Which Cruise Line Keeps Passenger Passport Until Last Day?

[JimAOk1945]

A big thank you to everyone for offering your answers and advice. Cruise Critic has the best information sharing community! :D If anyone else has any more experiences to share, please post them here.

Edited March 4, 2014 by JimAOk1945

[goose30]

We carry color copies, unless required to be on our person by local laws. If you miss the ship for some reason and it sails without you, most cruise lines will have security open your safe to see if your passport is inside. If it is, they will turn it over to the port representative so you can retrieve it when you finally return.

 

There will be people here who will claim that isn't true, but it is. We know of one couple, our table mates on the Baltic cruise, who missed the ship on a previous cruise and their passports were indeed with the port representative when they arrived. And, during a Q&A session with Captain Nickolis Patronis on Celebrity Reflection during our Med cruise, he was asked what happened if someone missed the ship. He stated that they will always check the safe for passports before they leave, and send them ashore if found. They will not search the rest of the cabin, however - only the safe.

 

 

To me this a quite dangerous practice. Rarely, very rarely people do not get checked in properly when the come back aboard and don't hear their name called. If security were to open the safe and take out passports to give to the port agent, the passenger would be in real trouble. They could be on the ship and the passports ashore.

 

Best thing to avoid any problems, keep you passport with you at all times. You do keep your credit card with you so what is the problem.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It really does depend on the country you visit.

Some we have had to turn in our passports -- and some we didn't.

We always have colored copies of our passports which I keep in my purse -- just in case. Our passports are kept in our safe unless we are told that we will need it ashore.

[euro cruiser]

Many unpredictable factors can impact whether a line will take your passports. On my first Med cruise no one asked for it. On my second, they were taken on the first day and returned four days later. The reason in that case was a G8 summit taking place nearby and increased security in the area.

[ducklite]

Med cruise on Windstar they were taken on the first day and returned in the last. If you needed it mid-cruise for something, like renting a car, you could take it for the day. On RCCL and DCL in the Bahamas and Caribbean, they never took the passports. They did take the passports of non US citizens on at least one of those cruises.

[boogs]

To me this a quite dangerous practice. Rarely, very rarely people do not get checked in properly when the come back aboard and don't hear their name called. If security were to open the safe and take out passports to give to the port agent, the passenger would be in real trouble. They could be on the ship and the passports ashore.

 

Best thing to avoid any problems, keep you passport with you at all times. You do keep your credit card with you so what is the problem.

 

A credit card is nowhere near as important as a passport is. If you lose your credit card, you may have to deal with someone using it, but your monetary risk is only $50 with most credit card companies. In contrast, a passport is your most powerful form of identity when traveling. Without it you cannot enter or leave most countries. You will be denied travel until you can get it replaced and won't be able to go home until then. You can still travel freely and get home without a credit card if you already have your travel reservations.

 

If I was careless enough to be late to the ship, I would much rather they retrieve my passport so I can have it available when I finally show up. The chances of me being back on the ship without them knowing about it are very slim. Somehow I would have to get on board without my card being scanned. Then, I would have to not yet gone back to my stateroom or purchased a drink in a bar (they know every time your card is scanned anywhere on the ship, including when you open your room door), and I would have had to somehow not heard the numerous calling of my name over the PA system. And then, if I had somehow made it into my stateroom, they would find me when they came to look for my passport.

 

I don't carry my passport unless I absolutely have to. Doing so is asking for more trouble than being separated from it due to missing the ship. More people have their passports stolen or lose them than people who miss the ship. During our visit to St. Petersburg, Russia a few years ago, three people on a single ship sponsored tour had their passports stolen. However, no one missed the ship at that port. A passport, especially an American passport, is worth thousands of dollars in the black market. It is a very lucrative activity for the underbelly of society. Even though we can always replace a stolen passport, that original passport is still out there, with the very real potential of being involved in crimes.

 

Personally, I DO NOT want to have to deal with the repercussions of having my passport used in criminal activities, so I protect it vigorously. I leave it in the safe, locked up and away from passport thieves or my own carelessness.

 

A copy of your passport is usually sufficient if you need to show it for an unexpected reason. You can always make arrangements to retrieve it from the ship if you have to present it. You can't do that if a thief has it.

Edited March 4, 2014 by boogs

[BruceMuzz]

To me this a quite dangerous practice. Rarely, very rarely people do not get checked in properly when the come back aboard and don't hear their name called. If security were to open the safe and take out passports to give to the port agent, the passenger would be in real trouble. They could be on the ship and the passports ashore.

 

Best thing to avoid any problems, keep you passport with you at all times. You do keep your credit card with you so what is the problem.

 

I have managed 27 different cruise ships for 11 different cruise lines on 1,451 cruises (not days) over the past 37 years.

During that period we have left thousands of passengers behind in ports when they failed to return on time.

Most of them had locked their passports in their safes and our Security Officer retrieved the passports and entrusted them to our port agent for safekeeping.

 

Not once in those 37 years and 1,451 cruises did we have a situation where the guests were actually onboard and the passports were left behind in the port.

[JimAOk1945]

All of these responses are great! They are all helpful. We plan to start cruising into areas that we have not yet explored, so I am benefitting from everyone.

 

Please keep the comments coming. I really appreciate hearing about experiences from all of you.

[TC1957]

 

We did have to surrender out passports for our entire Egypt Nile cruise many years ago. And also at the land base hotels.

 

 

Why would a land base hotel need to confiscate your passport. I can see the need for a cruise ship and clearing passengers quickly but you have already passed through an immigration point before getting to the hotel. This is almost like going into a restaurant and having them confiscate your passport before seating you.

[CruiserBruce]

Why would a land base hotel need to confiscate your passport. I can see the need for a cruise ship and clearing passengers quickly but you have already passed through an immigration point before getting to the hotel. This is almost like going into a restaurant and having them confiscate your passport before seating you.

 

Historically this has been common in Europe, but much less common today. It is done to meet local laws.

[ducklite]

Why would a land base hotel need to confiscate your passport. I can see the need for a cruise ship and clearing passengers quickly but you have already passed through an immigration point before getting to the hotel. This is almost like going into a restaurant and having them confiscate your passport before seating you.

 

 

Every European hotel I've stayed in takes a scan of our passports. It has something to do with taxes charged.

[CruiserBruce]

Every European hotel I've stayed in takes a scan of our passports. It has something to do with taxes charged.

 

We, on the other hand, have traveled to Europe extensively the last 5 years, for a total of over 4 months in hotels. We have probably only shown our passport at a hotel less than 20 times. Most commonly in Italy.

[greatam]

Why would a land base hotel need to confiscate your passport. I can see the need for a cruise ship and clearing passengers quickly but you have already passed through an immigration point before getting to the hotel. This is almost like going into a restaurant and having them confiscate your passport before seating you.

 

Go to Asia, stay in a hotel particularly Vietnam and Cambodia. Go to the Middle East. They will hold your passports until the "security police" take a look at them. For someone who has not traveled worldwide, this may be shock. Otherwise, they hold your passport until the proper authorities verify you passport.

 

 

Such a US centric vision!!!! There is a whole wide world out there that does NOT conform to your specs.

[ejatczak]

To me this a quite dangerous practice. Rarely, very rarely people do not get checked in properly when the come back aboard and don't hear their name called. If security were to open the safe and take out passports to give to the port agent, the passenger would be in real trouble. They could be on the ship and the passports ashore.

 

Best thing to avoid any problems, keep you passport with you at all times. You do keep your credit card with you so what is the problem.

 

On our last baltic cruise a lady was carrying her passport in port of Taillin Estonia it was lost she had to fly to paris go to US embassy for replacement! Then come to Amsterdam to meet ship. She missed our 2 days at sea and obviously spent a lot of money! Had passport been on ship would not have happened! Passport is much different from a credit card. Do not take ashore if not necessary.

[ejatczak]

I would say your passport is the MOST unsafe with you!!! We all are watched getting off a ship, we look like tourists, we frequent visitor sites! A passport is for entry purposes only, your drivers license is your id to carry around.

[ejatczak]

If yr passports are kept by ship when they return them do look at each one! Costa cruise kept ours till last day! We were in big rush to leave I went down for family passports(5) was handed them, in elevator I looked they were all there plus someone else's! That poor man and costa would have been freaking out!!!

[ducklite]

We had to check and sign for ours when we got them back.

[ejatczak]

Love love love your packing! I am a light packer too but you put me to shame!!! Now I need to work on my teenage girls! They are the worst!

[Christine Frances]

Go to Asia, stay in a hotel particularly Vietnam and Cambodia. Go to the Middle East. They will hold your passports until the "security police" take a look at them. For someone who has not traveled worldwide, this may be shock. Otherwise, they hold your passport until the proper authorities verify you passport.

 

 

Such a US centric vision!!!! There is a whole wide world out there that does NOT conform to your specs.

 

Totally agree! We just returned from Asia on a B2B and turned in our PP on embarkation, retrieved and turned them back in at the start of the 2nd leg. As we were overnighting in Ha Noi we picked up our PP from Guest Services and it took awhile for the hotel to process the passports during the check in procedure. I think, as Canadians, we may be more comfortable with our passports because we use them as a primary form of ID (required) (unlike DL and BC) which does not hold much value here in Canada. My BC has been in our home safe for 30 yrs. lol

 

greatam - I so envy you and your travels! Don't know how you find time to cruise lol How many pp pages do you go through in a year? Ours (Canada) have been only good for 5 yrs until this year and now we can get 10 yr renewals. I always save my PP and I only have a few pages left on this one until Dec/15.