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Passports: to carry or not to carry

Jemnibabe

By Jemnibabe,
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Jemnibabe

Jemnibabe

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Just had a question posed on our roll call regarding taking your actual passport when you go ashore or just a copy?  The question was:  what do you do if you miss getting back to the ship and you have to fly to the next port?  Problems?  Anyone ever experienced this?  Thanks

 

Judy from SW Florida

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hal2008

hal2008

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You can get passport card when you get your passport booklet.

It is size of a credit card. 

While it is valid for land crossings, it is not valid for air travel.

 

So you can leave booklet in cabin/hotel safe and carry passport card.

In cse of emergency, it is lot easier to get local consulate to issue emergency travel papers with that card in your possession.

Also, countries like Italy REQUIRES that a foreigner should carry a national ID on you.

(US driver licence is not a national ID as it is issued by state but passport card is)

 

At 3 USD/year, it is a great investment of money (and require no extra paperwork or any effort other than checking a different box)

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Shmoo here

Shmoo here

Posted
Posted (edited)
20 minutes ago, Jemnibabe said:

Just had a question posed on our roll call regarding taking your actual passport when you go ashore or just a copy?  The question was:  what do you do if you miss getting back to the ship and you have to fly to the next port?  Problems?  Anyone ever experienced this?  Thanks

 

Judy from SW Florida

When in ports/countries that require us to have our passports on us, we carry them.  In ports/countries that have no such requirement, we don't.

 

If you miss the ship, typically, the ship's security will enter your room, open the safe and remove passports and/or other documents you would need and leave them with the port agent for you to retrieve.

 

 

Edited by Shmoo here
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mom says Excellent Advice! Rare

mom says

Posted
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1 hour ago, zqvol said:

My last passport is somewhere in Quebec. After that experience mine will never leave the ship unless required by local law. Thank goodness I had my passport card with me.

Money belts aren't just for money. My passport always go with me unless I'm just going to the beach, but I carry it securely.

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bbwex

bbwex

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In some cases, the cruise line will hold your passport for the entire cruise unless there is a port where you need to have it with you.  Like many others, I carry a copy of the ID page, but that is all.  In most ports, the ship certifies to the immigration people that everyone has a valid passport, and after that your ship's key card is sufficient. 

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wowzz

wowzz

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Ours stay in the safe as well. Obviously if it is a requirement to carry it in a certain country we do so. Interestingly, we have just returned from a cruise, and the daily news letter on port days, specifically stated that passports did not need to be carried.

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

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15 hours ago, hal2008 said:

 

You can get passport card when you get your passport booklet.

It is size of a credit card. 

While it is valid for land crossings, it is not valid for air travel.

 

So you can leave booklet in cabin/hotel safe and carry passport card.

In cse of emergency, it is lot easier to get local consulate to issue emergency travel papers with that card in your possession.

Also, countries like Italy REQUIRES that a foreigner should carry a national ID on you.

(US driver licence is not a national ID as it is issued by state but passport card is)

 

At 3 USD/year, it is a great investment of money (and require no extra paperwork or any effort other than checking a different box)

The Consulate can access your passport information just fine without a passport card. The card would serve as proof of citizenship, which is required to issue a new passport, but then a copy of your passport serves the same purpose. Having a copy of your passport is zero dollars. 

 

We're in the "leave it in the safe unless there is a reason to carry it ashore" camp, but in reality people need to do what is comfortable for them to do, there is no right or wrong answer. Reasons to carry it ashore include taking an excursion that crosses a border (some Alaska excursions and Caribbean excursions) or local law requiring them to be carried.

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K32682

K32682

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Posted (edited)

I carry my passport when in a foreign country.  I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I have more confidence in my ability to carry it securely than the cruise line living up to its commitment to leave it should they depart without me.  Even if they do I would still have to get back to the port and locate the agent to retrieve my documents which in an emergency situation may be difficult or impossible. 

 

In the highly unlikely event I lose my passport I can return to the boat and continue on the cruise while I sort out the issue in relative comfort as opposed to being stranded without documents in a foreign land.  I keep a copy of my passport in the cabin and a PDF on my phone.  

 

 

Edited by K32682
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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

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33 minutes ago, K32682 said:

I carry my passport when in a foreign country.  I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I have more confidence in my ability to carry it securely than the cruise line living up to its commitment to leave it should they depart without me.  Even if they do I would still have to get back to the port and locate the agent to retrieve my documents which in an emergency situation may be difficult or impossible. 

 

In the highly unlikely event I lose my passport I can return to the boat and continue on the cruise while I sort out the issue in relative comfort as opposed to being stranded without documents in a foreign land.  I keep a copy of my passport in the cabin and a PDF on my phone.  

 

 

Actually your second paragraph may or may not happen if you let the ship know that you no longer have your passport. You are required to have your travel documents with you throughout the trip and if you lose them the ship might just put you ashore. I did read a thread a couple of years ago where that is exactly what happened. The passengers were on a European cruise and had their passport picked by a pickpocket. They were put ashore and had to get a replacement passport from the Embassy before traveling to the next port to meet the ship. 

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K32682

K32682

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Posted (edited)
29 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Actually your second paragraph may or may not happen if you let the ship know that you no longer have your passport. You are required to have your travel documents with you throughout the trip and if you lose them the ship might just put you ashore. I did read a thread a couple of years ago where that is exactly what happened. The passengers were on a European cruise and had their passport picked by a pickpocket. They were put ashore and had to get a replacement passport from the Embassy before traveling to the next port to meet the ship. 

 

It would be good to know the specific details of this thread.  I would not feel compelled to tell the cruise line that I no longer had possession of my passport.  Your anecdote would not change my current practices. 

 

Edited by K32682
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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

It would be good to know the specific details of this thread.  I would not feel compelled to tell the cruise line that I no longer had possession of my passport.  Your anecdote would not change my current practices. 

 

When I read the thread my first response was, "well, if that ever happened to me I'd not tell the cruise line". Unfortunately the thread is no longer available since the format change on Cruise Critic. I didn't offer the anecdote in an attempt to change anything you do, just a cautionary tale of what might happen for others to consider (or not).

Edited by sparks1093
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ldubs

ldubs

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3 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

 I would not feel compelled to tell the cruise line that I no longer had possession of my passport.  

 

 

Huh, before reading some of this thread I wouldn't have given a second thought to informing the cruise ship I had lost my passport.  Is keeping it secret to avoid being put ashore?  

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BarbinMich

BarbinMich

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13 hours ago, wowzz said:

Ours stay in the safe as well. Obviously if it is a requirement to carry it in a certain country we do so. Interestingly, we have just returned from a cruise, and the daily news letter on port days, specifically stated that passports did not need to be carried.

We have done a number of transatlantic cruises and what has usually happened at the first European port is that local immigration folks come onboard to check everyone's passports, sometimes the day before as I recall.  Thus, we never took our passports off the ship, just photocopies as others have said.  Don't have to go through all this in the Caribbean.

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ldubs

ldubs

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4 hours ago, CoW mAn said:

I always bring my passport but I also have a picture of it on my phone
 

 

 

Same here.  Mrs Ldubs has paper photocopies and pic's.  I guess we have it all covered.  Regarding taking them with us, in general we do if we can.  If they are collected by the ship, then we take the photocopies.  

 

BTW, I like your town.  We have some relatives there.  

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CoW mAn

CoW mAn

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48 minutes ago, ldubs said:

If they are collected by the ship, then we take the photocopies.  

 

BTW, I like your town.  We have some relatives there.  


They really shouldn't be collected by the ship unless you're headed somewhere with some very specific visa requirements like some ports in Asia.

 

Thanks 🙂

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