Passport question

[SAC60]

When cruising in Europe... Always carry your passport or carry copy and leave original in cabin safe??:confused:

[canadarocks]

When cruising in Europe... Always carry your passport or carry copy and leave original in cabin safe??:confused:

 

This is one of the much debated topics here. We always leave our passports onboard as I'm always afraid we'll lose them. :o

[Shmoo here]

When cruising in Europe... Always carry your passport or carry copy and leave original in cabin safe??:confused:

 

We took our passports with us while in port.

 

:)

[travelinjones]

Sometimes when cruising in Europe, the ship takes your passport for the duration of the cruise to facilitate immigration clearance in each port. If so, the ship has given us a receipt that contains a copy of our passports.

 

When we go ashore in Europe, we take our driver's license for ID and carry a photocopy of our passports. (We leave our passports in the safe if the ship has not collected them.) Whenever we travel outside the country we also have scanned our passports into a PDF file , which we email to ourselves and someone at home; this "copy" can be brought up on our iPhones or at any computer with internet access via checking our email.

 

There are some exceptions where we take our passports off the ship while in port (even if that means requesting them back from the front desk) including:

1) if we plan to cross country borders while in port

2) if we plan to stay overnight in port

3) if we plan to travel on our own a far distance from the ship while in port

[ellieanne]

For me it depends on the country. When I was in Russia, I was required to have my passport to get stamped at the port, even if I was on a ship-sponsored tour. In other countries, I left my passport on the ship or in a safety-deposit box (not the room safe) at the hotel.

[sandij]

The last time the ship collected and kept them except for one country, and then they passed them out and recollected them when we were back on board. I always have a copy of them with me.

[dakrewser]

We always carry our passports with us when leaving the ship. Most countries in the world require that you have them to present when asked. Fortunately for out fellow CC'ers, most places rarely ask.

[PathfinderEss]

When cruising in Europe... Always carry your passport or carry copy and leave original in cabin safe??:confused:

My suggestion is carry a copy and leave the original in cabin.

[CtheW0rld]

i only carry the original when required by the country i am visiting. otherwise a copy in on my person.

[kazu]

We always have a colour copy of our passport with us. We only carry the actual passport when it is required by the country (ie. Russia). I feel much better when I know my passport is either being held by the ship or is in my safe on board:)

[sail7seas]

We have laminated color copies of passport page and carry that when ashore. We leave the passports in our safe.

 

[PRWeezer]

Like others we carry a copy along with a driver's license for photo ID. We've never been to Russia. Not HAL, but on an Oceania Mediterranean cruise they kept our passports for the first few days then returned them. We were in a PH & were able to arrange a time for them to be delivered back to our stateroom, and we had to sign for them. The other option was to pick up in person at reception. In other words, great care was taken to ensure 'personal' pick up of passports, which I would imagine is standard across cruise lines for security purposes.

 

A few times when I've purchased things in Europe to ship home, the merchant did want to use my passport # on the shipping form, so it's good to have a copy on hand.

 

I've noticed on credit card receipts in other countries there's often a line under the signature line where they want an "ID number". In the past I would pull out my passport copy & use that number but I don't think it's really necessary. When I haven't had my passport on hand I've alternated with my phone number, DL SkyMiles # or random numbers & I've never been asked to show any documents related to the number used. YMMV.

[catl331]

A copy of a passport is useless for travel to another country if the ship leaves without you for any reason. The only place we don't take our passports ashore is HMC. DH keeps them in a money belt under his shirt to thwart pick-pockets.

[catl331]

The only place we don't take our passports ashore is HMC.

I mean only foreign ports, of course.

 

Yes, if there is sufficient time, a room safe will be opened and passports stored there will be turned over to the Port Agent - but we don't rely on that.

[dakrewser]

It;s actually a good idea to carry both the passport and a color copy. Keep the copy in your safe because the only thing it is good for is to assist thev US embassy/consulate to get you a new one should you lose the original. Otherwise, tha copy is as useless as ID as a copy of your drivers' license would be when trying to buy liquor.

[Harrald]

While I haven't cruised to any European countries, I have visited many. Personally I do three things.

 

1) Leave the original passport in the hotel safe (unless I need to cross a boarder that still has passport control)

 

2) Carry a copy of my passport with me at all times. Unless the country I'm in requires me to carry the original. (if there is a real problem, the local police will be able to get the original from my hotel)

 

3) I leave a scanned copy on a web based email server. (Gmail.com, yahoo.com, etc.) This way if everything goes wrong, I can still go to the local embassy and have them start creating new paperwork for me. I've been in a hotel fire. Nothing happened but it made me realize I could end up on the street with nothing but my boxers.

 

Cheers

[sail7seas]

A copy of a passport is useless for travel to another country if the ship leaves without you for any reason. The only place we don't take our passports ashore is HMC. DH keeps them in a money belt under his shirt to thwart pick-pockets.

 

 

It's usefulness is for fast replacement if passport is lost or stolen.

If you have the passport number, issue date and place of issuance, the process is easier.

 

[catl331]

It's usefulness is for fast replacement if passport is lost or stolen.

If you have the passport number, issue date and place of issuance, the process is easier.

 

Sure, if you're someplace where there is a US embassy/consulate/legation. As others do, DH emails himself a copy of our passports before we go.

[iancal]

We take a copy for exactly the same reason...to facilitate replacement if necessary.

 

 

Clearly, a photocopy of the first page of a passport would not be valid ID.

[chrispb]

Carry it, or not, as you would in most countries of the world. I usually carry a colour photocopy.

There are many countries in Europe:D

[catl331]

A passport is not just to get you back into the US, it is your legal identification when you are in a foreign country. If the ship sails away with yours still on board, you are an illegal alien. ;)

[cruisemom42]

A passport is not just to get you back into the US, it is your legal identification when you are in a foreign country. If the ship sails away with yours still on board, you are an illegal alien. ;)

 

and......when your passport is lost or is stolen by pickpockets or muggers, you would also be an illegal alien, would you not?

 

Personally, I'd find it very hard to believe any European country (which is what the OP asked about) would give any cruiser a hard time if they had a cruise card and a passport copy -- certainly wouldn't collar them as an illegal alien....:rolleyes:

[serendipity1499]

When cruising in Europe... Always carry your passport or carry copy and leave original in cabin safe??:confused:

 

A copy of a passport is useless for travel to another country if the ship leaves without you for any reason. The only place we don't take our passports ashore is HMC. DH keeps them in a money belt under his shirt to thwart pick-pockets.

 

I mean only foreign ports, of course.

 

Yes, if there is sufficient time, a room safe will be opened and passports stored there will be turned over to the Port Agent - but we don't rely on that.

 

I actually don't believe it has anything to do with sufficient time.. IMO the Capt. would always authorize an Officer & a member of the HM's staff, to go into your cabin safe & give your passport to the Port Agent..Have you ever heard of a Capt. which has not done this ?

We leave our passports in the ship's safe & carry a color photograph of them with us, unless the Country requires us to carry our original passports..Most shops in Europe

will accept your photocopied passport along with your Drivers license & Ship card for ID..

When I first joined the Airlines in the late 50's & had to travel in Europe, Mid East, Parts of Asia, Africa & Australia, the hotels would collect our passports & take them to the local constabulary for approval & logging in.. Sometimes we did not get them back before check-out if it was only a couple of days..

 

Cheers...:)Betty

[serendipity1499]

When cruising in Europe... Always carry your passport or carry copy and leave original in cabin safe??:confused:

 

A copy of a passport is useless for travel to another country if the ship leaves without you for any reason. The only place we don't take our passports ashore is HMC. DH keeps them in a money belt under his shirt to thwart pick-pockets.

 

I mean only foreign ports, of course.

 

Yes, if there is sufficient time, a room safe will be opened and passports stored there will be turned over to the Port Agent - but we don't rely on that.

 

I actually don't believe it has anything to do with sufficient time.. IMO the Capt. would always authorize an Officer & a member of the HM's staff, to go into your cabin safe & give your passport to the Port Agent..Have you ever heard of a Capt. which has not done this ?

 

We leave our passports in the ship's safe & carry a color photograph of them with us, unless the Country requires us to carry our original passports..Most shops in Europe

will accept your photocopied passport along with your Drivers license & Ship card for ID..

When I first joined the Airlines in the late 50's & had to travel in Europe, Mid East, Parts of Asia, Africa & Australia, the hotels would collect our passports & take them to the local constabulary for approval & logging in.. Sometimes we did not get them back before check-out if it was only a couple of days..

 

Cheers...:)Betty

[dakrewser]

I'm curious - what is it folks expect to be able to do with a copy of your passport?

 

And do you also drive around with a photocopy of your Drivers' License?