I know this has been asked but just for a refresher!

[kiraryker]

So do you or don't you take your passports off the ship?? We are going ziplining and cave tubing and I'm thinking they would be safer on the ship but what if ........?

 

Thanks

[Tbay-eh]

So do you or don't you take your passports off the ship?? We are going ziplining and cave tubing and I'm thinking they would be safer on the ship but what if ........?

 

Thanks

 

I personally take my passport whenever I get off the ship - that is why I have one, it does me no good if I keep it locked in the safe. There are plenty of waterproof carriers out there if that is what you are concerned with. I also take a major credit card with me - just in case. Lots of people say they take copies of it but if you need to fly out because of missing the ship, etc all the copy does is expediate getting a new one, does not allow you to fly. Many people don't have passports at all.

[NYGoose82]

We always took our passports when we left the ship since the CD always advised everyone over the loudspeaker to take it so we did since we first timers and didn't know any better.

[Alliea]

My husband , and I always take them with us. If you ever had to fly home from the port you are at, and did not have them, I would guess it could be a hassle. When we went to a beach, we actually left our that under our towels. I know a bit of a chance. But we also some what kept an eye on that while in water.

[Traveler353]

OP: It is your decision to make. While there is no requirement to have your passport on your person in most cruise ships ports, keep this in mind. If you have to fly home for any reason without a real live passport in hand it will be difficult, not impossible just difficult.

[Stircrzy]

I leave a copy at home and in the cabin's safe. I ALWAYS carry my passport when I leave the ship in a foreign country.

[KenMo]

I always take mine off the ship with me.

 

I could be wrong (it's happened before), but I just don't see how a copy is going to do any good if you get left behind.

 

Reminds me of the time a guy came into the bank and wanted a cash advance on his credit card. All he had was the CC statement...no card. I don't think so!!

[maldenmusic]

We have always taken our passports whenever we are off the ship. If you are walking around in a foreign country, it just makes sense that you would want to keep it with you at all times.

[CapeCodCruiser]

Carry it with you - it MIGHT be lost or stolen

 

Don't carry it - you MIGHT need it to fly home or to catch the ship in an emergency

 

 

I have always carried my passport with me when ever I travel. That's just me - others have different opinions. And that's what it is - an opinion. Do what you are most comfortable doing.

[SueG]

i carry my passport with me all the time in Port. I also keep my Birth certificate and drivers license in my safe on the ship. I try to cover it all. :)

[jennmaybe]

We also take our passports with us when we get off the ship.

[cls624]

We must be the only ones who don't take our Passports off of the ship.

My DD thinks they're better off in the Safe in our Cabin.

 

I guess he never plans on being left behind.

He's more worried about losing them on one of the Islands.:eek:

[LemurCat]

Yup, it's totally a personal choice. Do you risk losing it? Or do you risk missing the ship and having to deal with all that comes with not being able to hop a flight?

 

Personally, I keep it on me. I work with a former diplomat who gave me a very stern warning about not having one when outside of the US.

[merinski]

We must be the only ones who don't take our Passports off of the ship.

My DD thinks they're better off in the Safe in our Cabin.

 

I guess he never plans on being left behind.

He's more worried about losing them on one of the Islands.:eek:

 

You are not the only ones. We leave ours in the safe too. I'm afraid of it going missing on shore, especially if you go to the beach. I know it might be bad if you didn't make it back to the ship in time, but we always give ourselfs plenty of time.:)

[SeaScout]

If I am not on United States of America soil, I have my passport with me. You never know what may happen. Could it be lost or stolen? Yes. Could there be an emergency causing me to miss the ship and then needing the passport? Yes. Could I die while in port at some far away place and they need to ID my dead lifeless body? maybe.

 

Point being, you just never know and if you don't have your passport with you it could make life difficult. (and if I die without my PP with me, it could make life difficult for my traveling companions). :eek:

 

I would suggest you bring it with you.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I have always taken the passports with us, with the exception of HMC and the transatlantic I took - where the passports were taken at embarkation and not given back until close to us leaving the ship. Wasn't happy about not having our passports either, but it was the policy on that itinerary & you either handed over the passport for the ship's staff to hold or you didn't board the cruise.

[okwriter]

Didn't last time (Freeport and Nassau).

 

Will next time (Western Caribbean: Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, Grand Cayman).

[schndr]

I would think that in cruise port locations you could have a different outlook on this than carrying them if you were somewhere else. What I mean is, these ships are BIG business for these ports, and I can't imagine you'd be hassled a lot "locally" there if a situation came up where, say, anywhere else in the world if you didn't have it on you it would be a real problem. As has been said before, there are agents of the ship at the port that can assist, and the risks of losing it unnecessarily may outweigh the chance of really needing it. I would bet in cruise port locations, having a S&S card and photo ID would be sufficient to get by a lot of situations. I would worry more about losing it on a beach or sightseeing than leaving it in the safe. Unless you just flat out miss the ship cause you screwed up, in any other case where you'd get left behind, I would bet that Carnival could get it back to you within a couple of days.

 

But that's just my opinion - I welcome yours. :p

[kiraryker]

Thanks everyone for your opinions! Last cruise Eastern Carrib we left them on the ship but this time we are doing the Western Carib and I think we should take them with us we are doing the ziplining and cave tubing and this year has been bad for my husband 3 stents and 1 angioplastiy and even thou he is only 50 and was in good health I worry ( this was totally out of the blue) they thought he had asthma ???? So now I wonder if incase of a medical emergency we should have our passports with us???

[rocketmom09]

We left our original passports in the safe on our Western Carribean cruise. Made copies of them and took those with us plus our driver's license and S&S card. Like someone on here said on another post awhile back, if you REALLY need your passport, someone could always go to your safe and get it for you; but if you lose your passport, you're out of luck.

[Princesskiki]

I leave a copy at home and in the cabin's safe. I ALWAYS carry my passport when I leave the ship in a foreign country.

 

I do the same... I had an "incident" in Egypt with a cop with an automatic weapon who liked blue eye girls and I had just gone to the bathroom, leaving my purse and passport inside of the restaurant with my co-workers.

 

If I'm out of the country? It's on my body.

[kicia]

There is no question that we take our passports with us. I still don't understand why you're more likely to lose your passport than your credit cards, S&S card or cash. To take a copy of the passport is like taking copies of cash or credit cards - worthless.

[LRene]

As someone posted here one time....."not having your passport is like leaving it at home on the kitchen table."

 

We never step on non-US soil without ours. The only place I didn't take it off the ship was in Key West and once on a Mediterranean cruise when they held it for the Visa's in Turkey (or Greece). Made me a nervous wreck not to have it.

 

However, if you miss the ship on HAL like a girl we knew in Alaska, they might be kind enough to open your safe and send it back with the pilot boat. :eek: Next stop was Canada so she had to have it to catch up to the ship.

 

No thanks, we'll have ours along for any "just in case" situation.

[lillian marie]

I always take my passport with me, it doesn't help you if you leave it on the ship. If you were injured, arrested or missed the ship you would need your passport to get services and to get home.

[cuyahoga11]

If my feet hit foreign soil my passport is attached to my body