Why never to carry your passport when abroad!

I just got into work this morning to read an email from one of our staff in Cyress doing an audit. They had their passport stolen when out and about. The repercussions from this happening are not fun. Our staff member was supposed to fly home yesterday. Her flight now cannot happen till Friday as it will take this long for the Canadian Consul to organize a new passport for her. It has to be couriered from Canada. She spent 7 hours at the Canadian Consul yesterday, she had to have 4 people vouch for her who were not family members and the Consul had to speak to each of these people individually on the phone. There were innumerable forms for her to fill in, all in all a giant pain.

It is costing lots of money for her to stay in the country for 5 extra nights, change her flights and just the fact that she will be away from work for a week. Please don't carry your passport with you. There is absolutely NO need. Leave it in the hotel safe.

If this was a cruise, then I really hope you would have lots of extra room on your credit card to cover this eventuality.

Nicola

I have always found that it is best to carry a copy. Many hotels in Europe keep your passports until you check out. If not keep it in a safe.

I have always found that it is best to carry a copy. Many hotels in Europe keep your passports until you check out. If not keep it in a safe.

Exactly. Actual passports should never be carried in public (except in obvious places - airports, cruise terminal for check in, etc.).

Thank you OP for posting this reminder.

I agree! Our passport goes into the safe, first thing after boarding -- and there it stays! And now that our new passports have RFID chip, I'm shopping the PacSafe website for a wallet that will block RFID scanners. :eek:

Very sorry to hear about this unfortunate event. In this case, you are correct, keeping the passport in the hotel locked up was the better option.

However, when on a cruise, I disagree that its a good idea to leave the passports on the ship. In the event that you miss the ship, you would be stuck without documentation to travel to the next port which is often in another country.

Very sorry to hear about this unfortunate event. In this case, you are correct, keeping the passport in the hotel locked up was the better option.

 

 

 

However, when on a cruise, I disagree that its a good idea to leave the passports on the ship. In the event that you miss the ship, you would be stuck without documentation to travel to the next port which is often in another country.

My husband had passport stolen in London. We went to embassy and had new passport in 2 hours. We did have a copy. I wonder if Canada has different rules? Also had a passport stolen in Florence. Same result. The odds of having 2 passports stolen is pretty slim but somehow we managed it. I do agree about having passport with you when off the cruise ship.

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I know that this will end up being a backwards and forwards thread....but my original post was to say that even very careful professional people can have their passport stolen when they least expect it. The chances of having a passport stolen are far greater than missing a cruise ship. At the very least, if the ship sails without you and your passport has not been taken from your safe and given to the port authorities, you know that it hasn't been stolen and so does the Consul. It is a matter of having it couriered from the next port to the one you missed the ship from.

The case of the stolen passport is just an example of the problems you can encounter having it stolen rather than it not being stolen. The amount of money it can cost, the days spent getting a new one.....in my mind totally not worth taking it off the ship.

Please give it strong thought before you carry it with you. Pick pockets are everywhere, straps on purses, crossbody purses etc. can be cut in an instant.

Nicola

Very sorry to hear about this unfortunate event. In this case, you are correct, keeping the passport in the hotel locked up was the better option.

 

 

 

However, when on a cruise, I disagree that its a good idea to leave the passports on the ship. In the event that you miss the ship, you would be stuck without documentation to travel to the next port which is often in another country.

I agree 100%! I know someone that this happened to and fortunately they had their passport with them. On every cruise we have taken we have been told to bring our passport with us when we get off of the ship.

"On every cruise we have taken we have been told to bring our passport with us when we get off of the ship. "

I have been on over 30 cruises and on ALL of them, it is strongly suggested NOT to take your passport off the ship. Infact, in most cases, it is writtin on the daily planner. Take a some other form of identification....not a passport.

Nicola

To the poster who said they received a replacement passport when theirs was stolen within 2 hours....I would imagine that was a few years ago. With all the emphasis having been put on the 2 passangers on the Malaysian flight travelling on stolen passports....I think it is going to take considerably longer than 2 hours now. Probably why my Canadian co-worker in Cypress is having so much trouble to getting hers replaced!

Nicola

What are the advantages and disadvantages of leaving Original Passport in safe on cruise ship, but taking a copy off with you?

We have not taken even copy off previously, just our drivers license (picture ID)

What are the advantages and disadvantages of leaving Original Passport in safe on cruise ship, but taking a copy off with you?

 

We have not taken even copy off previously, just our drivers license (picture ID)

Advantage: If you miss the ship you will have a passport so you'll be able to fly to the next port or home without the hassle of obtaining or replacing your passport.

There is frequent mention on Cruise Critic forum postings that if you miss the ship they will enter your cabin safe to see if there is a passport there and leave it with the port agent for you. But I don't think that there is an actual cruise line policy or procedure on this and no assurance that this would happen.

Disadvantage: If your passport is lost or stolen you'd have the hassle of replacing it before you could fly between countries or cross certain borders.

Personally: In the Caribbean we don't even worry about it as we're almost always headed to the beach and wouldn't want to get our passport spoiled in the water. In Europe we usually carry our passport in an hidden, money belt type, pocket especially when traveling far from port on our own or on a private tour. We do carry a photo of our passport in the Caribbean and in our wallet (not the hidden one) in Europe. I also have a copy of my passport available through my iPhone or online if needed with the thought that this might expedite a replacement if necessary although I do not know if it would really help or not.

I read some old daily bulletins from prior cruises in Europe. Those from several years back said that passports must be carried on shore. Those from more recent cruises (last 5 years or so) had no mention of passports one way or the other.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of leaving Original Passport in safe on cruise ship, but taking a copy off with you?

 

We have not taken even copy off previously, just our drivers license (picture ID)

We leave the original in the safe and take a copy off the ship with us. We also always take a copy of the ship's daily bulletin, with the port agent's contact info.

If the worst case scenario were to occur, and we missed the ship, we would have the port agent contact the ship about either catching up at another port, or getting our stateroom (and safe) contents sent back to us. Next step would be to contact the local US embassy/consulate to get the paperwork going for a replacement passport. This is where the laminated copy would be helpful -- it has your passport number, picture, and other pertinent info that you'll need for this process.

Ultimately, the "carry or leave" passport question is a very personal issue. People have to carefully weigh the options and decide what works best for them. :cool:

I agree! Our passport goes into the safe, first thing after boarding -- and there it stays! And now that our new passports have RFID chip, I'm shopping the PacSafe website for a wallet that will block RFID scanners. :eek:

We visited our local AAA office and they have a number of RFID Blocking Products, We got a pouch that holds 2 passport books and a small purse for credit cards, etc...

Dennis & Sue

My husband had passport stolen in London. We went to embassy and had new passport in 2 hours. We did have a copy. I wonder if Canada has different rules? Also had a passport stolen in Florence. Same result. The odds of having 2 passports stolen is pretty slim but somehow we managed it. I do agree about having passport with you when off the cruise ship.

 

 

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If anything, this would convince me to leave my passport on the ship. I never take my passport off with me. I have a full colour copy and also photocopies of other ID that I carry when off the ship so I can still prove who I am.

The odds of having a passport stolen while on shore is much greater than missing the ship, but if I do miss the ship, I have copies which makes it much easier to get a replacement passport.

Often, when a ship is leaving people behind in Europe if they didn't make it back to the ship, they will send someone to the room to get passports out of the safe and leave them with the port security so you have them to use to catch up to the ship. We actually saw this happen in the summer of 2012 in Europe. Newlyweds were left behind but not until their passports were retrieved from their rooms and left with the immigration at the port.

There is frequent mention on Cruise Critic forum postings that if you miss the ship they will enter your cabin safe to see if there is a passport there and leave it with the port agent for you. But I don't think that there is an actual cruise line policy or procedure on this and no assurance that this would happen.

I've asked several customer service managers on Celebrity this question (most recently last month on the Century) and all have told me that they will check the cabin safe for a passport and if they find one, they'll leave it with the port agent. They will not search the rest of the cabin, however.

We always carry a copy with us and leave the original in the safe.

We visited our local AAA office and they have a number of RFID Blocking Products, We got a pouch that holds 2 passport books and a small purse for credit cards, etc...

 

Dennis & Sue

 

Thanks for the tip -- I'll check for those, next time I stop in at our local AAA. As the push for RFID chips in US credit cards increases, we'll probably see a lot of these products popping up in our local stores, too.

I think that I have read here on CC on some itineraries the ship keeps your passports during the cruise.

We leave the original in the safe and take a copy off the ship with us. We also always take a copy of the ship's daily bulletin, with the port agent's contact info.

 

If the worst case scenario were to occur, and we missed the ship, we would have the port agent contact the ship about either catching up at another port, or getting our stateroom (and safe) contents sent back to us. Next step would be to contact the local US embassy/consulate to get the paperwork going for a replacement passport. This is where the laminated copy would be helpful -- it has your passport number, picture, and other pertinent info that you'll need for this process.

We take a copy of our passport and port agent's contact information!

LuLu

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Interesting thread.

What would the remedy be if you lost your passport in someplace without a consulate or embassy. Embassies are usually only in capital cities, consulates may be in larger cities, but some countries may not have a consulate. So good reason the leave it on the ship.

If you missed your ship in, say, Vigo Spain and the next port of call is Lisbon and your passport was on the ship, I don't think you could travel to another country on a copy of a passport. Your only hope is that the ship does get the passport to the port agent, so good reason to have it with you.

Haven't cruised in a few years so I don't remember what we did. But also have yet to miss a ship.

Sailing in three weeks...hope I didn't jinx us.

I think that I have read here on CC on some itineraries the ship keeps your passports during the cruise.

Yes, it will vary by itinerary and by your nationality. A few years back we originated in an EU contry but vistied two ports in Turkey. US and Canadian citizens surrendered their passports for the entire cruise. EU citizens did not. A cruise the following year with all EU ports, we did not.

Yes, it will vary by itinerary and by your nationality. A few years back we originated in an EU contry but vistied two ports in Turkey. US and Canadian citizens surrendered their passports for the entire cruise. EU citizens did not. A cruise the following year with all EU ports, we did not.

Thanks. I'm on a cruise coming up where we have one stop in Turkey.

I've asked several customer service managers on Celebrity this question (most recently last month on the Century) and all have told me that they will check the cabin safe for a passport and if they find one, they'll leave it with the port agent. They will not search the rest of the cabin, however.

We have asked different officers to see if their replies were consistent just because of the confusing, conflicting opinions from passengers, as we have seen on these boards.

The officers always gave the same answer, to leave your passport locked in the safe because your chance of having it lost or stolen on shore are greater than your chance of missing the ship, but even if you should miss the ship, they will retrieve your passport from the safe and leave it with the port agent.

At a port where we needed to take our passports off the ship with us, they let us know.

If anyone is in doubt, I would suggest that you do the same and ask the officers on your ship rather than relying on the personal opinions of other passengers.

All it took for us was one time having family members' money and passports stolen from them when they were robbed on land to convince us to leave our passports locked up in the safe, whether on a cruise ship or at a hotel.

One thing that we have heard consistently is that it is a good idea to keep a photocopy of your passport with you, both as a form of ID and also because it helps to expedite the processing of a replacement passport should it ever be necessary.

We have also been on several cruises where they collected and held all the passports for at least part of the cruise. We much prefer when they do that and take care of the processing for us instead of making us get up at the crack of dawn to stand in a long line to present our passports to the officials in person. ;)

Thanks for the tip -- I'll check for those, next time I stop in at our local AAA. As the push for RFID chips in US credit cards increases, we'll probably see a lot of these products popping up in our local stores, too.

They are travel stores. When I mentioned this a year ago, I was almost made fun of for bringing it up! This is what my DH and I both have(RFID.)

The only port that we have ever needed our passports to return to the ship is Venice. Other than that, a copy is what we carry and our drivers license. I wonder if we ever missed the ship, if we could get from one port to the next using copies if the next stop is in another country? :confused:

Doesn't seem too promising. Last summer in the Med we went running onto the ship a couple times just making it, so this makes me wonder….