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Passports needed in port?


btobey
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Although my husband and I have cruised before, it's been awhile (10 years!). We don't remember what we did last time with our passports. Can you usually keep them in your cabin safe during the whole trip? Or do you need to bring them when you disembark in port? We are only going to Bermuda/US ports.

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I agree locked in the safe in your room is the best place. For me the risk of loosing your passport is greater if you take it off the ship, most ports do not require you to have your passport, if it is required you will be told ahead of time.

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There are very few places in the world where you have to carry your passport with you.

 

Leave the passport on the ship unless advised otherwise.

 

The chance of losing or having your passport stolen is far greater then the benefits of having it wit you IMHO.

 

Keith

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You'll get some passionate responses on both sides because everyone thinks they way they do it is the best way and it is- for them. What they do and what you do have to connection to each other because at the end of the day everyone has to do what is most comfortable for them to do. With that said I personally don't like to carry things with me that I don't need to carry, so our passports stay onboard in the safe unless they are needed ashore (such as for a shore excursion or because of local law).

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Being in foreign country doesn’t matter where Europe, Caribbeans, Canada etc ... we always carry passports with us. It’s a main document abroad for us ever since we became citizens and received passports.

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Russia is the only place I can recall having to carry our passports with us and that was a number of years ago. Every where else, we leave the passports in the cabin safe. We take our cruise card and our driver's license.

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Although my husband and I have cruised before, it's been awhile (10 years!). We don't remember what we did last time with our passports. Can you usually keep them in your cabin safe during the whole trip? Or do you need to bring them when you disembark in port? We are only going to Bermuda/US ports.

 

IF you rent a scooter in Bermuda, Bring your passport.

 

Folk's crash , miss the ship and need to fly often.:(

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The thing is... We don't carry passports because we have to, but in case something happens.

In States people lived for a long time (and many still do) with a license as a main document which proves an identity.

It is not like that in many countries where driver license is just that driver license.

 

Example. We vacationed in Germany some time ago. When we went to casino we had to show our passports to get in.

 

I'm not even talking about missing the ship and having to fly back home.

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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.

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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.

But you will know in advance if you will be renting a car or visiting a casino. Unless you are doing one of those things there is absolutely no need to carry your passport around with you, unless legally required to do so. Why tempt fate unnecessarily ?

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Forums mobile app

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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.

Sounds like the passport is a security blanket for you.

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Sounds like the passport is a security blanket for you.
For me too. A document that 100% proves my identity and a citizenship. That's why it is issued in a first place.
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But you will know in advance if you will be renting a car or visiting a casino. Unless you are doing one of those things there is absolutely no need to carry your passport around with you, unless legally required to do so. Why tempt fate unnecessarily ?

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Forums mobile app

We don't always go on organized excursions, we don't always know if emergency will arise.
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For me too. A document that 100% proves my identity and a citizenship. That's why it is issued in a first place.

Precisely right. The passport is meant to serve me not the other way around. I'd rather explain to some embassy clerk that I need a replacement than to not have sufficient identification in a developing country.

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We don't always go on organized excursions, we don't always know if emergency will arise.

 

That's why you carry the port agent's phone number and if you do happen to miss the all aboard, Security will go to your room, remove passports from the safe and leave them with the port agent without being prompted.

 

Unless specifically told that I need to have my passport with me, whether its to be able to disembark or that I will need it for any excursion, it stays in the safe.

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That's why you carry the port agent's phone number and if you do happen to miss the all aboard, Security will go to your room, remove passports from the safe and leave them with the port agent without being prompted.

 

Unless specifically told that I need to have my passport with me, whether its to be able to disembark or that I will need it for any excursion, it stays in the safe.

That assumes you have a phone or access to one, that you can get to the port agent to retrieve your documentation and that security doesn't have more pressing matters than your passport. The easiest way to get your passport if you need it is not to rely on the kindness of strangers but to reach into your pocket or wherever ever else you are carrying your passport.

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That assumes you have a phone or access to one, that you can get to the port agent to retrieve your documentation and that security doesn't have more pressing matters than your passport. The easiest way to get your passport if you need it is not to rely on the kindness of strangers but to reach into your pocket or wherever ever else you are carrying your passport.

 

Virtually all cruise lines have a policy that if you miss your ship, they will search your safe for your passport and turn it over to the port agent so you will have it when you arrive late. This has been so well documented over the years on these boards that it is not a debatable issue.

 

But, if you need to have your passport because you are paranoid that you will be stranded without it in the rare occurrence of an emergency, they by all means carry it with you. It's entirely your choice what you decide is the most risky - having your passport stolen or lost, which happens more often than people realize, or you have a rare emergency and need it to get home but for some reason the cruise line doesn't give your passport to the port agent because of a tsunami, alien spaceship attack, unexpected space/time continuum shift, or other routine situation. ;p

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Russia - absolutely

Japan - absolutely

Germany - you're supposed to, but you could probably get away with not. However, I have heard of police wanting to escort you back to where your passport is located so you can show it to them. Could be tricky if your passport is on the ship in Warnemunde and you're touring Berlin!

 

I have no personal knowledge of any place else.

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Virtually all cruise lines have a policy that if you miss your ship, they will search your safe for your passport and turn it over to the port agent so you will have it when you arrive late. This has been so well documented over the years on these boards that it is not a debatable issue.

 

But, if you need to have your passport because you are paranoid that you will be stranded without it in the rare occurrence of an emergency, they by all means carry it with you. It's entirely your choice what you decide is the most risky - having your passport stolen or lost, which happens more often than people realize, or you have a rare emergency and need it to get home but for some reason the cruise line doesn't give your passport to the port agent because of a tsunami, alien spaceship attack, unexpected space/time continuum shift, or other routine situation. ;p

You might trust in the phrase "virtually all" and in the "policy" but I prefer not to. Carrying your passport isn't because one is "paranoid" it's because one is prudent. Paranoid are the people who are so afraid of losing their passport or having it stolen that they deny themselves the benefits of the only piece of internationally-accepted identification.

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And there you have it, OP. A lot of passionate responses on both sides because everyone thinks that way they do it is the best way (and as I said, it is, for them). So, figure out what works for you and do that since what others do doesn't impact you at all.

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You might trust in the phrase "virtually all" and in the "policy" but I prefer not to. Carrying your passport isn't because one is "paranoid" it's because one is prudent. Paranoid are the people who are so afraid of losing their passport or having it stolen that they deny themselves the benefits of the only piece of internationally-accepted identification.

 

I hear of many more people losing their passports than of people enduring difficulties because they don't have their passport with them. If I am paranoid, I am paranoid on the side of protecting that most valuable document you admit it to being. Just like I don't carry wads of money and valuable jewelry on me when I tour a city, I don't carry my passport unless required to. Can't see why I need to tempt losing it if I don't have to. With over forty countries visited so far, I have never encountered a situation where I have unexpectedly needed my passport or suffered any consequences for not having it. I have encountered people in the same tour group who have lost their passports for one reason or another. They were the ones who suffered the consequences of how they managed their passport, not me as mine was safely secured in my room safe as I have been advised by so many travel experts, including the US State Department and employer travel departments.

 

So, yes, I will continue to do what have served me so well for decades, and what most travel experts have recommended, as it satisfies my main concerns regarding such an important document. And you do what you feel is best to satisfy your own personal fears.

 

You might trust in the phrase "virtually all" and in the "policy" but I prefer not to.

 

As for trusting the cruise lines for assisting with my passport as they claim, I have no reason not to. If I couldn't trust them to do that as promised, then there would be no reason to also trust them to safely transport me from one destination to another, to prepare my food and refreshments safely, or to clean my room without robbing me of all my valuables. I simple can't understand why a person would trust them to do those other things, but not to do that simple procedure which they promise to do.

Edited by sloopsailor
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