Do you carry your passport 24/7

[Underwatr]

Usually you don't have the option, as your passport is collected when you board and not returned until you disembark, so you don't have the option of taking it with you on excursions (there are a few exceptions, such as in Russia, I think).

That's never happened in my experience, so I don't know about "usually."

[sparks1093]

Yup, and I don't expect things to be stolen from my safe either.

 

As I said, I know I'm in a minority here, but you're not going to change my mind. We all make individual pro/con or risk/reward balances.

 

Not trying to change your mind:), just giving all of the pros and cons so those who haven't made up their mind may consider them. Heck, I'm one of the ones comfortable cruising without a passport in the first place so I know about pro/con-risk/reward balance;).

[Kwaj girl]

...are you equally worried about losing your driver's license or copy of the passport that you might take ashore with. You? Same difference...

[Shmoo here]

Usually you don't have the option, as your passport is collected when you board and not returned until you disembark, ...

 

Out of all our cruises, there was only one where they took our passports to hold. And that was the river cruise we just took. They took our passports when we boarded in Romania and held them until we reached Vienna (our first Schengen port). Except for one port (I think it was Bulgaria), then they returned our passports for our excursion, and we turned them back in when we returned. When we got to Vienna we got them back for the remainder of the cruise.

[dsrdsrdsr]

...are you equally worried about losing your driver's license or copy of the passport that you might take ashore with. You? Same difference...

 

Not the same, actually. Losing your passport leads to problems getting back home; losing a copy of your passport doesn't.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Not taking an opposite position but want to comment on something you said.

 

Theoretically if your passport is in your cabin safe the ship's crew will leave it with their local port agent (contact details in ship's daily newssheet) if it sails without you

 

All well and good in theory but how can the ship's crew leave your passport with the local agent if the ship is underway and will be at sea for three days? If you and your traveling partner are on your own excursion and miss the ship they WILL sail without you.

 

When a ship has to meet a schedule and there are only two passengers missing doubt they are going to do a search of your cabin, get an authorized officer to open your safe and retrieve your passport. Now, add another scenario. The ship was at anchor. They are not going to unsecure a life boat and tender over to the pier to deliver your passport to the agent. I do not have personal experiences in these scenarios but after 30 plus cruises we have seen and heard lots of tales of woe of people standing on the pier watching their ship sail away into the sunset.

 

If you are completely Johnny Head-in-Air and don't realise you've missed the ship until after it's gone, the chances are your passport will go with it. I doubt that many ships trust their passenger records to the extent that they will risk offloading the passport without proof that the passenger is still on shore.

 

However, if you know you are going to miss the ship, you can ring up and tell them. They will then find your passport, since you've told them where it is, and offload it.

[Underwatr]

If you are completely Johnny Head-in-Air and don't realise you've missed the ship until after it's gone, the chances are your passport will go with it. I doubt that many ships trust their passenger records to the extent that they will risk offloading the passport without proof that the passenger is still on shore.

 

However, if you know you are going to miss the ship, you can ring up and tell them. They will then find your passport, since you've told them where it is, and offload it.

Do you cruise much? Those announcements for certain passengers to contact the purser in the half hour between all-aboard and sailaway are how they verify that who they think is not aboard has actually missed the ship.

[calliopecruiser]

Out of all our cruises, there was only one where they took our passports to hold. And that was the river cruise we just took. They took our passports when we boarded in Romania and held them until we reached Vienna (our first Schengen port). Except for one port (I think it was Bulgaria), then they returned our passports for our excursion, and we turned them back in when we returned. When we got to Vienna we got them back for the remainder of the cruise.

 

Perhaps it's different parts of the world? In all of my cruises (not many, perhaps 6 or 7) they have always taken the passports at embarkation and returned them only when we were arriving for our destination. However, these were all Caribbean, North American, and South Pacific destinations - not Europe.

[Shmoo here]

Perhaps it's different parts of the world? In all of my cruises (not many, perhaps 6 or 7) they have always taken the passports at embarkation and returned them only when we were arriving for our destination. However, these were all Caribbean, North American, and South Pacific destinations - not Europe.

 

All of our cruises (except the river one I just talked about) have been in the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii, TransAtlantic, Mediterranean, Mexico, Panama Canal, Bahamas and none of those did we have to turn over our passports to be held on the ship. This was on Carnival, Holland America, Disney, and Princess.

 

What cruiselines did you use that took your passports to hold? Maybe that's the difference?

[Flatbush Flyer]

Out of all our cruises, there was only one where they took our passports to hold. And that was the river cruise we just took. They took our passports when we boarded in Romania and held them until we reached Vienna (our first Schengen port). Except for one port (I think it was Bulgaria), then they returned our passports for our excursion, and we turned them back in when we returned. When we got to Vienna we got them back for the remainder of the cruise.

 

 

Can you imagine the chaos if, at each port requiring passport control for entry, the purser didn't already have them in his/her possession?

[chipmaster]

I was just in Lisbon pre-cruise. Someone tried (unsuccessfully to pickpocket) me within 24 hrs of arrival.

 

LOL, on a ship of a few thousand, on every cruise I almost always here at least in one port "the annoucment" ;) But I'm sure many more than a few lose something or get something stolen in port.

 

No question a passport is something valuable and would suck to be stranded in port w/o it. But as others said, there is a process of which if you get stuck without it you aren't SOL. But if you carry it and it gets stolen you are SOL.

 

Everyone has a different opinion on what schenario they think most likely and/or they fear more. Clearly those that carry it with them feel they have a high probability of getting stranded due to sickness/accident or missing the boat versus getting it lost/stolen. Those who advocate keeping it on the boat the other. THose are the two train of thoughts, pick your preference/luck, 99.999% one way and likely 99.9% the other, I know which side has best probability for me :D

Edited August 9, 2015 by chipmaster

[Flatbush Flyer]

LOL, on a ship of a few thousand, on every cruise I almost always here at least in one port "the annoucment" ;) But I'm sure many more than a few lose something or get something stolen in port.

 

No question a passport is something valuable and would suck to be stranded in port w/o it. But as others said, there is a process of which if you get stuck without it you aren't SOL. But if you carry it and it gets stolen you are SOL.

 

Everyone has a different opinion on what schenario they think most likely and/or they fear more. Clearly those that carry it with them feel they have a high probability of getting stranded due to sickness/accident or missing the boat versus getting it lost/stolen. Those who advocate keeping it on the boat the other. THose are the two train of thoughts, pick your preference/luck, 99.999% one way and likely 99.9% the other, I know which side has best probability for me :D

 

 

Others on our cruise were not as lucky as me - though the only satisfaction I got was thwarting the guy and flipping him off with some choice curses thrown in. Also in Lisbon pre-cruise, a fellow passenger was picked for $400. In one port (Ibiza), an elderly lady had her purse picked by a "helpful stranger" steadying her walk on a cobblestone ramp. She lost passport, wallet, etc.

[NMLady]

...are you equally worried about losing your driver's license or copy of the passport that you might take ashore with. You? Same difference...

 

A drivers license or a copy of a passport don't have the same value to thieves that a passport does. Also, a drivers license can a lot more easily, and cheaper, be replaced than a passport.

Moreover a DL is much smaller so more easily hidden than a passport.

[NMLady]

Perhaps it's different parts of the world? In all of my cruises (not many, perhaps 6 or 7) they have always taken the passports at embarkation and returned them only when we were arriving for our destination. However, these were all Caribbean, North American, and South Pacific destinations - not Europe.

 

You are Canadian. Passports are usually taken and kept for non-USA citizens.

 

The only time my passport was kept was when we had a cruise around Italy that also went to Croatia.

[PoppyandNana]

Usually you don't have the option, as your passport is collected when you board and not returned until you disembark, so you don't have the option of taking it with you on excursions (there are a few exceptions, such as in Russia, I think).

 

If I had the option, I would take it with me when I'm off the ship. Not just in case I miss the ship, but in case of other complications as well. I know I'm in the minority on this, but my fear of being pickpocketed is pretty small. I figure the odds of losing it to a pickpocket are about the same as having it stolen from my in-room safe.

 

Been on 30 plus cruises including Baltic, Med, Norway, South America, Mexixo, and of course the Caribbean. Not once was our passport "collected". Don't know what "usually" means in your cases.

[Shmoo here]

You are Canadian. Passports are usually taken and kept for non-USA citizens.

 

The only time my passport was kept was when we had a cruise around Italy that also went to Croatia.

 

Ah! That makes it a little clearer. Thanks.

[GMRPHRN]

So I've been reading how a passport is needed in case you miss the ship and need to fly home, so this would imply you should carry your passport with you in port and on excursions. Would this be correct. All this is so new to me!

 

Thanks for posting and thanks for all the great answers. I went to Italy last year and was advised to keep my passport in the hotels' safes and carry a copy with me when out and about. The fear of having it stolen is a bigger deal to me. I take cruise sponsored excursions so the real reason to have a passport is in case of an emergency that requires a flight home out of another country.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Do you cruise much? Those announcements for certain passengers to contact the purser in the half hour between all-aboard and sailaway are how they verify that who they think is not aboard has actually missed the ship.

 

Yes, I have been cruising. Why do you ask?

 

Do you cruise much yourself? Because making an announcement that isn't answered does not verify anything. If a passenger is paged and doesn't come, it may mean that they're not on the ship - or else that they're in the shower, or in the pool, or asleep, or deaf, or in a noisy bar, or at the sailaway party, or ...

 

The cruise line will not, if they have any sense, put a passport ashore unless they know for certain the passenger is ashore with it. They won't do it based on a computer programme. The ones that make the announcements for missing passengers are, by definition, the ones with dubiously efficient check-ins.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Yes, I have been cruising. Why do you ask?

 

 

 

Do you cruise much yourself? Because making an announcement that isn't answered does not verify anything. If a passenger is paged and doesn't come, it may mean that they're not on the ship - or else that they're in the shower, or in the pool, or asleep, or deaf, or in a noisy bar, or at the sailaway party, or ...

 

 

 

The cruise line will not, if they have any sense, put a passport ashore unless they know for certain the passenger is ashore with it. They won't do it based on a computer programme. The ones that make the announcements for missing passengers are, by definition, the ones with dubiously efficient check-ins.

 

 

A passport in the hands of a port agent has options: hand it over to tardy passenger or overnight it to next appropriate port agent if passenger somehow made it onboard without check-in or discovery (highly unlikely given current marsec policies and procedures). Just another day in the life of a port agent.