Take my passport on shore or not?

[iwillsurvive]

So here is a really dumb question from a first time cruiser: I am going to the Caribbean and realize I should keep my passport with me while on shore. But do I really just stuff it at the bottom of my beach bag while I am snorkeling or swimming? What do all you professional cruisers do? :)

[klfrodo]

So here is a really dumb question from a first time cruiser: I am going to the Caribbean and realize I should keep my passport with me while on shore. But do I really just stuff it at the bottom of my beach bag while I am snorkeling or swimming? What do all you professional cruisers do? :)

 

Depends.

 

Am I on a boat enjoying an excursion and snorkeling is involved?

Then yes, we just put our valuables in our beach bag and enjoy the water.

 

Are we just on the beach on our own?

Yes, we place our valuables in a beach bag. If it is just my wife and I then 1 person stays with the bag. I may wonder out into the water to deliver a frosty drink to my wife while she is floating around, but don't take my eye's off the bag for very long.

Usually though, we meet up with friends and someone is always willing to watch everyones stuff for a short while.

 

Another option we have used is we have purchased a waterproof wallet that we put our valuables in. This has also worked well.

[satxdiver]

If you carry your passport into the ports, can / do you get them stamped? How does all that work?

 

Not in any ports I have visited on a cruise ship. You probably will never be asked to even show it. However it is recommended to have it with you in case the local authorities want to see it. It is similar to carrying your DL with you here in the USA at all times. You may never need to show it, but when you do you had better have it.

[satxdiver]

Why would the cruise line need to hold your passport? It's a passPORT, not passSHIP. It's an essential piece of your identification and I can't imagine turning it over to someone else for "safekeeping" or any other reason.

 

In certain countries the immigration officials may want to see all the passports of the pax on the ship before allowing anyone off the ship. Also when you are in their offshore boundaries, the ship is subject to being boarded by the authorities and inspected. The captain is expected to produce the passports fairly quickly. By holding the passports in the ship safe, the captain can meet the requirements.

 

It also is a type of insurance policy that you will reboard the ship before it sails and not try to stay behind thereby violating that countries immigration policy.

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Wer always bring our passports ashore. We do this in case something happens on shore and 1) we miss the ship will we need it to fly home - can't fly without it 2) God forbid we have an accident on illnes son shore and need to fly home. We do not want the hassle of having to go to the consulate in roder to get home by air to get to the next port of call by air.

[rustedone]

Where can you get waterproof holders for passports?? Never had a passport till now- cruising in Sptember. Scared of losing it taking it off ship- especially " Swimming with Dolphins" in Cozumel...

 

Any advice? :confused:

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Where can you get waterproof holders for passports?? Never had a passport till now- cruising in Sptember. Scared of losing it taking it off ship- especially " Swimming with Dolphins" in Cozumel...

 

Any advice? :confused:

 

http://www.waterproof-paper.com/cases/waterproof-passport-case.shtml

 

There are many hits on Google for waterproof passport holder.

[kidz_rn]

See below for something new that may be of interest, related to this thread.

 

WASHINGTON - The State Department's new passport cards - wallet-sized identification cards designed to speed border crossings by U.S. citizens to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean - are proving popular already. More than 350,000 Americans have preordered the passport cards, the State Department says. The card is not valid for air travel. It can only be used for land and sea crossings between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean. Beginning in June 2009, travelers will be required to present documents proving both citizenship and identity when entering the U.S. through a land or sea border. The card is the size of a credit card or driver's license, and has a photo and identification information printed on it. It also contains a chip with a random number that allows border officials to instantly retrieve your data. Passport cards are good for 10 years and cost $45 ($35 for children under 16). For details on how and where to get a passport card, visit http://www.travel.state.gov.

[satxdiver]

Wer always bring our passports ashore. We do this in case something happens on shore and 1) we miss the ship will we need it to fly home - can't fly without it 2) God forbid we have an accident on illnes son shore and need to fly home. We do not want the hassle of having to go to the consulate in roder to get home by air to get to the next port of call by air.

 

In a lot of ports of call, the USA embassy or consulate is not located there but in another city sometimes a long way away. You would be responsible for travel to the embassy/consulate meaning more time and money.

[gtalum]

We ALWAYS carry our passports when we go ashroe in a foreign port. It is, however, purely a matter of personal risk-tolerance. I would be really upset if I missed the ship and had no passport, so we take ours.

[avcruz]

First of all' date=' any Canadian flying out of the country requires a passport. I believe it's the same for Americans. If you drive between the two countries you do not require a passport YET. I believe that rule comes into play in January 2009.

 

If you're in Europe, no you don't need to show your passport when travelling between countries on the continent but I can guarantee that if you're asked for ID at a hotel, bar or by police and you show them a driver's license from a state or province in Canada or the US they likely won't accept it.

 

Passports are the way to go when you're outside your own country whether it's only a trip to the Caribbean or Mexico or somewhere on the other side of the world. I always have mine in a money belt type thingy under my clothes.

 

I believe that when referencing carrying your passport, credit card, etc. in a money belt, Rick Steves said something along the lines of "You wear it under your clothes like your underwear and think about it, you could lose anything else or have stuff stolen but at the end of the day you're still wearing your underwear."[/quote']

 

The Rick Steve's quote is great, however I have to correct you Monty'sMum. The only Caribbean islands that require Canadians to have passports to enter are Barbados & Cuba. We can use just a DL and proof of citizenship for all the others. The caveat here is that we need a passport to get into/through the US, which is how most travel to the Caribbean happens. If you were on a non-stop flight from Toronto to Nassau though, you'd be okay without a passport.:confused:

 

Having said that, as a travel industry professional I always recommend to my clients that they use a passport and carry it on their person at all times. There are a myriad of reasons for needing it while you're on land, some of which have already been mentioned in this board.

 

I have been on cruises (in South America particularly) where the cruise line does hold onto your passport for the duration of the cruise. It's not their choice, trust me, they are just complying with the local entry requirements that insist that every single pasport (on a ship holding 2,600 passengers!!!) be manually inspected and stamped. Pity the poor guy with the stress fracture in his wrist after all that stamping!!! :eek: In that case I always have a copy of my passport, my Dl and birth cert with me as well as my cruise card.

 

Adrienne

[debbymark]

shops in Europe request your passport if you are using your credit card but so far we don't need them in the UK

[ChevyCruiser]

I have been on cruises (in South America particularly) where the cruise line does hold onto your passport for the duration of the cruise. It's not their choice, trust me, they are just complying with the local entry requirements that insist that every single pasport (on a ship holding 2,600 passengers!!!) be manually inspected and stamped. Pity the poor guy with the stress fracture in his wrist after all that stamping!!! :eek: In that case I always have a copy of my passport, my Dl and birth cert with me as well as my cruise card.

 

Adrienne

 

I'm curious about what good it does for an immigration official to stamp 2,500 passports without matching the passport to a person? What kind of security plan is that?

 

I'm of the school of thought that you don't turn your passport over to anyone for "safekeeping" or expediency. I've been flamed on other threads for my position - but how many hotel clerks and local officials out there would you trust with any of your vital identification?

 

If carrying copies of my passport is sufficient, maybe I should carry some photocopies of my money around as well. I'll get just as far with one as the other.

[uk-ladies]

Ok, I asked about carrying my passport ashore on another thread on here and most of the answers were "Leave it on the ship", I was really surprised about this as being from the UK we carry them everywhere when travelling (maybe it's a Brit thing) even if I did leave it on the ship while I went ashore the other problem for me is the driving licence, I have an old UK one and no photo on it so how will this work, the only other photo ID I have is a card to get into my government work place but I can't see this being accepted, any ideas and thought on this would be gratefully received??? :)

[AllieInMD]

Take your passport ashore. It is the ONLY document accepted by every gov't on earth as proof of citizenship. Even a birth certificate is not proof of citizenship - a person born in one country might renounce their citizenship in favor of another.

 

Ok, I asked about carrying my passport ashore on another thread on here and most of the answers were "Leave it on the ship", I was really surprised about this as being from the UK we carry them everywhere when travelling (maybe it's a Brit thing) even if I did leave it on the ship while I went ashore the other problem for me is the driving licence, I have an old UK one and no photo on it so how will this work, the only other photo ID I have is a card to get into my government work place but I can't see this being accepted, any ideas and thought on this would be gratefully received??? :)

[avcruz]

I'm curious about what good it does for an immigration official to stamp 2,500 passports without matching the passport to a person? What kind of security plan is that?

 

I'm of the school of thought that you don't turn your passport over to anyone for "safekeeping" or expediency. I've been flamed on other threads for my position - but how many hotel clerks and local officials out there would you trust with any of your vital identification?

 

If carrying copies of my passport is sufficient, maybe I should carry some photocopies of my money around as well. I'll get just as far with one as the other.

 

I'm not sure - maybe they're matching it to your electronic photo from your cruise card??? :rolleyes:

 

I don't disagree with you about turning over my passport - I've had a passport since I was 16, and was always of the thought that it was my "lifeline" to my home country when travelling. But when you check in at the pier in Valparaiso, you're not given a choice, they keep your passport & give you a numbered receipt for it.

[TrolleyGirl]

A helpful hint I read elsewhere regarding important documents and passport ports...

 

At home scan copies of your documents and passports into your computer and the mail them to your own email address. That way if you have to retrieve copies of these documents you can use any local computer to get them.

[AllieInMD]

Nah, they do that when you check in before boarding - check your identity documents and then take your picture for the seapass/cruisecard.

 

When you get back on the boat you had best look like your pic. On our '06 Explorer cruise a pax decided to get a haircut and shave off his facial hair - maybe Caribbean was too hot for him or something - he had trouble getting back on the boat next port because he did not look like the pic they took at check in.

 

I'm not sure - maybe they're matching it to your electronic photo from your cruise card??? :rolleyes:

[poomagoo]

I'm from the UK and whenever hubbie and I are out and about on foreign holidays, we never carry our passports with us. We always leave them in the room safe or in a secured bag if there's no safe. Instead, we always carry our UK Photo driving licences as they fit snuggly in our wallets. Incidentally, we've also never been asked to show our passports when we've used a credit card abroad. I'm sure approved photo id (i.e. driving licence, government id - not work photo ID) would suffice in those situations.

 

Uk-ladies - why not apply for a new photo driving licence? You can apply for it on the dvla website and it takes about a week to come through. (I recently did it for my Mum so that she'd have it for our upcoming cruise and we were amazed how quickly it came.) At least then you'll have a second acceptable form of ID. Really can't see your work ID being accepted.

 

Another useful tip I always give people is to keep a small photo of whoever you're travelling with on you. You never know when you might need it if one of you goes missing and it would certainly make things a lot easier than trying to describe someone.

 

Hope that helps.

[chopper65]

I'm from the UK and whenever hubbie and I are out and about on foreign holidays, we never carry our passports with us. We always leave them in the room safe or in a secured bag if there's no safe. Instead, we always carry our UK Photo driving licences as they fit snuggly in our wallets. Incidentally, we've also never been asked to show our passports when we've used a credit card abroad. I'm sure approved photo id (i.e. driving licence, government id - not work photo ID) would suffice in those situations.

 

Uk-ladies - why not apply for a new photo driving licence? You can apply for it on the dvla website and it takes about a week to come through. (I recently did it for my Mum so that she'd have it for our upcoming cruise and we were amazed how quickly it came.) At least then you'll have a second acceptable form of ID. Really can't see your work ID being accepted.

 

Another useful tip I always give people is to keep a small photo of whoever you're travelling with on you. You never know when you might need it if one of you goes missing and it would certainly make things a lot easier than trying to describe someone.

 

Hope that helps.

 

I carry my passport if I plan to do a private tour. On a previous cruise one of the pax had taken a taxi for an island tour. The cab broke down and he missed the ship. Try getting a flight without a passport. it could be quite a problem

[avcruz]

Nah, they do that when you check in before boarding - check your identity documents and then take your picture for the seapass/cruisecard.

 

I know they do at the embarkation point, however when you enter the next country, someone from that country's immigration dept. also examines your passport and stamps it with that country's entry stamp. That's what I meant about matching the photo from your passport to the electronic one from your cruise card.

[WinnieinWA]

I would not want to be in ANY foreign country without my PASSPORT! That book is your lifeline to the USA. You need it to access any USA Embassy.

 

Do what you want but I'll be carrying my Passport with me.

[JLC@SD]

We always put a photo copy of the below in our luggage as well as with us:

 

* Passport

* Drivers Licence

* Main cruise document

 

....so anyone that takes your luggage..........has all the info about you that they need.......including your address and the fact that you are not at home.

[jasmine77]

I think that this is a very good topic of discussion and enjoyed reading the posts. I agree with the post that said to carry the real thing with you and to leave a copy behind.

[TwoWeebles]

I'm curious about what good it does for an immigration official to stamp 2,500 passports without matching the passport to a person? What kind of security plan is that?

 

I'm of the school of thought that you don't turn your passport over to anyone for "safekeeping" or expediency. I've been flamed on other threads for my position - but how many hotel clerks and local officials out there would you trust with any of your vital identification?

 

If carrying copies of my passport is sufficient, maybe I should carry some photocopies of my money around as well. I'll get just as far with one as the other.

 

LOL - photocopy money. Exactly what I was thinking! I would not feel comfortable turning over my passport to anyone either. I feel like that is asking me to give my Social Security card to some stranger. I always take my passport ashore with me...I'm not more afraid of losing it than any thing else of value on my person (credit card, cash, etc.)