Passport or birth certificate.....

[jimvern1966]

I read an article about a man who missed the ship in Nassau.  He stated he had his birth certificate with him while at the Atlantis. My question is,  how many of you bring your passport/birth certificate on shore at port stops? Honestly,  in probably 20+ cruises, I have never brought anything but my Drivers License  and cruise card on shore. I am usually a cruise line excursion purchaser unless we're just shopping or going to the beach. Just wondering  🙂 28 days and counting 

[clean1owner]

Passport always in ANY foreign port.

[reallyhooked]

Only DL & Seapass, unless compass /excursion ticket says passport needed when we were in Alaska & excursion went into Canada 

[njkruzer]

Depends where. Not in the Caribbean but more likely in Europe. 

[jimvern1966]

All my cruises were in the Caribbean,  except for Hawaii and we stopped in Victoria Canada.  

[sparks1093]

6 hours ago, jimvern1966 said:

I read an article about a man who missed the ship in Nassau.  He stated he had his birth certificate with him while at the Atlantis. My question is,  how many of you bring your passport/birth certificate on shore at port stops? Honestly,  in probably 20+ cruises, I have never brought anything but my Drivers License  and cruise card on shore. I am usually a cruise line excursion purchaser unless we're just shopping or going to the beach. Just wondering  🙂 28 days and counting 

If it's the story that I recall he had his expired passport with him. I don't carry things with me unless I need to so unless we need the passports for an excursion or because of local requirements we leave them in the safe. If the crew fails to leave our passports with the port agent then the ship can overnight them back to us.

[vacationlover_mn]

If the cruise compass says “photo ID”, we bring our drivers license.  If it specifies passport, we bring that.  We don’t bring our birth certificate on the cruise.

[cruiseguy1016]

I never go into a foreign country without my passport with me. Many people here bring a copy with them but I always bring my passport.

[itsmeagain]

Passport stays on the ship, chances of getting mugged or a pickpocket are bigger than the chance of us missing the ship.  Also had a friend once who forgot her purse on and excursion and had her passport in it, things happen.

[klfrodo]

If I'm traveling outside the US, I always have my passport book with me.

I even carry my passport card with me as I travel around the US as a backup form of ID. (some places I travel to may require a second form of identification)

[SantaFeFan]

We always take our passports, but leave them in the safe unless we are required to carry them on us by local laws. If we are late for the ship, security will access our safe, take out the passports if there, and turn them over to the ship's shore representative, who will then hand them over to us when we finally arrive. Always take the port representative information with you when going ashore. It will be listed in the daily bulletin that you will get in your room the night before. 

 

There is a troll on these forums who will soon find this thread and will tell you that it is not guaranteed that this will happen. I have never heard of it NOT happening, so I trust the cruise lines when they say they will do so. After all, I trust everything else they promise to do. Otherwise, I wouldn't be taking chances with those other things they promise and spend my money with them.

 

Besides, it is also not guaranteed that a passport will never be lost or stolen if you carry it.

 

Keep it in the safe where it is SAFE. 

Edited March 9, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[sparks1093]

33 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

We always take our passports, but leave them in the safe unless we are required to carry them on us by local laws. If we are late for the ship, security will access our safe, take out the passports if there, and turn them over to the ship's shore representative, who will then hand them over to us when we finally arrive. Always take the port representative information with you when going ashore. It will be listed in the daily bulletin that you will get in your room the night before. 

 

There is a troll on these forums who will soon find this thread and will tell you that it is not guaranteed that this will happen. I have never heard of it NOT happening, so I trust the cruise lines when they say they will do so. After all, I trust everything else they promise to do. Otherwise, I wouldn't be taking chances with those other things they promise and spend my money with them.

 

Besides, it is also not guaranteed that a passport will never be lost or stolen if you carry it.

 

Keep it in the safe where it is SAFE. 

I trust the cruise line to do what they say they'll do also but calling someone a name just because you don't agree with what they say (which happens to be right, they don't actually guarantee it) is a little over the top, especially since we're discussing something that has no right or wrong answer and is strictly personal preference.

[SantaFeFan]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

I trust the cruise line to do what they say they'll do also but calling someone a name just because you don't agree with what they say (which happens to be right, they don't actually guarantee it) is a little over the top, especially since we're discussing something that has no right or wrong answer and is strictly personal preference.

 

I call it like I see it. The poster I referenced is divisive and combative, and insults people by replying directly to their posts and accusing them of being fearful, dependent and timid. 

 

Besides, I did not name any names. Did you think I was talking about you? 🙂

[jagsfan]

The only places I ever carried my passport with me on shore during a cruise were Dubrovnik and Russia. 

It’s too valuable to me to chance dropping it, as a friend did, or having my purse ripped off my shoulder by a guy on a motorbike, as another friend did. 

I did have a friend whose wife was carrying their passports through Gatwick while he wrestled their carryons. 

When they got to the counter, she only had one. 

They retraced their steps, and nothing. After exhaustive efforts, no passport. 

They gathered their belongings and taxied all the way to Grosvenor Square where the American Embassy was back then. 

It took 24 hours, but through the miracle of fax machines, kindly disposed embassy officials, and Walter and Linda’s southern accents, they received a one time use passport to get him home. 

This was in the late 80’s, so technology wasn’t where it is now. 

You can get home without your passport, but be sure you have your DL and a credit card. 

PS The next place they went was Kenya. He swears to this day he faithfully took his anti-malaria meds, but got off the plane in Jacksonville and was met by an ambulance that rushed him straight to the hospital. He was desperately ill but pulled through. 

He’s had reoccurrences of malaria since then. 

They traveled into their 90s. 

[mom says]

We carry our passports with us when required by the country we are visiting, or if we'll be travelling any distance from our hotel or ship. And I've no fear of losing them or having them stolen because I'm not blasé enough to keep them in a pocket or purse. They are safely stowed in a neck wallet or money belt under our clothing. About the only exception is if we are only going to a nearby beach in the Caribbean. We rarely do ship excursions anymore, unless it is to a place some distance from the ship.

[simplyrubies]

I always take my passport in a pocket of my anti-theft bag, unless we're stopping at the cruise-owned port (like Labadee for RCL). If you don't want to carry your passport, you could always carry a copy of it instead; then there will be no worry of theft and you will still have your passport with you should something happen.

[SantaFeFan]

1 hour ago, simplyrubies said:

I always take my passport in a pocket of my anti-theft bag, unless we're stopping at the cruise-owned port (like Labadee for RCL). If you don't want to carry your passport, you could always carry a copy of it instead; then there will be no worry of theft and you will still have your passport with you should something happen.

 

That is what we do. On the extremely rare chance that the ship will leave us behind without giving our passports to the port agent, we have a document to facilitate whatever is needed to recover.

 

Even safer than carrying a passport in a secret holder hidden under layers of clothing - not practical when traveling in hotter climates wearing shorts and a thin shirt - is not carrying it at all. 😉

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

That is what we do. On the extremely rare chance that the ship will leave us behind without giving our passports to the port agent, we have a document to facilitate whatever is needed to recover.

 

Even safer than carrying a passport in a secret holder hidden under layers of clothing - not practical when traveling in hotter climates wearing shorts and a thin shirt - is not carrying it at all. 😉

You’re not convincing me to change how I carry my own passport. I’ve been all over this wonderful world and I choose to carry mine with me. Fortunately, I have never lost, misplaced, or had any of my documents stolen. I’ve carried my wallet for 45 years and have never lost, misplaced, or had this item stolen either.

 

Im not sure why you feel the need to denigrate others who think or practice differently.

You are not necessarily more correct no matter how high you are preaching your practices from your pulpit.

Feel free to continue your practice and others will continue theirs.

 

Either way, the best we can hope for is that neither of us have to live an uncomfortable experience.

[SantaFeFan]

14 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

You’re not convincing me to change how I carry my own passport. I’ve been all over this wonderful world and I choose to carry mine with me. Fortunately, I have never lost, misplaced, or had any of my documents stolen. I’ve carried my wallet for 45 years and have never lost, misplaced, or had this item stolen either.

 

Im not sure why you feel the need to denigrate others who think or practice differently.

You are not necessarily more correct no matter how high you are preaching your practices from your pulpit.

Feel free to continue your practice and others will continue theirs.

 

Either way, the best we can hope for is that neither of us have to live an uncomfortable experience.

 

If you think what I posted is "denigrating others", you are clearly misunderstanding what I wrote. What I stated is a physical fact. Leaving it in a safe is the most secure place to keep it. Even when at home, we keep ours in our home safe instead of leaving it in a drawer or carrying it around with us for the purpose of identification - because it is safer, both from the chance of losing it or of forgetting where we put it (like a poster said they did in a recent thread)!

 

I have no problem with people doing what they want. I do have a problem with people ridiculing those of us who leave our passports in our safes, as a couple of members on these boards consistently do. l have the same right as you have to express my opinion on what I think is the best approach. And no denigration needed to do so, either. 🙂

 

And I fully agree - let's hope all of us, you and me included, never have to deal with an uncomfortable experience. That would be best for all of us (even for those two posters mentioned above). 

Edited March 9, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[sparks1093]

5 hours ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

I call it like I see it. The poster I referenced is divisive and combative, and insults people by replying directly to their posts and accusing them of being fearful, dependent and timid. 

 

Besides, I did not name any names. Did you think I was talking about you? 🙂

Nope, I think I know exactly who you are referring to. Just think we can use with less name calling on the boards (and society in general).

[SimplyMarvie]

I live in a country where I'm required to have my passport on me at all times -- I literally check as I walk out the door (and sadly, can't make 'spectacles, passport, fitbit and phone' rhyme). I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of being in a foreign country with no internationally recognized form of identification or anything that identifies me as an American. 

[lisiamc]

Can I ask which country?  This is the first time I’ve heard of a country which requires citizens/residents to carry an actual passport instead of a national ID.  Usually the passport is regarded primarily as a travel document and another means of ID is available in addition, or for those not planning to travel.

[d9704011]

Perhaps he is currently living in a country requiring him to be able to show a valid visa upon request.  Pretty much have to have the passport on hand to do that.

 

[lisiamc]

5 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Perhaps he is currently living in a country requiring him to be able to show a valid visa upon request.  Pretty much have to have the passport on hand to do that.

 

 

Yes, that’s a possibility.  I normally think of visas in terms of limited visits, but it could be a visa for a longer stay, couldn’t it?

Edited March 10, 2019 by lisiamc

[d9704011]

20 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

 

Yes, that’s a possibility.  I normally think of visas in terms of limited visits, but it could be a visa for a longer stay, couldn’t it?

I’m certainly no expert on this but I think a country like Saudi Arabia may make this pretty much mandatory for foreign nationals permitted to enter the kingdom for any length of time.