Passport for Port Days

Hi all,

Although I have been on QM2 before, it was for TA. I am wondering whether for each day we are in port for my upcoming cruise I would need to take my passport with me when on land? As you can imagine it will be a pain but I imagine there isn't really an alternative unless it is somehow tied to the card.

Thanks...

Hi all,

 

Although I have been on QM2 before, it was for TA. I am wondering whether for each day we are in port for my upcoming cruise I would need to take my passport with me when on land? As you can imagine it will be a pain but I imagine there isn't really an alternative unless it is somehow tied to the card.

 

Thanks...

Usually you do not need your passport when going ashore, just your cruise card as the Ship is berthed in a secure area.However if you should get separated from the ship etc then is is useful to have your passport with you, Or at least a copy on your phone etc. I have never failed to return to the ship for a departure but have wondered if your belongings are taken off and given to the Port Contact which is published in the Daily Programme. Sometimes The Daily Programme will state that you have to carry your passport, but I have found that I have never had to show it, only my cruise Card.

Thanks... It is a very pertinent point that you highlight. Of course nobody intends to miss the boat but should it happen being without a passport would be a disaster. A photocopy may help one get back home but will do little for getting to the next port of call ASAP.

I can't see them bothering with taking your possessions off.

Do they even track who is not on board and make an effort to contact them? I doubt they care.

I also suspect if you were to call ahead and advise the boat of a few minutes late arrival, they would be unsympathetic.

When we were in Cherbourg on October 6th, we were told to take our passports or European identity card when going ashore. When we have visited Dubrovnik they were actually checked passports as we left the port, no passport, no go!

Do they even track who is not on board and make an effort to contact them? I doubt they care.

Yes, of course, Cunard tracks who is and is not onboard. We have heard many all-calls on Cunard ships asking for certain passengers to "Urgenty contact the purser's office." Your key card is scanned when leaving and reboarding the ship for just that reason. Departure has sometimes been slightly delayed on those occasions. Do they care? Yes. But the ship will certainly leave without you unless you are absent because you are on a delayed Cunard tour.

Do they even track who is not on board and make an effort to contact them? I doubt they care.

Of course they track who and who's not on board. That's why they scan your cruise card (or whatever it's called).

They will wait as long as they can if someone is not back by the stated time but they will not wait forever.

 

I also suspect if you were to call ahead and advise the boat of a few minutes late arrival, they would be unsympathetic.

"Hello, can you wait for me please only I'm just trying on a few items in this lovely shop I've found. I shouldn't be more than a couple of hours". That type of call might not get you much sympathy.

From memory Belgium is an example of a country where there is a legal requirement to carry formal identity, it may be true to say they don't look at your passport entering or leaving the ship but if in the unlikely event you are challenged anywhere ashore by the authorities to provide ID it may become awkward if you can't.

I have also been asked to show formal ID outside the port building in Hamburg to the German authorities while proceeding ashore, the request to take passports ashore was in the daily programme. As l walked through the check it was evident many were turning round and scurrying back on board to collect their passports.

It's always worth a quick glance at the daily programme to confirm requirements for the day before heading ashore.

M-AR

Such an ***Awful thought ****

But I am really interested in hearing how it worked out, from someone who DID miss the ship.

I can't believe that they delay the normal departure for AnyONE who is late, unless you are on a CUNARD tour.

Last spring... QE waited for our CUNARD tour group in Thailand, as our Bus driver got lost, he went the wrong way on a 1-way street, and was stopped/ ticketed by Thai police. The beautiful twinkling lights of the QE were a stunning sight as our L A T E launch departed from shore, after dark.

A tip I read on Cruise Critic was to take the daily programme ashore with you as it has the contact details for the relevant port contact in case of any difficulty/emergency

Flashback to a QM2 Caribbean cruise (2008?)...

The Captain announced that our departure would be delayed because a Cunard tour would be late in arriving due to sea conditions beyond their control.

I forget which Caribbean port it was but it was no hardship waiting for sail away: the weather was clear, the temperature was pleasant, and so we waited while the ice in our wine bucket melted. Balconies filled as we heard singing from a catamaran in the distance. A Rum Runner tour it was - and, judging by the singing, the rum flowed freely on that tour!

Anyway, as near as I could tell, it was an event that caused no problems (a few headaches the news morning maybe, but no hard feelings)

I don't think the ship would have waited like that if it wasn't a Cunard tour.

A tip I read on Cruise Critic was to take the daily programme ashore with you as it has the contact details for the relevant port contact in case of any difficulty/emergency

I take a picture of it and the time we are due back, just in case.

In many countries ( including European) it is a legal requirement to carry official ID. That does not include a photocopy, but means the original document, a passport or ID card.

I have been fined by the Guardia Civil in Spain for not having it on me when stopped in a hire car. That was 3 years ago, but even since then I think it has become more important to carry it.

We always carry the ship's daily bulletin which will have all the local contact details on it.

We very rarely take ship excursions and have never come near to missing the ship.

We have watched 'rum runners' running after the ship along the quayside in the Caribbean.

Usually they tell you onboard if a port requires you to carry your passport with you.

It is a good idea (and they often say this) to carry some kind of "government issued photo ID" to get through shoreside security. Unless we are specifically told to carry passports, we carry our driver licenses. I'd estimate that at least half of the times port security ask to see photo ID and the cruise/key card.

I have seen posts that say someone from the ship (purser's office?) will go to the cabin of a missing passenger to get passports out of the safe and leave those with the port agent or port security. I don't know if this is true. I have never needed to deal with this and hope I never will!!! (But we always make sure we have that port agent contact info with us, just in case.)

Usually they tell you onboard if a port requires you to carry your passport with you.

 

It is a good idea (and they often say this) to carry some kind of "government issued photo ID" to get through shoreside security. Unless we are specifically told to carry passports, we carry our driver licenses. I'd estimate that at least half of the times port security ask to see photo ID and the cruise/key card.

 

I have seen posts that say someone from the ship (purser's office?) will go to the cabin of a missing passenger to get passports out of the safe and leave those with the port agent or port security. I don't know if this is true. I have never needed to deal with this and hope I never will!!! (But we always make sure we have that port agent contact info with us, just in case.)

This thread has been discussed ad nauseum. We and I believe most sophisticated travelers would never, never go ashore in a foreign country without a passport.

I hear all about how the ship will tell you when you need to and when you don't. I hear about the port agents, how the ship goes into your safe to get your passport if needed. All this is well and good but remember one thing.

When you are in Cartenga or any other third world country, and you missed the ship it's your ass sitting on the pier saying to yourself, self, now what do I do. I know I'll use my American drivers license to get me out of here.

This thread has been discussed ad nauseum. We and I believe most sophisticated travelers would never, never go ashore in a foreign country without a passport.

 

I hear all about how the ship will tell you when you need to and when you don't. I hear about the port agents, how the ship goes into your safe to get your passport if needed. All this is well and good but remember one thing.

 

When you are in Cartenga or any other third world country, and you missed the ship it's your ass sitting on the pier saying to yourself, self, now what do I do. I know I'll use my American drivers license to get me out of here.

On some cruise lines, Silversea for example, the Purser's office collects your passport at embarkation and holds it until the cruise is over. They do this to make it easier for the ship to clear formalities in the various ports.

So when we go ashore, we obviously cannot have our passports with us but will have a government issued ID.

On some cruise lines, Silversea for example, the Purser's office collects your passport at embarkation and holds it until the cruise is over. They do this to make it easier for the ship to clear formalities in the various ports.

 

So when we go ashore, we obviously cannot have our passports with us but will have a government issued ID.

You are quite right. Our last cruise to the British isles, the British gov confiscated our passports for the 24 hours we were in UK

In the UK it is not a legal requirement to carry ID with you at all times, like in other European countries.

When you get your passport, there is the option, for a few dollars more, to get a passport card. The card is good in only a few countries, however, it is probably good enough for a policeman or some other official asking for ID while you're onshore.

I received my renewed US Passport in the post today. Enclosed was a pamphlet with various information, including this: "While overseas, carry photocopies of your passport biographical page and foreign visa with you at all times."

So, US passport holders need to do at least that, but I've also been in ports where the local government regulations required passengers to bring our passport ashore, and passports were checked upon disembarkation.