NCL collects and holds Passports?

[rhinomike]

I just read that NCL will collect and hold our passports on our upcoming Mediterranean cruise on the Spirit. Maybe I'm being crazy but this worries me. That's quite a few of passports to keep track of and the odds have to be high that they loose them every now and then. My biggest fear traveling is that one of our passports is lost. I know to have copies but really copies don't do much for you.

 

Has anybody had a cruise line loose or misplace their passport? What do you do? What does the cruise line Do?

[Twiz]

I just read that NCL will collect and hold our passports on our upcoming Mediterranean cruise on the Spirit. Maybe I'm being crazy but this worries me. That's quite a few of passports to keep track of and the odds have to be high that they loose them every now and then. My biggest fear traveling is that one of our passports is lost. I know to have copies but really copies don't do much for you.

 

Has anybody had a cruise line loose or misplace their passport? What do you do? What does the cruise line Do?

 

I have never heard of this before, I am curious about it now

[ShannonSC2]

I am curious about this also. I wonder why they do this. We are leaving on the EPIC in a couple of weeks. I have copies already but would like know why they do this & is it at every port.

[che5904]

I am curious about this also. I wonder why they do this. We are leaving on the EPIC in a couple of weeks. I have copies already but would like know why they do this & is it at every port.

 

Here is a couple of past threads explaining why and when your passport may be held by the cruiseline.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=33528620

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1812204

 

OP they don't leave the ship, so I'd bet you are pretty safe at handing it to them and probably safer than carrying it on you to some ports.

[garycarla]

The process to enter/visit a few countries is the reason. You will be just fine.

[gjr]

The process to enter/visit a few countries is the reason. You will be just fine.

 

 

Agreed, we sailed on the Spirit last June, and had no issues with the NCL process. We had photocopied the main pages of our passport and carried with us in the ports, and also had a PDF file of the passports on our tablet.

 

Easy process to pick them up in the theater near the end of the trip. I believe they called you to the theater by which deck you were on.

[Susie51]

Thank you for the info and links. I have only been to Europe once and NCL collected my passport.

[The 4 of Us]

For any US citizens that have recently sailed on the Epic Western Med itinerary that stays within the EU, did they collect and keep your passport during the cruise?

[CruisingGs]

MSC did this for us last year on our Mediterranean cruise. They said it was so the local officials could come and checks all the passports. I was freaked out when they first took them because no where else we cruised had done this. I am sure the Jade will do the same for us this summer.

 

 

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Edited May 29, 2014 by CruisingGs

[agabbymama]

It isn't just NCL, on our Med cruise on Grand Princess, after leaving Turkey, they also took our passports and held them until we left Greek waters. We were told because Turkey was not an EU country, the Greek government wanted to see everyone's passport.

 

I was not happy about it, but if you are going to cruise, it is necessary.

Before the EU, hotels in Europe used to collect your passport and keep it overnight.

 

On the Grand, they gave us a numbered ticket and you had to have that ticket to retrieve your passport.

[CruisinMaterial]

Has anybody had a cruise line loose or misplace their passport? What do you do? What does the cruise line Do?

 

On the 2007 Egypt and Greek Isles cruise Norwegian Jewel collected our passports at embarkation in Turkey and didn't return them until we overnight in Cairo, Egypt. Upon our return to the ship, the passports were surrendered again until our last sea day heading for Athens when they were returned for the final time. We had plenty of stamps in our passports from departure of Turkey to the multiple entries into the EU. They never lost the passport and they had it marked with a removable sticker which had my last name, first initial and cabin number listed on it. They arranged them by cabin number.

 

On the 2013 Southeast Asia cruise, Celebrity held onto my passport at embarkation in Singapore and returned it to me in Thailand after we were stamped into the country for the overland tour to Cambodia. We returned the passports once we arrived back to the ship in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Again they had a method in place for tracking the passports.

 

I am comfortable surrendering my passport to the cruise line. They have a very good way of tracking them and I do believe they keep them under lock and key and under close security watch. I'm not sure where exactly in the Guest Relations area of the ship they are stored but since I've done it twice I'm confident it is some place secure. Don't worry and enjoy your cruise! :)

[Babyeddiedog]

We also had our passports taken on a cruise in Asia with RCCL, this was due to immigration.

 

It wasn't the retention of our passports that freaked me out, it was the medical examination we had to endure to enter Japan. The officials in face masks were particularly scary :eek:

[Urban trekker]

On my South American cruise on Princess we surrendered them on embarkation and got them back after our last port of call with all the necessary stamps stamped onto to them.

 

I too copied the passport and kept it with me when going ashore.

 

You are given a receipt and will be given a time to pick them up - it went seamless on the Grand.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Edited May 29, 2014 by Urban trekker

[mypleasure]

It is because of the visit to Turkey. Turkish immigration grants you a transit visa because you are on a cruise ship. But Turkey is not in the EU so by visiting there you are leaving the Schengen area and have to re-enter when you leave Turkey.

 

If you are on a cruise that doesn't leave the EU nobody wants to see your passport as it was seen and you were allowed in at your port of entry which in the case of Spirit cruises is usually Barcelona or Venice.

 

I have done that cruise twice. I have heard plenty of people from the USA not liking having their passports taken but never heard one complaining they didn't get it back again.

 

It is all about border controls and different countries have different procedures....

[rhinomike]

Well it's good to hear that nobody knows of someone's passport getting lost.

[Crusin6]

I just read that NCL will collect and hold our passports on our upcoming Mediterranean cruise on the Spirit. Maybe I'm being crazy but this worries me. That's quite a few of passports to keep track of and the odds have to be high that they loose them every now and then. My biggest fear traveling is that one of our passports is lost. I know to have copies but really copies don't do much for you.

 

Has anybody had a cruise line loose or misplace their passport? What do you do? What does the cruise line Do?

 

Stop! This is the procedure and it will be fine. You are going to turkey are you not?

 

That is the reason.

 

You will get a receipt from your steward when he takes it and you will get you pp back no problem

[Cruisercl]

Stop! This is the procedure and it will be fine. You are going to turkey are you not?

 

That is the reason.

 

You will get a receipt from your steward when he takes it and you will get you pp back no problem

 

Yikes!!

 

Having never cruised in the Med before, I had the same questions; my thanks to you all who respectfully answered them. I hope it will be 'fine'; but travel being what it is........I have a right to be skeptical. ;)

Happy and safe cruising all!! :D

[quercus alba]

For any US citizens that have recently sailed on the Epic Western Med itinerary that stays within the EU, did they collect and keep your passport during the cruise?

 

No--they did not for this cruise. All ports were EU.

[mugtech]

They took our passports before we got to Athens and gave them back to us after leaving Mykonos. In the 4 ports where we had no passports, 2 Greek, 2 Turkish, we were told we should have other picture ID to take with us. It was the first 4 stops of the cruise, but we were never asked to show picture ID to get into the ports nor back onto the ship. NCL will make copies of your passport for you if you ask when they collect them.

[GreyingJay]

They took our passports before we got to Athens and gave them back to us after leaving Mykonos. In the 4 ports where we had no passports, 2 Greek, 2 Turkish, we were told we should have other picture ID to take with us. It was the first 4 stops of the cruise, but we were never asked to show picture ID to get into the ports nor back onto the ship. NCL will make copies of your passport for you if you ask when they collect them.

 

This was my experience as well on the May 6 sailing of the Spirit from Venice to Barcelona. The two sea days bookending the Greece/Turkey segment are used as collection and retrieval days.

 

For security reasons I already had a photocopy of my passport that I kept in my money belt, and I also emailed myself a photo. I had no issue giving my passport over to NCL and there was no problem retrieving it again later. Lining up was a minor annoyance. Oh well.

[kcwingwalker]

Thanks for the question:)

 

My daily visit to CC is always rewarding and now I have once again learned something new................education should be livelong and for me it's a slow process.

[JMHAM1]

They did not take ours during our Med cruise but we did not stop in an exotic port.

 

 

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[milolii]

Yes, this dies happen as others have said. We had a large Cruise Critic group and no one complained about any lost passport. If you are in a Suite, the concierge will collect them in Cagney's and then give them back to you there as well.

 

 

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[milolii]

Yes, this dies happen as others have said. We had a large Cruise Critic group and no one complained about any lost passport. If you are in a Suite, the concierge will collect them in Cagney's and then give them back to you there as well.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Edit: This does happen.

 

 

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[rhinomike]

I'm still relieved not to read stories of lost passports by the cruise line. Makes me feel better about it.