Do I take passport with me into ports?

[Bobbiebc]

when going into port do I need to bring my passport?? Or will my drivers license be okay as ID? This is our first cruise so not sure how that works.

Also, if I don't bring passport with me, where do I keep it!?

 

We will be in Cozumel.

 

Bobbie

[springtxbill]

Keep the passport in the safe in the room. There is a very high demand for stolen passports. Most ports do not even require a picture ID, and if they do the DL will work. The ship actually only needs your seapass card as it pulls up a digital picture of you. :)

 

You may want to take a copy of the photo page of your passport just in case something happens.

[BobBeaSea]

Personally I would take photo ID or perhaps a photocopy of your passport. Leave the real passport in your cabin safe.

[jcruise67]

I definitely advocate that yopu make copies of your passport and any other documentation you may be required to take abroad. Keep the originals in your stateroom safe or in the safe at the purser's desk. When you go ashore make sure you know what time zones your in and have copies of all your identification, plus your room key for the ship. I can tell you nightmares of pax being left behind after missing the ship. Be careful, and know where you are at all times, and more importantly...Know what time your ship leaves the port.

 

John

[Ehpride]

When I go to Germany this spring, I'm carrying my passport with me in an under-the-clothes pouch. I'd rather have that with me instead of a copy and leave a copy in the room and with my prof.

[kitty9]

There is a huge black market for stolen US passports, so just take a color copy of your information page of your passport and keep the original in the safe.

[kujobie]

It is always a good idea when travelling abroad to carry your original passport with you. A photocopy of it is useless in the unfortunate event (health problems, car accident, miss the ship, etc.) that you need a passport which is why you got it in the first place. That said, you do not need to carry it to get on and of the ship and many people, including myself, do not. In Cozumel anyways. If you choose not to carry it, don't bother with a photocopy. It will be of no use. If you DO decide to carry your passport with you, then you SHOULD make a copy of the info page and leave the copy in your in room safe and another copy at home. It's a matter of how comfortable you are with risk.

[Cotton]

My passport is with me every time I'm on foreign soil - islands or any foreign country.

[babsee101]

And decide...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=135448

[BobBeaSea]

Being Canadian we won't even have our passports to take into ports (the ship usually keeps foreign passports). That said, there is no way I'd take a passport on shore with me and risk the loss of it. A copy of the only page that matters (info page) is more than enough to get you some help.

[imatarb]

We took our passports with us every time we left the ship. We didn't let them leave our hands AT ALL, but I wouldn't have felt comfortable without them.

[98Charlie]

We always take the original ashore with copies of the info pages in the safe on board and a copy back home.

 

If you have the copy with you ashore and are stranded it may help. But, if you end up needing to leave the country via the airport I believe that you will need a valid passport to get on the plane.

 

Passports are a valuable commodity just like your wallet and watch. Treat them as such.

 

Charlie (Who is due to renew his passport later this year)

[tinkerme1]

Picture this, "You get off the ship, you have your "original" passport in the pouch around your neck, and someone comes up and yanks the cord around your neck and grabs your passport." Sound crazy? Not at all. This scenario happens more than you would think. Although you would "feel" more comfortable with the original, I would highly suggest you carry just a copy of your ID PAGE with you instead.

 

If you have an emergency, the first thing you are going to need is the location and address of the US Embassy in the country and place you are traveling. With the copy of your passport page, you can request the embassy to RUSH another passport to you. Sometimes, what is comfortable for us here in the States, is not the best thing when you're traveling abroad.:eek:

[98Charlie]

Picture this, "You get off the ship, you have your "original" passport in the pouch around your neck, and someone comes up and yanks the cord around your neck and grabs your passport."

Scenerio #2 - You miss the ship (as recently reported on CC). You have your passport. You can leave the country ASAP by air and catch up to the cruise or return home.

 

Scenerio #3 - You miss the ship (as recently reported on CC). You have a copy of your passport. You go to the embassy when it is open for business. If it's a weekend, "see you Monday". When they are satisfied that you are who you say you are, you go get your picture taken for the replacement, fill out the forms necessary, and turn them in. Same day service, maybe. More likely a day or two.

 

Each person must decide what is best for themselves. We treat our passport as valuables. (Probably because they are.) They go ashore with us.

 

Y.M.M.V.

 

Charlie

[Ehpride]

Why on earth would carry anything that you don't want to lose around your neck where someone can grab it?! At least wear it underneath your clothes!

[jcruise67]

The last several posters are absolutely right. In opposition of my first post, I must agree that carrying your original passport is the right thing to do. Based on missing the ship, having your original pass port will expedite your travel to the next port destination, or home for that matter. Your cruise vacation would become a nightmare if you were not in possession of the original. Make copies of all your I.D. and place them in the ship safe at the purser's desk.

 

John

[tinkerme1]

In theory, what you say makes sense. In reality, however, if someone steals your original passport, then you are wading in the deep stuff!

 

As for keeping it around your neck, most of the security passport holders are intended to be worn around your neck (which then goes under your shirt). Most thieves know this too, unfortunately. We had friends who are very seasoned travelers in Europe. They were surrounded by a gang of kids that closed in and stole their camera right from their hands in London. It would be nieve to think that you or your pasport is safe, just because you have it on your person!

[98Charlie]

I believe that the main purpose of a passport is for identification when entering a country (including re-entry into the US). If you want to have the ability to leave a foreign country with minimum delay keep your passport with you.

 

Chances of needing it are really pretty remote considering the number of people traveling. If you don't mind taking the chance of needing the passport and being delayed (a few hours or a few days) leave it on the ship and carry the copies.

 

You may also want to evaluate the potential for theft of any of your personal belongings. There is certainly a greater risk of a problem when you are at a public beach and in the water than when you are on an organized tour of museums and cathedrals. Do what is right for you.

 

As far as the neck pouches, we have never used them. When we feel that we need the extra security we use the money belt type. However, we have never felt the need to use them when on cruises.

 

Charlie

[kujobie]

I believe that the main purpose of a passport is for identification when entering a country (including re-entry into the US). If you want to have the ability to leave a foreign country with minimum delay keep your passport with you.

 

Chances of needing it are really pretty remote considering the number of people traveling. If you don't mind taking the chance of needing the passport and being delayed (a few hours or a few days) leave it on the ship and carry the copies.

 

You may also want to evaluate the potential for theft of any of your personal belongings. There is certainly a greater risk of a problem when you are at a public beach and in the water than when you are on an organized tour of museums and cathedrals. Do what is right for you.

 

As far as the neck pouches, we have never used them. When we feel that we need the extra security we use the money belt type. However, we have never felt the need to use them when on cruises.

 

Charlie

 

Exactly. It's all about what you are doing and how careless/drunk/risky you intend to be. Please read the following document about caribbean travel on the U.S Dept. of State web site

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/regional/regional_1171.html

 

especially the part that starts out "return-caution!" Then explore the rest of the website. Lots of great info there. I guess the bottom line is what is more likely? missing the ship or having your passport lost/stolen. Both pretty unlikely. But if you don't have your original passport with you and miss the ship for any reason, you are likely going to be spending at LEAST a day or two in that country. Hopefully you will still have sufficient funds to deal with that (food, lodging, trip to embasy/consulate, and airfare) If you DO have your ORIGINAL pasport with you, you can go directly to the nearest airport and get going, maybe even catch the ship at the next nearby port. The convenience of being able to do that outweighs the inconvenience and relatively low cost of having to replace my passport if it is lost or stolen. Think about it.

[tinkerme1]

kujobie said:

 

"If you DO have your ORIGINAL pasport with you, you can go directly to the nearest airport and get going, maybe even catch the ship at the next nearby port. The convenience of being able to do that outweighs the inconvenience and relatively low cost of having to replace my passport if it is lost or stolen. Think about it."

 

And if it is stolen while you are in a port.............then what???

[jbond]

And if it is stolen while you are in a port.............then what???

 

Then you have the really big inconvenience of not being able to re-enter the US. I personally leave our passports in the safe throughout the cruise. I feel that I have far more control over getting back to the ship on time than I do over pickpockets etc.

In the Caribbean, you don't need a passport to leave the majority of the islands via airplane. Proof of citizenship and photo ID is the usual requirement.

 

You may also want to evaluate the potential for theft of any of your personal belongings. There is certainly a greater risk of a problem when you are at a public beach and in the water than when you are on an organized tour of museums and cathedrals.

It is my experience is that it is the other way around. I have heard of many more thefts in Europe, especially Barcelona, Rome, Naples and Athens, than I have from people on cruises in the Caribbean.

[98Charlie]

=tinkerme1 "And if it is stolen while you are in a port.............then what???"

Then you have no ID. Same as if your wallet/purse is stolen with your BC and Drivers Liscence. In either case you go back to the ship and do your best to get back on.

 

In the Caribbean, you don't need a passport to leave the majority of the islands via airplane. Proof of citizenship and photo ID is the usual requirement.

From the State Department link listed above: "If you lose or have your U.S. passport stolen while overseas, report it immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. A lost or stolen birth certificate or driver's license cannot be replaced outside the United States. There are several countries, most notably Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, and Jamaica, where airlines have consistently refused to board American citizens with insufficient proof of U.S. citizenship. The resulting delays can be inconvenient as well as expensive."

 

It is my experience is that it is the other way around. I have heard of many more thefts in Europe, especially Barcelona, Rome, Naples and Athens, than I have from people on cruises in the Caribbean.

Sorry if I confused the issue when I said, "You may also want to evaluate the potential for theft of any of your personal belongings. There is certainly a greater risk of a problem when you are at a public beach and in the water than when you are on an organized tour of museums and cathedrals. Do what is right for you." I was referring to public beaches vs. organized tours when cruising. I'm not sure how southern europe got into the discussion.

 

Charlie

[jbond]

I'm not sure how southern europe got into the discussion.

I didn't realise this thread was limited to just the Caribbean. People do cruise Europe as well. The same problems exist there as well as in the Caribbean, in fact I think that petty theft is more prevalent there than in the Caribbean. Being on an organised tour is also no reason to feel safer. Thieves usually like crowds and where better to get a crowd than an organised tour.

[98Charlie]

jBond:

 

Op's original question dealt with Cozumel, not Europe, and as I remember my recent geography, Cozumel is still located in the Caribbean, not in southern Europe.

 

 

Dianne, other half of 98Charlie

[Ehpride]

I think it was probably my comment that started that vein. No matter where I am, if I'm in a foreign country, I'm carrying it with me in the safest way possible, whether it's Europe or Mexico.