What doc's do I need to take on a shore excursion?

[Miss UK]

Hi

 

When I leave the ship for a shore excursion which documents do I need to take? Do I need to take my passport or is that not required?

 

Thank you.

[hancock]

You need to give us some information. Where are you from? (UK?) What area are you cruising? What ports?

[Miss UK]

I am from the Uk and doing the Panama Canal cruise. Stopping at Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico.

[Lsimon]

This is always a big issue of debate. Many people do not take their passports on shore excursions. In many cases, especially in the Caribbean, it is not required. However if you miss the ship, or have another emergency where you need to travel away from the ship, things could be very difficult and you'll likely have some delays if you do not have your passport with you. The cruise line will normally make an announcement, or print a notice in the daily bulletin, if a passport or other specific ID is required on shore.

 

Personally, I usually carry my passport in port in Europe (in a money belt type hidden pocket). In the Caribbean I seldom do as we usually are going to a beach or water activity and even when we're staying dry I usually don't think of it as I've gotten used to not carrying one in the Caribbean.

 

Some people say they carry a photo copy of their passport. I do this as well but recognize that this isn't going to get me very far if for any reason I need to actually cross boarders or get on an airplane. I also scan my passport and other documents into a password protected file and email it to myself so I can access these in an emergency even if my wallet and other documents have been lost.

[Freecall]

Having scanned copies of documents on a remotely located server is always good advice and not just for travelling.

 

Generally mass market cruise companies such as X do not go to places where documentation is a problem. Even countries which require visas such as Japan, China, Turkey, Russia etc will not be a problem because it is all handled centrally.

 

Many advise taking photocopies of passports although I am not quite sure how acceptable they would be. They might help if you got arrested for some reason maybe.

 

As for missing the ship, in such an unfortunate circumstance your documents will be off-loaded and given to the handling agent.

 

.

[cb at sea]

For your destinations, no passport is required to go ashore. You should, however, bring some form of ID, no matter where you are...just common sense! Your DL will be the same size as your ship's key and you MUST have that to get on and off the ship...so a DL is much easier to carry as ID.

[jagoffee]

The only thing that I have ever been required to carry ashore was my sea pass and a picture ID (DL). The Picture ID was only required at some of the ports. I have never had to carry my passport. In fact on some cruises the cruiseline collected all the passports. But with your cruise the Sea Pass and possible a picture ID.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[fleckle]

.........As for missing the ship, in such an unfortunate circumstance your documents will be off-loaded and given to the handling agent..

......If they are in your safe.

 

Whenever this question has come up onboard, it was pointed out that you should be sure to leave your passports locked up in your safe because they are not going to search through your entire cabin looking for them if they do not find them in the safe.

[Redtravel]

passport

credit card

cellphone

phone number for ship's agent

[fleckle]

Some ports request a photo ID in addition to the seapass card for re-entering the port area, so we use the photocopies of our passports for that purpose.

 

We understand that a photocopy can also be helpful in expediting the issuing of a temporary replacement passport to get home in case your passport is lost or stolen.

 

Some passengers take their driver's license off the ship with them to use for ID purposes, but we only take ours off at ports where we will actually need them for driving.

 

If I should be pickpocketed, mugged or otherwise lose everything in port, I would rather risk losing the photocopy than my driver's license, but would rather risk losing my driver's license than my passport.

[jcrandle]

This is actually a broader issue than stated, and it would be very helpful if Celebrity would give a definitive answer about the actions of the ship's officers in the event a passenger is unable to reboard at a port call. Will all of the contents of the safe be left with the port agent, or only the passports? Some cruisers leave other valuables in their stateroom safes. How will they be handled? What about other personal belongings in the stateroom? In the event of an emergency evacuation during a port call, how would these be handled?

 

While it may seem morbid to consider, all cruise lines have procedures in place to handle onboard deaths, missing passenger (both onboard and ashore) and other issues I haven't considered. It would be helpful if these policies were shared with the cruising public, so that we would be aware of the actions taken.

[Chicago Boy]

Hi

 

When I leave the ship for a shore excursion which documents do I need to take? Do I need to take my passport or is that not required?

 

Thank you.

 

We did a Trans Atlantic from Rome to Fort Lauderdale last october and we surrended our Pass Ports upon boardingthe ship and were given receipts for same. A day or so before we disembarked from the ship in Fort Lauderdale we retrieved our pass ports. So to answer your question. When we left the ship to do tours we brought our Sea Pass, drivers licenses, credit card and some cash in case we wanted to make a purchase. That's it. Enjoy your cruise.

[lcmslady]

This is actually a broader issue than stated, and it would be very helpful if Celebrity would give a definitive answer about the actions of the ship's officers in the event a passenger is unable to reboard at a port call. Will all of the contents of the safe be left with the port agent, or only the passports? Some cruisers leave other valuables in their stateroom safes. How will they be handled? What about other personal belongings in the stateroom? In the event of an emergency evacuation during a port call, how would these be handled?

 

While it may seem morbid to consider, all cruise lines have procedures in place to handle onboard deaths, missing passenger (both onboard and ashore) and other issues I haven't considered. It would be helpful if these policies were shared with the cruising public, so that we would be aware of the actions taken.

 

This is a much debated topic....if I'm doing some kind of excursion privately and I think there is even a remote chance that we might not make it back, I take my passport, DL and credit card.

 

I didn't know that if you miss the ship, that they get into the safe and give your passport to the agent.

 

As far as access to your stuff if something should happen, we were on a cruise where my BIL got hurt and had to go to the hospital. Before they left the ship, my sister went to the GR desk and gave permission for us to get access to the cabin in the off-chance that they didn't make it back and we needed to get in there and back up their stuff. Luckily, they made it back in time. Just another piece of info to tuck away.

[CruiserFromMaine]

I didn't know they would go through your safe to retrieve your passport either. Not that I don't believe it, but how do you know? Has Celebrity stated that somewhere?

 

Thanks.

[jcrandle]

I didn't know they would go through your safe to retrieve your passport either. Not that I don't believe it, but how do you know? Has Celebrity stated that somewhere?

 

Thanks.

 

I haven't seen it stated by Celebrity (or other cruise line), but I have heard anecdotal evidence that the ship's security officers have the ability and procedures to open stateroom safes. Consider the number of cruisers that forgetfully leave their safes locked when they end their cruise.Previous descriptions have said that if security opens a safe, there are two ship's officers present to ensure that nothing is misplaced. We have had to have our save unlocked by security when we had some unknown malfunction. So they do have the capability to do it.

 

That said, it would certainly be helpful if the cruise line would document their procedures in the event of a missed boarding or medical emergency requiring evacuation.

[Valley Girl of VA]

Personally, I usually carry my passport in port in Europe (in a money belt type hidden pocket).

 

I just returned from an eastern Med. cruise a couple of weeks ago. When we received our Sea Pass card we had to turn in our passports and didn't get them back till the second to last day on the cruise. We did ask what would happen if we didn't make it back to the ship in time. We were told that they would leave our passport with the ship's agency at the dock.