On and off the boat

[h_blond2]

At some ports, you will be required to show you S&S card as well as a photo ID to get back on the pier. If you don't have a passport (or don't take it off the ship with you), your drivers license will be just fine.

[FruitStandaficionado]

The locals don't need to see a lanyard to identify someone as a tourist, we are quite easy to spot.:)

 

 

LOL! Told my husband the same thing on our honey moon cruise in 1978 when he didn't want to wear the new cruise casual attire we'd packed because he'd look like a tourist. Awwwww......Good Times! ;)

 

 

NCL Sunward 1974

NCL Starward 1978

Costa Daphne 1982

Carnival Triumph 2001

Carnival Conquests 2005

Carnival Magic 2014

[FruitStandaficionado]

I'm Spanish, speak it fluently, and I'm not a local, but I can blend in without anyone noticing. Exactly what is a local, and why do you feel, you can't blend in? Many ports have plenty of different races living in the area. What makes you think also a "local" is going to steal. Why can't it be a person visiting, and having a crime of opportunity?

 

 

 

The middle aged women, with a purse, and diamond rings, and a lanyard around the neck is an easier target simply because the behavior shows, she is careless.

 

 

 

 

 

Well ,in our case, what we are wearing, the look of wonderment and excitement, and back in the day, lots of camera equipmentb.

[Froufie]

For those that are interested and as per John Heald - here is what happens if you miss the ship (and confirms that you don't need to take your passport off the ship with you if you are concerned about that....):

 

First, the A Pass machine ( the machine on the gangway that goes “ping” ) is checked to make sure who is not on board. Those names are then announced once through the regular ships PA system just to see if they are on board and maybe their card did not register.

Then if there is no answer 5 minutes after making the page a second announcement is made this time through the general emergency system. “ Would guest Dave Hogrider please contact the guest services desk immediately “ etc. If a contact telephone number is listed the guest services manager will try and call to see if they can be contacted.

When there is no answer to the call or page preparations are made. A guest services representative accompanied by a security team member will check the cabin to make sure the guest is not there. They will then look through the cabin and see if they can fine any passports and they will also use the one safe master key that’s on the ship to open the safe and retrieve the passports if in there.

If no passports are found then it assumed that the guests have them or their official ID with them. If they are found they are given to the ship’s agent ( we have one in every port of call) so that they can be used to rejoin the ship in the next port or the home port of call.

The guest is responsible for all fees, it says this clearly in the cruise documents. The ship agent will help book hotels and flights but yep, it is costly for sure

 

You should always take the 'port agent' info off the ship with you (found on the funtimes for each port) - as this is who you should contact in case of an emergency in port.....

[estillcrew]

What about the children? They don't have driver's license.......I just have their birth certificate. This is only our 2nd trip since 2011 (first one out of the country) so the price of the passport just isn't worth it to us. Besides, we sail in 3 days so getting a passport just isn't feasible. I will bring a driver license off the boat with us to each place. Thank you!

 

On our last cruise, we traveled with a 15 and 16 year old. We all had to have a photo ID to get out of port and back on the ship in addition to our sign and sail card except for the 15 year old who had to show her birth certificate. We had to do this in St. Thomas, San Juan, and the Dominican Republic. We did not have to show a photo ID to get out of port in Grand Turk. I think this must be a new rule because we have never had to show a photo ID before. They made repeated announcements about having a photo ID to regain entry to the ship all morning at each port.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

My friend, who has a Peruvian passort, and I sailed to Cozumel in January. He was asked for his passport and S&S card while I only was asked for my S&S card.

 

This was not entering the ship but rather at the entrance to the dock area.

 

I'm not saying this is the norm, but more so sharing our experience.

 

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[cb at sea]

You should ALWAYS have ID on you...what if you were to pass out, or something happen to you? People need to know who you are! Your S&S card will tell them nothing! Bring your DL ashore...it's the same size as your S&S card.

[LidoLife]

Sailed Vista to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel in April. Only tool S&S cards off ahip. Never was asked for any other ID except whem we tried to buy a bottle opener at the mall at the pier at Cozumel. They would not sell one without picture ID. Amusing, but we will always at least bring one DL from now on.

[grammak]

A copy of your passport will do you absolutely no good if your ship has sailed and you are sick or injured in a foreign country waiting to be flown back to the US. That is the reason you have a passport in the first place and I cannot imagine why anyone would leave it on the ship.

[Thorncroft]

I would never step foot in a foreign country without my passport. It's the most important travel document in your possession. It's not a novelty item, or a conversation piece.

[Froufie]

A copy of your passport will do you absolutely no good if your ship has sailed and you are sick or injured in a foreign country waiting to be flown back to the US. That is the reason you have a passport in the first place and I cannot imagine why anyone would leave it on the ship.

 

I would never step foot in a foreign country without my passport. It's the most important travel document in your possession. It's not a novelty item, or a conversation piece.

 

 

what happens if you miss the ship or are left behind for whatever reason:

First, the A Pass machine ( the machine on the gangway that goes “ping” ) is checked to make sure who is not on board. Those names are then announced once through the regular ships PA system just to see if they are on board and maybe their card did not register.

Then if there is no answer 5 minutes after making the page a second announcement is made this time through the general emergency system. “ Would guest Dave Hogrider please contact the guest services desk immediately “ etc. If a contact telephone number is listed the guest services manager will try and call to see if they can be contacted.

When there is no answer to the call or page preparations are made. A guest services representative accompanied by a security team member will check the cabin to make sure the guest is not there. They will then look through the cabin and see if they can fine any passports and they will also use the one safe master key that’s on the ship to open the safe and retrieve the passports if in there.

If no passports are found then it assumed that the guests have them or their official ID with them. If they are found they are given to the ship’s agent ( we have one in every port of call) so that they can be used to rejoin the ship in the next port or the home port of call.

The guest is responsible for all fees, it says this clearly in the cruise documents. The ship agent will help book hotels and flights but yep, it is costly for sure

I would never take my passport off the ship if I didn't have to.... always take funtime or info re port agent in case of emergency...

[Organized Chaos]

A copy of your passport will do you absolutely no good if your ship has sailed and you are sick or injured in a foreign country waiting to be flown back to the US. That is the reason you have a passport in the first place and I cannot imagine why anyone would leave it on the ship.

It's already been established that Carnival makes a strong effort to retrieve a passenger's passport if it's left on the ship and they miss boarding at a port of call. If retrieved, they'll leave it with the port agent, so it's not a total lost cause. On a closed loop cruise, passports aren't even required. Having it and leaving it in the cabin safe can still be considered a step up from not having one at all. In the end, they're decisions best made by each individual.

[Thorncroft]

I won't argue the point about carrying your PP or leaving it on the ship, or even not having one at all. If someone has the misfortune of being stranded in a foreign country one day, I won't know about it and frankly I don't care. I've contributed to a few Go Fund Me drives to fly a dead cruiser's body home, and a few other off the wall causes involving cruisers, but I've decided that someone else's emergency is not going to be my problem anymore. By now, everybody should know the measures that they need to take to cover themselves.

[sparks1093]

A copy of your passport will do you absolutely no good if your ship has sailed and you are sick or injured in a foreign country waiting to be flown back to the US. That is the reason you have a passport in the first place and I cannot imagine why anyone would leave it on the ship.

 

I leave it on the ship because I don't like carrying a bunch of things that I don't need to carry. Since I would only need the passport if I were to miss the ship for some reason and I have determined that the risk of that, for me, is very low I feel comfortable leaving it in the safe. Should something happen the ship's staff would retrieve my passport from the safe and leave it with the port agent.

[sparks1093]

I won't argue the point about carrying your PP or leaving it on the ship, or even not having one at all. If someone has the misfortune of being stranded in a foreign country one day, I won't know about it and frankly I don't care. I've contributed to a few Go Fund Me drives to fly a dead cruiser's body home, and a few other off the wall causes involving cruisers, but I've decided that someone else's emergency is not going to be my problem anymore. By now, everybody should know the measures that they need to take to cover themselves.

 

It's not an argument, it's a personal decision. The only reason that I participate in these debates is so that those who need to decide what to do see the issue from all sides and can therefore make an informed decision that works best for them.