Surrender Passport?

[rcrabb1513]

I was watching a YouTuber (Tony @ La Lido Loca) who is currently on a Princess cruise sailing the British Isles.  He said Princess required all passengers to surrender their passport for the duration of the cruise. One of the comments a viewer offered said it was a due to Irish immigration requirements. 

 

 

We will be doing a British Isles cruise on Pride which include two Irish ports of call.  Is this comment correct?  Did any past Carnival cruisers of the British Isles have to surrender their passports as well?

[Guest ldtr]

Pretty normal. Some countries require passports to be checked. Much faster to have ship collect them, instead of each person having to go through immigration individually. Have run into this on several cruises.

[TrqoisWtrs]

When I cruised Splendor to Singapore, we had to surrender our passports too.  Its not anything unusual.

[alyssamma]

This is interesting and I've never heard of it. Is it truly for the entire cruise or just for a period? When and how do you get them back?

[Old Fart Cruisers]

29 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

When and how do you get them back?

 

They put all of them in one big pile at the end of the cruise and everyone digs through it to find their's🤣.

[Purvis1231]

This is very common in world travel. 

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, Purvis1231 said:

This is very common in world travel. 

So can you explain how it works? I've done a lot of world traveling, but not on cruises so am unfamiliar with this.

 

Is it for the entire duration? When and how do you get it back?

[mistycruiser]

We.ve had passports held on some previous cruises.  Normally when they no longer need to hold onto them they'll send a letter to the cabin which will indicate where and when you can pick them up.  Usually they'll do it by deck and they'll have a centralized place to go to pick them up. 

 

[Illbcruzn4life]

3 hours ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

 

They put all of them in one big pile at the end of the cruise and everyone digs through it to find their's🤣.

oh like in the old days looking through photos to purchase on the morning we were getting off

[emm126]

I have had that happen to me on a couple of cruises. I do know once from Seabourn that they put a sticker on the front of it- with my name on it that I kept on until it expired. It was easy for me  to . identify. 

[crzndeb]

Recently on the Ovation, they set up tables on each cabin deck and we received a note in our cabins on times to turn them in and pick up. It worked out very well. There was no lines and it was a smooth process. They were all in cabin number order in boxes, so they could find them quickly. I was on 5 legs, but I believe it was for French Polynesian ports they collected them for.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, crzndeb said:

Recently on the Ovation, they set up tables on each cabin deck and we received a note in our cabins on times to turn them in and pick up. It worked out very well. There was no lines and it was a smooth process. They were all in cabin number order in boxes, so they could find them quickly. I was on 5 legs, but I believe it was for French Polynesian ports they collected them for.

Thanks...and this makes 100% sense. It sounded before like they were collected at the beginning of the cruise and you didn't get them until the end...that didn't sound right.

 

But turning them in before a port and getting them back afterwards makes 100% sense.

[EngIceDave]

On Luminosa from Australia, we had to surrender our passports due to French Polynesia requirements, we stopped in Tahiti and Moorea.

 

They were returned a day or so after our stops there and before reaching Hawaii/USA.

[stobe1]

4 hours ago, alyssamma said:

So can you explain how it works? I've done a lot of world traveling, but not on cruises so am unfamiliar with this.

 

Is it for the entire duration? When and how do you get it back?

Lots of hotels in Europe and Middle East and Africa will make you give them your passport when you check in and you get it back upon check out.  

 

I have never had it happen on a cruise but it doesn't sound too far fetched based on an individual country's requirements.

[Essiesmom]

If your cruise only visited Schengen ports, they would not have to collect them.  But if the ship leaves that area for a port or two, they will collect the passports and return them when no longer needed.  EM

[EngIceDave]

4 minutes ago, stobe1 said:

Lots of hotels in Europe and Middle East and Africa will make you give them your passport when you check in and you get it back upon check out.

True. It's not that uncommon. 

 

[fin]

MSC did this in the Mediterranean and Oceania did this in the Caribbean.  Very organized system of return.  No worries.

[latebloomer56]

Wow, have never had to turn over our passports? Just lucky maybe, we have done the British Isles four times each with Ireland as well as a Baltic cruise in 2018 only had to show our passports when we went on our tours both days in St. Petersburg no place else.

 

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, stobe1 said:

Lots of hotels in Europe and Middle East and Africa will make you give them your passport when you check in and you get it back upon check out.  

 

I have never had it happen on a cruise but it doesn't sound too far fetched based on an individual country's requirements.

I wouldn't say "lots". I've been to almost every country in Europe and never given my passport up like that. I've done some middle east and Africa and also never had that happen.

 

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I just wouldn't say "lots".

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, EngIceDave said:

True. It's not that uncommon. 

 

Yeah, I think it's very uncommon. I've never stayed anyplace that made me give up my passport for the *entire* time. If you mean taking it and giving it back later that day, then yeah. But never for the entire time.

 

My experience in Africa is somewhat limited - only 2 countries - but still never had it happen.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, EngIceDave said:

On Luminosa from Australia, we had to surrender our passports due to French Polynesia requirements, we stopped in Tahiti and Moorea.

 

They were returned a day or so after our stops there and before reaching Hawaii/USA.

Thanks, again, this makes sense. Was questioning having passports taken for the entire cruise...

[jean87510]

common on transatlantics going east bound from US.  We gave them in then collected ours I believe right before our 1st port stop 5 days after embarkation.

[purpleally]

7 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Thanks...and this makes 100% sense. It sounded before like they were collected at the beginning of the cruise and you didn't get them until the end...that didn't sound right.

 

But turning them in before a port and getting them back afterwards makes 100% sense.

My experience has been they take them at check in and return the last day of the cruise 

[Aplmac]

Ocean Village did this, too..

for our two cruises with them, in 2008.

 

At first a bit disconcerting, but everyone surrendered them

and everyone got theirs back!

 

[Purvis1231]

13 hours ago, alyssamma said:

So can you explain how it works? I've done a lot of world traveling, but not on cruises so am unfamiliar with this.

 

Is it for the entire duration? When and how do you get it back?

When I did a high European tour, we gave our passport to the tour guide and we did not see it again until we landed back in New York.. IThe tour guide presented them at various government officals at each country we visited. Second, whe I studied in the Old Soviet Union, We surrendered the passport to the authorities who hel it until we departed at the Moscow airport.. Finally, on a river cruise that crossed national boundries the ship held the passports and be presented to the authorities.