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Losing passport....

mrpayroll

By mrpayroll,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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PaulMedik

PaulMedik

Posted
Posted
We left ours in our safe during our cruise.

 

We inquired at Guest Services and they assured us that IF anything was to happen while in port and we did not board the ship in time, they would retrieve the passports from our room and leave them with the port authority.

 

 

I always enjoy watching 'runners' and listening to 'Mr and Mrs Soandso from cabin #xxxx please call the pursor's information desk at 9999 or is it 7777....' What I don't recall is ever seeing anyone leave the ship with anything resembling passports and hand them to someone on the pier. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I've not seen it. Perhaps they retrieve them and have the Pilot ferry them back to shore, but how would that work in ports like Belize where the Pilot doesn't return to shore?

 

We always carry our passports with us while ashore on foreign soil. I do have copies available via the internet that I can retrieve anywhere, but I can't imagine a copy being accepted at an airport for travel back home. If copies are accepted and I needed one that I did not have, I am certain I could create one in less than five minutes even if I'd never had a passport. :rolleyes:

 

I am curious as to how people that are stranded on foreign soil without passports manage to obtain Visas to be in the countries they are stranded in. Mexico for one requires a Visa to be in their contry for longer than 24 hours. I'm sure they accept copies of US passports and go ahead and issue the Visas since that's what our government here in the US does...:eek:

 

For our next trip to Disney, I plan to just copy our tickets and save our real ones back at our hotel. I'm sure they'll let us in since it's just Disney and not like I'm traveling to my native country or anything.

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5waldos

5waldos

Posted
Posted
A lot depends on the place we go. Canada- we take it off. Mexico-we leave it. Europe-took it. It also depends on if we are on cruise sponsored excursions- we don't take it. Swimming excursions- we leave them on the ship. Otherwise we usually have them.

BTW, my son had his stolen from his cargo pocket of his pants(it was buttoned) during dinner his last night in Equador. He was on a land tour while in college, he was taking a course there. It was the night before their scheduled departure. Luckily he had a copy of the passport in his luggage. That sped up the process of getting a replacement. His college group left. He had to spend an extra night in Quito and was able to come home about 36 hrs after his original flight. The consulate office told him if he hadn't had the copy it would have taken about a week to get a replacement passport and without a passport(not a copy) he was not allowed to re enter the US.

 

Odd- there is no reason for it to take that long without a copy- we had ours replaced in an afternoon. My kids had their naturalization papers so they got full passports, mine was a short term one until I had proper identification. It is all done by computer and the pictures are there so they can make face recognition. But glad he got it back quickly and only had to spend an extra day and a half there.

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sassy0930

sassy0930

Posted
Posted

I think in Jamaica we only brought copies. I think in Grand Cayman and Cozumel we had the actual PP's. It just depends on our thought on the likelihood that they'd get lost or stolen as per the port. The good thing about having a copy is that if you go to the US embassy with the copy they can look up the number and see that it is indeed YOUR passport along with the photo that was taken when you had the passport issued. This time we're going to Key West and Cozumel. I think we won't bother with taking them off the ship. Especially since I haven't changed my name on mine since we got married two years ago. It's way too expensive as far as I'm concerned. So for ID purposes I'm bringing the PP, Registered copy of marriage cert. and my MI Driver's license.

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PaulMedik

PaulMedik

Posted
Posted
That's just not true. You may find this site helpfull.

 

 

John,

 

Thank you. That link was helpful, but It proved my statements. Here's the applicable link and text;

 

you must present a valid passport and fill out an immigration form for tourists, businessmen or women, stopovers or “visiting advisors”, which can be obtained in travel agencies, airlines or at the point of entry to Mexico

 

The visa is referred to as immigration form for tourists. Semantics.

 

Carnival.com lists this information concerning Mexico;

 

To debark for more than 24 hours in Mexico, guests must have obtained a Mexican Tourist Card from either a travel agent or a Mexican consulate prior to their departure

 

The fact that it's no longer being called a 'Visa' means the words have changed, but the meaning and intent remains.

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travelntreats

travelntreats

Posted
Posted
After reading all the WARNINGS on here about not taking your passport with you on shore, i am wondering how many of you ( if any) have actually lost your passport or had it stolen while on shore...People keep warning about this but i seriously doubt it has happened very often. Thanks ...:rolleyes:

Heck why not start another "Poll" ? :D:eek:

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comeon530

comeon530

Posted
Posted

I can't prove this because I'm not motivated enough to search for a link, but if I remember correctly, didn't that group of cruisers in Nassau last year have their passports stolen along with cash, jewelry, etc.? That was an armed hold-up on an organized shore excursion.

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MargaritaPlease

MargaritaPlease

Posted
Posted
The fact that it's no longer being called a 'Visa' means the words have changed, but the meaning and intent remains.

 

No no no. See the Mexcian governmant site. An excerpt, with my emphasis...

 

If you are a citizen of Andorra, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, The United States of America, Uruguay or Venezuela, you do not need a visa to enter Mexico, although you must present a valid passport and fill out an immigration form for tourists, businessmen or women, stopovers or “visiting advisors”, which can be obtained in travel agencies, airlines or at the point of entry to Mexico.

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mrpayroll

mrpayroll

Posted
  • Author
Posted
We take passports off, that's what they are for. I think the risk of having it stolen is slim. If it happened a lot in cruise areas you'd sure hear about it.

EXACTLY my point. Lots of talk about IF i lose it, or IF i'm robbed. :rolleyes:

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klmorg

klmorg

Posted
Posted
I always enjoy watching 'runners' and listening to 'Mr and Mrs Soandso from cabin #xxxx please call the pursor's information desk at 9999 or is it 7777....' What I don't recall is ever seeing anyone leave the ship with anything resembling passports and hand them to someone on the pier. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I've not seen it. Perhaps they retrieve them and have the Pilot ferry them back to shore, but how would that work in ports like Belize where the Pilot doesn't return to shore?

 

 

 

I'm not worried about that happening to us, as we always make sure we are back on board long before then. My mention earlier about the Port Authority and Carnival staff providing assistance was pertaining to an emergency of some sort, accident or whatever... not to those who cannot be resonsible enough to make it back to the ship in time. I would recommend those a bit less responsible should absolutely take their passports ashore with them. Ours will stay in the safe. ;)

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skylock

skylock

Posted
Posted
We always carry our passport whenever we're out of the country. We've never had it stolen (nor have we lost it). We've travelled in some pretty remote areas, with it. But we carry it, and any large amounts of cash, in a wallet that lies flat agains our body, tucked under clothing, so there can't be any sort of "snatch and grab" going on.

 

I know they're valuable..but they're meant for identification in foreign countries. Why people go to the trouble and expense of buying one and then leave it on the ship is beyond me. A paper copy isn't worth the colored ink made to produce it. If you're in serious trouble on land, it won't get you anywhere.

 

Anyway. More than you asked.

 

 

I think it is because they do not really understand what a passport's real purpose is. Maybe because I lived in Europe I see them differently? A lot of people seem to think it is to get you on and off the cruise ship. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Anyway, Husband lost(?) his in Italy 30 yrs ago. That was before computers and it wasn't pretty. Still hasn't put me off carrying mine because I know it is easier getting home just in case.

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CeleBrat

CeleBrat

Posted
Posted

I would just like to know where you guys are carrying the copies of your passport? In your bag/wallet/pocket? Aren't they just as much in risk of being stolen?

 

For the record, another passport-carrying person here. Never leave the ship without it.

 

CeleBrat

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PaulMedik

PaulMedik

Posted
Posted
No no no. See the Mexcian governmant site. An excerpt, with my emphasis...

 

If you are a citizen of Andorra, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, The United States of America, Uruguay or Venezuela, you do not need a visa to enter Mexico, although you must present a valid passport and fill out an immigration form for tourists, businessmen or women, stopovers or “visiting advisors”, which can be obtained in travel agencies, airlines or at the point of entry to Mexico.

 

 

MargaritaPlease,

 

'Immigration form for tourists.' Semantics. I stand uncorrected. ;) Yes, yes yes. (I'm happy to say that I've never had to type yes, yes, yes before)

 

Please note that I mentioned in my previous post that the form is no longer referred to as a 'Visa.' The purpose of a Visa is to officially document your reason for being in a country. The purpose of the 'Immigration form for tourists' is the same purpose.

 

Are you actually reading the links you share or are you just randomly sharing them? I read the ones I shared and I read your links too.

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recyclelady

recyclelady

Posted
Posted
I had mine and my children's stolen in Thailand- my purse cut off my arm when I had them in it. Not on a cruise however. It was a pain- they got my everything- credit cards, passports, travelers checks. A motorcycle "bumped" into me and roared off. It took a second before I realized what happened- and then swore loudly. Not an experience I want to repeat.

This very same thing happened to my mother MANY years ago in Barcelona, Spain. Besides losing the contents of her purse, she also suffered a broken arm in the ordeal!

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LemurCat

LemurCat

Posted
Posted
So after this thread being viewed over 900 times, two instances have actually been reported of theft and one of a found passport . Just as i thought. Being robbed of your passport is Extremely Rare....:rolleyes:

 

Of course it is. It happens about as often as someone robbing you for your jewelry on the streets of Manhattan. But you'll never convince the Hysterical Helens of the world that no one wants to go through the effort to steal their crap.

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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

Posted
Posted
Of course it is. It happens about as often as someone robbing you for your jewelry on the streets of Manhattan. But you'll never convince the Hysterical Helens of the world that no one wants to go through the effort to steal their crap.

Your correct the vast majority are lost not stolen;)

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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

Posted
Posted
Of course it is. It happens about as often as someone robbing you for your jewelry on the streets of Manhattan. But you'll never convince the Hysterical Helens of the world that no one wants to go through the effort to steal their crap.

Hysterical Helens........didn't Kate Hudson star in that?:confused:

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