Quick ?: Do you bring your passports ashore?

[squirrellee01]

If not, do you bring copies?

 

 

SHERYL

[Cruise Passenger]

If not, do you bring copies?

 

 

SHERYL

 

 

I locked it up in my safe. Search these boards because this is a highly debated topic. Many different opinions. I just fear losing it while off ship. Figure that if I have an emergency while on land and need passport to get home I can find a way to get it off ship.

[Aandark]

I've seen this discussed in other posts. From what I can tell, the discussion is split. Some say leave the passport on the ship while others say take it along. In my travels, I've always been a fan of carrying my passport on me...The main reason being that if something goes wrong and I need to have access to the U.S. Embassy...I'm going to get past the Marine at the gate quite a bit faster if I have my passport than I will with a photocopy of my passport. Just my own little opinion.

[squirrellee01]

Thanks for your answers. I see it's good to have it as kind of a "worst case scenario". We are going to St. Thomas and I heard warnings of pick picketers on the beaches so I didn't know if it was wise to take them still or leave them. We should be close to lockers or maybe some members of my family will be there to watch them.

 

Sheryl

[Warmer Climes]

I leave the passports in the safe in my cabin and take photocopies so if I had to prove our identity, I could.

 

Barb

[tomko2]

We leave them in the safe and just take the required photo ID and SeaPass cards with us.

[Roxilla]

Thanks for your answers. I see it's good to have it as kind of a "worst case scenario". We are going to St. Thomas and I heard warnings of pick picketers on the beaches so I didn't know if it was wise to take them still or leave them. We should be close to lockers or maybe some members of my family will be there to watch them.

 

Sheryl

US passports are in high demand and can net a tidy profit for the thief. If you take it off the ship, you should take extra precautions for keeping it safe. I advise the type of wallet that goes under your clothes. This would not be very feasible for a beach though. Good luck!

[critterchick]

We take ours with us in foreign ports. We're not usually beachgoers, which is when I would be most concerned - otherwise I have it in my purse with a New Yorker's frim grip on it. I do have a really ugly water case that I could wear around my waist in the water but so far I haven't had to.

[dforeigner]

Thanks for your answers. I see it's good to have it as kind of a "worst case scenario". We are going to St. Thomas and I heard warnings of pick picketers on the beaches so I didn't know if it was wise to take them still or leave them. We should be close to lockers or maybe some members of my family will be there to watch them.

 

Sheryl

 

If you are a US citizen, you do not need a passport on you when visiting St Thomas as it is a US Territory. The caveat is if you were to miss the boat and have to fly to a foreign country that requires a passport. Word of advise. Do not put your passport in the same place as your credit cards, cash and other form of ID (ie. purse, pockets).

[RetiredMustang]

One thing I've not seen, on this thead at least, is that you absolutely need it if you are moving from one country to another. The one that comes to mind is St. Maarten, but not to travel to the French side St. Martin, because there are no required checks between, say, Philipsburg on the Dutch side and Marigot on the French side. It's another thing if you take the ferry to Anguilla; you will not be able to do so without a passport. I've not tried to go from St. Thomas in the USVI to Tortola or Jost Van Dyke in the BVI, but there may be similar issues. I recommend that if your plans include something like that, you research ahead what the requirements are in the jurisdictions you plan to visit so you are not caught short.

[jakedoc]

We leave the passports in the safe and take a copy with us. Never had a need for them

[BobBeaSea]

Whether you take the passports on shore or not is entirely your call. There is no "right or wrong". I can tell you that most non Americans wouldn't take passports on shore (assuming we had them in the 1st place :)) while a lot of Americans would take them on shore. The U.S. passport rule has got people scared, again, mostly Americans...non Americans are not quite so intimidated but I think that is because more non Americans, on a per capita basis, have always had passports to begin with.

 

BTW, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has allowed all kinds of people to fly to the States without passports, they are "easing" in to the requirements. For American citizens, you will not be stranded if you miss the ship and don't have your passport with you, you will fly home...you will face an extra check with your Customs people and that is all.