Identification while onboard?

[sparks1093]

14 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Yes, embedded when you look at it through the crew  scanners. But the statement was a picture on the cruise card.

Not all cruise lines have a picture on the card and the card doesn't display age. The employee that asked my son for ID did not have any type of scanner so had no way of knowing what the system said his age was. Granted, this is only going to apply to folks who look really young. Old farts like me would have no issues. (All I carry on the ship is the cabin card and maybe my phone.) 🙂 

[john watson]

Princess used to have whether you are an adult or not plus the number of cruises you have completed on you cruise card which was colour coded to loyalty level.  The information could be observed by anyone inspecting the card.  Now they have moved onto medallions this is not possible by visual inspection.  However now as you walk past many points such as bars etc. staff can see an enormous amount of information as it flashes up. In the casino you need to hand the medallion in, without holder and they can see a picture of you. Many cruise lines will have different systems but all do whatever for security and safety purposes.

 

Regards John

[john watson]

On 7/14/2024 at 7:50 PM, 1025cruise said:

Yes, embedded when you look at it through the crew  scanners. But the statement was a picture on the cruise card.

I have never had a photograph of myself on a cruise account card on any cruise line I have sailed on.

 

 

Regards John

[MacMadame]

 

 

13 minutes ago, john watson said:

I have never had a photograph of myself on a cruise account card on any cruise line I have sailed on.

Most of the lines take your picture when you embark. It's not physically on the card, if that is what you meant, but it is part of your account information.

Edited July 15 by MacMadame

[Mum2Mercury]

On 7/13/2024 at 11:25 AM, 1025cruise said:

But, the rules do state you may be asked to provide a government ID and must do so if asked. 

They're not going to ask you for anything beyond the Ship ID unless something's really wonky.  Let's think through how that'd work: 

 

Bartender:  I'll need to see another ID before I can sell you a drink. 

Cruiser:  But I'm here by the pool.  I didn't bring any other ID. 

Bartender:  Sorry, Sir, you'll have to dry off, return to your room, then come back and wait in line again.  

Cruiser:  Forget this!  (And Royal doesn't want to lose even a single drink sale.) 

On 7/14/2024 at 12:44 PM, john watson said:

I think you will find that your cruise card, or whatever alternative the cruise line uses has an embedded photograph of you within it. 

Absolutely your photograph is embedded in your Ship ID. 

Two examples: 

- We were on Coco Cay, and I went to the bar.  I was fishing through my bag for my Ship ID, and the bartender asked for my room number.  He said, "Um, I don't think so", and he turned his laptop around showing me a picture of a man (I am a woman) of a different race.  He said, "This man is in that room -- alone."  Before I could formulate a thought, he said, "Oh, wait -- are you on Liberty or Independence?"  Both were docked at Coco Cay.  Once he put in the right ship, he turned the laptop around again and showed me my own photograph.  We both laughed, and he gave me my drink.  

- Coming and going from island stops, several times I've been asked to take off my sunglasses.  They really look at the picture that pops up when your Ship ID is scanned.

On 7/14/2024 at 12:50 PM, john watson said:

Many cruise lines have a marker on the card to identify people who are not adults.

Not just cruise lines.  My state's driver's licenses are landscape-oriented for adults over 21 ... and portrait-style for anyone under 21.  It's a one-glance way to know who's old enough to buy alcohol.

[John Bull]

10 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

 

My state's driver's licenses are landscape-oriented for adults over 21 ... and portrait-style for anyone under 21.  It's a one-glance way to know who's old enough to buy alcohol.

 

 

What a great idea ........... I thought.

But what happens when the guy reaches 21 ? 

Does he get a fresh DL ?

Or have the poor guy have to abstain til his licence expires ?

 

JB 🙂

[john watson]

12 hours ago, MacMadame said:

 

 

Most of the lines take your picture when you embark. It's not physically on the card, if that is what you meant, but it is part of your account information.

 

Yes, precisely. The OP newbie queried whether you need to carry ID while on board and by implication we think photo ID.  He seemed to believe you needed photo ID on board in case someone officially challenged you.  All the sensitive areas have scanners to acquire your embedded photo and in my experience no cruise account card has ever had a photograph displayed on it.  Why one would be challenged on board as to who you are is mystifying as nobody has ever challenged anyone I know. I think you should need to be doing something really bad to be challenged then apprehended, not just milling about.

 

Regards John

[Fubie]

49 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

 

What a great idea ........... I thought.

But what happens when the guy reaches 21 ? 

Does he get a fresh DL ?

Or have the poor guy have to abstain til his licence expires ?

 

JB 🙂

In the United States, drivers licenses expire, requiring a visit to a local Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) office to renew the license.  So yes, they would be required to get a new license at 21.  

[sparks1093]

4 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

Yes, precisely. The OP newbie queried whether you need to carry ID while on board and by implication we think photo ID.  He seemed to believe you needed photo ID on board in case someone officially challenged you.  All the sensitive areas have scanners to acquire your embedded photo and in my experience no cruise account card has ever had a photograph displayed on it.  Why one would be challenged on board as to who you are is mystifying as nobody has ever challenged anyone I know. I think you should need to be doing something really bad to be challenged then apprehended, not just milling about.

 

Regards John

My son was just "milling about" in the casino when he was asked for his ID. If you are in a venue with an age restriction (such as the casino) and you look young you may be asked for your ID in order to be allowed to stay. 

[john watson]

On 7/11/2024 at 6:52 PM, 1025cruise said:

I have never received a cruise card that has my photo on it. And yes, when going off ship, you really need to have some form of government issues photo ID on you. Not a copy of your passport page.

Strangely in the People's Republic of China we received photocopies of our passports to take ashore as the originals were retained by the ship.  This enabled us to obtain local currency from some banks.

 

As an aside if you travel with a rarer passport such as a Namibian one the cruise line will retain it in their admin area so that when the ship docks and the local officials enter they may physically inspect an original document.  Reception give you a passport receipt so you can retrieve your passport after the ship has left the last port of call prior to the disembarkation port.

 

Regards John

Edited July 16 by john watson

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, Fubie said:

In the United States, drivers licenses expire, requiring a visit to a local Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) office to renew the license.  So yes, they would be required to get a new license at 21.  

It varies by state. We may renew online here in Vermont as long as our picture was taken within the guidelines (I believe pictures need to be updated every 8 years or so here, which is also something that may vary).

[john watson]

3 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

My son was just "milling about" in the casino when he was asked for his ID. If you are in a venue with an age restriction (such as the casino) and you look young you may be asked for your ID in order to be allowed to stay. 

 

This is true but some cruise cards Princess, Cunard have identifiers to distinguish between adults and non-adults. The query is sometimes is he using an older brothers card and the security scanner will sort that out. Age sensitive areas will have scanners as does the children's club.

 

 

Regards John

Edited July 16 by john watson

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

This is true but some cruise cards Princess, Cunard have identifiers to distinguish between adults and non-adults. The query is sometimes is he using an older brothers card and the security scanner will sort that out. Age sensitive areas will have scanners as does the children's club.

 

 

Regards John

The card he was carrying did indeed identify him as over 18, but the employee wanted to see his ID. She did not take him to a scanner but made him retrieve his ID from the cabin. This may have been an one off situation, so I am merely reporting this as something that may happen to anyone that appears to be overly young.

[john watson]

2 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

The card he was carrying did indeed identify him as over 18, but the employee wanted to see his ID. She did not take him to a scanner but made him retrieve his ID from the cabin. This may have been an one off situation, so I am merely reporting this as something that may happen to anyone that appears to be overly young.

 

I think the suspicion here would be using an older brother cruise card. Retrieving ID from cabin seems a bit lax as he could just disappear.  They may have impounded his card until he returned but it sounds a bit unique and not done well from a security aspect.  Presumably he was alone at the time.  If they accompanied him to the cabin alone, again safe guarding issues could be a problem. With experience if he was alone and the card impounded pending ID being found he could go to reception and ask if they were bona fide security people and can reception confirm his age. I think this would have been a Carnival Cruise Line cruise.

 

Regards John

[sparks1093]

10 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

I think the suspicion here would be using an older brother cruise card. Retrieving ID from cabin seems a bit lax as he could just disappear.  They may have impounded his card until he returned but it sounds a bit unique and not done well from a security aspect.  Presumably he was alone at the time.  If they accompanied him to the cabin alone, again safe guarding issues could be a problem. With experience if he was alone and the card impounded pending ID being found he could go to reception and ask if they were bona fide security people and can reception confirm his age. I think this would have been a Carnival Cruise Line cruise.

 

Regards John

Why jump through all of those hoops? The only question at play was is he old enough to be present in the casino. If he isn't old enough he is asked to leave. That's it. If he didn't want to stay in the casino there would be no need for an ID, so if he "just disappeared" it wouldn't matter. There had been times when the boys were younger when we had to transit the casino, which is allowed even for those under age, but we were reminded by the staff to keep moving if it looked at all like we were lollygagging. And no, it wasn't a Carnival cruise in this case, it was NCL.

 

(And I realize that this is a unique situation and only likely to come up rarely. I am not suggesting that everyone needs to carry an ID onboard, even those that look young. I am merely pointing out that statements such as "you will never need an ID onboard the ship because you have your cabin key" are not necessarily true.)

[MacMadame]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

The card he was carrying did indeed identify him as over 18, but the employee wanted to see his ID. She did not take him to a scanner but made him retrieve his ID from the cabin. This may have been an one off situation, so I am merely reporting this as something that may happen to anyone that appears to be overly young.

It sounds like it's one of those "oh, you can wear shorts in the MDR" things where it's true most of the time but not 100% of the time. 😄 

 

My daughter always looked older than her age from about 12 on and once when we were in Vegas, I asked a teller how old she was. He thought 21 but she was 16! Her brother had the opposite problem as he looked younger.

[mjkacmom]

On 7/16/2024 at 6:31 AM, John Bull said:

 

 

What a great idea ........... I thought.

But what happens when the guy reaches 21 ? 

Does he get a fresh DL ?

Or have the poor guy have to abstain til his licence expires ?

 

JB 🙂

I have 5 kids in their 20’s here in NJ, they can use the older one but it can be a pain getting into strict bars. My daughter was turned away last weekend  (23) because hers is a duplicate and they require another form of a photo aid in that case. I recommend bringing a passport card just in case until they get the “adult” version.

 

ETA, talking about the older brother thing, my youngest daughter got a dupe from my oldest daughter (and when she turned 21 she got a duo for her cousin (which was taken away from her 2 weeks ago 2 days before she turned 21, so fine), my youngest son got a dupe from my oldest son. Middle child looks like no one.

Edited July 18 by mjkacmom

[john watson]

On 7/18/2024 at 8:04 PM, mjkacmom said:

I have 5 kids in their 20’s here in NJ, they can use the older one but it can be a pain getting into strict bars. My daughter was turned away last weekend  (23) because hers is a duplicate and they require another form of a photo aid in that case. I recommend bringing a passport card just in case until they get the “adult” version.

 

 

In the context of being on a cruise one would normally have a passport in the cabin safe but not generally carry a passport about the ship.  A driving licence as in photo ID would generally suffice at many ports in the cruise terminal area.  Often the cruise card or medallion would let you gain admission to that area and security staff would appreciate a photo ID. This is only at ports where passports are not required to go ashore.

 

Regards John

[radiationman]

NO NO NO do not carry personal id ie drivers license or passport onboard ship. Lock them in room safe and only take them out if truly required in a specific port. Do not risk losing them!!  Shipboard only require cruise card, once boarded your other ids have no use on the ship. This will work as a credit card allowing one to purchase stuff like drinks.  Card automatically cards you. Most Caribbean ports only require ship card and 1 photo id we usually bring divers license. Small amount of cash and 1 credit card between us. When cruising most European ports do not require you to carry passport, again ship card and photo id good enough.  When travelling to foreign countries on (believe it or not) non-cruise trips we leave our passports in room safe and take copies. 

 

As an aside for those of you that carry your passports and boarding passes in an over the neck pouch how easy do think it would be for someone to grab and run?

[mom says]

2 hours ago, radiationman said:

As an aside for those of you that carry your passports and boarding passes in an over the neck pouch how easy do think it would be for someone to grab and run?

I've worn a neck pouch on my travels for years. It is properly worn under your clothing  just as a money belt is. Someone would have to work at it to even see it, let alone snatch it. Perhaps you are referring to a sling or cross body bag, which is worn over one shoulder and across the body? Surely you aren't referring to a lanyard and pouch, which is only for on board use?

[Mum2Mercury]

15 hours ago, radiationman said:

NO NO NO do not carry personal id ie drivers license or passport onboard ship. 

Absolutely.  You need your Ship ID -- after all, it's your room key as well as your identification, but don't risk losing your "real world ID" onboard.  I seem to have a knack for finding lost Ship IDs -- on the floor in the Windjammer, on the chairs by the pool.  People lose those things, but at least they're easily replaced.  

12 hours ago, mom says said:

I've worn a neck pouch on my travels for years. It is properly worn under your clothing  just as a money belt is. Someone would have to work at it to even see it, let alone snatch it. Perhaps you are referring to a sling or cross body bag, which is worn over one shoulder and across the body? Surely you aren't referring to a lanyard and pouch, which is only for on board use?

Two solid facts: 

- If a thief has chosen you specifically, he's likely to get your stuff -- neck pouch or not.  They make it their job, and they can be really good at it.  

- BUT it's not likely that you -- or any particular cruiser -- will be uniquely targeted.  Realistically, you just have to be more secure than the sloppy people -- the ones who have their phones hanging out of their back pockets, the ones who stop to count their money on the street. 

[john watson]

On 7/31/2024 at 1:53 PM, Mum2Mercury said:

 Realistically, you just have to be more secure than the sloppy people -- the ones who have their phones hanging out of their back pockets, the ones who stop to count their money on the street. 

It always surprises me that people use an ATM then stand there with the queue and others looking at them counting the money and checking that it is correct.  Who are they going to dispute it with if the amount is not right. It is a machine and it wont help to shout at it.

 

Regards John

[nickhorsley]

When I went on my first cruise, I made sure to carry a copy of my passport and driver’s license with me. I kept the originals in my cabin safe, but it’s handy to have a copy on you in case you need to show ID or if you’re doing any onboard activities. 

[9tee2Sea]

I usually carry my wallet around in my front pocket at all times.  If I place my key card in my pocket, I end up losing it, and I dont like having a lanyard around my neck like a dog tag.  I put it in my wallet, so I know where it is.  Also, in case of have to be evacuated ( medical or ship emergency), I have my ID with me ( weird, I know).  Also, my wallet is thin enough, that its hardly noticeable in my front pocket.  I also use the casino, so having my wallet on me holds my gambling monies ( I dont charge things to my room unless its an onboard purchase)