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Keeping Passports with you


Hockey Nut

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I was told we need to keep our passport with us at all times. I am concerned about this since all our excursions are water related. We are Cave tubing in Belize, for one. Do they have lockers to put your personal items in? Is it safe? First time crusiers needing to learn the ropes. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

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Do not Cary your passport with you unless you are instructed to do so by the ship when you are going ashore.

 

I make a photo copy of the photo/info page to Carry with me.

 

I also make a list of my credit cards along with the customer service phone numbers, and a copy of my drivers license. I keep all of this along with my original passport in my cabin safe. This way if your wallet is lost or stolen you have all the info needed to cancel them. For this purpose I also recommend leaving at least one credit card in the safe as well; there is nothing worse than being on vacation with no money to spend.

 

 

Happy Cruising

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I agree with mr. green. I was told the same thing about the info page of your passport. You could color photo copy the info page and then have it laminated at a local photo shop or something similar, that way it would be water proof and you would still have all the info needed to get you out of a jam if need be..........

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Well, I'm going to go against the crowd on this one. The photo copy will only help you at the US Embassy to get you a new passport or ID. You are in a foreign country, and if anyone asks to see your Passport, the photo copy will NOT DO. I just returned from a cruise to Canada, and there was security at the ports asking for your photo ID or passport, as well as your ship sail/sea card. There was one group of folks if about 8, that were held up on the pier, while one member of the party that did have his ID went to the cabin to get the IDs of the others in the party that had not taken theirs. They were not allowed to pass the security checkpoint without photo ID. I do make a photo copy and give it to my traveling companion just as a safety precaution, but the reason you have a passport is to identify you in foreign countries. Mine never left me, except to pass through the metal detectors at the airport and on-board the ship. If you are concerned about water sports, then by all means buy a water tight container to carry things in. :D

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I agree with keeping your passport with you. If you miss the ship for any reason, the photocopy will only help you get your new passport, but it won't get you home. DH and I take ours with us whenever we leave the ship, keeping them in holders around our neck and inside our shirts. When doing water excursions, they go in the waterproof case.

 

There was a thread here a while back about a couple who got stuck in Venezuala without passports because they were on the ship, locked in their safe! What a nightmare. After reading that story, I will always keep my passport with me. That, along with a credit card will get you home if need be.

YMMV

 

kitty

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Yes, a photocopy will help when you're in a foreign country. My cousin's backpack was stolen in Europe and all he had with him was his wallet with the color photocopy of the information page of his passport. He went to the US Embassy and received an emergency passport that got him through the rest of his trip and back home with no problem.

 

FYI, all the luxury lines take your passport from you when you board their ships and lock them in their safe. You don't get them back until the final night of the cruise. This happens whether you're cruising in the Caribbean or anyplace else. So if the cruise lines don't think it's necessary to keep your passports with you, then I don't either. Plus, US passports are a huge blackmarket item for terrorists and other unsavory characters. In 45 cruises I've never taken my passport off the ship, except in places like Russia and Vietnam, where their local laws insist you have your passport with you.

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Yes, a photocopy will help when you're in a foreign country. My cousin's backpack was stolen in Europe and all he had with him was his wallet with the color photocopy of the information page of his passport. He went to the US Embassy and received an emergency passport that got him through the rest of his trip and back home with no problem.

 

FYI, all the luxury lines take your passport from you when you board their ships and lock them in their safe. You don't get them back until the final night of the cruise. This happens whether you're cruising in the Caribbean or anyplace else. So if the cruise lines don't think it's necessary to keep your passports with you, then I don't either. Plus, US passports are a huge blackmarket item for terrorists and other unsavory characters. In 45 cruises I've never taken my passport off the ship, except in places like Russia and Vietnam, where their local laws insist you have your passport with you.

As a Canadian I have been on five different lines, but Princess is the only

line that has allowed me to keep my passport. I have mine return to me twice, once for Russia, but I can't recall the other one. john

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My passport is with me anytime I'm on foreign soil. Should a problem arise, it is doubtful a 'copy' will do. Officials want to see the real thing. Copies can be altered. I do, however leave a copy of the first two pages, locked in my cabin safe.

 

When snorkling, my passport is in a freezer ziplok bag inside a waterproof bag, doubly secured. I have one of the small waist pouches that is waterproof, which I purchased through scuba.com.

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Passports are more likely to be stolen . Stolen US passports are worth thousands of dollars and is a big problem in foreign countries. I always just take a copy when stopping in ports.

 

If you have your original passport stolen you run the risk of having your whole identity stolen in the future in the US once your passport has been sold to an illegal alien.

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I usually keep mine with me when ashore on a foriegn country. Especially with all the homeland security problems. You will wish you had it if a problem arises. You just never know. If getting it wet is an issue, put it inside 2 ziplock bags and it will be fine. Also great to keep your money dry

Something else to consider as well....

If you take your passport into any post office you can ask them to stamp it with a cancellation stamp. It will have the city.location on it so you can collect stamps from around the world. Being on a cruise ship you normally do not go through customs except when home or get stamped when in a different country. It is a nice souvie that costs $0.00

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You are in a foreign country, and if anyone asks to see your Passport, the photo copy will NOT DO. I just returned from a cruise to Canada, and there was security at the ports asking for your photo ID or passport, as well as your ship sail/sea card.

 

Why would someone be asking to see your passport in a foreign country? The ship has already cleared security. You mentioned above that the security officers were wanting to see a Passport OR photo ID. A drivers license would have worked fine and been much safer to take onshore. If the passport was needed onshore, the cruiselines would instruct you to take it onshore and they would also make the passports available to all passengers.

 

 

I agree with keeping your passport with you. If you miss the ship for any reason, the photocopy will only help you get your new passport, but it won't get you home.

 

If the photocopy will get you a new passport than why can't you use this new passport to get home?

 

Personally, I think someone has a better chance of having their passport lost/stolen/destroyed while on land vs. missing the ship.

 

 

My passport is with me anytime I'm on foreign soil. Should a problem arise, it is doubtful a 'copy' will do. Officials want to see the real thing. Copies can be altered. I do, however leave a copy of the first two pages, locked in my cabin safe.

 

Actually a copy will work fine. As a Canadian I don't have the option to take my passport with me as it is kept by the cruiseline. I contacted the Foreign Affairs dept about this and was told that a photocopy of my passport (or just the passport number) and a photo ID would be sufficient for them to assist me. In the event that I didn't have this they would still be able to assist it is just a more complicated process.

 

 

Moral of the story: a passport is not NEEDED onshore. Travel agents, the cruiselines and government offices that I have spoken to advise against it. If a passport was needed onshore than cruiselines would not be holding them for some passengers.

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Non-Americans frequently do not have the luxury have keeping their passports on ships sailing from U.S. ports for some or all of their cruise. Having said that, the consensus of the Cruise Industry for passengers sailing in the Caribbean, Alaska etc. is DO NOT take your passport on shore....photo ID is more than sufficient. I think maybe they are assuming everyone will make it back to the ship :) I have never and will never take my passport off the ship.

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If the ship doesn't keep the passport, it goes where I go. It is my international ID in a foreign country. The ship is not going to help me if I get left behind for some reason. The ship is not a government agency, it is simply transportation.

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I agree that one should always CARRY their passport while in a foreign country. The purpose of a passport is to authenticate an individual's identity and citizenship, and a photocopy is NEVER valid. The photocopy only helps to facilitate getting a replacement at your embassy or consulate but does not serve as replacement identification. A photocopy of your passport MAY be acceptable to some foreign officials or other authorities if they are in a good mood. However, as it is not an official document, the only guarantee is when you have your original passport. A photocopy is no more acceptable to a foreign official than a photocopy of my driver's license is to my local police! They'll most likely just laugh at you! C'mon, think about it--if a photocopy were just as good as the original for all uses, then why even leave the U. S. with the original in the first place???

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Why would someone be asking to see your passport in a foreign country? The ship has already cleared security. You mentioned above that the security officers were wanting to see a Passport OR photo ID. A drivers license would have worked fine and been much safer to take onshore. If the passport was needed onshore, the cruiselines would instruct you to take it onshore and they would also make the passports available to all passengers.

 

If an Immigration Agent at a foreign country request to see your passport and you do not have one, you may be deported or fined for failure to carry proper Immigration documents. This may be a good reason as to why one should carry their passports on their person. Just because you have been cleared to enter their country (through the cruise ship) does not clear you from having to follow certain Immigration regulations.

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If an Immigration Agent at a foreign country request to see your passport and you do not have one, you may be deported or fined for failure to carry proper Immigration documents. This may be a good reason as to why one should carry their passports on their person. Just because you have been cleared to enter their country (through the cruise ship) does not clear you from having to follow certain Immigration regulations.

 

Just for clarification, I have a passport however the ship keeps it. If I am in a country that has these types of regulations in place than surely the cruiseline would return my passport to me and notify passengers to carry their passport with them (which others have mentioned happens in Russia). Again, if the passport was needed onshore, the cruiselines would instruct you to take it onshore and they would also make the passports available to all passengers.

 

Currently passports are held for non-US citizens. Do you really think the cruiselines are holding passports if they are needed onshore? The only time I needed to show a passport on my cruise was in St. Thomas. This was done in the dining room of the ship - and this is where the cruiseline returned my passport to me (this was our second last port). If it was needed in the other ports I visited, than it wouldn't have been locked up by the ship.

 

Terpnut -the copy of the passport is not used for identification, it is used by the Embassy to assist you with getting a new one if needed. A drivers license and your Ship ID card are all that is needed onshore.

 

Alphakitty - that post reminds me of the importance of scanning your ID card when you are leaving the ship and carrying ID. The problems those people faced had very little to do with the passports. Even with the passports, they still would have missed the ship.

 

So if the cruiselines start holding passports for US citizens, does this mean that some of you are going to stop cruising?

 

I can understand if some people feel more comfortable with their passport onshore (these same people need to be comfortable with the risks involved with this as well). However, the passport is not needed onshore and to suggest otherwise is foolish (especially since many passengers don't have the option of doing so and Americans don't even require them for some cruises).

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A couple of months ago there was a thread similar to this one. In it I took the side of those that believed one should always carry their passport on their person when in a foreign country. This opinion stemmed from many years of foreign travel.

 

For most countries I still hold to this. However a recent Caribbean cruise experience has altered my opinion somewhat. When cruising in the Caribbean it makes more sense to leave your passport in the safe. Just make sure that you have a suitable photo id with you. A drivers license, if it has a picture, is ideal. Its waterproof. Cruise destinations are by and large very friendly and generally accepting of sundry photo id.

 

I had purchased a rather expensive waterproof pouch in which I sealed my passport, cell phone, etc. when I went snorkeling. Unfortunately I didn't double check that I had sealed it properly. Dead cell phone, ruined passport. At least the money didn't suffer.

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