Passports needed in port?

I am running out of popcorn.

Which question gets the most snark, sniping, and nastiness?

Carrying your passport? Tipping? Wearing a lanyard?

Wow, so much ire for questions about vacation! My mother taught me not to talk money, politics, or religion. She never mentioned vacation habits.

I carry my passport with me in port.

I smoke in the posted smoking areas.

I dress for dinner.

What you choose to do has no effect on my vacation. What I choose to do has no effect on yours.

Given that, how is this thread already at 150 posts?

Given that, how is this thread already at 150 posts?

Because so many people have the wrong OPINION. :)

Always have to include some snide comment in your posts, don't you? Can't even post a "common ground" agreement without tossing in an insult. Must be in your DNA to be an unpleasant person to everyone you encounter.

 

Plus, you are not practicing what you preach. If you can't venture out without relying on your passport in fear of the rare situation of unexpectedly needing it, you ARE not being self-reliant. :rolleyes:

Self-reliant because I do not have to scurry back to the mother ship to get my passport or hope that ship's security has left it if I can't get back to the boat in time. People who carry their passports don't have to depend on someone else. They have sufficient competence and confidence to manage their affairs like adults.

Oh, and speaking of not practicing what you preach. :rolleyes:

Since you can't be reasoned with in any capacity whatsoever, and constantly insist on being belligerent, I took a few minutes and found a post displaying one of several links mentioned to try to shut you up. Several people here will recognize it, so it is not "mythical", as you impertinetly claim.

 

This is my last comment to you on the subject. Of course you will debate the authenticity of this screen capture and web site link. I have learned to expect the worst from you, and I am quite certain you will not disappoint. :rolleyes:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=28037351&postcount=22

 

You never know that you "need" a passport until you do. If you do it's not doing you any good in your cabin.

 

It depends mostly on the type of traveler you are. If you are frightened person who is panic-struck at the prospect of having to replace a passport, an inattentive person who frequently loses important items, someone who is inclined to drink themselves into a stupor while on shore or a person who doesn't take reasonable precautions to deter pickpockets then perhaps your passport is better left on the ship.

 

If you are a confident traveler who has assayed the competing risks, carries their passport in such a manner as to deter theft, stays sober and believes it is preferable to have the passport with you even for mundane reasons like renting a car, going to a casino, exchanging money, visiting certain places then carry it with you.

Self-reliant because I do not have to scurry back to the mother ship to get my passport or hope that ship's security has left it if I can't get back to the boat in time. People who carry their passports don't have to depend on someone else. They have sufficient competence and confidence to manage their affairs like adults.

 

Oh, and speaking of not practicing what you preach. :rolleyes:

I think your first post in this thread said it all.;) Just because someone chooses a different course of action than you do doesn't mean they aren't self-reliant, capable of carrying out their affairs with competence or anything else. It means they choose a different course of action than you do which affects you not at all (just like your choice doesn't affect them). At the end of the day both sides are concerned with something happening that probably won't.

BTW, according to this article - http://www.vocativ.com/news/241487/fake-passport-prices-black-market/index.html

A US passport is only worth about $2000.

A modern passport is not worth much. MUCH harder to change the picture and data that before.

BTW, according to this article - http://www.vocativ.com/news/241487/fake-passport-prices-black-market/index.html

 

A US passport is only worth about $2000.

 

A modern passport is not worth much. MUCH harder to change the picture and data that before.

Only. That's still a good days work for a thief. As I mentioned in the other thread most passports are probably stolen because of where they are carried more than anything else (like in a camera bag).

Yes, unless you take it out and wave it around, or carry it in a visible neck pouch, no thief knows you have it.

The one personal experience in my family with pick pockets was my Dad got picked in Prague. They took his camera, nothing else. And his passport was in the fanny pack also.

I have found, being aware, and keeping looking around, and pick pockets go elsewhere.

And BTW, those prices were on the dark web, not in a poor country.

Yes, unless you take it out and wave it around, or carry it in a visible neck pouch, no thief knows you have it.

 

The one personal experience in my family with pick pockets was my Dad got picked in Prague. They took his camera, nothing else. And his passport was in the fanny pack also.

 

I have found, being aware, and keeping looking around, and pick pockets go elsewhere.

 

And BTW, those prices were on the dark web, not in a poor country.

I'm sure that a thief with connections might only get a few hundred dollars for a passport. Chances are probably better though that it just ends up in a dumpster somewhere, who really knows? But even if that were the case it's still unavailable to the traveler, right? It's not like the thief is going to come running up to the traveler and say "hey, I don't need this and it's worthless to me so here, you can have it back":). I am personally not that worried about having my passport go missing, nor am I that worried about missing the ship. So for me it comes down to "do I need to carry it" and if I don't need to (for shore excursion/local law) then I opt not to for the simple reason I don't like carrying things around with me that I don't need to. And if I am understanding everyone else's posts who leave their passports on the ship most of them do the same thing for the same reason- it's one less thing to carry.

I'm sure that a thief with connections might only get a few hundred dollars for a passport. Chances are probably better though that it just ends up in a dumpster somewhere, who really knows? But even if that were the case it's still unavailable to the traveler, right? It's not like the thief is going to come running up to the traveler and say "hey, I don't need this and it's worthless to me so here, you can have it back":). I am personally not that worried about having my passport go missing, nor am I that worried about missing the ship. So for me it comes down to "do I need to carry it" and if I don't need to (for shore excursion/local law) then I opt not to for the simple reason I don't like carrying things around with me that I don't need to. And if I am understanding everyone else's posts who leave their passports on the ship most of them do the same thing for the same reason- it's one less thing to carry.

Exactly!

Wait!!! On second thought, maybe I should bring things I don't need. Maybe I should always carry my umbrella - you know, just in case the weather report was wrong and it unexpectedly starts raining. And also my swim suit when I am on a walking tour - you know, just in case we need to swim to safety during an unexpected flood from that unexpected rain. Or my parka when in the tropics - you know, just in case climate change suddenly turns for the worst and an unexpected blizzard blows in. Or my golf clubs when on an ancient ruins tour - you know, just in case the site has unexpectedly been turned into a golf course. As a few here would argue, a person must always be prepared for the unexpected. :D

Nah. Not gonna happen. I prefer not to take anything I won't be needing for that day. Purely a matter of convenience - and of being smart enough not to carry around unnecessary items that I continually need to keep track of if I don't have to.

We are wearing our swimming suits always when in Caribbean or Bermuda and are planning to wear or take them to Adriatic ports this summer. Why not? Better have them just in case.

I also remember driving through Paris and getting in a middle of Muslim demonstration... and police stopping every car and asking to show papir(papers) before letting go.

We are wearing our swimming suits always when in Caribbean or Bermuda and are planning to wear or take them to Adriatic ports this summer. Why not? Better have them just in case.

So, what is your point? Do you also wear your swim suits in Alaska? How about when visiting churches and museums in Europe? In the Caribbean you are preparing yourself for something you might be doing, right? Otherwise you don't wear them. That was the point the poster was making. Don't bring something that you don't need. Not rocket science.

I also remember driving through Paris and getting in a middle of Muslim demonstration... and police stopping every car and asking to show papir(papers) before letting go.

Do you seriously think that they would have arrested you if you didn't have your passport? I happened to be in Paris during one if it's many, many demonstrations. We were asked where we were going and who we were when passing through a square this was happening in. We simply explained we were tourists, and showed them our travel guides. They smiled, wished us a good visit, and even gave us directions to where we were going. We did NOT have our passports, and imagine that, we didn't even get arrested!!! Should I be insulted that they didn't treat us as bad as you are trying to convince us they do in such situations? :rolleyes:

I also remember driving through Paris and getting in a middle of Muslim demonstration... and police stopping every car and asking to show papir(papers) before letting go.

I had a similar incident after a terror bombing in northern Spain. Having a passport was a very good thing when arriving at a roadblock staffed by very jumpy Guardia Civil officers. Perhaps a creased photo copy might have worked. Maybe entreaties about being a dumbass tourist and not carrying the proper identification would have gotten me through. I'll never know. Passports presented and we were promptly allowed to pass.

So, what is your point? Do you also wear your swim suits in Alaska? How about when visiting churches and museums in Europe? In the Caribbean you are preparing yourself for something you might be doing, right? Otherwise you don't wear them. That was the point the poster was making. Don't bring something that you don't need. Not rocket science.

 

 

 

Do you seriously think that they would have arrested you if you didn't have your passport? I happened to be in Paris during one if it's many, many demonstrations. We were asked where we were going and who we were when passing through a square this was happening in. We simply explained we were tourists, and showed them our travel guides. They smiled, wished us a good visit, and even gave us directions to where we were going. We did NOT have our passports, and imagine that, we didn't even get arrested!!! Should I be insulted that they didn't treat us as bad as you are trying to convince us they do in such situations? :rolleyes:

I am not wearing just a swimming suit. :) And no, I wouldn’t wear it in colder climates.

As for passport, it has more uses than swimming suit. As I pointed above we didn’t expect it would come handy situation like this, but it did. We also used it for different purposes while traveling.

I am not trying to convince you of anything. If you absolutely convinced that passport is useless object on shore, don’t take it.

I don’t see my passport as such so I take it, and from time to time use it.