How does HAL handle passports on Baltic Cruises?

My DW and I will be on the Prinsedam next July.

Our cruise originates in Amsterdam and goes to Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Aarborg and Talinn and Warnemunde.

Will they take our passports at each port for customs, or will we go through immigration individually?

Will the procedure be different at each port?

We would like the benefit of your experience as we look forward to this wonderful adventure!

Thanks for your help.

The norm is that they will take your passport at embarkation (before you even board the ship) and not return them until near the end of the voyage unless it is necessary for a particular port (this can happen with Russia). If you have a personal need for your Passport you can go to Guest Relations and they can return your Passport (which they may then ask for you to bring back when you return to the ship). We do know that some cruisers always want to carry their own Passport when ashore and we have seen some interesting situations. Once, on the Prinsendam, a couple wanted their passports but so did the local authorities (I do not recall the port). So although the ship was docked by 8am these poor folks had to sit around the lobby area until after 10am to get their passports, which were being held by the purser to satisfy the local authorities who were examining all passports aboard the ship.

Hank

We did the Baltic on the Eurodam in 09 and we handled our own passports. When we did the Baltic on the Prinsendam in 2013, I vaguely remember surrendering our passports prior to our arrival in one port late in the cruise and then they returned them before we disembarked. Maybe Kazu can help me out here as to the port they took our passports for as she was on the same cruise. At any rate we presented our passports ourselves in St. Petersburg.

We have also cruised the Med and never had our passports collected.

HAL only takes passports if it speeds up ship clearing at the various ports. As I recall, for our Baltic, sailing from Copenhagen, they collected them when boarding, returning them 2 days later, prior to SPB. We kept them the balance of the Baltic cruise.

We did the Baltic on the Eurodam in 09 and we handled our own passports. When we did the Baltic on the Prinsendam in 2013, I vaguely remember surrendering our passports prior to our arrival in one port late in the cruise and then they returned them before we disembarked. Maybe Kazu can help me out here as to the port they took our passports for as she was on the same cruise. At any rate we presented our passports ourselves in St. Petersburg.

 

We have also cruised the Med and never had our passports collected.

HAL only takes passports if it speeds up ship clearing at the various ports. As I recall, for our Baltic, sailing from Copenhagen, they collected them when boarding, returning them 2 days later, prior to SPB. We kept them the balance of the Baltic cruise.

Many years ago, we did our first Baltic and the ship kept the passports except for St. Petersburg.

Last year when we did the Baltics (the one sapper1 was on), our experience was very similar to CruiserBruce's. They did collect them at the beginning and we had them back for St Petersburg. You DO have to go through immigration in Russia and you MUST have your passport. the passports stayed in our possession from there on in, BUT we did have to carry them with us on our person in several ports after. There was no immigration to go through but it was mandatory that we have them.

There were around 3 ports where this was the case if I recall correctly. I think one was Sweden and the other Germany but I can't recall the third. I remember as I am always nervous carrying my passport with me and guard them with my life.

It will be published in your On Location, so pay careful attention and the CD will also announce it. Hope this helps.

In theory you only need to present your passport in the first port of call as all but one of your stops are part on the Schengen area. Russia isn't, so you need to also present your passport there. It's been a few years since we did the Baltic (also on the P'dam - my favorite cruise ever) but it seems to me that passports were collected at checkin (in Amsterdam) then returned before SPB.

Our first Baltic cruises were on Princess and they collected our passports on embarkation day. We were given them back when we got to Leningrad. Yup -- we were on the last cruise before the coup de 'tat happened and Leningrad became St Petersburg.

As we left the ship, we handed over our passports to the Russian officials and were given a brown booklet that looked like a passport -- completely blank.

And the ship was guarded by soldiers with guns ready to shoot anyone at any time. As we got back onto the ship after one of our tours, one man refused to show what was in his package. They kept his passport until it was time for the ship to sail. He had to remain on the ship for the rest of the time we were there.

Then on our next cruises -- Princess and HAL -- things had changed. We had 1 woman guarding our ship and another woman guarding another ship that was in port. They spent a lot of time talking to each other and walking around. Last Baltic cruise we did -- no guards at all.

Many years ago, we did our first Baltic and the ship kept the passports except for St. Petersburg.

 

Last year when we did the Baltics (the one sapper1 was on), our experience was very similar to CruiserBruce's. They did collect them at the beginning and we had them back for St Petersburg. You DO have to go through immigration in Russia and you MUST have your passport. the passports stayed in our possession from there on in, BUT we did have to carry them with us on our person in several ports after. There was no immigration to go through but it was mandatory that we have them.

 

There were around 3 ports where this was the case if I recall correctly. I think one was Sweden and the other Germany but I can't recall the third. I remember as I am always nervous carrying my passport with me and guard them with my life.

 

It will be published in your On Location, so pay careful attention and the CD will also announce it. Hope this helps.

Jacqui, could that collection have been at the start of our second leg, after Tilbury? Remember we boarded in Fort Lauderdale for that one and I really don't remember it happening there. I get very antsy when my passport is collected and I seem to remember it happening later in the voyage.

In theory you only need to present your passport in the first port of call as all but one of your stops are part on the Schengen area. Russia isn't, so you need to also present your passport there. It's been a few years since we did the Baltic (also on the P'dam - my favorite cruise ever) but it seems to me that passports were collected at checkin (in Amsterdam) then returned before SPB.

In theory, you are right in regards to the Schengen area, but as I reported we did need to carry them. I believe it was in case one of the passengers was (a) in an accident or (b) questioned by the police, etc. There was no immigration except in Russia (although I did expect it when asked to carry the passports)but it was clear we had to carry them on our person. I surmised this at the end when we didn't need to go through immigration. Just a guess.

I do remember all the laughing about the immigration experience in St. Petersburg---after we were back on board of course. The passport ladies just threw our passports back at us after they checked them. I had been told to present our tour ticket as well, as that was our pass to go ashore on a private tour. That just produced a dirty look from the passport lady and I had a second document thrown at me.

Others reported similar experiences. It was not pleasant.

In 2012 they did not take our passports in the Baltic.

Jacqui, could that collection have been at the start of our second leg, after Tilbury? Remember we boarded in Fort Lauderdale for that one and I really don't remember it happening there. I get very antsy when my passport is collected and I seem to remember it happening later in the voyage.

I don't think so, but my memory could be short. It seems to me they took them in FLL as they weren't needed to be carried by us for the Med portion. Gave them back to us before Tilbury (the beginning of the second leg) as we had to go through immigration there. After that, they stayed in our possession if memory serves so that we had them when we had to present in St. Petersburg (my those customs officers were so welcoming :rolleyes:) and on our person when needed.

I don't think so, but my memory could be short. It seems to me they took them in FLL as they weren't needed to be carried by us for the Med portion. Gave them back to us before Tilbury (the beginning of the second leg) as we had to go through immigration there. After that, they stayed in our possession if memory serves so that we had them when we had to present in St. Petersburg (my those customs officers were so welcoming :rolleyes:) and on our person when needed.

Well you are younger than I am so your memory is most likely sharper. :D

I think at my age I should start keeping a cruise diary. Thanks for your input---always appreciated.

We just got off the Eurodam's July 7 - 19th Baltic Cruise which began and ended in Copenhagen with port stops in Kiel, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and Warenemuende/Rostock.

We kept our passports for the entire cruise. At no time did HAL ask for our passports for any immigration processing. When we disembarked in St. Petersburg, we had to have our passports. There was one other port in which we were told we were required to take our passports, but nobody asked to look at them. There were also other ports where we were required to take a photo govenment-issued I.D. but driver licenses were fine for that.

We just got off the Eurodam's July 7 - 19th Baltic Cruise which began and ended in Copenhagen with port stops in Kiel, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and Warenemuende/Rostock.

 

We kept our passports for the entire cruise. At no time did HAL ask for our passports for any immigration processing. When we disembarked in St. Petersburg, we had to have our passports. There was one other port in which we were told we were required to take our passports, but nobody asked to look at them. There were also other ports where we were required to take a photo govenment-issued I.D. but driver licenses were fine for that.

We had this itinerary in May-June 2013 on the Eurodam. We kept our passports; the only port causing some concern was St Petersburg re: visas: check out the policy on that long before you go. Looked like it was going to be a huge (and expensive) hassle to go ashore independently. HAL heavily markets all these Russian visa warnings, as they want you to take their excursions, for which they will handle it all... But we had a 2-day SPB tour and they arranged our visas, easy peasy. I don't think we even had to show our passports through customs (we did have to provide the passport info to SPB in advance).

But on our 2008 Baltic cruise on the Rotterdam (Newcastle, Edinburgh, Oslo, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Gdansk, Ronne a Danish island, Kiel: lovely itinerary), they kept our passports the entire time. Made us uneasy, as we had brought no other ID that time. We even requested them back for this reason--and were refused. Fortunately, no problems. Now we always get international driver's licenses, just in case.

We just got off the Baltic cruise on Prinsendam 1-15 July 2015. Upon boarding the ship, they did not take our passports. We had control of them throughout the entire cruise. In Russia we had to use them to go ashore and to get back onboard .. very testy there.

A couple of the countries required us to carry them with us .. most did not.

harry

Thanks to all of you for the information! I guess immigrations practices for tourists and the countries they visit change alot as time goes by!

Thanks again for all the very useful information!

I and, I am sure, others look forward to hearing about the experiences of others with the handling of passports on HAL Baltic cruises!

I just returned from the Baltic today (the cruise ended Saturday in Rotterdam).

HAL never kept our passports. We needed them whenever we left the ship only in St. Petersburg. Every other port all we needed was the ship card and a photo ID (I had my driver's license). Obviously, if the only photo ID that you have is your passport, you should take it. My passport resided in my stateroom's safe for the majority of the cruise. I did not like having to have it with me in Russia because it made me nervous about losing it!

My DW and I will be on the Prinsedam next July.

 

Our cruise originates in Amsterdam and goes to Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Aarborg and Talinn and Warnemunde.

 

Will they take our passports at each port for customs, or will we go through immigration individually?

 

Will the procedure be different at each port?

 

We would like the benefit of your experience as we look forward to this wonderful adventure!

 

Thanks for your help.

Just returned in May from the Baltic cruise. They never took our passports. There were some ports where we were required to have them with us and other ports that did not require us to carry them. It was never a problem.

Helen

Do you have the option to keep your passport as well even if they are collecting it?

Because I will never, ever leave my passport without my supervision, not even in a 'closed' area. I'd be extremely uncomfortable doing that. Makes me wonder, just out of a legal point, does HAL have the authority to actualy keep your passport? I know where I'm from that the only one that can actualy demand that you hand over your passport are government officials for identification purpose (police, immigration, courts, etc.)

Not trying to create a huge discussion about this, I'm just curius about it.

Do you have the option to keep your passport as well even if they are collecting it?

Because I will never, ever leave my passport without my supervision, not even in a 'closed' area. I'd be extremely uncomfortable doing that. Makes me wonder, just out of a legal point, does HAL have the authority to actualy keep your passport? I know where I'm from that the only one that can actualy demand that you hand over your passport are government officials for identification purpose (police, immigration, courts, etc.)

 

Not trying to create a huge discussion about this, I'm just curius about it.

I don't know if you have a choice in the matter. I think not. When it is done (and not often) it is to help clear the ship faster so that you can get off in a timely manner. The immigration/customs/whatever the right term is often come on very early in the morning. They have the ship's manifest and want to be able to view any or all passports that need to be without waiting for a passenger to "show up".

There are times you have to give up your passport. Including some hotels in Europe. They will take it for an hour or so and then return it. I believe it is to register you with the police, not sure, but in some countries and cities, it is a necessity. If you don't give them your passport, you don't get a room.

I can't answer the legal question. But I would suggest that somewhere in the fine print this is covered.

Your passport is as safe (if not safer) in the ship's hands in their safe as it is in yours and you are given a receipt for it.

Do you have the option to keep your passport as well even if they are collecting it?

Because I will never, ever leave my passport without my supervision, not even in a 'closed' area. I'd be extremely uncomfortable doing that. Makes me wonder, just out of a legal point, does HAL have the authority to actualy keep your passport? I know where I'm from that the only one that can actualy demand that you hand over your passport are government officials for identification purpose (police, immigration, courts, etc.)

 

Not trying to create a huge discussion about this, I'm just curius about it.

On some itineraries you do not have an option. You must turn over your Passport to the Pursers Office if you want to board the ship! The reason is that certain countries require that the Purser present all Passports to their authorities (who will board the ship) for inspection. This is usually done behind closed doors and Pursers staff is very careful to monitor the process. We do know that some of the Eastern European countries (Russia being one of the worst) can cause the Purser a lot of heartburn. Requirements can often change (without any notice) and Senior Officer once told us this is why the "purser gets ulcers."

For those who have cruised to countries where officials demand that all passengers present themselves in person (with their Passports) these behind the scene Passport reviews are a godsend. We recall being on some cruises where we had to spend hours waiting in line to cleared by local authorities. Most recently this happened with English authorities (on a HAL cruise) that actually came aboard a couple of days before we were returning to England. They spent an entire sea day meeting with every passenger on the ship to review and stamp their Passports. It was a real pain in the behind :(

Hank

Hotels have no right to hold your passport for anything other then checking in.

Thank you for the clarification on the ship's part. I understand that it is to speed up and enable the entire (and sometimes ever lasting) immigration clearance. But it makes me wonder, what if by accident your passport gets missing. At least when YOU lose it, you're about the only one to blame. I deal with passports, visas and immigration daily, so I understand the entire process well. But there's a pretty tricky side to it as well. As pointed out, chances are very small but if the cruise line loses your passport (As long as there are human beings involved, there's always a chance of a mishap) and you'll have issues getting back home: Who will be responsible and will the cruise line cover all the made costs for getting a new passport and replacing any possible visas in that passport? It's a very intriguing thing :)

Hotels have no right to hold your passport for anything other then checking in. [/unquote]

 

In many countries they are required to hold your passport. First time we went to Italy, for example, it was explained that not only did they have to hold it but that they had to take it to the local police station to register us.

 

But it makes me wonder, what if by accident your passport gets missing. At least when YOU lose it, you're about the only one to blame. I deal with passports, visas and immigration daily, so I understand the entire process well. But there's a pretty tricky side to it as well. As pointed out, chances are very small but if the cruise line loses your passport (As long as there are human beings involved, there's always a chance of a mishap) and you'll have issues getting back home: Who will be responsible and will the cruise line cover all the made costs for getting a new passport and replacing any possible visas in that passport? It's a very intriguing thing :)

 

In all the years I've been on CC, people have complained about many things - including the placement of rolls on their B&B plate at dinner. But not once has any one complained that the ship lost their passport. Not once.

Then the police can collect my passport at the hotel itself or I will hand it over at the police station. No way I'm leaving my passport at the front desk of a hotel, even if it will be kept safe. I've traveled to many countries, both tourist spots as off the beaten path countries, and not in 1 single I was asked to surrender my passport for any longer then the duration of check-in.

Maybe quite some time ago things were going this way, but since I've been traveling I haven't come across this.

Obtaining your passport information however is done almost everywhere but for that they do not need your passport for any longer then 2 minutes. Most hotels can swipe your passport to enter the information in their system that way. If swiping is not an option, a copy of it can be taken. But under no circumstances can anyone (except the persons I've summed up in a previous post) demand to hand over your passport and leave it out of your sight.

I'm not saying cruise ships actually lose passports, I'm just raising a hypothetical question