driver's license question

[lizardhowson]

Wow, pretty strange analogy. The passport is for traveling over foreign borders. We travel with a passport as it's insurance if something happens to us and we need to fly out of a foreign port. The passport is useless touring Cozumel, unless you are flying out. We carry a valid DL, credit card, cash and a sign and sail card while ashore.

 

 

"why bother to get one if you don’t intend to use it ?" where would you use it ashore? We have traveled to Europe, Central America, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Mexico, that is where we intended to use our passports, airports, not for the cruise.

 

"

 

Last I checked, Cozumel is part of a foreign country. As you stated, “needed to fly home”. Most US based cruises sail to foreign countries. One never knows when a passport might be needed while cruising.

[Sizzlechest]

I have to call bull on this post. A passport is the gold standard for ID. What does your physical address have do with anything? What if you moved? What if you live in NY and do not drive? What entity told you you needed a DL? This story has more holes than Swiss cheese.

 

I didn't realize you were an expert on things that happened to me. I remember it differently. I remember meeting in the theater with the rest of the people going on an excursion and being told you MUST have your drivers license. I remember the lady in a wheelchair who was quite upset and yelling because there was no way she was going to be able to get it from the safe in her room in time. I'm going to have to go with my version of events because I was there and you weren't.

[Lottacruises]

I didn't realize you were an expert on things that happened to me. I remember it differently. I remember meeting in the theater with the rest of the people going on an excursion and being told you MUST have your drivers license. I remember the lady in a wheelchair who was quite upset and yelling because there was no way she was going to be able to get it from the safe in her room in time. I'm going to have to go with my version of events because I was there and you weren't.

As much as Iovd your comment, I think the passport would have been fine. They announce sail and sign and photo ID in the announcements every time, they do not say sail and sign and photo ID with an address or otherwise.

[Towel Critter]

I can think of one good reason to carry your passport off ship and that is if you were to miss the ship. It would be needed to fly to the next port or fly home.

[firemanbobswife]

I can think of one good reason to carry your passport off ship and that is if you were to miss the ship. It would be needed to fly to the next port or fly home.

 

Right - if you are worried about missing the ship which if you plan right should never happen. However, if by freak chance it does, your Passport will be left with the Port Authority for you to retrieve. That is the only reason why you would need a Passport on shore on a cruise instead of a Driver’s License for ID.

[Towel Critter]

Right - if you are worried about missing the ship which if you plan right should never happen. However, if by freak chance it does, your Passport will be left with the Port Authority for you to retrieve. That is the only reason why you would need a Passport on shore on a cruise instead of a Driver’s License for ID.

Serious question: you mean someone on the ship goes and finds your passport and takes it to the Port Authority? It seems like if they take time to do that they could just wait on you a little longer. But you are right, with good planning no one SHOULD ever miss the ship, but you know what they say about "The best laid plans of mice and men." The reason I brought this up is someone posted a long horror story on here a year or two ago about missing the ship and not having a passport. Apparently no one on the ship thought to retrieve their passport and leave it with the PA for them. I think I have more trust in me not losing it than I do someone else locating it and bringing it ashore. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. :-)

Edited May 31, 2018 by Towel Critter

[firemanbobswife]

Serious question: you mean someone on the ship goes and finds your passport and takes it to the Port Authority? It seems like if they take time to do that they could just wait on you a little longer. But you are right, with good planning no one SHOULD ever miss the ship, but you know what they say about "The best laid plans of mice and men." The reason I brought this up is someone posted a long horror story on here a year or two ago about missing the ship and not having a passport. Apparently no one on the ship thought to retrieve their passport and leave it with the PA for them. I think I have more trust in me not losing it than I do someone else locating it and bringing it ashore. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. :-)

Yes they send 2 officers to your cabin and open the safe to retrieve your Passports and leave them with the Port. There are quite a few threads on this subject and passengers have even witnessed this happening. John Heald has confirmed that's what they do as well.

 

Stuff happens and things can get misplaced or go missing onshore (see my previous post on that). Happens every day I'm sure. It's more secure to have it locked away in the safe and in the extremely unlikely event you miss the ship, it will be waiting for you. Actually the State Dept recommends you keep a copy of it on you when onshore. It says nothing about carrying the actual Passport. At least in the pamphlet that came with my renewal.

[broberts]

I believe passports are not left with the port authority, but with the cruise line's port agent. Contact information for the appropriate port agent is typically printed on the front page of the the daily events pamphlet.

[firemanbobswife]

I believe passports are not left with the port authority, but with the cruise line's port agent. Contact information for the appropriate port agent is typically printed on the front page of the the daily events pamphlet.

Yes I believe that's correct. I couldn't remember the exact terminology.

[SkyPiglet]

I am with you on this. Go to the trouble and expense of getting a passport but leave it locked in a safe? Can somebody tell me the point of this?

 

My passport is bulky and definitely won't fit in my little travel wallet, or my regular wallet I use at home for that matter. A driver's license, S&S cad, and a credit card for emergencies does.

[Towel Critter]

Yes they send 2 officers to your cabin and open the safe to retrieve your Passports and leave them with the Port. There are quite a few threads on this subject and passengers have even witnessed this happening. John Heald has confirmed that's what they do as well.

 

Stuff happens and things can get misplaced or go missing onshore (see my previous post on that). Happens every day I'm sure. It's more secure to have it locked away in the safe and in the extremely unlikely event you miss the ship, it will be waiting for you. Actually the State Dept recommends you keep a copy of it on you when onshore. It says nothing about carrying the actual Passport. At least in the pamphlet that came with my renewal.

I think I'm okay with the idea of carrying a copy instead of the actual passport. I would feel much better doing that than carrying neither.

 

edit: Come to think of it, I always have a copy of my passport in my wallet anyway when cruising. lol.

 

edit: And a photo of it in my camera. I guess I'm a Boy Scout at heart. I believe in being prepared. :-)

[firemanbobswife]

I think I'm okay with the idea of carrying a copy instead of the actual passport. I would feel much better doing that than carrying neither.

 

edit: Come to think of it, I always have a copy of my passport in my wallet anyway when cruising. lol.

 

edit: And a photo of it in my camera. I guess I'm a Boy Scout at heart. I believe in being prepared. :-)

 

I'm with you in being prepared. Well except the Boy Scout part :D.

[Towel Critter]

I'm with you in being prepared. Well except the Boy Scout part :D.

I just spent some time researching what you said about leaving your passport in your safe. Most of the articles I read agree with you, so you seem to be absolutely right. I did run across a vague mention of "some countries" where you will need your actual passport. I wonder which countries those are??? I'm assuming none are in the Caribbean, though we all know what happens "when we assume." Any idea which countries those are?

[firemanbobswife]

I just spent some time researching what you said about leaving your passport in your safe. Most of the articles I read agree with you, so you seem to be absolutely right. I did run across a vague mention of "some countries" where you will need your actual passport. I wonder which countries those are??? I'm assuming none are in the Caribbean, though we all know what happens "when we assume." Any idea which countries those are?

No, I don't. I have heard that for some European (I think) cruises the ship will collect all Passports upon boarding and return them at the end. Something about clearing customs more easily? I haven't had that happen though as all my cruises have been in the Caribbean. I don't recall ever hearing of one that requires you to carry it while on shore, but there could be. I just don't know of any.

[Towel Critter]

No, I don't. I have heard that for some European (I think) cruises the ship will collect all Passports upon boarding and return them at the end. Something about clearing customs more easily? I haven't had that happen though as all my cruises have been in the Caribbean. I don't recall ever hearing of one that requires you to carry it while on shore, but there could be. I just don't know of any.

I think we are probably safe in assuming none of those countries are in the Caribbean. Even if there were one or two countries in the Caribbean that required it, I'm sure Carnival would let us know before we went ashore without one. I'd like to think they would anyway.

 

edit: I've learned something tonight. It happens on occasion, even here on CC. Thanks.

[firemanbobswife]

I think we are probably safe in assuming none of those countries are in the Caribbean. Even if there were one or two countries in the Caribbean that required it, I'm sure Carnival would let us know before we went ashore without one. I'd like to think they would anyway.

 

edit: I've learned something tonight. It happens on occasion, even here on CC. Thanks.

 

I think you're right. Cuba I believe is the only Caribbean country that requires a Passport to even travel there so I guess the other ones couldn't make you bring it.

 

I learn stuff on here too. It's great :D

[Baby_Bear]

Thinking back, on our Carnival Med cruise in 2012, there was only one port of call where we were specifically advised to carry our passports off the ship and that was Dubrovnik, Croatia. And the passports were checked at the security gates at the port. I believe that's because while Croatia is in the EU, its not part of the Schengen zone. The other ports were all part of Schengen and we were advised to carry off only picture ID and our ship card. Carnival was very good about that. In the Caribbean, we have always carried picture ID only. We always travel with our passports but prefer to leave them on board unless the cruise line tells us otherwise.

 

Concerns about theft of passports is real. My dad was pickpocketed in Paris a few years back and unfortunately, they got not just his money, but his passport. He had to go right away to our embassy in Paris where they issued him an Emergency Travel Document which is a one-time passport to allow him to get home, and he then had to apply for a new one as soon as he was back. All good in the end but a huge PITA!

[RWolver672]

 

 

"why bother to get one if you don’t intend to use it ?" where would you use it ashore? We have traveled to Europe, Central America, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Mexico, that is where we intended to use our passports, airports, not for the cruise. Entering the US from Canada by train. We used ours and the person checking customs girl told us that she wished it was mandatory because it is so much easier to look at a passport than any other forms of ID.

 

"

 

Actually the State Dept recommends you keep a copy of it on you when onshore. It says nothing about carrying the actual Passport. At least in the pamphlet that came with my renewal.

 

I wrote to the State Department and asked them if we should carry them with us when going ashore or keep it locked in a safe. Their reply was "If you aren't going to use it, why get it? Just make sure you guard it like you would any other form of ID."

[sparks1093]

Serious question: you mean someone on the ship goes and finds your passport and takes it to the Port Authority? It seems like if they take time to do that they could just wait on you a little longer. But you are right, with good planning no one SHOULD ever miss the ship, but you know what they say about "The best laid plans of mice and men." The reason I brought this up is someone posted a long horror story on here a year or two ago about missing the ship and not having a passport. Apparently no one on the ship thought to retrieve their passport and leave it with the PA for them. I think I have more trust in me not losing it than I do someone else locating it and bringing it ashore. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. :-)

 

I remember the story and they couldn't get it from the ship because he didn't have one. He did have his expired passport with him I believe. In any event in most cases if you are going to miss the ship you can call the ship ahead of time and ask them to retrieve your passport for you (if they do go to your cabin they will only look in the safe, they aren't going to tear your room apart). In any event the likelihood of losing a passport or having is stolen or having something happen to miss the ship are both events that probably won't happen to anyone, so everyone gets to decide what works for them and there is no right or wrong answer.

[sparks1093]

I wrote to the State Department and asked them if we should carry them with us when going ashore or keep it locked in a safe. Their reply was "If you aren't going to use it, why get it? Just make sure you guard it like you would any other form of ID."

 

How does one use a passport? By presenting it to someone to fly to an international destination or to someone at passport control. When I am walking around on a Caribbean island I am doing neither of those things, so there is no need for me to take my passport with me unless 1) local law requires it or 2) I am taking an excursion that crosses from one country into another. But at the end of the day we each do what is comfortable for each of us to do, there is no right or wrong answer.

[firemanbobswife]

I wrote to the State Department and asked them if we should carry them with us when going ashore or keep it locked in a safe. Their reply was "If you aren't going to use it, why get it? Just make sure you guard it like you would any other form of ID."

 

That sounds like an awful odd response from the State Department. I haven’t known them or any government agency to answer a question with a question, but OK. The only time you would need to “use it” vs a DL on shore is if you need to fly. So I am “using it” just as much with it sitting in the safe as I am with it in my bag on the beach. The only way not to use it is to leave it at home to which then I could agree with that statement because I use it for my acceptable form of ID to initially board the ship and upon returning.

 

This is the brochure I am referring to.

[RWolver672]

The only time you would need to “use it” vs a DL on shore is if you need to fly. ]

 

Not true. To enter the US by land from Canada:

Adults Travelling

By Land or By Sea

• U.S. Passport
  
• NEXUS or FAST card (pre-approved low risk travellers only)
  
• U.S. Passport Card
  
• Enhanced driver's licence (EDL) (available in MI, NY, VT, WA; also proposed in AZ, CA, TX)
  

[sparks1093]

Not true. To enter the US by land from Canada:

Adults Travelling

By Land or By Sea

• U.S. Passport
  
• NEXUS or FAST card (pre-approved low risk travellers only)
  
• U.S. Passport Card
  
• Enhanced driver's licence (EDL) (available in MI, NY, VT, WA; also proposed in AZ, CA, TX)
  

 

I'm pretty sure she was referring to when on a closed loop cruise. I live 8 miles from the border and it happens once or twice a year that someone goes up to Canada and loses their documentation or has it stolen. They spend a little extra time with Customs at the border while CBP verifies who they are and then they are allowed to enter the US.

[firemanbobswife]

I'm pretty sure she was referring to when on a closed loop cruise. I live 8 miles from the border and it happens once or twice a year that someone goes up to Canada and loses their documentation or has it stolen. They spend a little extra time with Customs at the border while CBP verifies who they are and then they are allowed to enter the US.

 

Exactly right. This discussion has to do with cruising and keeping your Passport in the safe or not while onshore on a cruise.

[firemanbobswife]

Not true. To enter the US by land from Canada:

 

Adults Travelling

 

By Land or By Sea

 

• 
   
  
• U.S. Passport
   
  
• NEXUS or FAST card (pre-approved low risk travellers only)
   
  
• U.S. Passport Card
   
  
• Enhanced driver's licence (EDL) (available in MI, NY, VT, WA; also proposed in AZ, CA, TX)
   
  

 

It is true in the context of this discussion. See my previous response.