Surrendering Passport on Ship???

[NMLady]

I just want to say I contacted a lawyer about surrendering our passports he said yes it's in fact illegal but it would cost too much money to fight it and the best thing to do is tell the company and post on their social media sites.

 

I don't mind doing it, but I don't like that they're breaking the law. And most hotels now just require you to show your passport and allow them to photocopy it, but they don't keep it. Cruise ships should figure out a better system as well.

 

Also, to the person who said why would a large company do something without consulting their lawyers. Big companies can break the law and get away with it. Tabloids publish lies that are libelous but they're counting on the fact that they make more money from their publication than the few times people bother to sue them.

 

I'd much rather give my passport to the ship for expediting immigration at ports in countries like Italy (where ships collect passports) than wait in long lines at every port for those officials to check our passports that way.

 

It is not against any law for cruise ships to collect your passports when country officials need to see them.

[Mysticks1]

We had to give them our passports on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary on RCI. I think it was because we were going to St Thomas as our last port so they had to check our passports before getting off there. We then didn't have to do it when we got back to the US. We turned them in one day and picked them back up the next morning. I personally didn't see a problem with it.

[texast518]

I carry our passports every time we leave the ship everywhere in case of emergency and have to return to US, air-vac or commercial air.

[smeyer418]

I carry our passports every time we leave the ship everywhere in case of emergency and have to return to US, air-vac or commercial air.

my passport stays on the ship except for those few countries that require it. In fact I have seen the concierge on one ship take passports away from cruisers and tell them they didn't need them.

This is a personal thing really as there is no right or wrong answer but you have more chance of it being stolen/lost/washed(which will invalidate it) then missing the ship and if you are arrested the last thing you want is to have your passport with you.

[texast518]

my passport stays on the ship except for those few countries that require it. In fact I have seen the concierge on one ship take passports away from cruisers and tell them they didn't need them.

This is a personal thing really as there is no right or wrong answer but you have more chance of it being stolen/lost/washed(which will invalidate it) then missing the ship and if you are arrested the last thing you want is to have your passport with you.

 

I keep a photocopy on the ship. I also register with IAMAT for $30

[smeyer418]

I keep a photocopy on the ship. I also register with IAMAT for $30

and I bring the photo copy with me and also send a copy to myself on email so I can access it from any place in the world...for free.

[texast518]

and I bring the photo copy with me and also send a copy to myself on email so I can access it from any place in the world...for free.

 

Just talked to US passport ofc (travel.state.gov), they sd you should ALWAYS have your passport with you, they caution to carry in some place not obvious (inside coat pocket, waist pocket etc) (tough sometime to do) dont carry in hip pocket, backpack, etc.

[Urban trekker]

On my recent 49 South American cruise I surrendered my Canadian Passport upon boarding in Ft Lauderdale and got it back after leaving our last port of call - Cabo San Lucas with stamps by customs authorities from the various countries that were visited.

 

There were around 3000 people on the cruise - in some ports we were late arriving - in one port we were forced to tender at the last minute - I can only imagine what those persons who don't want to surrender their passport would be posting here on cruise critic about how long it took to clear the ship - how uncaring the cruise line is - would be demanding compensation for missing a private tour because the cruise line didn't get them off the ship in time - upset because the local officials didn't speak English - hope you get the point.

 

It took over four hours to clear the ship in San Francisco and that was with passports and US customs officials who speak English - they also knew that our passports had been kept by the ship so all stamps, visas etc were in order which helped to speed up the process.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

Cheers

[vols_159]

I just want to say I contacted a lawyer about surrendering our passports he said yes it's in fact illegal but it would cost too much money to fight it and the best thing to do is tell the company and post on their social media sites.

 

I don't mind doing it, but I don't like that they're breaking the law. And most hotels now just require you to show your passport and allow them to photocopy it, but they don't keep it. Cruise ships should figure out a better system as well.

 

Also, to the person who said why would a large company do something without consulting their lawyers. Big companies can break the law and get away with it. Tabloids publish lies that are libelous but they're counting on the fact that they make more money from their publication than the few times people bother to sue them.

 

Not saying your lawyer isn't correct but once you are in open seas us law doesn't apply and when you dock at a Russian port and they say hand over your passport you either do or go to jail.. Us law doesn't apply in a foreign country

[budgetfairytale]

We surrendered our passports on our recent Med cruise. We got a form as a receipt. Then we picked them back up on the last day. No issues. We also made copies before we left, and kept one in the safe and one on our person at all times.

[vols_159]

It's not the cruise line rule its the country that they are visiting..

[HarpHarp]

On my recent 49 South American cruise I surrendered my Canadian Passport upon boarding in Ft Lauderdale and got it back after leaving our last port of call - Cabo San Lucas with stamps by customs authorities from the various countries that were visited.

 

There were around 3000 people on the cruise - in some ports we were late arriving - in one port we were forced to tender at the last minute - I can only imagine what those persons who don't want to surrender their passport would be posting here on cruise critic about how long it took to clear the ship - how uncaring the cruise line is - would be demanding compensation for missing a private tour because the cruise line didn't get them off the ship in time - upset because the local officials didn't speak English - hope you get the point.

 

It took over four hours to clear the ship in San Francisco and that was with passports and US customs officials who speak English - they also knew that our passports had been kept by the ship so all stamps, visas etc were in order which helped to speed up the process.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

Cheers

 

Hi Dennis, long time no see:)

 

Dennis is right. Various countries have very different rules and various agreements with the cruise lines. Just as the U.S. allows U.S. citizens to cruise wihout a passport on a closed loop cruise, other countries will make rules and laws in their own national, economic or political interest. The cruise lines want to keep the customers happy by doing whatever they can to make the waiting & red tape as minimal as possible. Listen to the cruise line . Certainly they don't want to collect 4000 passports, but if that gets people off the ship sooner, then they will.

 

I have been asked for my passport in Venice & Dubrovnik on our Med cruise last October. Traveling throughout Europe, I have been asked for my passport at hotels, currrency exchangers, banks, and even merchants where I was making a purchase by credit card to pevent fraud so I was told. Many hotels would keep passports in years past, but that hasn't happened to us recently.

 

If you have a beach day planned in Cozumel, the likelyhood of losing your passport is probably greater that needing it. However in Venice or Izmir you would be wise to carry it with you.

 

Cindy

[HarpHarp]

I just want to say I contacted a lawyer about surrendering our passports he said yes it's in fact illegal but it would cost too much money to fight it and the best thing to do is tell the company and post on their social media sites.

 

I don't mind doing it, but I don't like that they're breaking the law. And most hotels now just require you to show your passport and allow them to photocopy it, but they don't keep it. Cruise ships should figure out a better system as well.

 

Breaking the law where? It may be illegal in your country for most people to keep someone elses passport. In the U.S., as was pointed out, judges can require surrender of a passport for any number of reasons. The laws are not the same in Russia or Turkey or some places in South America. Canadian or U.S. laws mean nothing to them. It is the country you are visiting that decides how they want cruise ships to handle the immigration formalities, not the line.

[agabbymama]

We are US citizens, and for our Med cruise, we visited Santorini Greece then on to Kusadasi Turkey. When we entered back into Greek waters, the Captain announced that the Greek Government wanted to see all passports when we arrived into Athens. I wasn't happy turning my passport in, but we were told we had no choice, unless we wanted to be up at 4:00 am to wait in Immigration line. They gave us a ticket with a number on it and told us in three days when we left Greek waters, the passport would be released back to us.

 

The Captain said it was because we had left the Schengin (sp?) countries of Europe when we visited Kusadasi Turkey.