Passport Collection from Non-EU Passengers

[logan25]

My non-EU passport was collected upon boarding a Costa Transatlantic cruise.  While I have had my passport collected and retained on various itineraries by other cruise lines, this is my first experience (that I can recall) when the ship retained possession of my passport for the entire length of the cruise.  The itinerary began in Italy and terminated in the Caribbean. 

 

Is this a common practice for all Costa cruises or was it specific to this particular itinerary?  I have sailed transatlantic itineraries on two other cruise lines and neither held my passport for the entire length of the cruise.

[Lunenburg]

Same thing on our transatlantic cruise from Savona to Buenos Aires recently.  It was returned the day before we arrived in BA.  They collected all passports as we boarded.  

[ChattTenn]

It is the same on South America regardless East or West bound, as we boarded they collected all passports and returned a day before we disembarked.  Be sure and check for the stamp on your passport, once Chilean missed to stamp mine and they nearly did not let me leave their country.