rlrawalt Posted July 22, 2014 #1 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Hello, I know passports are not required to leave the ship but I was wondering if anyone know of the locations to get them stamped. We are going on a cruise in November to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, and and Puerto Rico. Any info helps. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie J. Posted July 22, 2014 #2 Share Posted July 22, 2014 (edited) 1st, San Juan and St. Thomas ARE the US. Passports are not stamped in any of the Caribbean ports and should NOT be taken off the ship. Stealing passports is very lucrative - thieves can get big $$$ for a US passport. We have well over 100 cruises since 1985 and our passports never leave our safe. I don't know where you'd go to have them stamped. Anyone know where to go in the two ports to have them stamped???????????? Edited July 22, 2014 by Bonnie J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC1957 Posted July 22, 2014 #3 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Hello, I know passports are not required to leave the ship but I was wondering if anyone know of the locations to get them stamped. We are going on a cruise in November to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, and and Puerto Rico. Any info helps. Thanks! I see you are from Denver...when you get to Puerto Rico don't try to get it stamped. They will probably give you a strange look. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biker@sea Posted July 22, 2014 #4 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Hello, I know passports are not required to leave the ship but I was wondering if anyone know of the locations to get them stamped. We are going on a cruise in November to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, and and Puerto Rico. Any info helps. Thanks! I got mine stamped at the post office in the port area of St. Thomas . :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlrawalt Posted July 22, 2014 Author #5 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I see you are from Denver...when you get to Puerto Rico don't try to get it stamped. They will probably give you a strange look. :D I realize they are part of the U.S. Doesn't mean there isn't a place to get a stamp. This is suppose to be a place to ask questions, not criticize. What does Denver have to do with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlrawalt Posted July 22, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I got mine stamped at the post office in the port area of St. Thomas . :D Thank you for the only useful info! I will check out the post offices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC1957 Posted July 22, 2014 #7 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I realize they are part of the U.S. Doesn't mean there isn't a place to get a stamp. This is suppose to be a place to ask questions, not criticize. What does Denver have to do with it? Geez...put your adult pants on and go buy yourself a sense of humor. Did you see the toothy grin? It was a joke. I mentioned Denver because you apparently are in the United States. SPAASBIIATLTKT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherylandtk Posted July 22, 2014 #8 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Please do not get a Post Office stamp in your passport; it is an unauthorized stamp (not from a legal immigration authority) and will render your passport invalid as being defaced. Yes, it happens. A lot more than you might think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcpa1 Posted July 23, 2014 #9 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I've been to several of the islands in the Bahamas chain over 20 times by air and sea and honestly don't think I have ever had my passport stamped. I haven't been to Grand Turk yet so can't help there. Have a great cruise anyway!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted July 23, 2014 #10 Share Posted July 23, 2014 This thread makes me smile. Keep in mind that if you are in Puerto Rico or St Thomas you are still in part of the US. Many years ago we traveled into China from Hong Kong and the Chinese Border Police refused to stamp,our Passport. It took a $10 bribe to get him to use his stamp. In Europe it is even more difficult as there are no borders between most EU countries and you cannot even find an official with a stamp. Hank Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgon1 Posted July 23, 2014 #11 Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) . . . Many years ago we traveled into China from Hong Kong and the Chinese Border Police refused to stamp,our Passport. It took a $10 bribe to get him to use his stamp . . . A "passport stamp" is also known as a visa. Visas are issued by governments to enter/exit a country. If you want to get visas as souvineers, you might try the customs office in foreign ports. Be advised, there is often a fee (not a bribe)for this . . . I agree with the other posters concerning taking your passport ashore. If it's not necessary, I wouldn't do it. If you want something to prove to the folks back home that you were in these countries . . . purchase the debarkation photos that the ships photographers will be taking in each port-of-call. You can also get all sorts of port/country specific stuff/souvineers ashore. Edited July 23, 2014 by Calgon1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgharea Posted July 23, 2014 #12 Share Posted July 23, 2014 (Not relevant) We find a post office and buy a postage stamp and keep what ever the $1.00 equivalent is for each place we've traveled to. • Sent from my screen to yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTLcruisers Posted July 23, 2014 #13 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I got mine stamped at the post office in the port area of St. Thomas . :D Just curious as to what kind of stamp they put in the passport since there are no Customs officials at the post office. Marianne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexus1224 Posted July 23, 2014 #14 Share Posted July 23, 2014 In Belize and Roatan, they were both at the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biker@sea Posted July 23, 2014 #15 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Just curious as to what kind of stamp they put in the passport since there are no Customs officials at the post office. Marianne It looks similar to the other dozen in my book . find more locations here = http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1930959&page=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Viking Posted July 23, 2014 #16 Share Posted July 23, 2014 A "passport stamp" is also known as a visa. Visas are issued by governments to enter/exit a country. If you want to get visas as souvineers, you might try the customs office in foreign ports. Be advised, there is often a fee (not a bribe)for this . . . I agree with the other posters concerning taking your passport ashore. If it's not necessary, I wouldn't do it. If you want something to prove to the folks back home that you were in these countries . . . purchase the debarkation photos that the ships photographers will be taking in each port-of-call. You can also get all sorts of port/country specific stuff/souvineers ashore. Sorry, but a stamp in a passport is not necessary a visa. They just indicate place and time of entry or departure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donray Posted July 23, 2014 #17 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Sorry, but a stamp in a passport is not necessary a visa. They just indicate place and time of entry or departure. And what do you think a VISA is? They are VISA stamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgon1 Posted July 23, 2014 #18 Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) Thanks Donray. You're spot-on. A visa (from the Latin charta visa, lit. "paper that has been seen"), is a conditional authorization given by a competent authority of a country for a person who is not a citizen of that country to enter its territory and to remain there for a limited duration. Each country typically attaches various conditions to their visas, such as duration of stay, the territory covered by the visa, dates of validity, whether the visa is valid for more than one visit, etc. Visas are associated with the request for permission to enter a country, and are thus, for some countries, distinct from actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country. In any event, a visa is subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry, and can be revoked at any time. The visa is commonly a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport or other travel document. The visa, when required, was historically granted by an immigration official on a visitor's arrival at the frontiers of a country, but increasingly today a traveler wishing to enter another country must apply in advance for a visa, sometimes in person at a consular office, by mail or over the internet. The actual visa may still be an endorsement in the passport or may take the form of a document or an electronic record of the authorization, which the applicant can print before leaving home and produce on entry to the host country. Some countries do not require visas for short visits. Some countries require that their citizens, as well as foreign travelers, obtain an "exit visa" to be allowed to leave the country. Edited July 23, 2014 by Calgon1 'cause I'm a bad speller . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted July 23, 2014 #19 Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) Hello, I know passports are not required to leave the ship but I was wondering if anyone know of the locations to get them stamped. We are going on a cruise in November to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, and and Puerto Rico. Any info helps. Thanks! Why would you want your passport stamped when you enter St. Thomas or Puerto Rico? That is the equivalent of having it stamped when you enter New York from New Jersey or Oregon from California. DON Edited July 23, 2014 by donaldsc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Viking Posted July 23, 2014 #20 Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) And what do you think a VISA is? They are VISA stamps. I give up! Why do visitors entering a country, to which they do not need a visa, get a stamp? This is a socalled entry stamp and not a visa. calgons post actually confirms my point. Edited July 23, 2014 by The Viking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPT Trips Posted July 23, 2014 #21 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Who wants more stamps than absolutely required? Costs $82 to get extra pages added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducklite Posted July 23, 2014 #22 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Who wants more stamps than absolutely required? Costs $82 to get extra pages added. This. Particularly from banal ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gail & Marty sailing away Posted July 23, 2014 #23 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Please do not get a Post Office stamp in your passport; it is an unauthorized stamp (not from a legal immigration authority) and will render your passport invalid as being defaced. Yes, it happens. A lot more than you might think. I agree ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted July 23, 2014 #24 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Thank you for the only useful info! I will check out the post offices. And the next time you are in Chicago you could get a Chicago postmark to go along with your St. Thomas one. I believe you might want to read the final paragraph under "IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR PASSPORT" before you might subject yourself to prosecution under "Title 18, US Code, Section 1543". I doubt you are at risk, but the St. Thomas post office??? C'mon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sliderturk99 Posted July 24, 2014 #25 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I've read on the forum that you can leave your passport wth the pursers office and they will take care of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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