Do you take your passports with you or leave on the ship?

[jeast]

I've always carried my passport in a money belt while touring Europe. This is my first cruise there. My instinct is to keep passports with us wherever we are, but I know some people leave them on the ship and bring paper copies.

 

Opinions?

[SpainAlien]

I would always take my passport with me just in case I had a problem and missed the ship

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Totsuwa]

Definitely take your passport. It is easy to get lost or miss the sailing. Having your passport with you could head off a lot of headaches should you have some bad luck. It's the old 'ounce of prevention' thing.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruisemom42]

If it was so easy to miss the ship, a lot more passengers would do it. Having been on 9 European cruises, 99.5% of passengers manage to get back to the ship on time.

 

It's a personal decision, but also be aware that sometimes ships hold the passports of all passengers to facilitate getting the ship cleared upon arrival at ports. (This just happened to me on the Med cruise I took in April, for example.)

 

If you do carry your passport, then do as you say and carry it in a very inaccessible way. Pickpockets are rife in many ports and they are very, very good at what they do. I had my wallet taken out of my zipped, crossbody bag that was under my shoulder -- without me even being aware of it. (This was in Barcelona.)

 

My default is to not carry my passport with me unless it is required in that particular country.

[Kbwhat53]

I've always carried my passport in a money belt while touring Europe. This is my first cruise there. My instinct is to keep passports with us wherever we are, but I know some people leave them on the ship and bring paper copies.

 

 

 

Opinions?

 

 

I carry mine. There is a nice belt made by Hips sister for both men and women that is great for carrying money, passports, phone, etc. I buy the global one because it has more room.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[sippican]

It's a law in some countries that non-residents must carry their passport (not a copy).

We always carry ours as we are not willing to accept the possibility of the ship leaving with our passports, but without us. Although missing a ship is rare, it is much more likely that passengers may be detained on shore by a medical emergency of some nature.

We do take precautions to protect it as we would out other important possessions.

[ebtrip]

I NEVER carry my passport. As one posted stated there are times that the ship

keeps your passport. We carry copies also keep more copies in our luggage. That is the first thing pickpockets want. I have been on over 40 cruises, probably 10 land tours, and lived in London. In China and Thailand the tour guides states "leave your passports in your room safe". I have never missed my ship, I make sure we are back 2 hours prior to sailing. I usually do my own independent tours with CC people. Of course, if your on a ship tour, no worries.

[thinfool]

We follow the recommendation of the ship. They are familiar with local requirements, so their credibility is higher than the words of anonymous posters on a cruise forum.

 

I enjoyed the post recently about a few passengers who refused to let the ship keep their passports.

 

They were denied disembarkation while those who complied enjoyed the day ashore.

[John Bull]

The early responses you've received on this thread are not typical, especially on Cruise Critic.

The vast majority do what the cruise lines recommend and leave their passports in their cabin safe, same as those on shore-based vacations leave theirs in their hotel safe.

Passengers are reminded on board if they are required to carry their passports ashore.

 

The numbers who miss their sailings are extremely low.

And if they do, in theory at least, the crew open the passenger's safe and hand over to their port agent anything which the passenger will need - including passports. The port agent's contact details are in the ship's daily newspaper, and it's wise to take those details with you though port employees on the quayside will help the late-comer to find the port agent,

 

By contrast, the number of passengers who are pick-pocketed, or who lose or accidentally damage their passport while ashore is comparatively high.

We met a couple who left their bag - with passports - on a bus :rolleyes:

Folk will need that passport in order to travel home at the end of their vacation - there are systems in place if it goes missing but it's a work-up.

There's also the matter of identity theft. Passports are worth a lot of money for identity theft - for both illegal immigration and to run up bills etc in the holder's name.

 

Yes, Sippican, some countries do theoretically require foreigners to carry govt-issued ID, though not necessarily a passport. But I travelled throughout Europe for literally decades before I heard about that requirement. It only arises in exceptional circumstances.

Since the UK is outside the Schengen open-borders area, I've always had to take my passport with me but never been asked for it other than at borders.

 

But the choice is yours - in the end it's what you feel most comfortable to do.

 

JB :)

[4cats4me]

We've never carried our passports on us anywhere in Europe, either during land vacations or cruise vacations. We do carry copies, however.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Ask4Jay]

Our PPs stay in the safe. I have photos of the first page of each PP with me on my iPhone. I do carry my driver's license.

[LondonTowner]

Always carry our passports and official documentation is required by law in some European countries. With so much enhanced security these days I think it is more important to carry it.

[sippican]

As posted above, you can get all sorts of advice on these boards. There are laws of each country to consider, and as far as I know, those laws are not considered "theoretical". We once had a captain advise passengers to leave passports onboard in a country where the law is very clear on the requirement to carry them there. If you feel a paper copy is an acceptable substitute, try giving a paper copy of your ID at TSA checkpoints, or to a law officer during a traffic stop. If you think a ship's tour exempts you from missing the ship, talk to the two ship's groups that RCL left behind on our Med. cruise, it can happen. We also travel extensively on land and by cruising. I know of three families who had to remain in foreign countries during port stops due to medical emergencies. The cruise line was able to get documents to the parties in one instance. I know of only one case of a stolen passport (which was replaced with minor inconvenience).

Are in instances that you may need your passport rare? Absolutely, and usually for a reason over which you have little control. Is there a good possibility that you may lose it or have it stolen? You have more control over the likelihood of that.

The bottom line here is only you can decide what is the right answer. Do most cruisers leave them onboard? I'd say yes, but I do find that more are beginning to carry them. The only reliable source for information on governing regulations is through a government source - the US State Department is a good place to start. The cruise staff does not always give accurate advice. If you are not confident of your ability to keep your documents secure, by all means leave them in your hotel (where they may or may not be secure), or onboard safe,

[eclue]

We carry laminated copies of passports and drivers licenses - originals are always in the safe.

Having the copy will at least give you some form of identification if needed, and then the originals can be obtained if needed after that.

Barcelona seems to have become a mecca for pickpockets targeting Americans who tend to be very lax.

Still, it is an individual decision.

eclue:cool:

[jeast]

Wow, lots of differing opinions, all with valid points. We are stopping at Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, and Katakolon. I think we will take them in our money belts for all stops except Mykonos. In Mykonos, we will make sure we have paper copies, but we are having a beach/resort day at St. Johns. That would be harder to manage with money belts.

[eclue]

Wow, lots of differing opinions, all with valid points. We are stopping at Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, and Katakolon. I think we will take them in our money belts for all stops except Mykonos. In Mykonos, we will make sure we have paper copies, but we are having a beach/resort day at St. Johns. That would be harder to manage with money belts.

You will simply LOVE the resort at St John's !!!

eclue:cool:

[mskaufman]

On three Euro cruises the only time I took my actual passport was in St. Petersburg. Other places took a drivers license and a copy.

[RoadTripFanatic]

I never carry mine into port. I've had the cruise line hold my passport on several cruises. I leave it in the safe unless the cruise line tells me to carry it. My government issue ID I carry with me is my drivers license. :)

[OCruisers]

We never take our Passport BOOK with us unless we are instructed by the ship to do so.

We do take our Passport CARD and the contact information for the port agent.

[blackshirtuk]

On our last cruise 7 days from Venice we travelled with my Chinese brother in law, his passport was taken on the first day and only returned on the morning of departure, so it was impossible for him to carry his passport.

[GrJ Berkshire]

Only in Russia in Europe do you need to carry a passport, or if off the ship you are crossing a non-shengen land border- which is very unlikely on an excursion.

The only other occasion might be if you were driving a hire car and the police pull you over. The negatives of what could happen way outweigh this likelihood, with loss, theft, pickpockets all keen on passports for black market value. Then you have the hassle of getting a temporary replacement to get home, or continue your trip.

You do not need, and in hot countries without a jacket, coat or many pockets in summer clothing they are a problem carrying safely. Do you need under clothing money belts in 30° heat(for US travellers that's 85°F) .

I have seen in London, tourists with the pp sticking out of pockets on top of open bags, ir's asking for trouble!!

On a similar note carry smartphones with more care, they are easily snatched, pickpocketed. Too often obviously carried in the back pocket of jeans, which in crowds is an open invite to crime.

[aquilegia]

That is not quite correct. You are also legally obliged to carry a passport in Italy.

[insanemagnet]

That is not quite correct. You are also legally obliged to carry a passport in Italy.

And the percentage of tourists ignoring this law and suffering no problems with doing so has got to exceed 99.999%

 

Will I take a risk and not carry my passport or shall I carry it and suffer the problems that will ensue if it is stolen by one of the prolific pickpockets in Naples or Rome.

 

Hmm, that's a hard one.

[cruisemom42]

That is not quite correct. You are also legally obliged to carry a passport in Italy.

 

I've heard this is also the case in Spain.

 

But there seems to be a disconnect somewhere -- on the April Med cruise that I took this year, my passport was held for the entire voyage, despite having calls in both Italy and Spain. And it's not the first time it's happened.

 

If it is a requirement that cruisers carry passports, how can cruise lines get away with holding them? :confused:

[thinfool]

I've heard this is also the case in Spain.

 

But there seems to be a disconnect somewhere -- on the April Med cruise that I took this year, my passport was held for the entire voyage, despite having calls in both Italy and Spain. And it's not the first time it's happened.

 

If it is a requirement that cruisers carry passports, how can cruise lines get away with holding them? :confused:

 

Actually there is no disconnect. Cruise passengers at a port call are usually considered 'in transit' which is a classification that does not require the same level of identification as a 'tourist'.

When the ship keeps your passport, it allows local immigration authorities to examine your documents (behind the scenes) quickly and easily resulting in little impact on your 'in transit' day in the port.

If you were to encounter 'legal troubles' while in port, the local authorities are well aware of the presence of ship passengers, their immigration status and where their documents are located (on the ship).