Passports: to carry or not to carry

[sparks1093]

12 hours ago, SRF said:

 

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. 

 

 

You are already in the country and had your passport when you entered, it was lost/stolen while there. People do lose passports or have them stolen so I'm sure that there are ample procedures in place for how to deal with that eventuality, both on the part of carriers and the countries being visited.

[SRF]

But on a cruise, you have not formally entered the country.  You are typically in transit.

 

For the ship to put you off (or if you get off), then you have to formally enter the country.  Which means having your passport.

 

If you arrive by plane, and go through immigration, and then have your passport stolen, you have already formally entered the country.

[sparks1093]

15 hours ago, SRF said:

But on a cruise, you have not formally entered the country.  You are typically in transit.

 

For the ship to put you off (or if you get off), then you have to formally enter the country.  Which means having your passport.

 

If you arrive by plane, and go through immigration, and then have your passport stolen, you have already formally entered the country.

Nope, you have officially entered the country. People can't leave the ship until they have cleared immigration and that procedure varies by country but does in fact count as entering the country (and sometimes the procedure does involve passengers meeting with officials face to face). As you've pointed out, a carrier cannot carry a passenger without documentation so you've again created a Catch-22- the ship can't carry a passenger without documentation, but they can't leave a passenger behind who has lost their documentation.

 

In any event those travelers were left behind and had to catch up to the ship the next day after obtaining their passports. I have absolutely no reason to doubt that would be the normal procedure in most ports in Europe. Again, this story wasn't offered to change anyone's mind, it was simply offered as food for thought.

[Kate P.C]

We always carry a copy. I wouldn't risk taking the actual passport. If we miss ship, the passport will be with the port agent.

[SRF]

On 3/13/2020 at 7:19 AM, sparks1093 said:

Nope, you have officially entered the country. People can't leave the ship until they have cleared immigration and that procedure varies by country but does in fact count as entering the country (and sometimes the procedure does involve passengers meeting with officials face to face). As you've pointed out, a carrier cannot carry a passenger without documentation so you've again created a Catch-22- the ship can't carry a passenger without documentation, but they can't leave a passenger behind who has lost their documentation.

 

In any event those travelers were left behind and had to catch up to the ship the next day after obtaining their passports. I have absolutely no reason to doubt that would be the normal procedure in most ports in Europe. Again, this story wasn't offered to change anyone's mind, it was simply offered as food for thought.

 

No, you are an In Transit passenger.  Which is not the same thing as entering the country.

 

Just like transiting a European airport.  If you come from the US through Paris or Amsterdam or etc, and are headed to a non-Schengen country, you are in the terminal, but have not entered the country.

 

Even though you are allowed out and about, you have not entered.

 

That is why, if you want to leave the ship early, you have to coordinate, and possibly pay a fee for customs and immigration people to process you into the country.

[SRF]

On 3/13/2020 at 11:49 AM, Kate P.C said:

We always carry a copy. I wouldn't risk taking the actual passport. If we miss ship, the passport will be with the port agent.

 

WILL?
 

Are you sure?

 

Most likely, yes.  WILL, maybe, maybe not.

[sparks1093]

14 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

No, you are an In Transit passenger.  Which is not the same thing as entering the country.

 

Just like transiting a European airport.  If you come from the US through Paris or Amsterdam or etc, and are headed to a non-Schengen country, you are in the terminal, but have not entered the country.

 

Even though you are allowed out and about, you have not entered.

 

That is why, if you want to leave the ship early, you have to coordinate, and possibly pay a fee for customs and immigration people to process you into the country.

We'll agree to disagree on this one.

[ColeThornton]

Speaking of passports, just an FYI for those interested:   I got my renewed (U.S.) passport in the mail today.  It took right at five weeks from mailing back to mailbox.

 

Now, I have nowhere to go.  lol

[wowzz]

21 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

Speaking of passports, just an FYI for those interested:   I got my renewed (U.S.) passport in the mail today.  It took right at five weeks from mailing back to mailbox.

 

Now, I have nowhere to go.  lol

5 weeks seems incredibly long. Is that normal for the US ? 

Took a week when I renewed my UK passport a couple of months ago.

[drsel]

To the OP--Always carry them. Better to play safe

Edited March 20, 2020 by drsel

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

5 weeks seems incredibly long. Is that normal for the US ? 

Took a week when I renewed my UK passport a couple of months ago.

 

His background check turned up some gunslinging in the old west.  😀

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, drsel said:

To the OP--Always carry them. Better to play safe

Let me rephrase that for you.  "Never carry them unless you have to. Better to play safe."

[drsel]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

Let me rephrase that for you.  "Never carry them unless you have to. Better to play safe."

sorry, I meant always carry a photocopy of your passport with you on your shore excursion, and keep the original passport safely locked up in your cabin

[K32682]

On 3/19/2020 at 1:30 PM, SRF said:

 

WILL?
 

Are you sure?

 

Most likely, yes.  WILL, maybe, maybe not.

 

Even if they do you will need to return to the port and track down the agent which could take hours and range between inconvenient and impossible depending on the circumstances.  Should you need your passport the only certain way to have it is to be carrying it.  

 

Not that any of this discussion matters much at this point as very few of us will need our passports for the foreseeable future. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

  

Not that any of this discussion matters much at this point as very few of us will need our passports for the foreseeable future. 

That is unfortunately true.

[SRF]

On 3/19/2020 at 1:54 PM, sparks1093 said:

We'll agree to disagree on this one.

 

If what you say is true, why do you have to have the cruise line coordinate immigration and customs if you leave the ship before the final destination??????????????

 

And possibly be charged for that service (customs and immigration).

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

If what you say is true, why do you have to have the cruise line coordinate immigration and customs if you leave the ship before the final destination??????????????

 

And possibly be charged for that service (customs and immigration).

Because you are then entering the country for a different purpose than you originally entered and leaving by a different means. This is one of the reasons my first contact if we miss the ship will be with the port agent, because they will know what arrangements need to be made. FWIW I've had my passport stamped in Paris (going to Europe) and in Amsterdam (going to or returning from Europe). I only have one passport stamp from Germany (and it was an exit stamp), which was my ultimate destination. 

Edited March 25, 2020 by sparks1093

[SRF]

14 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Because you are then entering the country for a different purpose than you originally entered and leaving by a different means. This is one of the reasons my first contact if we miss the ship will be with the port agent, because they will know what arrangements need to be made. FWIW I've had my passport stamped in Paris (going to Europe) and in Amsterdam (going to or returning from Europe). I only have one passport stamp from Germany (and it was an exit stamp), which was my ultimate destination. 

 

DUH, that was my point. 

 

How can you change your entry without your passport.

 

When did you enter Germany?  Last few years I have gotten entry and exit stamps.

[sparks1093]

13 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

DUH, that was my point. 

 

How can you change your entry without your passport.

 

When did you enter Germany?  Last few years I have gotten entry and exit stamps.

But the fact is you entered the country when your ship was docked and cleared by immigration. You don't change your entry, you change the reason for being in the country and the way you are leaving the country. Our first trip to Germany was in 2015 and we've gone every year/year and a half since then but we've never been on a direct flight (and had nothing to declare on arrival so didn't have to talk to anyone).

 

[drsel]

When doing multiple ports in Greece, is each port a separate entry and exit?
So is your passport stamped for entry and exit at each and every port separately

[Charles4515]

When doing multiple ports in Greece, is each port a separate entry and exit?
So is your passport stamped for entry and exit at each and every port separately

Your passport is never checked entering or exiting ports in Greece. So it is never stamped. I always left my passport in the cabin safe.

[SRF]

On 3/26/2020 at 10:34 AM, sparks1093 said:

But the fact is you entered the country when your ship was docked and cleared by immigration. You don't change your entry, you change the reason for being in the country and the way you are leaving the country. Our first trip to Germany was in 2015 and we've gone every year/year and a half since then but we've never been on a direct flight (and had nothing to declare on arrival so didn't have to talk to anyone).

 

 

Then, if you first stopped in a Schengen country, they may or may not stamp your passport there.  But most every entry I have made over the past several years, they have stamped.

 

And no, you do not get stamped entering Germany if you come from another Schengen country.  In fact, you do not even go through immigration.  Just like you do not go through immigration in the US when traveling within the US.

 

But if you enter the Schengen zone in Germany, your passport will be stamped.  Or in Paris.  Or in Amsterdam.  Or in Brussels.  

 

 

[sparks1093]

22 hours ago, SRF said:

 

Then, if you first stopped in a Schengen country, they may or may not stamp your passport there.  But most every entry I have made over the past several years, they have stamped.

 

And no, you do not get stamped entering Germany if you come from another Schengen country.  In fact, you do not even go through immigration.  Just like you do not go through immigration in the US when traveling within the US.

 

But if you enter the Schengen zone in Germany, your passport will be stamped.  Or in Paris.  Or in Amsterdam.  Or in Brussels.  

 

 

And if you do go from one Schengen country to another you have entered that second country.

[Tapi]

I used to favor leaving passports in the safe until the time we needed them to get back on the ship. My son lost his cruise card in Barcelona and when we returned to the ship, he wouldn’t be allowed back onboard (not even inside the terminal) unless we could produce his passport. The protocol was to check his name on a paper manifest, followed by document verification. A new cruise card would then be issued at guest services. On that particular day, we happened to have our passports with us so we were able to go through this process quickly and effortlessly. I did ask the cruise line security officer if he recommended carrying passports ashore and his reply was “ALWAYS”. 
 

With that said, I don’t always abide by it. Our last cruise was a Caribbean Cruise with stops in Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Amber Cove and Key West, and we opted to leave passports in the safe. 

[drsel]

Always carry a photocopy of your passport with you in case you lose your cruise card