Royal Caribbean passengers stranded in Italy passports stolen

[tullers]

1 hour ago, proggieus said:

 copies or pictures will do no more good then your drivers license. its literally a waste of paper.

You may want to check your facts:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-checklist.html

"Safeguard Your Documents! Make two copies of all your travel documents in case of emergency. Leave one copy with a trusted friend or relative at home and carry the other separately from your original documents. To help prevent theft, do not carry your passport in your back pocket, and keep it separate from your money."

[ChinaShrek]

I always keep the passport in the hotel room or cabin.  I hate neck pouches and fanny packs.  They makes me look like a tourist. I also believe that most hotel robberies are inside jobs.  If something is stolen from my room, I would make sure the hotel "found" my stuff or point me in the right direction.

[bakersdozen12]

11 hours ago, swoopy2110 said:

Nothing to do with Royal Caribbean

 

Don't Read the S*n

 

They were supposed to do a Royal cruise and missed it due to having their passports stolen. So yes, it does have something to do with Royal Caribbean. 

[garywatson]

24 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

I always keep the passport in the hotel room or cabin.  I hate neck pouches and fanny packs.  They makes me look like a tourist. I also believe that most hotel robberies are inside jobs.  If something is stolen from my room, I would make sure the hotel "found" my stuff or point me in the right direction.

 

There's another option for cruising out of Florida, and that's to get a US Passport Card when you get your regular book passport.  You can't use it to fly internationally, but it's good enough for example to take the fast ferry boats from the Bahamas to Florida should you miss your return.  I expect that it also would speed the process of getting a replacement passport book since it's proof that you met the ID requirements needed by the US Dept of State.  It has the advantage of being small and waterproof and you can carry it along with your SeaPass card and credit cards and whatnot if for example you are going snorkeling, and if you do make it to the USA it's accepted by TSA for domestic air travel.  I think it cost an extra $60.  You might be able to order one after the fact if you have just the book; not sure about that.

[BigHouseFootball]

This is one of those extraordinary situations that you would hope the travel company (this case Royal) would make an exception and help the family out. The positive news coverage would be great PR.  

[njkruzer]

As I indicated above, a police report was also required.  Interesting to fill it out in a foreign language.   Thankfully the Danish police spoke English.  The photomat machine was in Danish.  Awful photos.   Btw what I got was a temporary 1 year passport.  Had several more trips before I could chance sending it out.  When I applied for the new one a few months later I didn't have to pay the fee again.  Also the temporary doesn't look exactly like a regular passport and some countries noticed and had to explain.

[njkruzer]

2 hours ago, garywatson said:

 

There's another option for cruising out of Florida, and that's to get a US Passport Card when you get your regular book passport.  You can't use it to fly internationally, but it's good enough for example to take the fast ferry boats from the Bahamas to Florida should you miss your return.  I expect that it also would speed the process of getting a replacement passport book since it's proof that you met the ID requirements needed by the US Dept of State.  It has the advantage of being small and waterproof and you can carry it along with your SeaPass card and credit cards and whatnot if for example you are going snorkeling, and if you do make it to the USA it's accepted by TSA for domestic air travel.  I think it cost an extra $60.  You might be able to order one after the fact if you have just the book; not sure about that.

Not Royal's call.  They are controlled by rules.  As I said when we got off in Scotland the officer had a manifest and all our passport numbers.  If it didn't match I wouldn't have been allowed off the ship.

[123funcruiser]

5 hours ago, BigHouseFootball said:

This is one of those extraordinary situations that you would hope the travel company (this case Royal) would make an exception and help the family out. The positive news coverage would be great PR.  

 

What Kind of exception are you Talking About? We are Talking About a cruise = international travel! It´s not up to the cruiseline to make any exceptions here. The Company and the ship has to follow the law of all the countries visited. This is not some Kind of Company rule like how many bottles of wine can be brought on.

[Redrobo]

14 hours ago, Plum Happy said:

I understood that, just providing information to those first time or those that never thought that this could happen to them.  Yes, they will more than likely have to wait until Monday.  Unless you have connection to a congressman that gets the Embassy or consulate open and process it.

 

There was someone on twitter blaming Royal because they couldn't board.  The person stated that they were going to tell everyone to boycott Royal because of what happened to them.  So, they went to the press instead. 

 

The daughter of the family has posted on her facebook page,  her friend is the individual on twitter, Royal Caribbean  have asked him to contact the loser to make contact with them. 

 

I guess there is very little the cruise line can do to help, except allow them to join their cruise later down line.

 

It appears as though the safe was in a wooden cabinet and looks as though it may have been easy to remove.

[marci22]

A Barcelona hotel we stayed at only had a front desk safe, no in room safe. In that case, I carried the passports myself. But I probably wouldn't have used an in room safe either.

Edited August 31, 2019 by marci22

[S.A.M.J.R.]

17 hours ago, pcur said:

Guns and knives are not used much in well populated places during the day.  Pickpockets, yes, and bus, restaurant, and train thefts.  I just keep my stuff close to me, my hands on it at all times, and we have never been robbed in 46 years of travel and cruising.

And all the people who have put their stuff in the safe and haven't been robbed?  They've just been "lucky" while you've "planned ahead"?   Just because you've never been robbed while out doesn't mean it doesn't happen.  

 

I'd still feel safer leaving valuables in a locked safe behind a locked door than carrying things around with me.  

 

 

[travelplus]

This could happen to anyone. It would be nice to have Digital Passports and not physical ones. With your fingerprint and biometric eye scan you would process in and out of the countries. Visas would then be required to become electronic. 

 

Your chances of theft with a three step authentication process whereby the immigration agent or computer matches your image finger print and biometrics and let's you in. 

 

With Global Entry one would think a physical passport would be unnecessary. Perhaps your Drivers License or State Issued REALID could be a backup. 

 

To me its so crazy in 2019 that you have to miss your cruise because of a stolen pasport. Man that's archaic to hold a physical book that can get damaged or stolen. 

 

Let's have EPassports whereby you renew it online like for Global Entry. No forms, to fill but perhaps an interview if there is suspicion. This data gets transfered to Royal and you can board the ship using Biometrics 

 

Thoughts 

Edited August 31, 2019 by travelplus

[njkruzer]

Computers go down, are hacked, etc.  Some places, ports don't have those options.   As I said mine was lost when I lost the wallet it was in.  So carrying it with you does also have issues.  And how many times have we heard of lost phones? At the airport yesterday they called for someone to return to TSA checkpoint to retrieve a phone that had been left!  Passport and wallet are now separate but still in my bag. 

[123funcruiser]

25 minutes ago, travelplus said:

This could happen to anyone. It would be nice to have Digital Passports and not physical ones. With your fingerprint and biometric eye scan you would process in and out of the countries. Visas would then be required to become electronic. 

 

Your chances of theft with a three step authentication process whereby the immigration agent or computer matches your image finger print and biometrics and let's you in. 

 

With Global Entry one would think a physical passport would be unnecessary. Perhaps your Drivers License or State Issued REALID could be a backup. 

 

To me its so crazy in 2019 that you have to miss your cruise because of a stolen pasport. Man that's archaic to hold a physical book that can get damaged or stolen. 

 

Let's have EPassports whereby you renew it online like for Global Entry. No forms, to fill but perhaps an interview if there is suspicion. This data gets transfered to Royal and you can board the ship using Biometrics 

 

Thoughts 

 

You are missing the Point it´s not About RCI needing the information for you to board the ship. It´s the countries visited requirements. It doesn´t matter what data RCI has, if Greece (just an example) or any other Country the ship is calling at wants to see a passport.

 

Good luck on getting the 194 countries of the world to agree on the same System in use to replace passports as the international accepteg document for travels. When you are Talking About Global Entry you are Talking About a US Program, even though it´s called "Global" it´s woth Nothing when you travel on the rest of the 193 countries (Maybe 192, as I´m not 100% sure if it´s good in Canada). 

 

If you want to go without passports I say get every Person chipped at birth, just like cats and dogs are chipped. Easy to do and you have everything in your Body without a way to lose it.

 

 

[tullers]

15 hours ago, BigHouseFootball said:

This is one of those extraordinary situations that you would hope the travel company (this case Royal) would make an exception and help the family out. The positive news coverage would be great PR.  

What "exception" do you expect Royal Caribbean to make?  The cannot permit anyone to travel without proper credentials, per various jurisdictions.  Unfortunate circumstances but has nothing to do with Royal Caribbean at all.  This is just one of many reasons why I purchase travel insurance - sh*t happens!

Outside N American & the Caribbean:  No passport?  No travel.

[tullers]

15 hours ago, bakersdozen12 said:

 

They were supposed to do a Royal cruise and missed it due to having their passports stolen. So yes, it does have something to do with Royal Caribbean. 

I'm curious, why isn't the hotel named?  The fact that these people were scheduled to take a cruise is wholly immaterial to their situation.

[bakersdozen12]

4 minutes ago, tullers said:

I'm curious, why isn't the hotel named?  The fact that these people were scheduled to take a cruise is wholly immaterial to their situation.

 

No idea why they hotel wasn’t name. I would think people thinking of staying in the same area would like to know this information. In any case, given that they were a large family and lost out on a lot of money that they spent on the cruise, it’s hardly immaterial that they missed it. Exactly the opposite definition of immaterial, actually. 

[tullers]

7 minutes ago, bakersdozen12 said:

 

No idea why they hotel wasn’t name. I would think people thinking of staying in the same area would like to know this information. In any case, given that they were a large family and lost out on a lot of money that they spent on the cruise, it’s hardly immaterial that they missed it. Exactly the opposite definition of immaterial, actually. 

Having a cruise or not having a cruise is completely immaterial to the story.  They weren't able to board a flight home either.  They were stranded in Europe pending resolution of their stolen passports.  They were not able to leave for any reason whether land, sea or air.  Having a cruise booked, or not, changes nothing about the fact that they were stranded.

Edited August 31, 2019 by tullers

[jon76indc]

17 minutes ago, 123funcruiser said:

 

You are missing the Point it´s not About RCI needing the information for you to board the ship. It´s the countries visited requirements. It doesn´t matter what data RCI has, if Greece (just an example) or any other Country the ship is calling at wants to see a passport.

 

Good luck on getting the 194 countries of the world to agree on the same System in use to replace passports as the international accepteg document for travels. When you are Talking About Global Entry you are Talking About a US Program, even though it´s called "Global" it´s woth Nothing when you travel on the rest of the 193 countries (Maybe 192, as I´m not 100% sure if it´s good in Canada). 

 

If you want to go without passports I say get every Person chipped at birth, just like cats and dogs are chipped. Easy to do and you have everything in your Body without a way to lose it.

 

 

Actually there is a program to start developing electronic passports as the poster talked about, in addition to allowing card versions of passports instead of books for full international travel.  Currently it is limited to the US and some of the larger countries/EU .. but as the processes, systems and standards evolve and are ratified other countries (except the smallest/poorest maybe) would likely adopt it over time.

 

Will this become a reality in the foreseeable horizon (5 to 10 years)?  Not a chance .. and even if it did .. there would still be a need for a physical passport where electronic passports aren’t available.  But a reality before I retire in 20 years?  I’d bet money on it.

[123funcruiser]

36 minutes ago, jon76indc said:

Actually there is a program to start developing electronic passports as the poster talked about, in addition to allowing card versions of passports instead of books for full international travel.  Currently it is limited to the US and some of the larger countries/EU .. but as the processes, systems and standards evolve and are ratified other countries (except the smallest/poorest maybe) would likely adopt it over time.

 

Will this become a reality in the foreseeable horizon (5 to 10 years)?  Not a chance .. and even if it did .. there would still be a need for a physical passport where electronic passports aren’t available.  But a reality before I retire in 20 years?  I’d bet money on it.

 

Electronic passports are not starting to develop, they are the norm for quite some years now in many countries. Yes between the US and EU an electronic passport is needed. However we are still Talking a physical passport and not a passportcard. The poster I responded to was Talking About not having a physical document anymore and every information exchanged via a database. 

 

Maybe in the future a passportcard might be sufficient for travel between the EU and the US, at this Point this is definitely not the case. I don´t know which of the "bigger" countries you can travel to on a passport Card, non in the EU / Schengen Area though. 

 

Full international travel would also not be limited to a few countries, but as the word "full" means for all international travel.

 

Anyway if it´s a passport book or a passport Card, both can still be stolen and the other Person wanted a System where you don´t carry anything that could be stolen.

 

With the way the EU has data protection laws in place it won´t be easy to get to an Agreement between the US and the EU to make this happen, unless the US will get as strict About it, which I don´t see Happening Right now.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Fox News named the hotel; it’s Hotel Genova. It’s a 4 star but rated poorly on TripAdvisor. Though these poor people never made it onto the ship, they were supposed to be Royal passengers, so I consider it appropriate to have a thread here. I came here today specifically to read about it after reading the Fox News article. Though maybe Royal couldn’t have allowed them onboard, we can still certainly feel sorry for the poor family who had their entire vacation destroyed! They tried to secure their valuables in the recommended way, didn’t get to go on their cruise, lost money, have to deal with the hassle of stolen cards, had to file a police report, and got stranded while trying to fix the passport issue. 

[papaflamingo]

19 hours ago, tullers said:

I'm curious, why isn't the hotel named?  The fact that these people were scheduled to take a cruise is wholly immaterial to their situation.

The name is mentioned in the article the OP posted. Here's the "cut and paste" from the article: 

 

"While staying at Hotel Genova, they locked all of their valuables away in the in-room safe before exploring the city."

[pcur]

On 8/30/2019 at 8:09 PM, tullers said:

You may want to check your facts:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-checklist.html

"Safeguard Your Documents! Make two copies of all your travel documents in case of emergency. Leave one copy with a trusted friend or relative at home and carry the other separately from your original documents. To help prevent theft, do not carry your passport in your back pocket, and keep it separate from your money."

Interesting information. Thank you.  

 

Since I use an iphone, the pictures of our passports are not only on my phone, but also in my icloud account.  So, they can be reached anywhere with an internet connection.  

 

My husband carries nothing in his pockets when he travels.  He wears loose fitting short and the pockets are easy to get in and out of.  As a matter of fact, he had me sew small pieces of velcro on all of them so his wallet wouldn't fall out here at home!

[pcur]

23 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

And all the people who have put their stuff in the safe and haven't been robbed?  They've just been "lucky" while you've "planned ahead"?   Just because you've never been robbed while out doesn't mean it doesn't happen.  

 

I'd still feel safer leaving valuables in a locked safe behind a locked door than carrying things around with me.  

 

 

I'm not trying to judge anyone as being "lucky" or "unlucky" :  just pass along what has worked for us.

 

What I mean by "planned ahead" is based on experience going through security lines at airports, especially.  I cannot remember how many times I've hear calls for someone to come back to security and get their passport, wallet, etc.  It's so distracting keeping track of jackets, change, keys, wallets, passports, laptops, etc. I try to make us less susceptible by using what I've described above.  I'm protecting myself from MYSELF in this case.  If it's all zipped into the travel purse after getting checked by TSA, then I have less to gather up at the other end of the conveyer.  Plus, my husband travels with insulin and a cpap, and pretty much always gets pulled out for extra "attention".  Then, I have HIS stuff to gather up, too.

[SRF]

On 8/31/2019 at 12:21 PM, travelplus said:

This could happen to anyone. It would be nice to have Digital Passports and not physical ones. With your fingerprint and biometric eye scan you would process in and out of the countries. Visas would then be required to become electronic. 

 

Your chances of theft with a three step authentication process whereby the immigration agent or computer matches your image finger print and biometrics and let's you in. 

 

With Global Entry one would think a physical passport would be unnecessary. Perhaps your Drivers License or State Issued REALID could be a backup. 

 

To me its so crazy in 2019 that you have to miss your cruise because of a stolen pasport. Man that's archaic to hold a physical book that can get damaged or stolen. 

 

Let's have EPassports whereby you renew it online like for Global Entry. No forms, to fill but perhaps an interview if there is suspicion. This data gets transfered to Royal and you can board the ship using Biometrics 

 

Thoughts 

 

So every country in the world is to have all your information and biometrics electronically?

 

Such as Nigeria, Somalia, etc?

 

REALLY??

 

Who cares about pick pockets, when cyber criminals can REALLY steal your identity.