what do you do with your passports while off boat?

[r_jen]

Going on my first cruise in one week.:)

My question is what do you do with your passports while off the boat?

I would like to keep them with me in case of missing the boat ect... but don't want to have to be worried about keeping them on my person the whole time.

[Algebralovr]

Unless you actually need them in port, best to leave them in the safe on the ship. Do take a photo ID to use in port, but your passport is rarely needed.

 

If you don't make it to the ship in time, they will usually send security to your room to open the safe, remove any passports and meds, and leave them with the port agent. The port agent info will be printed in the daily paper that includes info about each port.

[paul929207]

Unless we are required to carry the passport when off the ship, ours stay in the safe.

[1025cruise]

Mine stay in the safe....

[r_jen]

Thank you guys:)

[Scrapnana]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I normally take my passport with me. If you are doing some kind of a water activity you might not want to. There are different bags that you can buy to hold your valuables, such as this which you can wear under your clothes.

[fredflint]

One of these is handy for your license CC and cash too

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=neck+wallet

 

[Essiesmom]

My passport always stays with me. EM

[Laurie S.]

The passport stays in the safe, and I keep a laminated copy of the id page with me.

[OCruisers]

The passport stays in the safe, and I keep a laminated copy of the id page with me.

 

We do the same!

 

LuLu

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[delily]

My passport always stays with me in my neck pouch beneath my clothing. Much as we don't expect anything to go wrong, you never know when there could be some kind of disaster. Tourists weren't expecting a Cairo uprising, a tsunami in Japan, terrorism in Israel, or the many earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. that happen around the world but people get caught in them just the same. If I'm stuck somewhere, I want it to be as easy as possible to get out.

[coley2011]

We leave the passports in the safe, and take a laminated copy of the ID page with us as well.

[KirkNC]

On some cruises the cruise line hold them for you so the ship can clear customs.

[Keith1010]

In our case the cruise line holds them for us but if they didn't we would still leave them on the ship.

 

Keith

[Sue Do-Over]

We copied the photo page, and laminated it onto a 3x5 card.

 

On the card:

Name, ship

Traveling with: (names/phone numbers, relationship)

US Emergency Contact: (name/phone/email)

Medical alert: medications/allergies, blood type

Insurance information

 

Maybe I'm over-prepared, but we're traveling with a group. Should there be an emergency or I'm not able to communicate for myself, I hope this could help medical staff treat us quickly, and reunite us with the rest of our group.

 

The laminated card goes in the money belt.

[MrsNancyG]

This will be our first time applying for a passport. (We never needed one in the past, just birth certificate) There is an option of getting a passport card in addition to the passport itself. Our plan is to keep the passport book in the safe and keep the passport card with our drivers licenses and such.

[griffy116]

Unless we are required to carry the passport when off the ship, ours stay in the safe.

 

Our stay in the safe on the ship, except of course on a European cruise, the cruise line keeps them. I always carry a photocopy when off the ship...just in case.

[johneeo]

My passport always stays with me in my neck pouch beneath my clothing. Much as we don't expect anything to go wrong, you never know when there could be some kind of disaster. Tourists weren't expecting a Cairo uprising, a tsunami in Japan, terrorism in Israel, or the many earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. that happen around the world but people get caught in them just the same. If I'm stuck somewhere, I want it to be as easy as possible to get out.

 

And the tourists in Mexico on the bus did not expect to be robbed by bandits.

 

Everyone that had a passport with them had them stolen.

[coley2011]

Our stay in the safe on the ship, except of course on a European cruise, the cruise line keeps them. I always carry a photocopy when off the ship...just in case.

 

When I did a Mediterranean cruise with HAL in 2009 the ship didn't keep our passports. We were responsible for taking them offship in just Tunisia if I recall correctly.

[iheartbda]

And the tourists in Mexico on the bus did not expect to be robbed by bandits.

 

Everyone that had a passport with them had them stolen.

They're worth lots of money on the blackmarket.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We keep them in the safe. However, if you are cruising in Europe, you may be required to turn them over to the cruise line according to some countries.

I do have colored copies of our passports that I keep with me.

[OCruisers]

We recently renewed our passports. This time, in addition to the books, we also ordered the passport cards which will be convenient for us to take ashore with us at port stops.

In the past we have taken laminated copies of our passports.

 

LuLu

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[PlanoCJ]

We copied the photo page, and laminated it onto a 3x5 card.

 

On the card:

Name, ship

Traveling with: (names/phone numbers, relationship)

US Emergency Contact: (name/phone/email)

Medical alert: medications/allergies, blood type

Insurance information

 

Maybe I'm over-prepared, but we're traveling with a group. Should there be an emergency or I'm not able to communicate for myself, I hope this could help medical staff treat us quickly, and reunite us with the rest of our group.

 

The laminated card goes in the money belt.

 

That's a great idea! I need to do this so if anything were to happen to any of us this would be helpful info to have on hand. Thanks for sharing it! CJ

[Cloudyrain]

We took ours with us as per our cruise lines suggestion and my own preference - if it had of been stolen it wouldn't matter because we had a colour photocopy and photo driving license in the safe which would have been sufficient to get through customs and get home with a valid travel ticket.

 

We went to Europe and are in the EU but were never asked to hand them in and they were only checked at embarkation.

[dinek1]

We lock passports in our room safe except when we are required to carry them in port. (You'll be told if that's necessary.) Always take photocopy of main important information. Carry our driver's licenses for legal photo ID and, of course, our ship cards which you must swipe when leaving and returning to the ship. Take only 1 credit card (different one for my husband and me) and some money. Carry as little as possible so not as big a deal if something is missing. Always...always...always keep everything in secure area on us. Never carry a purse!

 

Good idea to have multiple copies of passport.

 

We do have both passports and passport card. Use the card if cruise allows for it, such as Canada or island south.