dereklola Posted August 13, 2011 #1 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Just an observation - we were advised (instructed) to carry our passports with us at every port of call in Europe - Holland, Belgium, France, Channel Islands, Spain. In practice we were never asked for them once whether disembarking or re-embarking. Why does Oceania do this? No other cruise line we've used even gives us back our passports for such ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCroisiereS'amuse Posted August 13, 2011 #2 Share Posted August 13, 2011 In France carrying official photo ID is a must.....for us foreigners that means carrying your passport (unless you're from another EU country that has a national ID card scheme). The French themselves are legally obliged to carry their ID cards (failing that their passport) & if stopped by authorities the penalties are heavy. The culture & legal system is that you carry ID if you have nothing to hide & it's just accepted. I lived in France for 7 years in the days when a UK passport was more like a small hard backed book & never left the house without it! Here in the UK we are not obliged to carry ID, so you comment about the Channel Islands surprises me, as their legal system follows English law; however the islands do have their own jurisdiction :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Rosebery Posted August 13, 2011 #3 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Just an observation - we were advised (instructed) to carry our passports with us at every port of call in Europe - Holland, Belgium, France, Channel Islands, Spain. In practice we were never asked for them once whether disembarking or re-embarking. Why does Oceania do this? No other cruise line we've used even gives us back our passports for such ports. we were not given our passports back in Turkey, Italy, Greece, Bosnia, or Croatia.. In all other countries, I would not carry my passport. I would leave it on the ship or in a hotel safe. The hassle with losing it to pickpockets or otherwise is too great. (I had my pocket picked in Madrid) They were very good. Fortunately cash only. Carry a photo copy of your PP and your cruise ship boarding card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweep Posted August 13, 2011 #4 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Just an observation - we were advised (instructed) to carry our passports with us at every port of call in Europe - Holland, Belgium, France, Channel Islands, Spain. In practice we were never asked for them once whether disembarking or re-embarking. Why does Oceania do this? No other cruise line we've used even gives us back our passports for such ports. We were on the same cruise and were asked to show our passports in La Rochelle before getting back on the ship. We always carry photocopies rather than the original passports and these were perfectly acceptable. Apart from anything else it is always a good idea to carry a photocopy in case, for any reason, you are not able to rejoin the ship at a particular port. A passport and credit card should cover most emergencies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 13, 2011 #5 Share Posted August 13, 2011 It is the Country that requires you to carry Passports not the cruiseline. We had to carry ours in some ports but not others on our northern European cruise last year Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickey 88 Posted August 13, 2011 #6 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Just an observation - we were advised (instructed) to carry our passports with us at every port of call in Europe - Holland, Belgium, France, Channel Islands, Spain. In practice we were never asked for them once whether disembarking or re-embarking. Why does Oceania do this? No other cruise line we've used even gives us back our passports for such ports. Oceania retains all passports in order to expedite inspection by Customs and Immigration at each port. Otherwise, all passengers might be required to show up and go through an inspection line! Do not concern yourself, as most of us carry a scanned copy of the passport each time we leave the ship. Never a problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester8 Posted August 13, 2011 #7 Share Posted August 13, 2011 We were on the same cruise and were asked to show our passports in La Rochelle before getting back on the ship. We always carry photocopies rather than the original passports and these were perfectly acceptable. Apart from anything else it is always a good idea to carry a photocopy in case, for any reason, you are not able to rejoin the ship at a particular port. A passport and credit card should cover most emergencies. I also remember the customs officers,all about ten of them standing in a row waving us off as we departed the port.They must have spent about ten minutes doing that which I thought was a very nice touch. We also had a very nice send off by a very smartly turned out brass band in Santander. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted August 13, 2011 #8 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Another reason to carry a photocopy of your passport is if you want to charge a purchase to a credit card. At least for a while people were sometimes unable to complete a purchase by credit card if they didn't have their passport with them, but a photocopy did seem to do the trick. I'm not sure if this is still a problem since it's a number of years since I've heard people complaining about this. Does anyone know if in countries like France -- would a photo driver's license suffice? NY State even makes an enhanced driver's license these days that is supposed to be sufficient for some border crossings (like Canada). That worked for us a few years ago when we were returning from Bethlehem to Israel. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaitape Posted August 13, 2011 #9 Share Posted August 13, 2011 We bring laminated copies of our passports. Had them for our Asia and Europe trips and they worked great...though we were never asked to show them anywhere along the way. Sure felt better than carrying around the real deal. We also have scanned copies that we sent to our email addresses and to our daughter's JUST IN CASE.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 13, 2011 #10 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Oceania retains all passports in order to expedite inspection by Customs and Immigration at each port. Otherwise, all passengers might be required to show up and go through an inspection line! Dick They did not retain them last year & in the Currents there was a notice to carry them with us when going ashore in specific Countries. I would prefer the ship kept them & I always carry photo copies as well Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 13, 2011 #11 Share Posted August 13, 2011 We bring laminated copies of our passports. That is a good idea. I will do that when we get our new passports Hi to Steven also Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtamchay Posted August 13, 2011 #12 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Oceania retains all passports in order to expedite inspection by Customs and Immigration at each port. Otherwise, all passengers might be required to show up and go through an inspection line! Do not concern yourself, as most of us carry a scanned copy of the passport each time we leave the ship. Never a problem! Just returned from Scandinavian Splendours 25 July thru 8 August and we kept our passports...the ship did not. We are American in case that may have been the case. We kept them in our safe onboard and although the Currents asked us to carry them every day we were not asked for them except in St. Petersburg, where they were stamped only on the first day and our Berlin day. I might also add that not one person we spoke to on this cruise had an issue with pickpockets even though we were warned every day to be careful. The folks in the cities who nag you to take something they are offering by hand were plentiful and a firm NO usually was enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpver Posted August 25, 2011 #13 Share Posted August 25, 2011 In France carrying official photo ID is a must.....for us foreigners that means carrying your passport (unless you're from another EU country that has a national ID card scheme). The French themselves are legally obliged to carry their ID cards (failing that their passport) & if stopped by authorities the penalties are heavy. The culture & legal system is that you carry ID if you have nothing to hide & it's just accepted. I lived in France for 7 years in the days when a UK passport was more like a small hard backed book & never left the house without it! Here in the UK we are not obliged to carry ID' date=' so you comment about the Channel Islands surprises me, as their legal system follows English law; however the islands do have their own jurisdiction :confused:[/quote'] Similar in Belgium where we have all national ID card and passports only for travelling outside Europe. I take always both with me, so when passports stay on board I have my ID. This was even accepted in South America when paying with credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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