Got my passport, now what do I do with it?

[Lovely_Star]

We finally received our passports after the four month mark. Now my question is what exactly are we supposed to do with them? Do we take them with us when we leave the ship and go into ports . . . do they have to check them to allow us back onto the ship? Where and how do we store them during our excursions especially on the water related ones?

[SheilaNC]

Hi,

Good question..there are lots of threads discussing various perspectives on this one, so I'll just tell you what we do. We do not take Passports to shore with us unless we are told to do so by the ship. We do take a photocopy with us and we keep copies in each of our carry-ons, just in case we were to lose one (we actually did lose my DH's passport somewhere in the Atlanta airport coming home from Europe one time:eek:

 

Sometimes you are asked to surrender your passports when boarding and they are returned to you...just depends on the rules and regs of various ports. Hope this helps and I know that others will chime in...:)

[phoenix1181]

Leave the passport in the safe. You really don't need to be carrying it with you. If you're concerned, make a copy and carry that with you.

For water related excursions you can purchase plastic, watertight, document holders. They have them on the ship and many resorts. They'll hold your Seapass and some cash & you wear it around your neck.

[petel]

We finally received our passports after the four month mark. Now my question is what exactly are we supposed to do with them? Do we take them with us when we leave the ship and go into ports . . . do they have to check them to allow us back onto the ship? Where and how do we store them during our excursions especially on the water related ones?

 

Make two color copies. Take a copy with you everywhere you go (if you want to). The other copy leave with someone you can contact if everything you own is taken away and you are left in a foreign country naked. The real pp you can usually leave in the room safe on a cruise. All you need to get back on the ship is your ship pass and sometimes a picture ID.

 

Enjoy :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We leave the originals in the safe.

 

Take a copy with us whenever we get off the ship.

[greatam]

Leave the originals in the safe, take a copy with you and as an extra precaution, scan your passport into your computer. Set up an email web account accessible ANYPLACE in the world-hotmail, yahoo, earthlink webmail, etc.

 

Send yourself an email with your scanned in passport attached. Worst case scenario happens, you have a way to access your passport info.

 

My admin has scanned in all my employees passports, drivers license, car registration, health insurance, etc. etc. We have been able to help some of our employees when they have been FAR from home. We also scan in itineraries, e tickets, travel insurance policies, etc. Has been very valuable to have that info accessible via email.

[alphakitty]

I always take my passport with me when leaving the ship in a foreign port. I feel safer knowing I have it in case of a mishap and missing the ship. To each their own. :)

[BobBeaSea]

Whether or not to take your passport on shore with you is entirely up to you. Most ports certainly don't require them as ID, any government issued photo ID such as a drivers licence or even a copy of the info page of your passport will do. The advice you get here will be split, some will say take them to shore and some will say leave them in the safe. In our case we have never taken them on shore.

[Senoj84]

I see a lot of posts that say put your passport in your safe and make a photocopy of it with you. Do you really have to put the passport in the safe to avoid possilbe stealing of it? Or can you put it in another bag in your room?

[Happy ks]

I see a lot of posts that say put your passport in your safe and make a photocopy of it with you. Do you really have to put the passport in the safe to avoid possilbe stealing of it? Or can you put it in another bag in your room?

 

 

You can put it another bag if you wish, it's just safer in the safe.

 

We don't take our passports off the ship, we take as little as possible and don't carry a bag at all, unless we absolutely have to. I'm married to a man who wants to re-board the ship 2 hours before sailaway, so we've never had a concern about the ship leaving without us.

[Senoj84]

Thanks

[greatam]

I see a lot of posts that say put your passport in your safe and make a photocopy of it with you. Do you really have to put the passport in the safe to avoid possilbe stealing of it? Or can you put it in another bag in your room?

 

US passports can bring thousands of dollars on the black market. On a recent business trip to Asia, one of my business associates was offered $8,000 for his US passport (he is Asian, but born in the USA).

 

US passports are a high theft item in certain areas of the world. Please keep them safe and secure IN YOUR SAFE.

[cruise_lover]

We leave our passports in the safe in our room. Even though we have never thought of making colored colors I think it is a good idea and we will be doing this before our next cruise. But since some of our tours this time might be water related I think I will have our copies laminated to give them some protection against water damage.

 

Some of us cruisers believes in keeping our passports in the safe while other people will tell you to bring it with you. Before you board the ship ask the port authorities who will be checking you through customs what they think you should do and then when you are on-board go to the customer service counter and ask them what they think. If they both tell you the same thing, follow their advice. If they both tell you something different just follow your own instincts.

[KC_fn]

I see a lot of posts that say put your passport in your safe and make a photocopy of it with you. Do you really have to put the passport in the safe to avoid possilbe stealing of it? Or can you put it in another bag in your room?

 

We put EVERYTHING of value in the safe: passports, cash, credit cards, and jewelry. Better "safe" than sorry. :D

 

Regarding taking the passports with you into port, it depends on the port. You won't need them to get back onto the ship, but when I'm on foreign soil, I always have mine. If you're asked by a foreign official to produce your passport, a photocopy won't help you. (But I do have a photocopies both in the cabin safe, and with my emergency contact back home.)

[Leafpeeper]

When we were docked in St. Marten, we rented a car and wanted to take the ferry from the French side over to Anguilla to see the world's best beach according to the Travel Channel. Anyways, we left our passports in the safe on the ship and were not able to take the ferry. I am wondering whether our driver's license would be enough to take the ferry next time.

[Senoj84]

US passports can bring thousands of dollars on the black market. On a recent business trip to Asia, one of my business associates was offered $8,000 for his US passport (he is Asian, but born in the USA).

 

US passports are a high theft item in certain areas of the world. Please keep them safe and secure IN YOUR SAFE.

 

I didnt know they were in high demand like that. Ill definitely keep them in the safe.

[blindrid]

That was going to be my point - I don't carry copies either. I've had son's birth cert's stolen out of rooms and really don't like the idea of anyone else having a copy of my passport. I just follow the ship's rules and go with it as most do not hold your passport and your card and dl is enough to get back on board.

[Lovely_Star]

Leave the passport in the safe. You really don't need to be carrying it with you. If you're concerned, make a copy and carry that with you.

 

For water related excursions you can purchase plastic, watertight, document holders. They have them on the ship and many resorts. They'll hold your Seapass and some cash & you wear it around your neck.

 

What exactly do these look like? Can you get them online or on ebay or something?

[Keith1010]

I agree with Host Sheila's comments.

 

For us, most of our cruise lines that we now travel collect the passport at embarkation so we don't worry about it anyway. But, even if they didn't we would lock it up in our safe. We do this because if we took it with us it could be stolen but it could also be lost. Either way, would be a problem if we needed it to fly home and to enter the USA.

 

We do make a couple of copies of each passport and carry one with us when we go off the ship. The reason for a copy is if for some reason our passport was lost or stolen it would help to facilitate getting a new one.

 

Some people want to carry it with them at all times. We don't but like anything else in life people do things differently.

 

Keith