Getting Passports stamped in each country

[K&RCurt]

ADD PAGES???

 

I collected a dozen stamps in the past 8 years and still have 10 blank pages.

 

How many places you been to that stamped ??

 

I would love to fill a book in 10 years and would gladly pay for a new one.

.

 

I work for an Italian owned company, so I have to travel to Europe on business quite often. 1 Trip = 1 EU entrance stamp, 1 EU exit stamp and 1 US entry stamp, so 3 stamps per trip. If I went and got my passport stamped at every stop on every cruise it would get filled before 10 years passed.

Edited December 20, 2015 by K&RCurt

[sasysutler]

just got off a Panama Canal cruise. Left our passports at the guest services and it was stamped in every port. I have one more cruise to go, and then I need to get mine renewed. It's a wonderful souvenier from everywhere we have traveled in 10 years

[6rugrats]

Surprisingly in Europe your passport is almost always stamped. That is the one area where I have gotten dozens of stamps. May not be the case when traveling by land, but by sea you still get stamped.

 

I've never had my passport stamped on Med cruises for any port.

[NMLady]

just got off a Panama Canal cruise. Left our passports at the guest services and it was stamped in every port. I have one more cruise to go, and then I need to get mine renewed. It's a wonderful souvenier from everywhere we have traveled in 10 years

 

Which cruise line? Most do not offer that service.

[TruckerDave]

I have to ask. Why would you want your passport stamped if you can avoid it?

 

The State Department will no longer add pages to passports, so once it is full, you will have to pay for a new passport. The stamp shows everyone who inspects it where you have been. Some countries are not friendly with other countries and that can also change over time. Why create the possibility of extra scrutiny at a boarder in the future if you can help it?

 

A Passport is a legal document not a scrap book to record your travelogue, I don't understand the desire to get unnecessary stamps in it.

 

Can anyone help me understand how getting a passport stamped when not needed is a good thing?

 

I've wondered that myself. My last passport (this time around I got the max number of pages when I renewed) I put a pretty good dent in it. A few scuba diving trips to the caribbean and some vacations to to south/central american and the Dominican Republic the pages start to fill up fast. Plus the agents (especially the wonderful US ones :rolleyes: ) just "love" looking through it to find a blank space to stamp it. If I want a souvenir I'll take a picture, buy something or save the boarding pass instead.

[Wayfairers]

I would rather not get stamps everywhere....there are those annoying countries like China and India that require a certain number of unused pages for their visas.

[chvygrl10]

I'm 41 & never had a passport. We are going on a 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise & the ports are St Thomas, Antigua, Martinique, St Kitts, & San Juan. I would love to have mine stamped to. At one time I heard that if you went to another country by plane they frowned if you didn't have any stamps at all in your passport. Don't know if that's true or not. I mean really in all honesty what's 3 or 4 stamps in the whole scheme of things. I agree with you daughter.

[cruisemom42]

I've never had my passport stamped on Med cruises for any port.

i

Apparently the rules are different for large vs. small cruise ships. I've gotten a fair number of stamps on my Aegean Odyssey cruises. Then again, some of those ports are non-EU, so...

 

On Eastern Med cruises, you will tend to get stamps if you visit Turkey because (depending on your starting point) you will be exiting and then re-entering the EU.

 

Regarding the desire for extra stamps: I don't even travel for work that much, mainly for pleasure. And I still filled up a regular-sized passport in about 6 years, partially due to visa pages. I had to decide between adding extra pages and just getting a new book -- I chose the latter. And from now on I will always ask for the book with more pages from the start -- there is no extra charge when applying, you just have to let them know.

[6rugrats]

i

Apparently the rules are different for large vs. small cruise ships. I've gotten a fair number of stamps on my Aegean Odyssey cruises. Then again, some of those ports are non-EU, so...

 

Who knows? All my Med cruises have been on Windstar. Never gotten stamped other than at the airport.

[CPT Trips]

I've wondered that myself. My last passport (this time around I got the max number of pages when I renewed) I put a pretty good dent in it. A few scuba diving trips to the caribbean and some vacations to to south/central american and the Dominican Republic the pages start to fill up fast. Plus the agents (especially the wonderful US ones :rolleyes: ) just "love" looking through it to find a blank space to stamp it. If I want a souvenir I'll take a picture, buy something or save the boarding pass instead.

 

I recently began asking US Immigration NOT to stamp.

[drrichardgeographer]

Actually very easy in the Caribbean ports - just ask at the security gates at most of the ports - they can tell you where to go to get them stamped. We have found they are happy to do so - and never for a fee.

 

 

Exactly right. I just got back from the Kongingsdam, Eastern Caribbean, and here is what I found:

 

 

St. Maartin. They couldn't have been friendlier, but you have to leave the port area, turn left and walk about 10 minutes to Bobby's Marina. When you go in walk towards the ocean then ask the guard at the bridge to let you go to the office.

 

St. Martin. No luck at the ferry office unless you are going somewhere off island. Understand there may be an office across from the Pasha Cafe but had no time to find it.

 

St. Lucia. Also no dice, the only place is at the airport.

 

Barbados. Very friendly and easy. Just go to the immigration office in the corner of the visitor center. I had to wait a few minutes for the man to return and while doing so met others doing the same thing.

 

Martinique. Right at the tourist office and incredibly friendly.

 

St. Kitts. In the main port area (some ships like ours are let off across the bay and people are shuttled around). I didn't have a boarding pass for the ships that were right by the dock but the guard let me in there after I left my card with her. The immigration office is directly inside the gate. The lady there was a little grumpy but did it without any issue.

 

Each time I also did my wife's passport. She wasn't with me but that was okay. Got stamps years ago in Bonaire the same way. So my take is that it is generally possible if you make an effort and find the immigration officer (sometimes that person will be by the pier when your ship comes in or leaves). From talking to several of them they said this is pretty common and several seemed to really enjoy doing it.

 

Incidentally I carried my passport (and all but a few small bills) in a money belt. The passport was in a plastic bag so I wouldn't sweat into it. When possible I took it back to the ship before doing activities.

[slidergirl]

My last passport was almost full, due to multiple trips up to Canada and Mexico (I fly), multiple trips to Europe, and some vacations in Kenya, Egypt, Jordan, (and a day trip to Syria). I still had some space left, but I decided to get my passport renewed last month. With things the way the are with the current regime, I was worried that I would be subject to the new special handling the US regime has put in place plus I have no idea when it will get worse (it's inevitable). Better to start with a fresh passport without those pesky visas and stamps from places the regime does not like. But, I like that I still have my visa'd passport in my possession - a reminder of times when travel was more "fun" and I did not have to worry about not being welcomed back into my home country, but treated like a criminal conspirator.

 

Never know when you will visit a country where a visa is required; those countries almost always require two contiguous empty pages. So, even if you are going for the souvenir stamps on your Caribbean cruise, be sure that they don't pick a random page, but try to get them on the same page or at least consecutive pages.

[john watson]

I had a look at my previous passport and there seems to be plenty of unused pages. British passports can last up to ten years and nine months if you renew early. The options are standard, 32 pages or jumbo with 48 pages at an additional cost. Most stamps I have got have been received when flying in or out on a fly cruise. I think this is due to countries concerned you may arrive and stay for good as opposed to sailing in on a cruise for the day and it being trusted that the captain will take you back!

 

Regards John

[drrichardgeographer]

Slidergirl has a good point. US passport applicants have the option of asking for a larger (52 page) book instead of the standard 28 page one, no charge. That's what I took since I'm expecting more trips, and of course we know it's not a good idea to travel with one that's within 6 months of the expiration date or you can have issues. But with 10 year issuance that gives plenty of leeway for easy renewals. I agree that things will probably get worse here before they get better, though this bunch won't be around forever. Fortunately many people you run into abroad (maybe less so in the States) can differentiate private citizens from the policies of their governments.