Passports held by cruise ship

[northerngirls]

I've tried Googling this question but all the threads seem to be a few years old and I thought I could get more up to date information here. We are sailing on Regatta May 2018, Panama Canal. Does the ship hold our passports upon embarkation? And why? If so, does Oceania do this on all cruises or just certain itineraries?

 

 

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[Cruseforme]

We have been on this itinerary twice (both directions), and on this particular itinerary, they do hold all passengers passports for the duration of the cruise. If you want your passport during the cruise (you will not need it), you will need to go to guest services. We have a copy of our passport with us at all times, just in case. It is a fantastic cruise! Enjoy!

 

We have been on other itineraries on O, and our passports were not kept (they took a picture of it, and handed it back to us at embarkation - as we did require it in some countries).

[LHT28]

For non US citizens they may hold it on some cruise itineraries

I think on 1 Caribbean cruise we got it back but most of the time the ship held them

Some European itineraries you need to have with you in certain Countries EG France

 

Reason: to expedite clearing immigration in the ports incase the officials want to see the actual passport it does not delay disembarkation while they roust you out of bed

[Mura]

It used to be that the ship held your passports for the entire cruise unless you were in a port (like St. Petersburg) where you had to have it. On more recent cruises, more ports are requiring you to have your passport on hand ... in which case the ship returns it to you when necessary.

 

We haven't found holding passports to be unique to Oceania. We haven't sailed on that many cruise lines (NCL and Cunard come to mind but not recently) but they all seemed to do this in the past.

 

It's easy enough to make a photocopy of your passport photo page and always have it on hand. We simply have rarely needed to have that passport with us, and having had my passport stolen in Prague many years ago ... I rather like not having it on my person!

 

For Alaska, I imagine they would keep it.

 

Mura

[Cruise4Twos]

When I was on an NCL Mediterranean cruise. They held the passports of US citizens who had another form of ID. If you said that your passport was your only form of ID, they let you hold onto it.

[PlanoBill]

We were on the Regatta cruise in April of this year from Miami to San Francisco, via the canal. Our passports were checked on boarding, but were never collected at all and were never needed for any of the ports on the trip. We have had passports collected on other cruises, so I was surprised that they were not on this one. Perhaps it has to do with the particular ports of call on this itinerary.

[JimandStan]

Does the ship hold our passports upon embarkation? And why?

We Passengers tend not to consider the details, but the Purser is required to sign a statement that every passenger carried in or out of every Port has a valid Passport.

Collecting the Passports, and holding them in a safe and organized manner is the most efficient and least invasive method of monitoring that the passengers adhere to that requirement.

When Ports on the route require passengers to carry their individual passports, they are returned to the passenger and recollected.

[northerngirls]

Thank you all...Makes perfect sense now that I know the "why"! You guys really are a wealth of information [emoji4]

 

 

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[Hambagahle]

Person responsible for this is the "Clearance Officer" - some countries just want a pax list. Others want passports. IF passports have to be held then in our experience the cruise line provides a xerox of the face page. (Happened to me in San Diego where I needed to carry my passport - I am Swiss. Husband who has a US passport as well was not given the xerox copy). They are very efficient these Clearance Officers...

[ORV]

My experience is that sometimes they take them, sometimes they don't. I just comply with what they ask and carry on.

 

Of course as mentioned much of it has to do with where you're sailing. I don't remember any Caribbean cruises where they've collected them, but I'm sure it happens.

[RJB]

My experience is that sometimes they take them, sometimes they don't. I just comply with what they ask and carry on.

 

Of course as mentioned much of it has to do with where you're sailing. I don't remember any Caribbean cruises where they've collected them, but I'm sure it happens.

We have never had a problem either way. Just comply with whatever the rules are on that particular cruise.

[ORV]

We have never had a problem either way. Just comply with whatever the rules are on that particular cruise.

 

I have seen some posters, not necessarily on this board, that will post the cruise lines will only keep their passports over their dead bodies. Sounds like a good way to not get to board to me. Or to get disembarked.

[LHT28]

My experience is that sometimes they take them, sometimes they don't. I just comply with what they ask and carry on.

 

Of course as mentioned much of it has to do with where you're sailing. I don't remember any Caribbean cruises where they've collected them, but I'm sure it happens.

Can also depend on your citizenship

I do not recall seeing any US citizens lined up at the crack of dawn to collect their passports & visit the nice immigration people in the lounge ;)

[njhorseman]

Can also depend on your citizenship

I do not recall seeing any US citizens lined up at the crack of dawn to collect their passports & visit the nice immigration people in the lounge ;)

 

I certainly have had to do that as did every US citizen on my one Oceania cruise taken to date.

[sunlover12]

I certainly have had to do that as did every US citizen on my one Oceania cruise taken to date.

 

I agree with that. I've been on a cruise where everyone, including US citizens, was required to meet with immigration officials at the crack of dawn before we could disembark.

[Paulchili]

I certainly have had to do that as did every US citizen on my one Oceania cruise taken to date.

 

It wasn't in Miami - was it?

[RJB]

I agree with that. I've been on a cruise where everyone, including US citizens, was required to meet with immigration officials at the crack of dawn before we could disembark.

I also remember meeting with the immigration people, but not the morning the cruise ended. It was the day before and not at the crack of dawn. We got different times and there was little to no wait. No problems at all.

[CorgiNole]

I certainly have had to do that as did every US citizen on my one Oceania cruise taken to date.

 

When we visited Israel last year, we were required to meet with the Immigration folks in the lounge before leaving the ship. And then again as we left and entered the port.

[njhorseman]

It wasn't in Miami - was it?

 

No, San Diego, which was our first US port call on a cruise from Miami that visited Colombia, several Central American countries and Mexico. After San Diego we made a port call at the Big Island of Hawaii and subsequently disembarked in Honolulu. We only had to hand in customs declarations in Honolulu as the ship had made no further foreign port calls after arriving in San Diego.

 

We didn't have to get up at "the crack of dawn" because the ship didn't arrive in San Diego very early, but all passengers, both US citizens and foreign nationals had to appear for the CBP agents before disembarkation was permitted to start.

[ORV]

No, San Diego, which was our first US port call on a cruise from Miami that visited Colombia, several Central American countries and Mexico. After San Diego we made a port call at the Big Island of Hawaii and subsequently disembarked in Honolulu. We only had to hand in customs declarations in Honolulu as the ship had made no further foreign port calls after arriving in San Diego.

 

We didn't have to get up at "the crack of dawn" because the ship didn't arrive in San Diego very early, but all passengers, both US citizens and foreign nationals had to appear for the CBP agents before disembarkation was permitted to start.

 

Was San Diego just a port stop or a disembarkation/embarkation point.?

 

If the latter I would think it would be a PVSA violation.

[njhorseman]

Was San Diego just a port stop or a disembarkation/embarkation point.?

 

If the latter I would think it would be a PVSA violation.

 

San Diego was a port stop...BUT...because the ship's port call in Colombia was a qualified distant foreign port San Diego could have been a legal disembarkation port. Just going onward to Hawaii from San Diego didn't add a distant foreign port, (or even any foreign port) so disembarkation in Honolulu would have been every bit as illegal as San Diego if San Diego were not already legal.

[LHT28]

If it was the first US port after foreign ports then yes everyone must show up

in some cases they did let people off after they saw the officials

eg Charleston, Key West when returning from Foreign ports but in both those cases Miami was the disembarkation port

 

On some itineraries we had to go to Regatta lounge at 7am get our passports then speak with Officials

Then when the ship was cleared we walked off ...handed in our forms & off we went

Sometimes Non US citizens are processed differently

just my experience

[chalkies]

Mura,

 

We were on Regatta a couple of summers ago & they handed our passports back to us upon boarding. We did need to have it on one private tour from Wrangell that went up into Canada. At the border we had to hold our passport next to our face when the agent boarded the van for a check. Before the tour began a nice young couple from Belgium stated they only had a copy of their passport. A call was made to the border station & they were denied. We felt so sorry for them. But, I don't think we needed to show it when we toured Victoria.

 

Laurie

 

For Alaska, I imagine they would keep it.

 

Mura

[Mura]

Actually, I think I meant to say that for Alaska they wouldn't bother ...

 

Whatever!

 

It does appear that this can depend on WHEN you cruise as well as WHERE you cruise. When we started active cruising in 1999, the ship always kept your passport ... unless you were somewhere where it was required that you carry it with you, and in our experience that was only Russia.

 

Nowadays, you never know! Or so it seems ...

 

Anyway, I have never worried about it. We always carry a photocopy of our passports as well as our drivers' licenses, just in case.

 

Mura

[YoHoHo]

northergirls, I see you are fairly new to Cruise Critic and wanted to say "welcome". Seeing your location you chose you CC name well, not many are more northern than you.