Passports: to carry or not to carry

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, CoW mAn said:

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 🙂

 

You hit the nail on the head.  Both cruises in Asia they collected the passports when we boarded. Gave them back late in the cruise with all the necessary visa stamps.  I think they have been collected a few times on Med itineraries too, but I can't recall where (Turkey, Adriatic?).  I do recall way back when in Turkey we were given this half-slip form that indicated we were cruise ship passengers.  We were told we had to have it with us while on shore.   

[K32682]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

You hit the nail on the head.  Both cruises in Asia they collected the passports when we boarded. Gave them back late in the cruise with all the necessary visa stamps.  I think they have been collected a few times on Med itineraries too, but I can't recall where (Turkey, Adriatic?).  I do recall way back when in Turkey we were given this half-slip form that indicated we were cruise ship passengers.  We were told we had to have it with us while on shore.   

 

I've run into these procedures a couple of times.  The cruise line will provide you with your passport if you request it for shore visits.   

[ldubs]

7 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

I've run into these procedures a couple of times.  The cruise line will provide you with your passport if you request it for shore visits.   

 

Good info - thanks.  👍

[ed01106]

Sometimes I bring it, sometimes I don’t.

 

 If the planned activities involve snorkeling,  going to the beach, kayaking or similar type activities where it would be at risk of getting wet, damaged or needed to be stowed etc. then it stays on board.  But a laminated copy comes with me.

 

If planned activities are site seeing, shopping etc, i will store it in my money belt under my clothes. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by ed01106

[ed01106]

delete please meant to edit and quoted myself instead.

Edited February 21, 2020 by ed01106

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, ed01106 said:

 

So, your decision to carry your passport has little to do with whether you may need it but, rather, whether it may get wet?

[ed01106]

23 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

So, your decision to carry your passport has little to do with whether you may need it but, rather, whether it may get wet?

Balancing the risks.  

 

I am unlikely to needed.  I make it a point to get back to the ship on time.  If I am going to the beach than the chances of it getting damaged or lost exceeds the chances of me returning to the boat late.  If I am not going swimming and can keep it in my money belt the chances of it being damaged or stolen are almost nonexistent and less than the chances of needing it.  

 

On land based vacations I have a similar approach.  If I am going to the beach etc I will leave the passport in the safe.  But out site seeing, it comes with me b/c I don’t completely trust hotel safes to be secure.  But I trust them more than hiding a passport in a shoe at the pool or dealing with a waterproof pouch.  Plus I like having ID just in case. 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by ed01106

[cruznjan]

I carry mine.

[sanger727]

On 2/21/2020 at 3:32 PM, d9704011 said:

So, your decision to carry your passport has little to do with whether you may need it but, rather, whether it may get wet?

I do the same thing. I rarely carry my passport on caribbean cruises because the excursions are often water based. I do believe a passport that has gotten drenched in water is no longer valid. So if I plan to get in the water, my choices are to leave the passport out of my possession (where it could easily be stolen) or carry it in the water with me (where it could easily get wet). Those two choices aren’t acceptable risks given the exceptionally low chance that I would need my passport. I am much more likely to carry it in Europe where it’s unlikely to get wet and I take simple precautions to keep it from being stolen.

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

I do the same thing. I rarely carry my passport on caribbean cruises because the excursions are often water based. I do believe a passport that has gotten drenched in water is no longer valid. So if I plan to get in the water, my choices are to leave the passport out of my possession (where it could easily be stolen) or carry it in the water with me (where it could easily get wet). Those two choices aren’t acceptable risks given the exceptionally low chance that I would need my passport. I am much more likely to carry it in Europe where it’s unlikely to get wet and I take simple precautions to keep it from being stolen.

Fair enough.  On Caribbean cruises we don’t take our passports (ashore) with us due to ‘... the exceptionally low chance that I would need my passport.’; just the cruise card and government issued phot ID.  For other destinations, we bring the passports along.  For us, the likelihood that the passport may get wet is not a part of the decision making process.

[Blackduck59]

We prefer to keep our passports with us when we leave the ship. Better to have it with us.

 

[wowzz]

15 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Better to have it with us.

Better how?

[Blackduck59]

If by some circumstance I end up missing the ship a figure my passport may come in handy

[Hlitner]

I love this topic which has probably been discussed on more then 111 threads since the first days of CC.  You will find the usual folks all posting their usual comments (we fit into that group) with some folks seeming to have some passion for the subject.  What we now post is that we have been traveling, extensively, on both land and sea for nearly fifty years.  We carry our Passports when it is the law (rare), when we must have one to rent a car, or in a few other cases where it is a good idea such as if we leave a cruise for one or more nights ashore with plans to later rejoin the ship.  Even when we travel on land, usually on our own, we prefer to leave our Passports locked securely in a hotel safe. 

 

Why do we do this?  1.  If you lose or have your Passport stolen it is a very major hassle...and also can be very expensive.  2.  We do not even want to worry about having our Passports stolen, lost, mislaid, etc. so prefer the security of a safe.  And with all of our travel experience I could further bore you of what happened to fellow cruisers who carried their Passports only to have those documents disappear.  The most interesting story involve two NYC PD Detectives who had their Passports stolen off a Tel Aviv beach. :).

 

But lots of experience has taught us that folks will do as they please, so please do.  If you do manage to lose or have your Passport disappear we do not expect to hear, I  told you .

 

Hank

[ldubs]

Usually we take the passports.  Sometimes we don't.  If I had to vote I would say better to have them than not.   But in reality, I just can't put too so much effort on this.  Truth be told, Mrs Ldubs will take them if she can regardless of what I say.   Works for me.  Lol

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I love this topic which has probably been discussed on more then 111 threads since the first days of CC.  You will find the usual folks all posting their usual comments (we fit into that group) with some folks seeming to have some passion for the subject.  What we now post is that we have been traveling, extensively, on both land and sea for nearly fifty years.  We carry our Passports when it is the law (rare), when we must have one to rent a car, or in a few other cases where it is a good idea such as if we leave a cruise for one or more nights ashore with plans to later rejoin the ship.  Even when we travel on land, usually on our own, we prefer to leave our Passports locked securely in a hotel safe. 

 

Why do we do this?  1.  If you lose or have your Passport stolen it is a very major hassle...and also can be very expensive.  2.  We do not even want to worry about having our Passports stolen, lost, mislaid, etc. so prefer the security of a safe.  And with all of our travel experience I could further bore you of what happened to fellow cruisers who carried their Passports only to have those documents disappear.  The most interesting story involve two NYC PD Detectives who had their Passports stolen off a Tel Aviv beach. :).

 

But lots of experience has taught us that folks will do as they please, so please do.  If you do manage to lose or have your Passport disappear we do not expect to hear, I  told you .

 

Hank

Hank - excellent post and sums up my attitude exactly. 

As you say, people seem to be set in their ways, and nothing will ever convince them that the best place for a passport is a safe.  

[That sinking feeling]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Hank - excellent post and sums up my attitude exactly. 

As you say, people seem to be set in their ways, and nothing will ever convince them that the best place for a passport is a safe.  

Common sense isnt it?

 

 

[K32682]

A passport in your safe is certainly "safe."  It is also entirely useless should you happen to need it.  I have needed my passport at police checkpoints in Eastern Europe, Spain and Africa.  I have needed it to rent a car, exchange money, use a credit card, tour a game preserve and enter a casino among other things. 

 

I am less concerned about losing my passport than the prospect of being stranded without it in a foreign country due to circumstances beyond my control.  The cruise line will offer reassurances they will leave your passport with the port agent but even if they do I still have to return to the port and locate the agent to acquire documents adding another level of complication to what may be an already stressful situation. 

 

Everyone needs to decide for themselves based on their experience and an assessment of their abilities.  If you conclude that you cannot securely carry your passport while traveling or are more worried about losing it than having it then the cabin/hotel safe is the best place for it.  FWIW, I have never lost a passport or had one stolen.  I have however had an hotel room safe burgled.  I lost some cash and a credit card but not my passport because I was carrying it.  

 

 

[chipmaster]

wow we haven't had this great debate for a while, LOL.

 

Comes down to which of the three options you feel is your biggest risk and fear

 

1) Miss the boat

2) Take it with you and get it stolen or missplaced on your busy port day

3) Get in some terrible accident or stopped by local authorities and miss the boat or worse.

 

For me personally it is 2) so I leave it on the boat.  

[sparks1093]

27 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

wow we haven't had this great debate for a while, LOL.

 

Comes down to which of the three options you feel is your biggest risk and fear

 

1) Miss the boat

2) Take it with you and get it stolen or missplaced on your busy port day

3) Get in some terrible accident or stopped by local authorities and miss the boat or worse.

 

For me personally it is 2) so I leave it on the boat.  

I don't fear any of the three, for me it's a simple matter of not wanting to carry something that I don't have to carry. On a cruise in the Caribbean there is little need to carry it unless one happens to be doing a shore excursion that involved travel to a nearby island. What I do in Europe might be different depending on many factors.

Edited March 11, 2020 by sparks1093

[d9704011]

2 hours ago, chipmaster said:

wow we haven't had this great debate for a while, LOL.

 

Comes down to which of the three options you feel is your biggest risk and fear

 

1) Miss the boat

2) Take it with you and get it stolen or missplaced on your busy port day

3) Get in some terrible accident or stopped by local authorities and miss the boat or worse.

 

For me personally it is 2) so I leave it on the boat.  

Don’t forget the wet/not wet dilemma earlier in the thread.....

 

I’m with sparks1093 (post #45) on this one.

[donaldsc]

On 3/9/2020 at 6:39 PM, Blackduck59 said:

If by some circumstance I end up missing the ship a figure my passport may come in handy

 

We take a copy of our passport w us so in the unlikely event that we miss the ship, it is easier for American authorities to verify that we do have a passport.  BTW - we just returned for a S. America cruise (Santiago to Buenos Aires) and they did collect our passports.

 

DON

Edited March 11, 2020 by donaldsc

[chipmaster]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

 

We take a copy of our passport w us so in the unlikely event that we miss the ship, it is easier for American authorities to verify that we do have a passport.  BTW - we just returned for a S. America cruise (Santiago to Buenos Aires) and they did collect our passports.

 

DON

 

I have a virtual copy of my passport on my phone ( that comes with me everywhere ), and also in the cloud on  my email accessible even if I lose my phone.   

 

I've never worried about my passport getting wet, though I don't take it into the shower with me, and have never taken it to the beach but last I checked it is pretty water resistant, LOL

Edited March 11, 2020 by chipmaster

[SRF]

On 2/20/2020 at 8:52 AM, 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 interesting for them to do this.  As how can they put you off the ship, as then you have to clear immigration in that country.  But without a passport, you cannot enter the country.

 

And if you arrive without passport, whoever transported you there is required to remove you from that country. 

 

 

[TravelinGert]

I always wear a travel wallet containing our passports when we leave the ship. We normally make plans to be back at least a couple of hours before the cut off unless we're just walking around near the ship. 

 

However I've been told by a friend who works for one of the cruise lines you can call if you're experiencing difficulties and ask them to get the contents of your safe including your passports. Some of my cruises they've actually put up a poster with a phone number to call which I believe is to the port master's office and they radio the ship. My friend emails me a list of phone numbers for all the cruises we do together. I saw an officer get a bag of items out of the safe on one of my cruises and later watching off my balcony saw a similar bag given to someone at the port so I think my friend is correct.