Passports needed in port?

[sparks1093]

Thank-you for providing the link. Accepting the quote is accurate it raises a serious question about the accuracy of the interpretation and reporting in this thread.

 

 

 

 

Your point would have been proven had it said what you claimed it said. It doesn't.

 

Here is what it actually says:

 

What it says is where your valuables are safest not that you shouldn't carry your passport.

 

If one believed this statement truly meant not carrying a passport with you one would also not carry cash and credit cards when out and about in a foreign land.

 

I think a reasonable reading of the two sentences says that if you don't have to carry something valuable with you then it's safer in the safe (and I certainly don't carry all of my cash or all of my credit cards ashore with me). And that's what most people have said- if they don't have a reason to carry their passport ashore (shore excursion, local law) then they leave it in the safe. There is a slight risk that something might happen that they would need the passport while ashore but for most that risk is very low and manageable. Conversely, carrying the passport ashore also has some risk in the passport being lost/stolen/damaged. At the end of the day we each have to assess those risk factors and benefits ourselves and act accordingly. Your way is right for you. Their way is right for them.

 

(And in our FWIW department when we aren't traveling our passports are down in the safe deposit box at the bank.)

Edited April 16, 2018 by sparks1093

[sloopsailor]

Thank-you for providing the link. Accepting the quote is accurate it raises a serious question about the accuracy of the interpretation and reporting in this thread.

 

Your point would have been proven had it said what you claimed it said. It doesn't.

 

Here is what it actually says:

 

What it says is where your valuables are safest not that you shouldn't carry your passport.

 

If one believed this statement truly meant not carrying a passport with you one would also not carry cash and credit cards when out and about in a foreign land.

 

Seriously? Is that what you understood out of that statement? Hopeless!

 

Someone finally gives you the proof you demanded that the State Department recommended keeping your passport in your safe and you STILL try to invalidate the recommendation!

[njhorseman]

Funny, State Department employees typically carry their passports most all the time. :D

 

Not funny at all. US Government employees traveling in foreign countries on official business must travel using their official, aka diplomatic passports, not their personal passports. These passports grant them certain privileges not available to tourists including visa-free entry to most countries and easier access to foreign and US government officials in the event a problem arises during their foreign travel. The diplomatic passport is the only accepted identification for a government employee on official government business and thus has to be in the person's possession at all times.

[njhorseman]

Seriously? Is that what you understood out of that statement? Hopeless!

 

Someone finally gives you the proof you demanded that the State Department recommended keeping your passport in your safe and you STILL try to invalidate the recommendation!

 

As the person who made the original 2011 post cited in this thread as evidence of the State Department's recommendation, and as someone who has traveled fairly extensively over the years, I can only shake my head in disbelief at the comments made by poster "K32682".

[K32682]

Seriously? Is that what you understood out of that statement? Hopeless!

 

Someone finally gives you the proof you demanded that the State Department recommended keeping your passport in your safe and you STILL try to invalidate the recommendation!

It doesn't recommend anything. It only says where the safest place to keep all your valuables is the "hotel safe." Declaring that as a State Department "recommendation" to never carry your passport in a foreign country is your own personal interpretation.

 

Furthermore, the link provided is dead. Obviously the State Department doesn't believe the information is sufficiently important to keep on its site.

[sloopsailor]

It doesn't recommend anything. It only says where the safest place to keep all your valuables is the "hotel safe." Declaring that as a State Department "recommendation" to never carry your passport in a foreign country is your own personal interpretation.

 

I am forever amazed at how people will change the meaining of words to support their own agenda. The sentence states the safest place is the room safe. It doesn't say the safest place is in your pocket, does it? Only a person fighting to stay relevant in a discussion he has lost long ago would twist a simple sentence and try to claim it means only what he wants it to.

 

Do yourself a favor. Stop reading this thread and especially stop posting. You aren't doing yourself any favors by continuing to push your personal beliefs on this subject, beliefs that almost everyone else on this thread don't agree with.

[SRF]

But the fact that many people are still debating about getting the passport (because it is expensive!!!) shows that passport is some kind of exotic and unnecessary thing for many.

 

Mainly, only the US.

 

In other countries people have passports and carry them all the time

[SRF]

Not funny at all. US Government employees traveling in foreign countries on official business must travel using their official, aka diplomatic passports, not their personal passports. These passports grant them certain privileges not available to tourists including visa-free entry to most countries and easier access to foreign and US government officials in the event a problem arises during their foreign travel. The diplomatic passport is the only accepted identification for a government employee on official government business and thus has to be in the person's possession at all times.

 

Quick answer - You have no idea what you are talking about.

 

THere are Official and Diplomatic passports. They are not the same.

 

They do NOT provide visa free entry into countries, in fact, for many countries where no visa is required for you to enter on your tourist passport, a visa is required for someone traveling on an Official or Diplomatic passport. France and Japan are two examples.

 

And if you think a Dipolmatic passport gives easier access to ANY government official, you are wrong. ESPECIALLY US ones. :D

 

And an Official or Dipplomatic passport, by itself, conveys very few special conditions. Although, most people, including lower level officials, do not know that, so treat holders differently.

[njhorseman]

Quick answer - You have no idea what you are talking about.

 

THere are Official and Diplomatic passports. They are not the same.

 

They do NOT provide visa free entry into countries, in fact, for many countries where no visa is required for you to enter on your tourist passport, a visa is required for someone traveling on an Official or Diplomatic passport. France and Japan are two examples.

 

And if you think a Dipolmatic passport gives easier access to ANY government official, you are wrong. ESPECIALLY US ones. :D

 

And an Official or Dipplomatic passport, by itself, conveys very few special conditions. Although, most people, including lower level officials, do not know that, so treat holders differently.

 

My mistake on saying that official and diplomatic passports are the same. However that doesn't change the fact that neither are the same as ordinary passports issued to citizens for their personal or business travel. This web page from USCIS explains the different passport types:

 

https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/22CFR/HTML/22CFR/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-2898/0-0-0-2943.html

 

I also shouldn't have said "visa-free". I should have said "fee-free visa" as you don't obtain the visa yourself. The diplomatic and official passports are also fee free.

 

None of that affects my principal point...that holders of diplomatic passports are required to use and carry them, not their personal passport, for official government travel, and as those diplomatic passports are the only way to identify those individuals as US government foreign service employees on official government business, or as the dependent of a US government foreign service employee.

 

I never used the word "ANY" . Bad enough to misquote me...worse to put it in all caps.

Edited April 17, 2018 by njhorseman

[wowzz]

Mainly, only the US.

 

In other countries people have passports and carry them all the time

No they don't.

 

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[sparks1093]

Let's talk about risks for a second. If you carry your passport ashore when you don't need to what can happen? You could have it lost/stolen/damaged. The risk for any of those happening is probably very slight. However, if it does happen, what are the consequences? I read about some travelers who lost their passports in a European port and when they notified the ship of this they were immediately put ashore until they could get replacement passports. The cruise contract requires us to have in our possession the documents necessary to prove our identity and citizenship not only at embarkation and disembarkation but continuously throughout the cruise for each port of call.

 

If you go ashore and leave your passport in the safe what can happen? You could somehow miss the ship, medical emergency, traffic jam, over staying at Senor Frogs. The risk of this happening is probably very slight. However, if it does happen, what are the consequences? You can call the ship and inform them that you will miss the ship and ask them to retrieve your passport from your safe and turn it over to the port agent, or you could rely on the ship doing that as many cruise lines have said that's what they'll do in these cases. Worse case scenario the ship overnights your passport back to you.

 

This is part (and only part) of the risk analysis that I have done in my own case and this helps me decide which course of action to take. Of course different people are going to look at it differently and do something differently, and that is fine because what they do has no impact on what I do (as I said many posts ago:)).

[wowzz]

Let's talk about risks for a second. If you carry your passport ashore when you don't need to what can happen? You could have it lost/stolen/damaged. The risk for any of those happening is probably very slight. However, if it does happen, what are the consequences? I read about some travelers who lost their passports in a European port and when they notified the ship of this they were immediately put ashore until they could get replacement passports. The cruise contract requires us to have in our possession the documents necessary to prove our identity and citizenship not only at embarkation and disembarkation but continuously throughout the cruise for each port of call.

 

If you go ashore and leave your passport in the safe what can happen? You could somehow miss the ship, medical emergency, traffic jam, over staying at Senor Frogs. The risk of this happening is probably very slight. However, if it does happen, what are the consequences? You can call the ship and inform them that you will miss the ship and ask them to retrieve your passport from your safe and turn it over to the port agent, or you could rely on the ship doing that as many cruise lines have said that's what they'll do in these cases. Worse case scenario the ship overnights your passport back to you.

 

This is part (and only part) of the risk analysis that I have done in my own case and this helps me decide which course of action to take. Of course different people are going to look at it differently and do something differently, and that is fine because what they do has no impact on what I do (as I said many posts ago:)).

A sensible and well reasoned post, which will unfortunately have no impact whatsoever on certain individuals!

 

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[lisiamc]

Mainly, only the US.

 

In other countries people have passports and carry them all the time

 

No they don't.

 

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I don’t know anyone who carries their passport all the time. I know quite a few people who have national ID cards for assorted European countries, and carry them sometimes.

[wowzz]

I don’t know anyone who carries their passport all the time. I know quite a few people who have national ID cards for assorted European countries, and carry them sometimes.

Perhaps SRF will tell us which countries he is talking about!

 

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[K32682]

I am forever amazed at how people will change the meaining of words to support their own agenda. The sentence states the safest place is the room safe. It doesn't say the safest place is in your pocket, does it? Only a person fighting to stay relevant in a discussion he has lost long ago would twist a simple sentence and try to claim it means only what he wants it to.

 

Do yourself a favor. Stop reading this thread and especially stop posting. You aren't doing yourself any favors by continuing to push your personal beliefs on this subject, beliefs that almost everyone else on this thread don't agree with.

The people who aren't doing themselves any favors are the ones scouring this site to dredge up long-dead State Department links in a vapid attempt to justify their deep-seated anxieties at the prospect of removing their passport from its safe space.

[wowzz]

The people who aren't doing themselves any favors are the ones scouring this site to dredge up long-dead State Department links in a vapid attempt to justify their deep-seated anxieties at the prospect of removing their passport from its safe space.

You still haven't told us which countries require their citizens to carry their passports at all times.

 

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[DarkJedi]

Although my husband and I have cruised before, it's been awhile (10 years!). We don't remember what we did last time with our passports. Can you usually keep them in your cabin safe during the whole trip? Or do you need to bring them when you disembark in port? We are only going to Bermuda/US ports.

 

 

You do not always need your passports off the ship, but when you do, you NEED your passport off the ship.

 

We always take our's with us. If something happens and the ship sails we can always fly to the next port or home without a problem.

[sloopsailor]

You still haven't told us which countries require their citizens to carry their passports at all times.

 

Probably because it would be, to paraphrases what he said, "a vapid attempt to justify his deep seated anxieties at the prospect of following expert advice, which would make him feel less manly about himself". :')

[sloopsailor]

You do not always need your passports off the ship, but when you do, you NEED your passport off the ship.

 

We always take our's with us. If something happens and the ship sails we can always fly to the next port or home without a problem.

 

Sigh! It has been repeated over and over again, even on this thread, that the ship will retrieve your passport and give it to the port representative to hand over to you when you finally show up. This process has been described many, many times and is not a debatable concept.

 

How many times does this simple fact need to be explained before some people finally get it???? :confused:

[wowzz]

Probably because it would be, to paraphrases what he said, "a vapid attempt to justify his deep seated anxieties at the prospect of following expert advice, which would make him feel less manly about himself". :')

Excellent !!

 

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[Herfnerd]

Perhaps SRF will tell us which countries he is talking about!

 

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And we want links to prove it! :cool:

 

Let's talk about risks for a second. If you carry your passport ashore when you don't need to what can happen? You could have it lost/stolen/damaged. The risk for any of those happening is probably very slight. However, if it does happen, what are the consequences? I read about some travelers who lost their passports in a European port and when they notified the ship of this they were immediately put ashore until they could get replacement passports. The cruise contract requires us to have in our possession the documents necessary to prove our identity and citizenship not only at embarkation and disembarkation but continuously throughout the cruise for each port of call.

 

If you go ashore and leave your passport in the safe what can happen? You could somehow miss the ship, medical emergency, traffic jam, over staying at Senor Frogs. The risk of this happening is probably very slight. However, if it does happen, what are the consequences? You can call the ship and inform them that you will miss the ship and ask them to retrieve your passport from your safe and turn it over to the port agent, or you could rely on the ship doing that as many cruise lines have said that's what they'll do in these cases. Worse case scenario the ship overnights your passport back to you.

 

This is part (and only part) of the risk analysis that I have done in my own case and this helps me decide which course of action to take. Of course different people are going to look at it differently and do something differently, and that is fine because what they do has no impact on what I do (as I said many posts ago:)).

 

Perfect response

[K32682]

You still haven't told us which countries require their citizens to carry their passports at all times.

You seem confused. You quoted a post of mine when I've not mentioned anything of the kind. I don't keep specific track of countries that that require visitors to carry passports because, with the exception of the USA, I always have my passport with me when in a foreign country.

 

Sigh! It has been repeated over and over again, even on this thread, that the ship will retrieve your passport and give it to the port representative to hand over to you when you finally show up. This process has been described many, many times and is not a debatable concept.

 

How many times does this simple fact need to be explained before some people finally get it???? :confused:

If you need your passport you generally needed right there and then. Your model requires you to return to the port which may be difficult or even impossible in the circumstances. Even if you manage to get there you have to track down the port rep hoping that ship's security found your passport and left it with them.

 

My model is to reach into my passport carrier and present my documents. It doesn't rely on "policy," requires no additional travel, doesn't depend on others and removes the uncertainty that they might have not done what you hoped.

[wowzz]

You seem confused. You quoted a post of mine when I've not mentioned anything of the kind. I don't keep specific track of countries that that require visitors to carry passports because, with the exception of the USA, I always have my passport with me when in a foreign country.

 

 

If you need your passport you generally needed right there and then. Your model requires you to return to the port which may be difficult or even impossible in the circumstances. Even if you manage to get there you have to track down the port rep hoping that ship's security found your passport and left it with them.

 

My model is to reach into my passport carrier and present my documents. It doesn't rely on "policy," requires no additional travel, doesn't depend on others and removes the uncertainty that they might have not done what you hoped.

That of course assumes you still have your passport carrier (what a quaint phrase - havent heard that since the 1970s!) with you, and it hasn't been lost or stolen.

Anyway, looks like we are all pushing water uphill with this poster!

 

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[biker@sea]

You seem confused. You quoted a post of mine when I've not mentioned anything of the kind. I don't keep specific track of countries that that require visitors to carry passports because, with the exception of the USA, I always have my passport with me when in a foreign country.

 

 

If you need your passport you generally needed right there and then. Your model requires you to return to the port which may be difficult or even impossible in the circumstances. Even if you manage to get there you have to track down the port rep hoping that ship's security found your passport and left it with them.

 

My model is to reach into my passport carrier and present my documents. It doesn't rely on "policy," requires no additional travel, doesn't depend on others and removes the uncertainty that they might have not done what you hoped.

 

 

We take our's of ship often. Not a big deal.

We did not pay much for them Like $100 New.

 

Low value and hard to turn over for a thief compared to our Nikon, I-phone'

the cash in pocket and credit card's.

 

Even if I lost em' in Bermuda my license and ship key still get me on the ship and back to home port.

[sparks1093]

We take our's of ship often. Not a big deal.

We did not pay much for them Like $100 New.

 

Low value and hard to turn over for a thief compared to our Nikon, I-phone'

the cash in pocket and credit card's.

 

Even if I lost em' in Bermuda my license and ship key still get me on the ship and back to home port.

 

Passports are worth a considerable amount of money on the black market, regardless of how much you paid for it. Your license will get you back if you happen to have an Enhanced Drivers License issued by Vermont, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin or Washington state (I think those are the 5), but of course that wouldn't apply to everyone.