Missing ship in a foreign port with no passport

[sparks1093]

3 hours ago, Michalina said:

Who in their right mind would travel without passports on their person.

Many people in my community do since Canada is only 8 miles from our village. Those that have to go up frequently usually have a passport card or an EDL because it's the only foreign travel they will ever do.

[chipmaster]

12 minutes ago, Warm Breezes said:

If you are a US citizen who only sails on closed loop cruises to/from the US and does no other foreign travel then getting a passport is a personal decision based on their risk factors and tolerance for risk.  It is not illegal for them to sail without a passport, nor will they be permanently stranded in a foreign port.  By not having a passport they are accepting the risk that it may take longer and be more of a hassle for them to get home but that is their choice to do so if they feel the risk of that happening is low and they can accept that risk if something happens.

 

DH and I sailed on 10 closed looped cruises with our kids from 2001-2013 because we felt the risk was too low for the expense.  We never needed a passport during those 12 years.  In 2013 for our 11th cruise we were sailing for the first time without our kids who at that time were a sophomore in high school and a freshman in college.  We decided to get passports for ourselves in case anything happened to the kids and we needed to get home to them quickly with less hassles.  Our choice changed because our risk factors changed as did our tolerance for that risk.  Our kids have sailed twice more since then without passports because the risk for them was low and their risk tolerance was still high.  They did not need a passport either time.  It is their choice now whether or not to get passports as they are 22 and 25.  I can say without a doubt that even though we used passports for ourselves since 2013, no one in our family has NEEDED to use a passport for any of our travels in our lives and I can't say that using a passport over using our DL and Birth Certificates (when needed) has made any of our traveling easier or sped up anytime of time it has taken us to get through customs.

 

Some people on these boards claim that you should have a passport because who know when you will need it for trip outside of the US and that by not having one you are limiting your travel.  My answer to that is when you need a passport for travel outside of the US then you get one.  Why purchase one to have on hand just in case?  IMHO that is a waste of money and time lost on your passport.  I expect when my kids decide to travel internationally, and I fully expect they will as DS has already asked us to go with him on a trip to Europe in a couple of years after we retire,  that then they will go out and get themselves a passport.  But I don't expect them to get one before then just in case...we just did a Carnival Magic cruise with them in May and both of them decided not to get one yet.  And yet I can honestly say our kids have not been limited on their travel without a passport.  We live in Michigan and they have had many long week end trips around our Great Lakes State, both lower and upper peninsula, as well as to over half of the US including some great places like the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Wisconsin Dells, Chicago, NYC, New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, Niagara Falls, Key West, Orlando, and many, many more.  Then there are the places we took them to on our cruises St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, St. Kitts, Grand Turk, Halifax, Saint John, Jamaica, Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan, and more.  And yet there are so many places that are still on my own personal bucket list that we can travel to in the US and on closed loop cruises that we can still travel to...no passport needed.  And yes we will probably travel outside those places eventually and then we will make sure all of us going will have a passports because that is when we will NEED one no matter what our risk factors and risk tolerances are.

 

My point behind all of this is if you are a US Citizen, you currently have a choice to get a passport or not.  If you chose to travel to a place that requires a passport then you get a passport to go where you want to go.  Otherwise that choice to get a passport or not is a personal one based on your own level of risk taking and your own risk factors.  Everyone has their own set of risk factor and their own tolerance for risk.  No decision is wrong as long as accept the consequences of your decision when your luck goes bad and take personal responsibility for the choices you made.  Now it is those people who don't take the personal responsibility and blame everyone else under the sun for their decisions that should be questioned for their choices....if you can't accept the risk, then you definitely should be making safer choices.

 

Mental experiment, I'm on a closed loop no passport required, what happens you get ill or have something like heart attack or something else that requires local treatment in Canada or other place.  Ship ain't waiting for you, you really want to be there with your driver's ID "explaining" or going to the consulate / embassy while still possible very ill.   

 

Seems simple enough what I'd choose

 

 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

13 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

 

Me. Arguably those that carry their passport everywhere are in their left mind.

I leave it in the safe in my cabin or hotel room when out and about unless I plan to cross a border. No way do I want to go through the hassle of replacing it if I get robbed. 

 

 

I keep a copy in the safe too.  And I travel on the islands with one.

 

since we have need for a passport anyway we travel the Caribbean with it.  Recently was the first time we needed it to leave a cruise, mid cruise!   I was nice to have it then. 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

5 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

 

Mental experiment, I'm on a closed loop no passport required, what happens you get ill or have something like heart attack or something else that requires local treatment in Canada or other place.  Ship ain't waiting for you, you really want to be there with your driver's ID "explaining" or going to the consulate / embassy while still possible very ill.   

 

Seems simple enough what I'd choose

 

 

 

 

Did yo mss thats an enhanced drivers license?  They have a lower cost than a passport and some of its power. 

[sloopsailor]

A lot of talk about why get a passport if you aren't going to go overseas in the foreseeable future. Years ago our across the street neighbors did not, and paid the price in emotional grief. Their 33 year old son was traveling in France on business. He was involved in an accident and was severely injured. His parents received an urgent call to hurry to his bedside as he was not expected to survive. It took them several days to gather the proper documentation to apply and expedite their passports. Unfortunately, before they could even get on a plane, he passed away. Their grief at not being at his side to say goodbye has haunted them ever since.

 

Yes, this is an isolated instance. But if you have close family members who travel overseas a lot, having a passport at the ready can expedite any foreign travel in an emergency. 

[ontheweb]

32 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

A lot of talk about why get a passport if you aren't going to go overseas in the foreseeable future. Years ago our across the street neighbors did not, and paid the price in emotional grief. Their 33 year old son was traveling in France on business. He was involved in an accident and was severely injured. His parents received an urgent call to hurry to his bedside as he was not expected to survive. It took them several days to gather the proper documentation to apply and expedite their passports. Unfortunately, before they could even get on a plane, he passed away. Their grief at not being at his side to say goodbye has haunted them ever since.

 

Yes, this is an isolated instance. But if you have close family members who travel overseas a lot, having a passport at the ready can expedite any foreign travel in an emergency. 

What a sad story. And a lesson to be learned.

[K32682]

1 hour ago, CPT Trips said:

 

Me. Arguably those that carry their passport everywhere are in their left mind.

I leave it in the safe in my cabin or hotel room when out and about unless I plan to cross a border. No way do I want to go through the hassle of replacing it if I get robbed. 

 

Leaving your passport in a hotel room is no guarantee. I've had a hotel room safe robbed. Fortunately they didn't get my passport because it was on my person at the time where it belongs.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

I’ve he’d that of some hotels too!   Can you share what country?  Not that there arent examples everywhere!  I often had mine with me in places wher I was in a hotel.  My first trip to Hong Kong it was in a safe deposit box!  Can’t remember what I did in Barcelona,  Sweden I had no choice iirc. 

[Warm Breezes]

3 hours ago, chipmaster said:

 

Mental experiment, I'm on a closed loop no passport required, what happens you get ill or have something like heart attack or something else that requires local treatment in Canada or other place.  Ship ain't waiting for you, you really want to be there with your driver's ID "explaining" or going to the consulate / embassy while still possible very ill.   

 

Seems simple enough what I'd choose

 

 

Well since I do get travel medical insurance, not getting this is a risk I am not willing to take, I would seek care where I am while getting the proper emergency waivers needed to get home without a passport.  Since I do now also have a passport because my risk factors changed 6 years ago this is a non-issue for me.  The bigger concern for me in the scenario you described would be having travel insurance covering my medical needs and that I would have.  That would be my choice.  Yours is different. To each his own.

[Warm Breezes]

2 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

A lot of talk about why get a passport if you aren't going to go overseas in the foreseeable future. Years ago our across the street neighbors did not, and paid the price in emotional grief. Their 33 year old son was traveling in France on business. He was involved in an accident and was severely injured. His parents received an urgent call to hurry to his bedside as he was not expected to survive. It took them several days to gather the proper documentation to apply and expedite their passports. Unfortunately, before they could even get on a plane, he passed away. Their grief at not being at his side to say goodbye has haunted them ever since.

 

Yes, this is an isolated instance. But if you have close family members who travel overseas a lot, having a passport at the ready can expedite any foreign travel in an emergency. 

Like I said before, everyone has there own individual risk factors.  When we started traveling without our children we got passports.  If I had children that traveled internationally a lot I would probably do the same.  Not being  able to get to my kids if they need me quickly is a risk factor I am not willing to take.  I don’t care how old they are.  Personal choice.

[CPT Trips]

4 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

Leaving your passport in a hotel room is no guarantee. I've had a hotel room safe robbed. Fortunately they didn't get my passport because it was on my person at the time where it belongs.

 

What leads you to say that your passport belongs on your person at all times? Some rule or just a personal preference?

There are no guarentees when traveling. Where do you suggest one keep a passport when scuba diving, skiing, sailing, or even just heading to the beach? Hotel room/ ship cabin safe or take it along on the activity? 

[keensie]

Question, since it's been mentioned: Will a photo copy of a passport actually work? I was under the impression that you need the physical copy, like drivers licenses in the states. 

[CPT Trips]

24 minutes ago, keensie said:

Question, since it's been mentioned: Will a photo copy of a passport actually work? I was under the impression that you need the physical copy, like drivers licenses in the states. 

 

No. It won't get you what a passport will. Reportedly, it will help you expedite replacement. It's also good to be able to let the police know the number if you lose your passport to street crime.

[chipmaster]

6 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

Leaving your passport in a hotel room is no guarantee. I've had a hotel room safe robbed. Fortunately they didn't get my passport because it was on my person at the time where it belongs.

 

Passport on you or in the hotel is always an interesting debate and very personal.

 

There is always the possibility you could get hit by a bus, need to be rushed to the hospital, then need to be transferred in a coma to your home country, but all is good, you got your passport on you.     😁

 

The reality comes down do you feel more likely to lose / robbed of your passport while traveling or your hotel room get broken in and safe too and it stolen.    What is better/safer and more secure.   Obviously when traveling lots of things "could" happen, generally if you get robbed hopefully you got a spare card/money at the hotel, and likely can still get a spare card key if you make your way back to hotel.  Of course if you got everything on you and get mugged in some dark alley then I'm sure you can also get back to your hotel, but your next day will be figuring out how to get to the consulate/embassy.   

[Benthayer Gonbak]

54 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

 

Passport on you or in the hotel is always an interesting debate and very personal.

 

There is always the possibility you could get hit by a bus, need to be rushed to the hospital, then need to be transferred in a coma to your home country, but all is good, you got your passport on you.     😁

 

The reality comes down do you feel more likely to lose / robbed of your passport while traveling or your hotel room get broken in and safe too and it stolen.    What is better/safer and more secure.   Obviously when traveling lots of things "could" happen, generally if you get robbed hopefully you got a spare card/money at the hotel, and likely can still get a spare card key if you make your way back to hotel.  Of course if you got everything on you and get mugged in some dark alley then I'm sure you can also get back to your hotel, but your next day will be figuring out how to get to the consulate/embassy.   

 

When I had a walker we always carried different credit card so that we had a way to pay for different things.  Similarly when on our own we often both have cab fare.  When I had my rollator I was capable of slinging it as a weapon and was likely to use it as such.  In buenos  Aires on the recommendation of the hotel I had no jewelry or watch.  When we boarded I was surprised at how many had lost items to basically hit and run!  Several were in larger groups and distracted from their surroundings.  Perhaps living in Naples as a child made me more street smart?  Man we’re tthoskids fast! 

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, keensie said:

Question, since it's been mentioned: Will a photo copy of a passport actually work? I was under the impression that you need the physical copy, like drivers licenses in the states. 

 

7 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

 

No. It won't get you what a passport will. Reportedly, it will help you expedite replacement. It's also good to be able to let the police know the number if you lose your passport to street crime.

It's not just "reportedly", the State Department website specifically states that a copy may be used to establish citizenship, which is a requirement for obtaining a replacement passport. I have a copy on my phone/cloud but primarily so I have the number handy when I'm making a reservation so I don't have to retrieve the passport from the safe deposit box.

[SRF]

16 hours ago, Extra Kim said:

I have done two cruises going into the UK, both times CBP officers got onboard days before we docked in Southampton and we had to bring our passport to them.

 

HUH???

 

CBP is the US agency.

 

Border Force is the UK immigration and customs authority.

[keensie]

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

 

It's not just "reportedly", the State Department website specifically states that a copy may be used to establish citizenship, which is a requirement for obtaining a replacement passport. I have a copy on my phone/cloud but primarily so I have the number handy when I'm making a reservation so I don't have to retrieve the passport from the safe deposit box.

 

That makes sense. Thanks for the info :) 

[CPT Trips]

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

 

It's not just "reportedly", the State Department website specifically states that a copy may be used to establish citizenship, which is a requirement for obtaining a replacement passport. I have a copy on my phone/cloud but primarily so I have the number handy when I'm making a reservation so I don't have to retrieve the passport from the safe deposit box.

 

Just because it's on the Internet doesn't mean it's true. 😉 "May" is discretionary so ymmv. 

And, what will you do when your phone breaks because the bus hit you and you're in a coma? 🤔

[sparks1093]

23 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

 

Just because it's on the Internet doesn't mean it's true. 😉 "May" is discretionary so ymmv. 

And, what will you do when your phone breaks because the bus hit you and you're in a coma? 🤔

Since it's a State Department website I would expect it to be at least reasonably accurate. And unless the bus steals my passport I still have that and if I'm in a coma I'm not all that worried about having it to begin with (but DW will know where it is and would be able to speak for me). (And in the absolute worse case scenario as I mentioned it's also available on the cloud, but I guess your next response is that wi-fi has gone out indefinitely in the country we are in🤣.) Finally, as I said the copy is for my personal convenience, that I might be able to use it in an extreme situation is an extra.

[SantaFeFan]

16 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Since it's a State Department website I would expect it to be at least reasonably accurate. And unless the bus steals my passport I still have that and if I'm in a coma I'm not all that worried about having it to begin with (but DW will know where it is and would be able to speak for me). (And in the absolute worse case scenario as I mentioned it's also available on the cloud, but I guess your next response is that wi-fi has gone out indefinitely in the country we are in🤣.) Finally, as I said the copy is for my personal convenience, that I might be able to use it in an extreme situation is an extra.

 

Maybe we should have it tattoo'd on our chests as an absolutely last resort to cover all the "what ifs"? 😉

Edited July 26, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[ducklite]

On 7/24/2019 at 8:26 PM, sparks1093 said:

Ease of entering the US for non-US citizens possibly, haven't seen any signs that anything has changed for returning US citizens. I am apolitical because I don't see either party as being the sole answer for anything. Insurance on a home or a car is often mandated by the holder of the note, so I don't see that as being particularly helpful. The only thing a passport provides is it reduces any potential delay IF something happens and the risk of something happening is going to vary person to person, as is the acceptance of that risk. You can try math games if you want, but the full amount of the passport is due and payable up front. For my family it would have added $850 for a 4 day cruise. You might think that's a good investment and that's fine, it's your money. I didn't see it as a good investment at all, especially with our uncertainty about future travel plans. 

You must have missed the US Citizen with a valid passport recently held for over three weeks by CBP in squalid conditions--denied access to a phone call or lawyer and told he "had no rights."

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

Maybe we should have it tattoo'd on our chests as an absolutely last resort to cover all the "what ifs"? 😉

I suppose that could be argued to be a "copy".

[sparks1093]

11 minutes ago, ducklite said:

You must have missed the US Citizen with a valid passport recently held for over three weeks by CBP in squalid conditions--denied access to a phone call or lawyer and told he "had no rights."

Nope, I believe I made reference to that very incident in one of my previous posts. 3 things to consider- 1) he told the authorities that he was undocumented, 2) he was in the US when it happened, and 3) that means he wasn't returning from a trip abroad. (And finally, he was detained by ICE, not CBP. Two different agencies with different missions.) And if I were really that concerned about the current political climate I probably wouldn't be traveling (but since I'm not concerned I will keep on going on trips).

Edited July 26, 2019 by sparks1093

[sloopsailor]

12 minutes ago, ducklite said:

You must have missed the US Citizen with a valid passport recently held for over three weeks by CBP in squalid conditions--denied access to a phone call or lawyer and told he "had no rights."

 

And he implies that they only do closed loop cruises, so he apparently has not recently had the experience of entering the US from a foreign travel not associated with such cruises. The process is different when entering directly from a foreign country. And it has gotten more stringent. More people are being searched, questioned or detained than a few years ago. Even more so now than right after 9/11. My neighbors are of East Indian decent and visit family in India at least once a year. He has expressed concerns that his family is being singled out for additional questioning more now than in the past. 

Edited July 26, 2019 by sloopsailor