do you bring your passport off the ship?

[reallyexcited]

i am afraid that if i miss the ship then I won't have my passport with me.

 

should I take it off the ship at the ports?

[stargazingjess]

I take mine and pack it in an inside zippered pocket of my purse, just in case!

 

Make sure you make copies of all your passports and keep it in your stateroom just in case.

[98Charlie]

You'll get all sorts of responses. Do what you are comfortable with.

 

We carry ours ashore.

 

Charlie

[maxamuus]

We carry copies only.

[Islandtude]

I carry it off with me. I keep copies in the stateroom. My inlaws have copies and I have it stored on 3 different email accounts and its also stored on my ipod.

 

Can never be too safe

[Kris7562]

I carry my passport on me at ANY time I am outside of the country. Just makes me feel better - and, though I know they will soon be required to get on the ship, I've carried mine everywhere for years. Has nothing to do with cruise requirements for me. Just, God forbid, something happen in another country, I want my American passport!!!

Everyone will tell you something different, but if for some reason you miss the boat, or something happens in another country, I'm willing to bet you are going to SERIOUSLY regret not carrying your passport with you on shore....

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Literally hundreds of passengers a week are sailing with just a birth certificate and photo ID. Do what makes you comfortable but in the Caribbean we leave it on the ship.

[boundingmaynard]

i am afraid that if i miss the ship then I won't have my passport with me.

 

should I take it off the ship at the ports?

If you really are concerned about missing the ship, take your passport with you. Better to have and not need I always say. That said, there are risks either way

[DarthGrady]

We don't in Mexico. If we miss the ship, we can just walk back into the states. Border check points are for chumps!

[gazingm42]

We keep a photo copy with a family member back at home. Just in

case we need a copy faxed to us somewhere.

[reallyexcited]

thanks.

 

I bought a waterproof pouch for when we do cave tubing and such so i plan on keeping it in there with me while off the ship! I just feel better that way :)

[sillygirl777]

We don't in Mexico. If we miss the ship, we can just walk back into the states. Border check points are for chumps!

 

 

hahahaha.... but in all seriousness take it with you ;)

[ShedQueen77]

We bring ours. We have an Aquapac that we put them in if we'll be getting wet anywhere.

[richkinkade]

If you're more afraid of missing the ship, take your passport with you. If you're more afraid of your passport being lost or stolen ashore, leave it onboard. I personally know several people who have had wallets and purses stolen or lost on trips and nobody who has missed a ship. I leave my passport onboard.

[mrgame101]

We took our passports with us off the ship. If anything ever happened and we missed the ship/and or natural disater or anything we know that our passports are your ticket out of there!

[Travelitis]

That's the point of taking it in the first place, as far as I'm concerned. The cruiselines are content with a b.c., but if you have trouble in port, nothing is as good as a passport.

[falconfan]

We always take our passport when we leave the ship. That way we have a good recognized ID no matter where we go.

[seaman54]

i am afraid that if i miss the ship then I won't have my passport with me.

 

should I take it off the ship at the ports?

Only bring your pass port off the ship if you need to. If you dont need to i wouldnt bring my pass port off the ship, you may lose it:cool: SEEYA

[DocF]

Think about it. You are in a foreign country. You have one document that establishes you as a U.S. (or Canadian, or whatever) citizen. Carry your passport. Probably, you will not need it. If you do, it is useless if it is on the ship and you are not. If you are concerned about it being stolen, get one of the passport holders that is on a neck lanyard. They have them at WalMart and other stores.

 

Doc

[cruisnpat]

We usually take ours with us when we go to port.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Think about it. You are in a foreign country. You have one document that establishes you as a U.S. (or Canadian, or whatever) citizen. Carry your passport. Probably, you will not need it. If you do, it is useless if it is on the ship and you are not. If you are concerned about it being stolen, get one of the passport holders that is on a neck lanyard. They have them at WalMart and other stores.

 

Doc

 

What do you do with the passport when you are snorkeling or another water sport? I know you can get a waterproof one. Your U.S. citizenship has already been established before you step on the ship. That's why you filled out the Funpass and it was transmitted to Homeland Security. If you needed to get back to the U.S. and are flying directly there you can get permission by calling:

 

If you are a U.S. citizen living or traveling abroad and have an emergency involving U.S. citizenship, travel safety abroad, property and estate matters abroad, please call the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747 during business hours (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.). During non-business hours, please call 202-647-4000 and ask for the duty officer.

 

Whether you have a passport or not you should carry this number with you. You should also have the name and number of the agent the cruise line uses in that particular port which is found in the Capers.

 

By the way I had a passport stolen and thought I had all the bases covered. Found out that's why they are called professionals.

 

Again if you are more comfortable carrying it and you have one by all means do so.

[KtBarker]

Interestingly enough... when you cruise in Europe I believe the cruise line maintains your passport for the majority of the trip, so you can't take keep it with you while in port.

[Bruce&Pam]

By the way I had a passport stolen and thought I had all the bases covered.

You're the first person I've heard about that's actually had their passport stolen. We've always been paranoid about whether to leave it or take it with us for that reason. Tell us how you got back on the ship and through U.S. customs without your passport. I'd really like to know what happens.

 

---Bruce

[CruzVinnieCruz]

You're the first person I've heard about that's actually had their passport stolen. We've always been paranoid about whether to leave it or take it with us for that reason. Tell us how you got back on the ship and through U.S. customs without your passport. I'd really like to know what happens.

 

---Bruce

 

I did not have it stolen on a cruise. We were in Europe and I had to go to the Embassy and have it replaced. It was the beginning of the trip and over there you don't go far without one.

 

To get through port security all you need is a government issued photo id (drivers license) and the S&S. Most of the time all they look at is the S&S

 

That being said my DW is an flight attendant with a major airline and has on one occasion brought passengers back to the U.S. out of the Caribbean with faxed travel permission. The only thing that happened is they were met on the jet way by officials their photo ids checked, questioned them, and they were on their way.

 

We just carry photo copies of the passport data page for each passport in the Caribbean. I carry a copy of each and my DW carries a copy of each. That way we at least have the numbers. If you do carry your passports keep them separate and carry a photocopy of the other.

[Rouge Wave]

We never take ours unless we are required to do so. There is big black market for stolen US passports. We will take a copy; again such depends on the country. Mexico, the Caribbean, we don’t even bother with a copy, just our SS card (sign and sail) and DL.

With a copy you can get a replacement through a US embassy in a very short amount of time. Also, we made scans of all of our ID, DL, passports, BC as well as some CC’s (both front and back) and keep them as a file on a Gmail/Hotmail/Yahoo type e-mail account that has a very secure password and that we use for nothing else.

For us, the risk and hassles of having the passport stolen in a country where having it on person is not required is just not worth the risk. By the way we never keep our ID and our money in the same pocket, purse etc. I always keep my money in a money clip in a front pants pocket and ID and CC (just the cards no wallet) in a back pocket with a rubber band around them. (The rubber band, if not prevent, will really slow down a pickpocket….) GF will carry only a very small purse that has a strong strap long enough she can put it over her had and so the purse will hang down by her side under her arm. She will keep some cash there along with “her” stuff. ID and perhaps cash in different pockets on her person.