Passports

[Cdngrl6]

Hi. I've been on 2 other cruises with Celebrity in the Mediterranean. On one they took and kept our passports for the duration of the cruise and on the other they didn't.

Question- we are cruising out of Puerto Rico for a 7 day Carribbean trip, will they take our passports? TIA!

[brrscuba1]

No, they will not, you keep it

[Keith1010]

I would keep them in your safe and not take them into port with you.

 

Keith

[az_tchr]

Hi. I've been on 2 other cruises with Celebrity in the Mediterranean. On one they took and kept our passports for the duration of the cruise and on the other they didn't.

Question- we are cruising out of Puerto Rico for a 7 day Carribbean trip, will they take our passports? TIA!

 

Just wondering why you would care? Passport control is decided by the countries you visit and several require the ship to present passports for every passenger. Certainly easier than waiting in line for a few hours to let the ship handle it.

 

Agree taking a passport on a shore excursion is a recipe for disaster as the ship will empty your safe and leave your passport with the agent if you miss the ship for some reason. Unless of course you are dumb enough to hide it in your cabin.

[Andy]

I would keep them in your safe and not take them into port with you.

 

Keith

 

Totally agree Keith.

[countess5]

As many have said in other threads, I always take a color copy of our passports and leave originals in the safe.

 

That varies when overseas but in the Caribbean it works great.

[Lsimon]

In the Caribbean the ships never take your passports, at least not for Citizen's of most countries including the USA. Passports are not an absolute requirement on Caribbean cruises for USA Citizens so not all passengers will even have them.

 

In Cruises in Europe and other areas of the world it depends on the requirements of the ports of call the ship is visiting. The ship inspects all passports on boarding and provides this information to authorities at ports of call. But authorities at some ports want to see the passports on their own, either due to their country's laws or as a spot check/audit of the cruise line's procedures. If the country has notified Celebrity that they will require direct inspection of passports then the cruise ship will collect all passports (usually at the initial boarding) to facilitate the process.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Lsimon

[Cdngrl6]

Thanks. I have no intention of bringing the passport with me into port. I am actually not a US citizen but am a permanent resident with a green card. I was curious about the passport since I am sailing at the end of March and my passport expires in July which is before the 6 month expiry generally required by many countries. Believe my passport and green card will be securely locked in the room safe. I guard them very well!

[Suzy Smith]

In the Caribbean the ships never take your passports, at least not for Citizen's of most countries including the USA. Passports are not an absolute requirement on Caribbean cruises for USA Citizens so not all passengers will even have them.

 

In Cruises in Europe and other areas of the world it depends on the requirements of the ports of call the ship is visiting. The ship inspects all passports on boarding and provides this information to authorities at ports of call. But authorities at some ports want to see the passports on their own, either due to their country's laws or as a spot check/audit of the cruise line's procedures. If the country has notified Celebrity that they will require direct inspection of passports then the cruise ship will collect all passports (usually at the initial boarding) to facilitate the process.

 

It also seems to depend on your nationality and the area you are sailing. On one of our Med cruises we were on a table of eight - two USA citizens, two Canadians and two British couples. The Americans mentioned that their passports had been collected at boarding and the Canadians said the same had happened to them. However we Brits all kept our own passports throughout the cruise - presumably because we were EU citizens sailing within the EU. I can only recall our passports being taken once - on a re-positioning cruise that started in California, called at some west coast ports on the way up to Alaska and then finished in Canada. I don't know if US and Canadian citizens also surrounded their passports on that cruise, but would guess they did not.

[UpcountryTravelers]

In the Caribbean, I leave my passport book in the safe and take my passport card ashore as ID.

 

Did the same for Mediterranean and UK cruises (except the UK cruise kept my passport until we sailed away from Ireland).

Edited February 23, 2016 by UpcountryTravelers