Private excursions..do you take your passport ashore

[Northern Aurora]

We rarely take our passports onshore at a port call and leave them secured in our stateroom safe. The only times we have taken them off at a port call was on the rare occasion when we were specifically instructed to do so.

[john watson]

When you go ashore on a private excursion overseas do you take your passport ashore with you?:)

 

Some private excursions use a voucher system which you print off on your home computer and the operator needs to see a copy of that plus identification of the holder. In these cases a passport might be the stipulated document in which case yes you will need it ashore. They may accept a photocard drivers licence as ID in lieu.

 

Generally I should at least carry a photo copy of your passport unless you are in a port which is regarded as safe. Carrying a passport always will introduce an element of risk of loss of document and stress on continually making sure you have still got it.

 

So it varies a lot!

 

Regards John

[Wiltonian]

Never asked for Passports in the Med last year (Italy, Greece, Turkey) nor Norway this year. Kept them in the cabin safe and carried colour copies. Clearly might be different in some non-EU and non-EEA countries for EU passport holders.

 

Stuart

[Lsimon]

Variation on the theme. An often discussed (argued) topic is whether a Passport is even needed to cruise. So, for those who chose not to carry a passport but rely on birth certificate + photo ID instead, do you carry such documents with you on excursions?...

 

 

Birth Certificate and Photo ID are accepted by USA Border Patrol as acceptable identification for closed loop cruises from a USA port. But those documents will not get you on a plane should you miss the ship while out of the country and may not be acceptable ID for otherwise moving across boarders. So they do not have the benefit of carrying a passport.

 

I do carry photo ID such as a driver's license at all times. In the Caribbean we usually go to a beach or sail boat trip and on those I carry my ID, money and ships pass in a waterproof pouch so I can take it into the ocean with me.

[Tak8]

I take it if i need it. We have gone to Jost in the British Virgin Islands from St. Thomas a few times. We need the passports to go through Customs. Otherwise, we bring driver's license.

[K.T.B.]

Always.

 

Nailed it with the first response. :)

[smtcan]

We always carry our passports unless the ship has collected them, as has happened several times. Your passport is your identification in a foreign country, it will not do you any good locked in a safe. That said, we are careful to use hidden pockets or a neck pouch to avoid pickpockets.

 

Sheila

[DYKWIA]

WYou are in a foreign country, you should have your passport with you.......

 

Europeans can travel around the Schengen countries without their passport once within the Schengen area, so miss the ship in Monaco, it's not a major problem, jump on the train and meet it in Italy / Spain.

 

We would not normally take our passport out of the safe. We carry driving licences and photocopies of our passport with us. If it was strongly advised to take our passports we would.

 

I know more people who've lost their passport or more likely had it stolen than have ever been asked to show their passport by some official whilst on the street wandering around. I tend to avoid countries where officials wander up to tourists on the street demanding "Show me your papers".

 

A lost passport whilst off the ship I would have thought would be a major headache - would you not have to stay ashore to get a new passport from your consulate..... perhaps another adavntage to over night stays in port :D

Edited June 8, 2015 by DYKWIA

[CanadianDee]

In addition to having a photocopy of our passports (and other important papers), I'll e-mail a copy of my passport to myself. That way, regardless of what happens, there's an access point for our documentation.

[ghstudio]

Passport stays in the safe (or with the ship if they've collected them). We each carry

 

-sea pass card

-copy of passport

-medicare card (for ID)

-medigap card (foreign medical coverage...Plan F)

-drivers license with picture (for official original ID)

-medjet membership card

-credit card with very high limit

-credit/debit card with no ATM or foreign transaction fees

-travel insurance policy number and emergency number (they can be very very helpful).

 

essentially, I just set up my wallet with those things and grab it before we get off the ship.

[sloopsailor]

We always carry our passports unless the ship has collected them, as has happened several times. Your passport is your identification in a foreign country, it will not do you any good locked in a safe. That said, we are careful to use hidden pockets or a neck pouch to avoid pickpockets.

 

Sheila

 

Seems a bit contradictory. You willingly go ashore when the ship has your passport locked in THEIR safe, but you won't do it with your passport locked in YOUR safe. What is the difference? In both cases, "it will not do you any good locked in a safe" because you would not have your passport for identification.

 

If the passport is not specifically needed when ashore, as in most countries, it is much more secure locked up in a safe and out of reach of robbers, pickpockets or carelessness. If you get robbed, as some unfortunate people get each year, having your passport hidden will not be a deterrent. Robbers know where passports may be hidden on your body and if those are what they are after, you will not be able to keep it out of their hands.

 

Then, you won't have a passport at all - not in your safe, not in the ship's safe, not at your disposal at all. Nope, it will be in the robber's pocket where you no longer have access to it. If it is locked up in your safe, and you need it for some reason, at least you know where it is and can make arrangements to retrieve it.

 

I prefer not to be one of the owners of the hundreds of thousands of passports that get stolen or lost every year. I leave it in my safe unless specifically instructed to carry it with me. It is much better to be safe than sorry.

Edited June 8, 2015 by sloopsailor

[Tiggertastic]

We follow the cruise daily. If it insists passports we take them, if it's photo ID we use drivers licence. We always have a photocopy just in case and often forget and leave it in the safe

[Jane2357]

The debate over this seems to go on and on over many threads and to each of us on one side or the other - I doubt that we are changing anyone's minds. :D

 

I've recently read a very detailed account here on CC that explains what happens if you miss the ship and do not have a passport - I might not always be able to prevent an emergency that would cause me to miss the ship but I can make sure that I have a way to immediately book a flight either home or to the next port.

 

Some people "claim" that the ship retrieves your passport and leaves it for you - yet I've never heard of a first hand account of that happening - so I'm very skeptical - perhaps if the ship KNEW ahead of time that you wouldn't make it back. Having a color copy is great and would undoubtably assist in obtaining a replacement but you wouldn't be allowed to fly using it. You'd still be having to get new photos taken, get to the embassy, get the replacement and then fly. If the ship isn't holding my passport - then it is off the ship with me - there are ways to make loss or theft very difficult and I figure I'm adult enough to handle it.

[smtcan]

Seems a bit contradictory. You willingly go ashore when the ship has your passport locked in THEIR safe, but you won't do it with your passport locked in YOUR safe. What is the difference? In both cases, "it will not do you any good locked in a safe" because you would not have your passport for identification.

 

If the passport is not specifically needed when ashore, as in most countries, it is much more secure locked up in a safe and out of reach of robbers, pickpockets or carelessness. If you get robbed, as some unfortunate people get each year, having your passport hidden will not be a deterrent. Robbers know where passports may be hidden on your body and if those are what they are after, you will not be able to keep it out of their hands.

 

Then, you won't have a passport at all - not in your safe, not in the ship's safe, not at your disposal at all. Nope, it will be in the robber's pocket where you no longer have access to it. If it is locked up in your safe, and you need it for some reason, at least you know where it is and can make arrangements to retrieve it.

 

I prefer not to be one of the owners of the hundreds of thousands of passports that get stolen or lost every year. I leave it in my safe unless specifically instructed to carry it with me. It is much better to be safe than sorry.

 

We actually have two passports since we are dual citizens, so can always have one with us. My comfort level includes having my passport with me in foreign countries, yours is different and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

Sheila

[SantaFeFan]

Some people "claim" that the ship retrieves your passport and leaves it for you - yet I've never heard of a first hand account of that happening - so I'm very skeptical - perhaps if the ship KNEW ahead of time that you wouldn't make it back.

 

OK, enough of this nonsense from you doubters. Why do you insist on refusing to believe what dozens of us have been telling people for years on these boards? Will you only believe it if it happens to you?

 

I have never missed the ship, so personally have not had to deal with that situation. BUT, I do believe what I have seen with my own eyes, have been told by people in charge of the ships, and have read here from experienced cruisers.

 

I like to attend the talks about ship operations that the ship's officers present. On two of these presentations, one by the captain on ship navigation, and the other by the fist officer on ship logistics, during the Q&A session the question of what happens when someone misses the ship was asked. Both officers explained the process, including that they ALWAYS check the safe for passports for any missing passengers just before they pull the gangway. The key word here is ALWAYS, as in "every time", or "consistently", or "routinely". It was also mentioned that they will look only in the safe. They will not search the rest of the cabin.

 

It was also explained that because a person's seapass card is scanned when leaving the ship and again when boarding, they know exactly who is and who is not on the ship at any time. They do not need to be notified ahead of time that someone will be late - the scan records tell them who is not yet aboard, so they know exactly who's cabin safe to check.

 

I chose to believe those officers rather than call them liars. So I have no doubt that they indeed check.

 

As additional support to that belief, I remember a couple of cruises ago watching the preparations for cast off from my balcony, which happened to be just above the gangway. For a half hour I could hear calls for four people repeated every few minutes. Eventually one of those four must have been located because only three names were called just before cast off. Moments before the gangway was removed, an officer walked down to the dock and handed someone several blue, passport shaped items. I could not see for certain if they were indeed passports, but I am confident that is what they were. This observation was entirely consistent with what I had been told in those presentations.

 

So, do you also want to call me a liar, along with that captain and first officer, for "claiming" this fact? :rolleyes:

Edited June 8, 2015 by SantaFeFan

[sloopsailor]

[quote name='SantaFeFan']OK, enough of this nonsense from you doubters. Why do you insist on refusing to believe what dozens of us have been telling people for years on these boards? Will you only believe it if it happens to you?[/QUOTE]

Hey good buddy, don't let those doubters get to you. Like you, I leave my passport in my safe like we are advised to. I am not afraid to put my faith in others, and actually sleep pretty well at night while doing so.

But, like the climate change deniers who think that global warming is a scam perpetrated by ... (actually, I don't know who they think is scamming them) - to the creationists who believe the earth is only 5,000 years old and refuse all the evidence of millions of years of evolution, there will always be some who refuse facts and common sense and will believe that they will be left behind without their passports unless they protect themselves from those uncaring cruise line personnel. They are in the unfortunate group who have a deep distrust of people and cannot accept that people will actually do what they say they will do.

[hvsteve1]

In the past I have made a photocopy of my passport and emailed myself a copy. We recently had to renew our passports and opted to pay the additional cost for a passport card. While not good everywhere in the world, it is accepted in most of North America and the Caribbean. If the ship has taken your passport in other parts of the world, I'm sure it's a better option that a photocopy of the book.

[DYKWIA]

I wonder which of these happens more often

(a) Person leaves passport on ship, doesn't get back to the ship in time, it leaves without them (and takes their passport with them) and is stranded without their passport.

or

(b) Person takes passport ashore, loses it / get's it stolen - spends the next the 2 days at the consulate trying to get a new one - ship doesn't wait and sails without them.

Either way the outcome is the same - the ship sails without you and you are without your passport.

BUT, if as some have suggested (a) wouldn't happen because the ship would return your passport before leaving it makes sense to me to assume that will be the case and leave your passport on the ship.

Certainly in some Mediterranean ports the dire warnings you hear most of are people being robbed / pick pocketed - not a place i'd want to carry my passport.

[Jane2357]

[url]http://www.epinions.com/review/trvl-Cruise_Lines-Norwegian-Norwegian_Star/2234129/548785786500[/url]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="Blue"]NOT a first hand account - lol - but this is the story that one couple claims happened them when they missed their ship in Puerto Vallarta. Sorry that I don't know the correct way to put a link here but I'm sure you could find it if you tried. Spoiler alert - the ship did not leave their passports. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[The bubble]

We always leave our original passports in the safe and carry color copies of both information pages with us.

[cruisemom42]

[quote name='Lsimon']In Europe I've always carried my passport. I guess if the ship is holding it there is nothing you can do but if they're not. My reason is that if we ever miss the ship for any reason (late, accident, illness) the passport would be needed to catch up with the ship. [/QUOTE]

You wouldn't categorically need a passport. Often the next port of call is within the same country -- so, for example, you could take a train from Naples to Rome or Rome to Venice, or even a ferry from Mykonos to Santorini without needing a passport.

[quote name='Jane2357'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="Blue"]

Some people "claim" that the ship retrieves your passport and leaves it for you - yet I've never heard of a first hand account of that happening - so I'm very skeptical - perhaps if the ship KNEW ahead of time that you wouldn't make it back. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Through the years here on CC I've read at least three first-hand accounts of this happening, and also have heard directly from ship staff on one mass-market line that this is done. Of course, this assumes that your passport is in your safe -- they will not tear your cabin apart looking for it. Edited June 9, 2015 by cruisemom42

[Shorex]

So yet again there's a strong difference of opinion between the "ALWAYS!" camp and the "NEVER!" (unless absolutely required) camp.
I'm in one of the camps. Doesn't matter which one. What continues to surprise me is that both camps disparage the judgement and common sense of the other.

OP, do whatever you think is best. And don't give a fig about the opinion of anyone else.

[agabbymama]

I'm 68 years old and old fashioned, I don't have all the electronic gadgetry others are talking about. It would do me absolutely no good to send a copy to my email, as I would have no way to retrieve it.

I do make a copy of my passport page and give it to my traveling companion. She also makes a copy of her passport and gives it to me.

I have done 7 land trips to Europe (thus carry my passport with me). I have only done 1 cruise to the Med on Princess, and was told because we were leaving the Schengen Countries and going to Turkey, Greece insisted all Passports be presented by the ship. We had to turn in our Passports upon leaving Turkey and were told we could pick them up again after leaving Corfu and Greek waters. So for the Greek Ports of Mykonos, Athens, Katakolon, & Corfu, we had no choice, we didn't even have our passports in our possession.

We had our copies and our Driver's Licenses, but whether those would have been enough is anybody's guess, thankfully we never needed to find out.

In my almost 30 years of travelling, I've never lost my passport nor had it stolen. Not saying it couldn't happen, but it just never has. By the same token, I don't go to dark secluded allies by myself, nor openly wear my passport in a visible location, nor go to Countries that are deemed unsafe for US Citizens to travel. That Passport is your LEGAL IDENTIFICATION when OUTSIDE the United States.

This conversation is very similar to carrying cash or using ATMs in foreign ports. There are folks on both sides of the question, and neither is going to change their minds, no matter how much discussion or proof is presented.

I have a Driver's License, I don't drive my vehicle without it in my possession.
I have a Passport, I don't travel without it in my possession.

It's up to each individual whether they want to carry it or not.

[dsrdsrdsr]

[quote name='Jane2357']I might not always be able to prevent an emergency that would cause me to miss the ship but I can make sure that I have a way to immediately book a flight either home or to the next port.
... Having a color copy is great and would undoubtably assist in obtaining a replacement but you wouldn't be allowed to fly using it. You'd still be having to get new photos taken, get to the embassy, get the replacement and then fly.[/QUOTE]

This isn't correct, actually. It is correct that if your passport is lost or stolen, you need to go to the embassy etc etc. But if you miss the ship and your passport is on board, it would be quicker to have the passport sent back to you rather than going through the rigmarole of replacing it.

This is why I leave mine on board. If I leave it on board and something goes wrong (miss the ship), at least I know where my passport is and how to get it back. If I take it ashore and something goes wrong (loss or theft), the passport is gone and I have to replace it, with difficulty. Neither is a likely scenario, but the second one has much more serious consequences.

It probably helps that, being British, I have never had reason to carry official i.d. cards or similar, so I don't feel any need to do it abroad either. Edited June 9, 2015 by dsrdsrdsr

[Jane2357]

[quote name='agabbymama']I'm 68 years old and old fashioned, I don't have all the electronic gadgetry others are talking about. It would do me absolutely no good to send a copy to my email, as I would have no way to retrieve it.

I do make a copy of my passport page and give it to my traveling companion. She also makes a copy of her passport and gives it to me.

I have done 7 land trips to Europe (thus carry my passport with me). I have only done 1 cruise to the Med on Princess, and was told because we were leaving the Schengen Countries and going to Turkey, Greece insisted all Passports be presented by the ship. We had to turn in our Passports upon leaving Turkey and were told we could pick them up again after leaving Corfu and Greek waters. So for the Greek Ports of Mykonos, Athens, Katakolon, & Corfu, we had no choice, we didn't even have our passports in our possession.

We had our copies and our Driver's Licenses, but whether those would have been enough is anybody's guess, thankfully we never needed to find out.

In my almost 30 years of travelling, I've never lost my passport nor had it stolen. Not saying it couldn't happen, but it just never has. By the same token, I don't go to dark secluded allies by myself, nor openly wear my passport in a visible location, nor go to Countries that are deemed unsafe for US Citizens to travel. That Passport is your LEGAL IDENTIFICATION when OUTSIDE the United States.

This conversation is very similar to carrying cash or using ATMs in foreign ports. There are folks on both sides of the question, and neither is going to change their minds, no matter how much discussion or proof is presented.

I have a Driver's License, I don't drive my vehicle without it in my possession.
I have a Passport, I don't travel without it in my possession.

It's up to each individual whether they want to carry it or not.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="SlateGray"][COLOR="Blue"]You sound like a very wise women and I'm right there with you! :D[/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]