Passport Stamps?

We haven't cruised in Europe before, so please excuse this if it's a stupid question, but do they stamp your passports at the various ports of call in Europe? We're booked on a Venice to Athens cruise for next year, and are now considering adding a week for a back-to-back that starts in Rome.

It would be neat to have stamps from all five countries we'd be visiting rather than just the two that we'd start and finish from.

With the European Union, you should get an entry stamp at your first port and an exit stamp on disembarkation. At least on land, there are no border formalities at all between countries, so people move freely all the time without getting passports stamped.

Roy

We did Athens to Venice a couple of years ago. Your passports will be stamed at the airport for your arrival city, and at the airport of your depature city; that's it. They are definately not stamped at each port, or when you get on or off the ship.

They aren't very interesting anyway, just a box with an airplane and the name of the city.

We did Athens to Venice a couple of years ago. Your passports will be stamed at the airport for your arrival city, and at the airport of your depature city; that's it. They are definately not stamped at each port, or when you get on or off the ship.

 

They aren't very interesting anyway, just a box with an airplane and the name of the city.

On our Istanbul to Athens cruise on Windspirit, I noticed both a stamp from Thira (Santorini) and Rhodes when the passports were returned upon disembarkation.

On our Istanbul to Athens cruise on Windspirit, I noticed both a stamp from Thira (Santorini) and Rhodes when the passports were returned upon disembarkation.

I wonder why? We have never received any passport stamps while on any cruise, except at the airport.

It must depend on the country or port. When we did the Costa Rica cruise, we got a stamp when we landed in Costa Rica, a Costa Rican stamp from the port when the ship left Puerto Caldera, then another Costa Rica stamp coming back into the country after the Nicaragua port day (no stamp from Nicaragua). On a Regent cruise going from Japan-Russia-Alaska, we got a stamp leaving Japan, stamps going into/out of Russia (one day port-of-call) and a stamp entering US (at Anchorage, the last of our Alaskan ports, curiously). All of those were handled by immigrations and the ships' crews (except for the Russian stamps, which each passenger got personally from the Russian immigration officers on the ship before leaving and right after returning to the ship).

And in my experience, previous posters are correct regarding European Union, you'll only get a stamp from the country you enter and the one you exit, no matter which and how many you visit in the meantime. Possible that Santorini and Rhodes think it's good for tourism to offer the stamps -- not that I disagree; I am an unabashed passport stamp collector!

It is possible that your passport will be stamped if you disembark from a Danube River cruise in Slovakia. According to our river boat crew, "Sometimes yes, sometimes no." Bratislava is a nice little town, though.

On our Istanbul to Athens cruise on Windspirit, I noticed both a stamp from Thira (Santorini) and Rhodes when the passports were returned upon disembarkation.

There are 15 countries in Europe that are part of the Schengen visa, which makes travelling within Europe easier. You only need to be stamped on entry and exit, regardless of which country it is. Turkey is not one of these countries. The cruise you took leaves Turkey and enters Schengen waters (Greece) then leaves Schengen waters and goes back to Turkey, then leaves Turkish waters and heads back to Greece (Schengen waters).

You probably recieved the following; a stamp for entering Turkey by plane, a stamp for entering Greece by ship, a stamp for entering Turkey by ship, a stamp for entering Greece by ship and a stamp for exiting Greece by plane. Sometimes they dont stamp the second ship entry sometimes they do.

You can get passport stamps at the tourist offices of the mall principalities/ non-EU countries such as Monaco, Andorra, San Marino and Liechtenstein. Some UNESCO World Heritage sites also offer Passport stamps at their info desks but you have to ask: they tend not to advertise them. I am not sure if you can have your passport stamped in the post office at Vatican City... in some of these places there is a charge of $5 to $10. Nice souvenirs, though!

We stop in Croatia both before and after Venice, and that's not a Schengen country, so I'm wondering if we'll be stamped at the first Croatian port and then the next Schengen country after Croatia. I guess I'll know soon enough. :D

We stop in Croatia both before and after Venice, and that's not a Schengen country, so I'm wondering if we'll be stamped at the first Croatian port and then the next Schengen country after Croatia. I guess I'll know soon enough. :D

I have been on this same cruise. We received no passport stamps except at the airport.