leave Passport in safe.... safe?

[jp2017tr]

I have a feeling that the answer is going to be..... yes, maybe.

 

I'll be traveling on a Gate 1 Danube cruise (first river cruise) this summer and I really don't like carrying a passport with me. But I'm always a little unnerved to leave it in a hotel safe.

 

Is it standard for most to carry them, or toss them into the safe in the room? Or, because we will be moving through several countries, for that reason is it best to keep it carry it.

 

thanks in advance.

[ms-ma]

We keep them in a safe. Take copies of them with us when we go out.

 

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[jp2017tr]

Thank you! sounds like a good plan

[HenrysAunt]

Your cruise director will tell you if you need them on you for particular days. We only needed ours for an option from Vienna to Bratislava but they were not checked.

 

Otherwise, yes, we kept them and other valuables in the safe - tablets etc if we didn't take them out for the day with us.

[jp2017tr]

Your cruise director will tell you if you need them on you for particular days. We only needed ours for an option from Vienna to Bratislava

 

 

 

Thank you, good point.

[caviargal]

We needed ours when crossing over from Kehl (Germany) to Strasbourg (France), a short drive but with a border crossing.

 

Sometimes we go off on our own and will hop a train for the day - we bring our passports in that case as well.

 

Otherwise, we keep a copy on our phone and the real one in the safe.

[Hydrokitty]

I have a feeling that the answer is going to be..... yes, maybe.

 

I'll be traveling on a Gate 1 Danube cruise (first river cruise) this summer and I really don't like carrying a passport with me. But I'm always a little unnerved to leave it in a hotel safe.

 

Is it standard for most to carry them, or toss them into the safe in the room? Or, because we will be moving through several countries, for that reason is it best to keep it carry it.

 

thanks in advance.

 

We've done 8 river cruises, lived in London and traveled extensively throughout Europe. On river cruises I have always left our passports in the room safe and NEVER had a problem....I also leave my American $$, plane tickets and Rx meds in it. American passports are high value items theftwise and we do tend to stand out in a crowd... If you really must carry it keep this in mind and remember no one has the right to ask to see your passport unless they are law enforcement but in some countries thieves will dress as police and grab it from you. If you're staying pre or post cruise in a hotel, many of them will ask for your passport on check-in and return in at check-out...this prevents it from being stolen from your room safe and also prevents you from skipping out on your bill! Your TM will tell you if you need to bring it with you....there are a couple of places where they will collect it when you tour, Parliament in Budapest and People's Palace in Bucharest are two of them. For every day in places like France, Austria, Germany, I would do as pp suggested and carry photocopies. As a side note, I also take copies of front and back of credit cards and leave the copies in room safe just in case they get lost, damaged or stolen.

[jp2017tr]

thanks HydroKitty, all good ideas!

[The Other Tom]

I've never been on a river cruise but if the safes are like other "hotel" safes make sure you lock it when you close it. Just closing the safe does not lock it.

[dogsarepeopletoo]

Viking advised us to take our passports for the excursion that crossed into Austria; otherwise we left ours in the safe (along with our American money).

 

I was fearful we would forgot to empty the safe; during the disembarkation talk, they gave the suggestion to pack your bags, and toss one of your "going home" shoes into the safe. Chances are no one would leave the ship wearing only one shoe. Ha!

[xmaser]

Keep the passport in the hotel safe! I was accosted by a thief masking as police in Prague who wanted my passport. It was locked in the safe at the hotel and he didn't get it.

[Hydrokitty]

I've never been on a river cruise but if the safes are like other "hotel" safes make sure you lock it when you close it. Just closing the safe does not lock it.

 

 

On river and ocean cruises I've been on the safes operate with a "code" that you program in. Problem arises when you forget the code and have to call the main desk to come open it for you!! (and Yes, I did! :D)

 

Viking advised us to take our passports for the excursion that crossed into Austria; otherwise we left ours in the safe (along with our American money).

 

I was fearful we would forgot to empty the safe; during the disembarkation talk, they gave the suggestion to pack your bags, and toss one of your "going home" shoes into the safe. Chances are no one would leave the ship wearing only one shoe. Ha!

 

What a good idea!! Although I've never done that (see above) I have seen people run back to their rooms because they forgot to empty safe. Usually the TM accompanying you to the airport will ask before bus leaves, but this is a clever way not to forget.

[Daisi]

dapt, love that idea. We will be using both the hotel safe & the one in our room for the first time (we've always had really good places to hide passports when we do road trips) and I was worried about leaving important things behind. I am pretty good at doing room checks, but with a safe, you forget it could be there.

 

What exactly do you copy on your passport to have a copy to carry around? I have the first page copied to give to relatives here in case we need the info in an emergency but do I need anything else?

[Hydrokitty]

dapt, love that idea. We will be using both the hotel safe & the one in our room for the first time (we've always had really good places to hide passports when we do road trips) and I was worried about leaving important things behind. I am pretty good at doing room checks, but with a safe, you forget it could be there.

 

What exactly do you copy on your passport to have a copy to carry around? I have the first page copied to give to relatives here in case we need the info in an emergency but do I need anything else?

 

Hi Daisi: First page is all you need...that's the one that has your photo and information on it. My oldest has copies of all our credit cards and our passports as well. But if your passport is lost it will make issuing a new one much easier and faster if you have a copy. Just my opinion here, but I would not leave anything of value in your hotel room safe. They're about as secure as a shoe box under the bed. In hotels I put everything of value in my suitcase and lock it (it has a built in combination lock ).

[Daisi]

Thanks Hydrokitty, I wasn't sure if we would need anything more than just the first page. I guess we can lock stuff in a suitcase, just thought the safe would be safer...sorry...:) I will have something with that we can go out with passports (money belt or some such), it's more our electronics that we won't be taking with when we do city walks/touring. We are looking into a special back pack, so I will look more as at least then we could take everything.

[Mark_T]

If you're staying pre or post cruise in a hotel, many of them will ask for your passport on check-in and return in at check-out...this prevents it from being stolen from your room safe and also prevents you from skipping out on your bill!

 

Although those are interesting side benefits, the main reason they ask for the passport is so they can record information on who is staying in the hotel which can be made available to local law enforcement.

 

They used to keep them overnight so the reports could be compiled manually but these days it is often recorded in their computers at check-in so they do not need to retain the passports any more.

[Mark_T]

I guess we can lock stuff in a suitcase, just thought the safe would be safer...sorry...:)

 

That rather depends on the suitcase, most can be opened in a few seconds even if it is locked.

 

Here is how to open most combination locks for example:

 

 

 

Zippers are even easier and the standard tool to do it is found in every hotel room.

 

 

The room safe can certainly be opened by a staff member with the appropriate key codes so using it is more a way to reduce casual theft than a cast iron guarantee, but if you do elect not to use the safe you make it much easier for the hotel to avoid liability..

[zitsky]

Nothing is totally secure so we shouldn't trust any security? I think we shouldn't get paranoid even if we watch a few Youtube videos.

[Mark_T]

Nothing is totally secure so we shouldn't trust any security? I think we shouldn't get paranoid even if we watch a few Youtube videos.

 

I tend to agree, I travel globally on a monthly basis and if a safe is provided I will use it. Never had a problem yet, but I do make good use of the best theft deterrent, the 'Do not disturb' sign... :)

 

 

The only point of my earlier comment was simply don't believe that any one method is entirely secure just because you have heard that a different one has flaws, they all have flaws.

[Daisi]

Thanks for all the responses about the safe's in the hotel. I think we have found our solution...we are going to invest in another backpack...one that is lighter than those we already have, but has padding in it for protection for tablets. Saw a couple on the weekend that look promising.....

[sarcar97]

Europe (as well as most other places) is notorious for pickpockets and backpacks where you can't see/feel is an invitation to them. Consider one of the more secure ones such as pacsafe which makes it difficult to just unzip the zipper and it also has slashguard straps and body. They are lightweight. There's several brands but I personally have a crossbody one that is lighter than a backpack and just the right size. I'm a former backpack lover. I got the Metrosafe LS250 and love it.

[Daisi]

That is something like the backpacks we were looking at. DH carries all my "stuff" (camera case etc) so he prefers backpacks to one shoulder stuff. We are looking at locking zippered ones as pickpockets don't take much time to get into stuff. We have backpacks we could (and usually do) use, but we want something that will give a bit of protection for the tablets and will have the ability to lock zippers....especially the interior ones.

[Hoyaheel]

I have copies of our passports as jpgs on my computer but also in my email so I can access them if I don't have any of my own devices.

 

In addition to safety/theft/loss issues, it's handy being able to access my passport # (for flight reservations, visa applications) without having to go into my own safe at home ;-)

 

We always use provided safes when we travel. We test the lock to make sure it works before we put anything in it though - there have been a couple over the years where the battery has died or the safe door wouldn't close, etc - better to know that and request a room change before our keys or passports are locked inside!

[Carnevale]

We too have photocopies and electronic copies of our passports as backup when we travel. When we are carrying them, one of us has both of them and the other has both of our birth certificates and drivers licenses. We have never lost any of this, but this way if one is pickpocketed we still have some ID.

 

We are looking forward to our first river cruise in Dec but have done many ocean cruises. Our strategy has been to carry our passports when ashore on days the ship will move to another country. We have never missed a sailing, but this way we are covered if we do and then have to make our way into another country.

[Floridiana]

 

We always use provided safes when we travel. We test the lock to make sure it works before we put anything in it though - there have been a couple over the years where the battery has died or the safe door wouldn't close, etc - better to know that and request a room change before our keys or passports are locked inside!

 

Same here.

I read tripadvisor for Germany and sometimes the victims of pickpockets post. Most of them were targeted in crowded plazas and on escalators in train stations in large cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne. They were distracted by a group asking for a signature on a (fake) petition. Do not stop! Walk away briskly! Sometimes the gang pretends to be deaf mute. If you stop and try to understand, the rest of the gang will pickpocket you. Roaring at them like a lion helps!

Do not allow anybody to squeeze in between you and your partner(s) on an escalator in a train station or a crowded area. Stick together. If the escalator suddenly stops, hold on to your possessions. The guys that squeezed themselves against you on the escalator have partners who hit the escalator emergency button. You are now trying to drag your luggage up the escalator and are distracted.

The police are aware, arrests have been made, gangs have been prosecuted in Germany and in the countries of origin of several gangs.