Last minute questions

[jwright98]

Hi all. Will be cruising on Sunday for the first time. A few questions:

1. Is it chilly on board? Such as in the dining areas or theater? Wondering if I should bring a sweater.
   
2. where do you go book excursions? The scuba w/equipment appears to be booked for Roatan (it is not listed). Wanted to find out if there are spots available.
   
3. Where do you keep your passport? Do you take it on the excursions? I would think so since we are in a foreign country, but wanted to be sure (novice).
   

Thanks!

[bighairtexan]

Yes bring a sweater as some of the venues can be cold w/ the A/C on.

 

Go to the threads for the various ports and learn about do it yourself activities or trying to book independently at this late date. you can also purchase ship excursions on the ship but do it as soon as you can since some of them do sell out. But they are more expensive than hooking up w/ a group on your own. Maybe someone in your roll call?

 

I always carry my passport w/ me when I go outside and keep it in my purse or if I have those snap close pockets on my shorts I'll use that. On the ship I keep it in the safe. have a great cruise and may you have good weather.

[dzcruisers]

Hi all. Will be cruising on Sunday for the first time. A few questions:

1. Is it chilly on board? Such as in the dining areas or theater? Wondering if I should bring a sweater. Sometimes it can get chilly, a sweater, pashmina or one of the new ruffly wraps would be useful.
   
2. where do you go book excursions? The scuba w/equipment appears to be booked for Roatan (it is not listed). Wanted to find out if there are spots available. We do private tours that we arrange with people from our roll call. Our first few cruises we did ship's excursions. They save some excursions to be booked on the ship. If you want to do that, get on the ship as early as possible and immediately ask where the excursions desk is. Go immediately to sign up! If your tour is sold out, ask about a wait list.
   
3. Where do you keep your passport? Do you take it on the excursions? I would think so since we are in a foreign country, but wanted to be sure (novice). We leave our passport in the safe on the ship. We make sure we get back in plenty of time from tours. We take our driver's license and our sign and sail card when we leave the ship. You can't get off or on the ship without swiping your sign and sail card. Sometimes you need a picture id (drivers license) to get into the port area. A passport is a valuable commodity on the black market so it's best not to take risks with it. If you are in an accident or such the cruise ship can make arrrangements to get it for you.You can take a copy of your passport if that makes you feel more comfortable. We never have. Always take the name of the ship's agent for that port with you, it's in the daily ship's paper. That's your contact if something goes wrong!
   

Thanks!

 

Hope this helps! Have a great cruise!

[Room Service!]

We carry a copy of our passports and leave the real thing in the ship safe. Sweater/jacket? Sure.

[O2cruise_again]

Carrying a copy of your passport is a must. Also, recommend leaving a copy at home with your family, along with your cruise itinerary, in case of emergency. Don't forget to call your credit card company and let them know you'll be on travel. Some banks have good (or overzealous) fraud alert programs and you might find your card turned off by the 2nd port if your spending is more than usual.

[jwright98]

Thanks all!

[dkjretired]

I hate to take an opposite opinion but if you are in a foreign country you take your passport period. If a cruise ship delivers your passport which incidentally, I have never heard of, they might not have time...

 

This is one of those things that the large majority of people do but they are very foolish to do so. All it takes is once and you will greatly increase your chance for severe problems getting out of a country without your passport...99.99% of the time there is not a problem but as I said all it takes is once. Ask yourself this question, why do passports exist....

 

Copies don't help much, foreign countries want the real ones. Just expressing my opinion...I don't know how to say this politely but people can tell you what they are doing and what their opinions are but they are unfortunately dead wrong...Ask any government official..

[backyardponder]

After getting pick-pocketed in Lisbon (they didn't get my passport), the police there told me to never, never, never carry the passport with me when out touring. Keep it safe. Getting it replaced while you are out of your home country is time consuming and a royal pain. Carry a copy with you and keep a copy with someone at home just in case.

 

The other thing I learned after getting pick-pocketed...have 2 different ATM cards for 2 different accounts. Also have 2 different credit cards, again for different accounts. Keep one set safe (with your passport). If you loose one set, you have the other set to use as a backup. When in Lisbon I did not have a back-up set and couldn't access any money. Luckily we were staying with relatives who lent us money and the rest of the trip was cash based. I suppose I could have made arrangements with my bank to get me a replacement ATM and credit card, but it would have been time consuming and a real pain.

[dkjretired]

After getting pick-pocketed in Lisbon (they didn't get my passport), the police there told me to never, never, never carry the passport with me when out touring. Keep it safe. Getting it replaced while you are out of your home country is time consuming and a royal pain. Carry a copy with you and keep a copy with someone at home just in case.

 

The other thing I learned after getting pick-pocketed...have 2 different ATM cards for 2 different accounts. Also have 2 different credit cards, again for different accounts. Keep one set safe (with your passport). If you loose one set, you have the other set to use as a backup. When in Lisbon I did not have a back-up set and couldn't access any money. Luckily we were staying with relatives who lent us money and the rest of the trip was cash based. I suppose I could have made arrangements with my bank to get me a replacement ATM and credit card, but it would have been time consuming and a real pain.

 

That is a totally different situation, you can always go back to your hotel or someone can go back and get it. You can't do that on a cruise ship when it is on its way to the next port...

[Lois R]

Hi, I hope you have a wonderful cruise.:) Try a drink in the Molecular

Bar:D they are fantastic.

[DanManBob]

I hate to take an opposite opinion but if you are in a foreign country you take your passport period. If a cruise ship delivers your passport which incidentally, I have never heard of, they might not have time...

 

This is one of those things that the large majority of people do but they are very foolish to do so. All it takes is once and you will greatly increase your chance for severe problems getting out of a country without your passport...99.99% of the time there is not a problem but as I said all it takes is once. Ask yourself this question, why do passports exist....

 

Copies don't help much, foreign countries want the real ones. Just expressing my opinion...I don't know how to say this politely but people can tell you what they are doing and what their opinions are but they are unfortunately dead wrong...Ask any government official..

 

Don, I understand where you are coming from. One question, though - I thought I read here that when we embark in Rome for a Med cruise Celebrity takes our passports and we do not get them back until the end of the trip. Is this true or did I misunderstand?

[Infi]

Don, I understand where you are coming from. One question, though - I thought I read here that when we embark in Rome for a Med cruise Celebrity takes our passports and we do not get them back until the end of the trip. Is this true or did I misunderstand?

 

We also had our passports collected on our Princess Med cruise. If your cruise stops in Turkey, the country requires the cruiseline to take them. Princess took our passports after we boarded (our cabin steward gave us a receipt when he collected them on embarkation day) and did not return them until there was 3 days left in the cruise (well after our Turkish ports of call). That's a lot of days without a passport, like it or not. Princess recommended taking ashore an ID along with the seapass card to show security in each port. Lots of folks didn't expect the passports to be taken and had no other ID, so were afraid to leave the ship. We always bring copies of our IDs on every cruise, but were especially glad to have them on this cruise.

 

If the cruiseline collects your passport, I would highly recommend taking a copy of the passport and another ID (driver's license) ashore in the ports. Is it as good as a passport, no, but do you have any other choice? Personally, I feel safer carrying around a copy, anyway, but I realize that's a personal preference.

[DanManBob]

Thanks.

 

Yes, our cruise stops in Turkey, as well as Israel and Egypt. We are doing an overnight tour in Egypt. Will we need our passports there for the hotel or anything else?

[Infi]

Thanks.

 

Yes, our cruise stops in Turkey, as well as Israel and Egypt. We are doing an overnight tour in Egypt. Will we need our passports there for the hotel or anything else?

 

I have no experience with that, so perhaps someone who's been-there-done-that can help you out there. You could also try asking X (if it's a ship shore excursion) or contacting your private operator if you're going independent. If the tour is with X, I imagine they would take care of everything with the hotel if a passport is needed.

[Janet524]

A smart tip I picked up on these message boards is to scan copies of your passports, credit cards and important info (flight info, emergency info, medication info, etc.) and e-mail it to yourself. In a pinch you can retrieve it onboard or at any internet cafe. If, like me, you have an e-mail account with a local ISP (not like AOL, MS, Hotmail), set yourself up with a free Hotmail or G-mail account and you'll be able to access e-mail to that account from anywhere. Have a wonderful time!

[Conrycol]

Thanks.

 

Yes, our cruise stops in Turkey, as well as Israel and Egypt. We are doing an overnight tour in Egypt. Will we need our passports there for the hotel or anything else?

 

 

I was in Egypt last month and each hotel I stayed in requested my, and my son's, passport when we checked in.