leave Passport in safe.... safe?

[Daisi]

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.

 

I'm not the best in crowds, and so we have a great solution...I walk directly behind my husband (who will have the backpack), and hold onto his belt loop. That way, he knows I am there, and I don't panic about loosing him!

[TravelerThom]

...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...

I have been on ~20 river cruises, and on most of them (not sure about Gate1) the boat kept your passport, so you have no passport to take with you. The only decision to make is what kind of other ID to carry - I usually carry a photocopy of my passport.

 

All of Gate1 Danube cruises and extensions are entirely within the Schengen Zone (a block of 26 countries [mostly EU countries but not identical] who have standardized visa requirements), and as a general rule no passport is required to go from one Schengen country to another. Once you have cleared Schengen immigration, you can travel over much of Europe (eg Portugal to Finland or Greece to Iceland) without ever showing your passport EXCEPT that most hotels will not rent you a room without recording your National Identity Card information, and for US citizens your passport is your de facto NIC.

 

Thom

[Hoyaheel]

On Avalon NUE-BSL, they took our passports at check-in, recorded information, and gave them back to us the following day. (2014 trip)

[Floridiana]

Daisi,

Sounds like an excellent plan.

I would like to add that the small towns where most river cruises stop are much less affected by the pick pockets who prefer high volume areas.

[Daisi]

Daisi,

 

I would like to add that the small towns where most river cruises stop are much less affected by the pick pockets who prefer high volume areas.

 

I guess it comes from growing up and living in a very rural environment. We don't usually "do" large cities when travelling, so the ones in Europe, even if they are considered small towns, will seem very big to us. I'm hoping that we don't have any troubles, but you can always prepare just in case.

[Hoyaheel]

I'm hoping that we don't have any troubles, but you can always prepare just in case.

My mom & my in-laws laugh that I will always lock my car at home, when visiting them - rural areas - and that I always lock my office door when I leave, just to make coffee or take a restroom break. But when you've had your car broken into (SLC & DC when living in those cities) or things stolen from your office (current job) you get used to taking precautions - and 99.99999% of the time it's a good thing.

 

Except for that 1 time when you get locked out of your house, no one around has a spare key, and you have to break in. That time sux :evilsmile:

[Hydrokitty]

My mom & my in-laws laugh that I will always lock my car at home, when visiting them - rural areas - and that I always lock my office door when I leave, just to make coffee or take a restroom break. But when you've had your car broken into (SLC & DC when living in those cities) or things stolen from your office (current job) you get used to taking precautions - and 99.99999% of the time it's a good thing.

 

Except for that 1 time when you get locked out of your house, no one around has a spare key, and you have to break in. That time sux :evilsmile:

 

Especially if you're wearing pajamas!! :D

 

You know Daisi....you can drive yourself crazy trying to protect everything while on vacation. The truth is you can't...you can just pay attention to where you are and where your belongings are. For instance: if you've just bought a bunch of stuff to bring home and you're sitting in an outside cafe enjoying a nice rest, don't hang your purse over the back of your chair and don't put your camera or packages on the table next to your arm...put them in your lap. Use the same common sense you would use in your local supermarket..you don't leave your wallet in the cart and walk away or leave your phone and tablet on the front seat where it can easily be seen. Just pay attention to your stuff and have a good time. In all my travels I have never been robbed nor has personal property ever been taken from my locked suitcase. The only reason I don't use the hotel room safe is that it's small and light and easy to walk away with if you're a dishonest room attendant, a large suitcase is not so easy...but Mark is right.....where there's a will, there's a way so leave priceless things at home...

[Daisi]

Especially if you're wearing pajamas!! :D

 

You know Daisi....you can drive yourself crazy trying to protect everything while on vacation. The truth is you can't...you can just pay attention to where you are and where your belongings are. For instance: if you've just bought a bunch of stuff to bring home and you're sitting in an outside cafe enjoying a nice rest, don't hang your purse over the back of your chair and don't put your camera or packages on the table next to your arm...put them in your lap. Use the same common sense you would use in your local supermarket..you don't leave your wallet in the cart and walk away or leave your phone and tablet on the front seat where it can easily be seen. Just pay attention to your stuff and have a good time. In all my travels I have never been robbed nor has personal property ever been taken from my locked suitcase. The only reason I don't use the hotel room safe is that it's small and light and easy to walk away with if you're a dishonest room attendant, a large suitcase is not so easy...but Mark is right.....where there's a will, there's a way so leave priceless things at home...

 

I think I am more worried about dealing with crowds than loosing something. I won't have anything on me really( except for my camera hanging around my neck) for someone to lift, and my husband is very conscious of his surroundings. I think I am more worried about taking the train back from Basel to Amsterdam for any problems.

 

I do have to laugh about you talking about leaving the wallet in the cart at the store though...quite common here where we shop. Guess with everyone knowing everyone, people are a lot more careless. We do lock our doors though at night, and our cars, although most of the windows get left open, so it kinda cancels things out.

[Floridiana]

 

I do have to laugh about you talking about leaving the wallet in the cart at the store though...quite common here where we shop.

 

I see that here as well.

[Hoyaheel]

The only reason I don't use the hotel room safe is that it's small and light and easy to walk away with if you're a dishonest room attendant, a large suitcase is not so easy..

Really? I'd find it a LOT more memorable to see someone walking down a hallway with a safe in their arms instead of a suitcase. To each his/her own.

 

(fyi - I can't remember on the river cruise, but a LOT of hotel safes are bolted to closets, they don't just sit there loose.....Obviously, do what you're comfortable with....)

[dogsarepeopletoo]

Years ago, I went to Paris with my husband and mother. We were sitting in a small, busy tavern/restaurant and my mother whipped all of her cash out of her wallet to take stock of her cash situation. Mom! Don't DO that! It may have been coincidence or it may not have had any connection, but shortly after that her wallet was stolen out of her bag.

 

My advice is you want to assess your cash situation, do it in your room. I see folks pulling wads of cash out of their bags/wallets and I cringe.