question about passports..

[RecoveryDude]

This post is rediculous. I have travelled ALL OVER THE WORLD, and NEVER, have I left "my International ID" in a "hotel safe." No, I HAVE IT WITH ME AT ALL TIMES! That is why I obtained a passport in the first place! ....to prove that I am an American Citizen when I am not on American soil.

 

Peope seem to think that you might "only" need your passport if the ship leaves you there ... well there are other times you might need it as well. Never know when you might inadvertanly break a foreign law and need official documentation of your citizenship ... and trust me, Mexican authorities will not accept a paper photocopy!

 

Perhaps the people that leave their passport in the safe have never travelled to foreign countries except by cruise? .....if they had they would see how utterly crazy the notion of LEAVING YOUR PASSPORT behind while you walk around a foreign country (even if it is a "safe" seeming cruise port island).

 

I agree with the other commenters who talk about carrying expensive cameras, purses with credit cards and cash and seeming to not worry at all about losing those things.

 

If you are really THAT worried ... get a travel purse or backpack from this company called Pacsafe. I have their travel backpack and also their travel "wallet" that has a shoulder strap. Both have steel cable in the parts that go over your shoulder so would-be thieves can't slice-n-grab. Their stuff is high quality with many security features like hidden zippers and exomesh lining --- I NEVER travel without my PacSafe (www.Pacsafe.com) travel wallet and my Pacsafe backpack (which I use as my "personal item" when I fly, in addition to the rolling carry on)

....... AND I NEVER LEAVE MY PASSPORT ON THE SHIP, LOL.

 

Besides ... if given the choice, I would rather always have my Passport with me and risk it getting stolen, than find myself in a foreign country without it. And I think it would be much worse to "have it stolen" than to be "standed without one" any day.

 

Hope my comments help! Enjoy reading everyone elses!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

[sanger727]

Just as a side note, as far as leaving my passport in the safe I'm only speaking about cruising in the caribbean. We cruise the caribbean for the water based activities and almost every excursion we have done involves a water component which means I can either keep the passport on me in a waterproof carrier (did it the first trip, and they all got wet cause it was too big) or leave my passport in a bag (where it may be stolen). If doing land only activities or land travel where there was no real danger of getting my items wet, I would carry my passport.

[firemanbobswife]

People are going to do what they want, but it has been said time and time again by both staff that work for Carnival as well as people who have been left by the ship, or know someone that has that Carnival will in fact go to your safe and leave your Passport with the authorities there. If you are injured, detained, etc and need it, call the ship's number and make arrangements for the same. It is listed in the Fun Times. So this is the correct answer.

 

But for those that say they would rather risk having it stolen vs being stranded without one, I have a question. If it is stolen, aren't you still in a foreign country without a Passport whether it be on a cruise or a land trip? Far less chance of it being stolen locked away in a safe.

 

It's been said that they will still let you back in the country upon returning from the cruise after extra scrutiny and what have you. But for those with flights to catch, or long drives ahead of them, that's way too much wasted time and the potential to not be able to get home in time for work, school, etc plus the probable added expense of hotels until you can get on stand by with flights so full.

 

No thanks. Mine stays on the ship.

[momof4boys]

We always take our passports with us when we leave the ship because that's exactly why we have them.

 

Exactly. That is what is recommended by the government the Embassies.

[happy traveler69]

now I'm confused.... I know you have to be on the ship about an hour prior to departure from the ports. so, you are on "Caribbean Island (CI)" and it leaves at 4pm. by 3pm, they have no record that swiped back on the ship. someone goes in your cabin, goes in your safe and takes your passport off? suppose it's not in the safe? suppose you are really on the ship? I know, there are announcements "will happy traveler69 please report to the customer relations desk located on deck 5, please"? this is repeated over and over until they are satisfied that you really aren't on the ship! but suppose you are?

if indeed they really do take your passport off ship, why not take your other items as well?

[dioxide45]

now I'm confused.... I know you have to be on the ship about an hour prior to departure from the ports. so, you are on "Caribbean Island (CI)" and it leaves at 4pm. by 3pm, they have no record that swiped back on the ship. someone goes in your cabin, goes in your safe and takes your passport off? suppose it's not in the safe? suppose you are really on the ship? I know, there are announcements "will happy traveler69 please report to the customer relations desk located on deck 5, please"? this is repeated over and over until they are satisfied that you really aren't on the ship! but suppose you are?

if indeed they really do take your passport off ship, why not take your other items as well?

 

Back on board time is usually a half hour before sail away. BUT, lots of people show up between that time and sail away time. It would only take 5 minuted to pull passports from a safe. So they probably wait until sail away time before pulling them. If someone doesn't return to the ship, they wait until the last minute or even long after before they sail off.

 

If you are on the ship and they are making announcements, you better call if you aren't in your cabin. If you don't hear the announcements, it is probably because you are in your cabin. Thus when they show up to pull them, you will be accounted for. I am thinking that they also try to call your cabin before they make those announcements.

[Doggielover68]

In one of the Q&A sessions on one of our cruises, they said Carnival recommends you leave your passport in the safe. If the boat leaves without you, they will go in your room, open the safe, and leave your passport with the port authorities. I've never been left before, so I can't verify if this actually happens. :D

 

 

On all 3 cruises we have been on we were told to take our passports with us. As long as you are aware of your surroundings and don't leave your things unattended, I don't see any risk in carrying it. It's the whole purpose of having it in my opinion.

 

 

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[summersigh]

We don't bring expensive cameras, I leave my jewelry at home, we watch our credit cards and small amount of cash, and we leave our passports on board in the safe. I have read that passports can be worth $2,000 to a thief in some countries, and I have known people who had them stolen by pickpockets. We never cut it close on returning to the ship. So I figure that the odds are much greater that I'll have a hassle because it's stolen in port than I'll have a hassle because I need it in port and somehow the ship can't get it to me. Either way, I won't be stuck in another country for the rest of my life.

 

We think like you do :)

Something else I do before each cruise is to scan our passports and driver's licenses into a password protected email and email it to ourselves. If I/we have a problem that information can be made available at any American Consulate.

[pbsteve]

For those that leave it in the safe... you know where its safer? At home.

A passport is not needed to cruise, so why not bring just a birth certificate, leave that in your safe and carry your passport picture?

 

I carry mine with me. If stolen, it can simply be cancelled the new ones are all chipped so become useless if stolen. I dont want to hope carnival takes it out of my safe. Do you leave it locked i a hotel if you travel?

 

I just dont get people. Its an ID, not your soul

[firemanbobswife]

For those that leave it in the safe... you know where its safer? At home.

 

A passport is not needed to cruise, so why not bring just a birth certificate, leave that in your safe and carry your passport picture?

 

 

 

I carry mine with me. If stolen, it can simply be cancelled the new ones are all chipped so become useless if stolen. I dont want to hope carnival takes it out of my safe. Do you leave it locked i a hotel if you travel?

 

 

 

I just dont get people. Its an ID, not your soul

 

 

So if you don't have a Passport, then should you cart around your BC instead? There is a much higher chance of me misplacing it or having it get stolen then of me missing the ship so for me it stays where I KNOW it's safe.

 

I am OCD when it comes to making sure I know where my Passport is at all times. So much so that when traveling I keep it in a yellow zip up padded travel pouch which stays in my carry on bag. I check it no less than (I'm not kidding) 20 times to make sure it's still there which requires me to open my bag, unzip the outside zipper, then the inside one where it is kept. I then have to look at it to make sure it's mine or if there are more than one of us traveling, that they are all correct. I do it while at the airport and even while on the plane. No idea why I get so crazy over it, but I do. Guess I want to make sure I'm going to be able to get on the ship :)

 

I am always back a minimum of 2 hours before the recommended time just to make sure in case there are any glitches such as traffic, flat tires, etc. We usually do horseback/beach excursions when getting off the ship and there's no way I would be able to enjoy myself worrying the whole time if something happened to my Passport. At least with just a DL and S&S card, they are somewhat water resistant and can easily be put in one of those waterproof cases which I can keep around my neck and visible at all times.

 

And yes, when I travelled to France and England, my Passport stayed locked safely in my hotel room.

 

Again, MUCH higher chance of it getting misplaced or stolen vs missing the ship - for me. So if I can't rely on myself to get back to the ship, then I will have to rely on Carnival to leave it at the pier. And if they don't, then I'll be no worse off than the thousands of people that cruise without one.

 

Everyone has their own reasons for doing what they do and as long as it works for them, then that's all that matters.

[mmckm]

For those that leave it in the safe... you know where its safer? At home.

A passport is not needed to cruise, so why not bring just a birth certificate, leave that in your safe and carry your passport picture?

 

 

 

I carry mine with me. If stolen, it can simply be cancelled the new ones are all chipped so become useless if stolen. I dont want to hope carnival takes it out of my safe. Do you leave it locked i a hotel if you travel?

 

I just dont get people. Its an ID, not your soul

 

Some people depending where they live need a passport for cruising, also depending what counties your sailing from and ports you will need a passport. So a passport is needed sometimes.

[bargainsniper]

I have been with two people who have had passports stolen while in touristy areas. One a pick pocket, another was left in her bag while she was swimming and turned up missing, not sure who grabbed it. (mexican resort once, Asian market once) it was a complete pain in the butt for them to get new ones and took a lot of time out of a vacation/work time (once was a work trip).

 

Guess whose passport did not get stolen?

 

Mine. (in the safe back in the room).

 

I always leave it in the safe. A passport is ID, yes, but so is a driver's license. IMO a passport is really only needed in most situations when passing between countries. Cruise ships go by different rules when debarking/embarking in foreign ports. If I don't need it (which I don't to get off/on the ship in port), I leave it in the room. I have a color copy with me to take to the consulate if I have to replace it.

 

Will be an inconvenience not to have it physically if I miss the ship (and that is a big IF), but I weigh the chances of me needing it against the chances of it being stolen and the chances of it being stolen are much greater. The benefits of having the passport in port (few to none) are not worth the hassle/time away from vacation if it is stolen.

Edited September 28, 2015 by bargainsniper

[miataman19]

Recently or somewhat recently the State Department has also offered a Passport Card you can purchase along with he standard Passport Book. We leave our Passport Books in the stateroom safe and take along on shore the Passport Card. If the card gets stolen you still have your Passport Book to get back into the country. It does cost a little extra but if you travel alot to the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda It can be used as follows as per the US Department of State website.

 

The U.S. Passport Card can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry and is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book. The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air.

 

Just another option..

 

 

Edited September 28, 2015 by miataman19

[sandij]

We usually take ours with us, especially in europe, they are replaceable and we keep them in a safe place on our bodies. That's what we have them for, to have them if needed.

[ewenix]

Exactly. That is what is recommended by the government the Embassies.

 

Citation please?

[Badfinger]

That is the exact reason you brought it along. Take it with you.

[dioxide45]

Recently or somewhat recently the State Department has also offered a Passport Card you can purchase along with he standard Passport Book. We leave our Passport Books in the stateroom safe and take along on shore the Passport Card. If the card gets stolen you still have your Passport Book to get back into the country. It does cost a little extra but if you travel alot to the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda It can be used as follows as per the US Department of State website.

 

The U.S. Passport Card can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry and is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book. The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air.

 

Just another option..

 

 

 

Other than being another official form of ID recognized really only by the US government. The passport card is really only as good as a copy of a passport when in a foreign country. It will help expedite replacement of a the passport book because you are really just applying for renewal. I never really understood the purpose of the card. I think it gives people a false sense of security.

[Badfinger]

Other than being another official form of ID recognized really only by the US government. The passport card is really only as good as a copy of a passport when in a foreign country. It will help expedite replacement of a the passport book because you are really just applying for renewal. I never really understood the purpose of the card. I think it gives people a false sense of security.

 

Well if you live in Texas and already have the card for travel to Mexico, you may as well bring it along so you can use the Passport line when you disembark.

[dioxide45]

Well if you live in Texas and already have the card for travel to Mexico, you may as well bring it along so you can use the Passport line when you disembark.

 

True. If one doesn't have a passport book, then the card is better than just a BC and DL.

[Chirpbird]

Very well stated by MapSmith. Do what makes you comfortable, but I'd be hard pressed to imagine a foreign country doing much with a photocopy.

[CJinFLA00]

On the ship in the safe.

 

 

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