Carrying your passport??

[youngestof9]

Do you carry your passport off the boat onto excursions? if so (which I think I should), how do you carry it? Is there a good little bag that people recommend?

 

Thanks!

[smeyer418]

Do you carry your passport off the boat onto excursions? if so (which I think I should), how do you carry it? Is there a good little bag that people recommend?

 

Thanks!

No I carry copy. Yes i know that if there is an emergency I need the original(which they will normally give to the Port agent if you don't get back to the ship...along with your clothing)...

[youngestof9]

I guess my question really is more what do you carry it in? They make "passport wallets" but I'm not sure if they scream "hey look here, this holds my passport" or if there's a good brand of travel bag out there to carry it in.

 

I searched and found a ton of results pro/con carrying it off ship, but was wondering about a little holder or bag/wallet/purse for it.

 

Thanks :)

[MrSchwump]

I leave my passport in the safe in my room. I do carry a photocopy of it and I have a copy of it online that I can pull up anywhere that there's internet access. I just scanned my passport and saved it as a .jpg file. Then I attached it to an e-mail that I sent to my hotmail account. That way it's waiting for me anytime I need to pull it up.

[DonMar]

I carry my passport and I use an undercover pouch, similar to http://www.luggageonline.com/product.cfm?product_ID=3996 In some countries I carry it on my person and in others I put the passport pouch in a hidden compartment in my day backpack. (We do not do much in the way of snorkeling/swimming etc. so I always have my back pack on.)

 

I feel better having my passport on me while outside the US. Once back on board ship, it all goes in the safe.

[Keith1010]

This question has been asked numerous times on these boards. Some will say to carry your passports. Others like myself will say to leave them on the ship.

 

On most of the cruise lines I sail on the ship holds the passports anyway. I realize some don't.

 

The reason we would leave them on board is that I truly believe there is a much higher likelihood that we would lose them or they would be stolen than the need for us to have them if we missed the ship. So for us it comes down to risk and I think the risk of losing them or having them stolen is much greater.

 

There is no right or wrong.

 

Keith

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

I agree with Keith. Make a copy and leave the original passport in your cabin safe.

 

Fred

[satxdiver]

I carry it in my pocket. Most of my shorts and pants have cargo pockets and several have a zipper on one of the cargo pockets where I keep my passport. I always have it with me when I am on foreign soil. I have never understood why pax leave it on the ship. When you drive your car in the USA, do you leave your DL at home in the safe also? All a copy is good for is getting a replacement passport at the USA Embassy/Consulate which is not quick by any means. If a local authority asks to see it and you cannot immediately produce it, you are an illegal alien and subject to immediate arrest and detention. I am now on my third passport and treat it just like I do my DL or credit cards. BTW I would not count on the port agent having your passport if you miss the ship. I have never had a cruise ship collect passports but I do understand under certain circumstances they do as dictated by local authorities when visiting a port.

[paul929207]

Whenever you are carrying your passport, you need to be careful with it. Best thing to do is either get an around the neck passport holder which you tuck into your shirt, or a fanny pack that goes around your waist and can be covered with your shirt.

[Bonnie J.]

If you are Canadian or from any country other than the USA the ship gets and keeps your passport when you get on board until the very end of the cruise. So if your not from the USA you CANNOT even take your passport with you off the ship. This has to mean its not necessary to take it with you. We NEVER take our off the ship, it stays in our safe.

 

CRUISE LINES

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

NCL

Celebrity

Princess

Costa

[navybankerteacher]

I carry it in my pocket. Most of my shorts and pants have cargo pockets and several have a zipper on one of the cargo pockets where I keep my passport. I always have it with me when I am on foreign soil. I have never understood why pax leave it on the ship. When you drive your car in the USA, do you leave your DL at home in the safe also? All a copy is good for is getting a replacement passport at the USA Embassy/Consulate which is not quick by any means. If a local authority asks to see it and you cannot immediately produce it, you are an illegal alien and subject to immediate arrest and detention. I am now on my third passport and treat it just like I do my DL or credit cards. BTW I would not count on the port agent having your passport if you miss the ship. I have never had a cruise ship collect passports but I do understand under certain circumstances they do as dictated by local authorities when visiting a port.

 

The reason you bring your drivers license with you when you drive is that it is required by law that you do so. This is not the case with a passport when you walk around in a foreign country - you simply need it to enter or leave - and the cruise line assures the countries visited (in most cases) that they have seen your passport - so you do not show it yourself. What you should do - and what most lines advise - is to have your cruise card with you along with some photo id. Naturally, you will want a credit card also - that is what you will REALLY need if you happen to miss the ship at some port of call.

[Sea Born]

We never take ours either, just leave them locked in the safe. I believe that is what Carnival suggested us to do. We also don't carry copies either - what good would that benefit? I just prefer not to take a chance in losing them and so far we have never had a problem in doing it this way.

[Moeve]

It will also depend on WHAT country you are in too. On asian cruises fro example I never leave the ship with out it - you just never know when you have to head for the safety of an embassy and if events turn bad (thats why you are probably heading for the embassy and not the ship they lock down and only citizens with the proper ID are let in) - now guess what is the only thing considered a proper ID at most embassies??? Yes your passport.

[agabbymama]

This has been asked numerous times, and you will get many saying to take it ashore, many others saying to leave it in the safe on the ship.

 

To me, it depends where you are cruising. An Alaska cruise, you could leave it in the safe. Or if you are going to a beach in the Caribbean, you could leave it in the safe.

 

For me, I cruise for the ports. I got my passport in 1987 to fly to Great Britain, I carried it on my person for that trip, and continue to do so no matter where I travel, air or cruise. I do more land trips than cruises, so there is no question that I carry my passport. I now have a passport wallet that you wear around your neck, either under your shirt or over your shirt (your choice). You get the passport as legal identification of your Country of Residence. It is your LEGAL ID.

 

On our last cruise on Grand Princess, after Kusadasi Turkey, we had to skip Mykonos and go directly to Athens. They announced over the PA, that because we had changed the itinerary, that the Greek authorities wanted to check everyone's passport, so everyone was to turn in their passports at the Purser's desk, and we were given a claim ticket. They held the passports for 3 days until we made our last stop in Corfu Greece, then they were returned to us before arrival in Venice Italy. I haven't cruised the Med before, so I don't know if this really was true, or if they would have taken them anyway. I don't like giving anyone my passport, I feel it is mine, I paid for it, it's my ID, and I will be the person to take the best care of it, but in some instances, you have no choice.

 

So do whichever you are comfortable with.

[daisy-mae]

If you are Canadian or from any country other than the USA the ship gets and keeps your passport when you get on board until the very end of the cruise. So if your not from the USA you CANNOT even take your passport with you off the ship. This has to mean its not necessary to take it with you. We NEVER take our off the ship, it stays in our safe.

 

CRUISE LINES

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

NCL

Celebrity

Princess

Costa

 

I can't speak for the other cruise lines, but I know for a fact that Costa did NOT keep our Canadian passport on both occasions when we cruised with them.

[BobBeaSea]

For North American cruises in the Caribbean-Gulf of Mexico at least, the requirement for the ship holding on to non Americans passports seems to be disappearing. The last cruise we had this happen was in 2005. In 2006 and 2007 the ship didn't take them, we just put them in the safe.

[lovemylab]

I have cruised the Caribbean twice - the first time it was kept by the ship and the second time it wasn't.

 

I leave the passport in the safe onboard. I feel there is a greater risk of it being lost/stolen/destroyed than me missing the ship. When I go onshore I have a copy of my passport, other forms of ID and the contact info for the ships port agent. A copy of your passport can assist the Embassy with getting a replacement if needed.

 

 

If a local authority asks to see it and you cannot immediately produce it, you are an illegal alien and subject to immediate arrest and detention.

 

Just curious...do you carry your passport with you at all times when you are in your home country as well? If your claim is true, the US authorities could also ask to randomly see someones passport - and then if you are not able to immediately provide it you would also be an illegal alien and subject to immediate arrest and detention. So if you believe that the above happens, than I think you better start carrying your passport with you when you are at home too.

 

 

If authorities were running around cruise ports - demanding to see passports and arresting/detaining people for not providing them then:

 

a) everyone who goes on a cruise would be required to have a passport

 

b) the ship would instruct people to take them onshore (and I also believe they would be checking for this before a passenger gets off the ship)

[youngestof9]

Thanks so much for the advice - I need to find a little carrier that I'm comfortable with. Thanks again!!

[MIDWESTCRUIZER]

i found, at walmart, in the luggage dept., a waist money belt. It is thin and you wear it under your clothes and it cannot be seen and hardly felt. You COULD carry your passport but I plan to carry: copy of it, cc, seapass, and cash. Or shall, I say, my husband will carry it. lol. It was only 4 bucks. I've been searching all over and did not want to carry around my neck.

 

Oh and driver's license...I forgot that.

[G'ma]

If you are Canadian or from any country other than the USA the ship gets and keeps your passport when you get on board until the very end of the cruise. So if your not from the USA you CANNOT even take your passport with you off the ship. This has to mean its not necessary to take it with you. We NEVER take our off the ship, it stays in our safe.

 

CRUISE LINES

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

NCL

Celebrity

Princess

Costa

 

Immigration rules are different from country to country with regard passports.

 

For U.S. citizens, the only way they can travel by air from place to place is with a valid passport. Leaving it on the ship does absolutely no good at all if an emergency arises ashore - an accident, missing the ship, arrested or detained. The whole reason for a U.S. citizen to have a passport is to identify them as a citizen and permit them to re-enter the U.S.

 

A copy is worthless in an emergency situation.

[smeyer418]

Immigration rules are different from country to country with regard passports.

 

For U.S. citizens' date=' the only way they can travel by air from place to place is with a valid passport. Leaving it on the ship does absolutely no good at all if an emergency arises ashore - an accident, missing the ship, arrested or detained. The whole reason for a U.S. citizen to have a passport is to identify them as a citizen and permit them to re-enter the U.S.

 

A copy is worthless in an emergency situation.[/quote']

 

 

what a copy allows you to do is to quickly get a new passport(they can locate the file). Also when you get stuck on shore, the port agent normally gets your clothes and you can call the ship give them the safe combo and have them deliver the original also to the port agent. If you get arrested they do normally contact the ship. I have used a color copy as id at times.In Egypt I left my original in the hotel safe and I needed it to get into the American University---they accepted the copy....

[G'ma]

I guess my question really is more what do you carry it in? They make "passport wallets" but I'm not sure if they scream "hey look here, this holds my passport" or if there's a good brand of travel bag out there to carry it in.

 

I searched and found a ton of results pro/con carrying it off ship, but was wondering about a little holder or bag/wallet/purse for it.

 

Thanks :)

 

I carry mine in my purse.......just like I carry wallet, credit cards, and other items.

 

No need for a special carrier.

[girlguide]

If you are Canadian or from any country other than the USA the ship gets and keeps your passport when you get on board until the very end of the cruise. So if your not from the USA you CANNOT even take your passport with you off the ship. This has to mean its not necessary to take it with you. We NEVER take our off the ship, it stays in our safe.

 

CRUISE LINES

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

NCL

Celebrity

Princess

Costa

 

 

I'm from Canada & I've cruised on 3 different lines - NCL, RCI & Princess. My passport has never been kept by the cruiseline during a cruise.

 

We always have them with us when ashore. They are identification that is accepted any where.

[FritzG]

When we do a land trip in Europe I always carry our passports because I'm not comfortable leaving them in a hotel room. On our upcoming Med. cruise we'll leave them in the safe and carry color copies.

I remember in the early 70's when you had to turn your passport in to hotels in Europe as you checked in. We never gave it much thought then, but now I'd be very nervous as to where they'd be stored and who would have access to them.

[karken]

On more than occasion we were required to have documentation, birth certificate or passport when leaving the ship at key West