID if you have a passport. If you don’t have a Real ID or passport you’ll need to provide your birth certificate, social security card, and your driver’s license to the Transportation Security Administration worker (TSA). 

"Who would want to carry all those documents around when you can just show a Real ID,” she said. “If you think arriving at the airport two hours ahead of your flight is a long time to wait, imagine if you don’t have the correct paperwork. You might need to be there five hours ahead because you might not be the only one without a Real ID.” 

Tia said traveling with all your paperwork increases the possibility of losing one while out of the country. 

“Imagine losing your birth certificate in another country?” she said. 

Tia said some cruises dock at ports of entry which require showing your Real ID or passport to reboard the ship. 

"That happened to me when we went to the Bahamas in February,” she said. “I'm glad I brought my passport off the boat with me. When we returned to the ship we came through customs, and we had to provide that.” 

As an InteleTravel Advisor Tia said summer is a great time to book a cruise or take a trip to Disney World. 

"We have a lot going on, especially with cruises,” she said. “Everything is all-inclusive, and you get to visit multiple islands and ports. It’s all included in your itinerary.” 

Tia said she is planning a seven-day cruise for her and her friends to the Cayman Islands and Bahamas. 

She is headed to Puerto Rico in August for an InteleTravel conference. 

"It’s my first time going,” she said. “With InteleTravel, I do get a lot of travel perks, and we are staying at the Hard Rock Cafe and Resort. I became a travel advisor and now I'm having the opportunity to travel myself and I'm grateful for that.” 

If you’re someone who likes to travel a lot, Tia can also help you become a Travel Advisor. Tia mentored Crystal Campbell who is now a business partner with Tia at JNJZ Travelers. 

"She joined my team, and she likes it,” Tia said. The goal, Tia said, is to one day focus on growing her company and not having to work for others. 

"I can be growing my business, traveling more, meeting more people, bringing more people in. People love to travel but they don’t know all the intricate details of creating travel plans.” 

If you prefer to book your own flight and travel, Tia said it can be easily done on her website as well.  

“Go to my website,” she said. “They can pick the destination. They can pick their hotel. If they want to do a cruise, they can pick their cruise. They can do everything that I would do, on my website.” 

But if you prefer to have her professional expertise Tia provides one-stop-shop when it comes to travel services. 

“I can book your cruise,” she said. “I can book your airline. I can book your hotel, your all-inclusive resort, wherever. I can book international; I can book state-to-state, Tennessee, Alabama, wherever you want to go.” 

JNJZ Travelers