documentation needed?

[bendecida]

What documentation is needed to bring with us when we get off the ship for a day?

[Treven]

Well, you'll need your sea and sail card, or whatever your cruiseline calls it and a piece of photo ID. To satisfy that issue I carry my passport or my passport card.

[fishywood]

It is essential that you read the ship's daily newsletter which will advise you what is necessary for each day in port.

 

Goes without saying to take your cruise card; you won't be allowed off the ship without having it scanned. A great many ports require you to carry a picture ID and show it to re-enter the secure area around the ship. And many claim to have this requirement but rarely if ever enforce it. The ID does not have to be your passport, though some ports (such as Bermuda) will accept a photocopy of your passport as a possible ID.

 

Outside of the Caribbean there are many ports that have separate requirements for citizens of different countries, so again you will have to pay attention to any specific instructions from the ship. But if you are on a closed-loop cruise from the US your driver's license should be fine; leave your passport in your cabin safe.

[NMLady]

What documentation is needed to bring with us when we get off the ship for a day?

 

You don't say where you are talking about. Caribbean? Europe? Where?

Are you a US citizen?

 

I'll presume you are a US citizen and are talking about Caribbean ports or Mexican Riviera ports. In that case, as others have said you only need your shipboard card and a Govt issue photo id card, such as a drivers license in case port authority wants to see it. We always leave our passports in the safe.

[bendecida]

thanks for all the responses. Yes, we're US citizens going to the Caribbean. I was worried about taking the passports.

[sail7seas]

thanks for all the responses. Yes, we're US citizens going to the Caribbean. I was worried about taking the passports.

 

Many of us leave the passports in our cabin safe and carry a color photo copy of the information page. I laminated copies so they remain usable.

Driver's license is all you need with your ship's I.D.