Passport: Do you carry off ship or leave in cabin?

[K32682]

Armed check points in Spain? Perhaps you are confusing the checkpoints with a normal traffic search, carried out by armed police, which is quite normal, but is less dramatic than your description. Having lived in Spain for 10 years and never once having had to show my passport, I struggle to reconcile your limited Spanish experience with my own.

It was not a normal traffic search conducted by the Policia Local. It was at a roadblock outside of San Sebastian set up by the Guardia Civil in the immediate aftermath of an ETA bombing in 2000.

[TruckerDave]

With the exception of the U.S.A. my passport is on my person at all times when I'm in a foreign country. I've been stopped at armed checkpoints in Africa, Spain and Eastern Europe. Maybe a photocopy would have been sufficient on those occasions but I'd rather not have to find out when there's a nice man with an assault rifle demanding ID.

 

In my experience a cruise company that keeps your passport will provide it upon request for shore excursions.

 

 

The same....only my check points were in Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic.

 

I NEVER venture out in a foreign country without my passport in my pocket. I don't care if it is just a two block walk to a coffee shop in Barcelona for an afternoon pick me up or a journey to the country side of Medellin.

[wowzz]

At the end of the day, it all comes down to paranoia. Certain nationalities are more paranoid than others.

 

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[wowzz]

It was not a normal traffic search conducted by the Policia Local. It was at a roadblock outside of San Sebastian set up by the Guardia Civil in the immediate aftermath of an ETA bombing in 2000.

After 18 years things are a little different.

 

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[jocap]

The same....only my check points were in Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic.

 

I NEVER venture out in a foreign country without my passport in my pocket. I don't care if it is just a two block walk to a coffee shop in Barcelona for an afternoon pick me up or a journey to the country side of Medellin.

Barcelona is the last place where I'd carry my passport- a USA/Euro passport is worth thousands of €€, especially now there are so many displaced persons in Europe. One in ten replacement passports are issued at Barcelona for UK citizens, and that's out of the whole world. The pickpocket gangs there are very skillfull, and are looking for passports.

[wowzz]

Barcelona is the last place where I'd carry my passport- a USA/Euro passport is worth thousands of €€, especially now there are so many displaced persons in Europe. One in ten replacement passports are issued at Barcelona for UK citizens, and that's out of the whole world. The pickpocket gangs there are very skillfull, and are looking for passports.

Well said! Why take your passport into one of the world's centres of pickpockets, rather than leave it in the safety of your cabin safe! Sheer idiocy.

 

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[sloopsailor]

Barcelona is the last place where I'd carry my passport- a USA/Euro passport is worth thousands of €€, especially now there are so many displaced persons in Europe. One in ten replacement passports are issued at Barcelona for UK citizens, and that's out of the whole world. The pickpocket gangs there are very skillfull, and are looking for passports.

 

Quite right. Barcelona is one of the most prolific pickpocket cities in the world. Every source on travel safety will warn visitors to not carry their passports in this city. One British security agency estimates that over 10,000 passports were stolen or lost in Barcelona in 2016, the last year reported. Carrying it is just too risky.

 

Travel smart, people. Do what the experts recommend - leave them in your safe - and not what a few paranoid travelers suggest.

[wowzz]

Quite right. Barcelona is one of the most prolific pickpocket cities in the world. Every source on travel safety will warn visitors to not carry their passports in this city. One British security agency estimates that over 10,000 passports were stolen or lost in Barcelona in 2016, the last year reported. Carrying it is just too risky.

 

Travel smart, people. Do what the experts recommend - leave them in your safe - and not what a few paranoid travelers suggest.

There do indeed seem to be a few paranoid posters on this thread. For 99.99% of the time, the best option is to leave your passport in your safe.

 

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[broberts]

After 18 years things are a little different.

 

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The only real differences are the labels and locations of these sorts of events. Hasn't fundamentally changed for 2,000 years, likely longer.

 

Barcelona is the last place where I'd carry my passport- a USA/Euro passport is worth thousands of €€, especially now there are so many displaced persons in Europe. One in ten replacement passports are issued at Barcelona for UK citizens, and that's out of the whole world. The pickpocket gangs there are very skillfull, and are looking for passports.

 

It's one of the reasons I have no interest in cruising out of or to Barcelona. What puzzles me is that the city seems to have little or no interest in ridding itself of this problem.

[sloopsailor]

It's one of the reasons I have no interest in cruising out of or to Barcelona. What puzzles me is that the city seems to have little or no interest in ridding itself of this problem.

 

You are missing out on a beautiful, friendly, historic city. One of my favorites, warts and all. If you limit yourself only to cities that don't have something negative about it, you might as well stay locked up in your home. Every country on the planet has something that is less than perfect about it, even your home country with it's almost daily mass shootings. They can all be enjoyed by exercising a bit of caution - like not traveling with valuables on your person such as expensive jewelry, wallets fat with money, or, yes, even passports that don't need to be carried while visiting. And not wandering into the rougher areas.

[broberts]

You are missing out on a beautiful, friendly, historic city. One of my favorites, warts and all. If you limit yourself only to cities that don't have something negative about it, you might as well stay locked up in your home. Every country on the planet has something that is less than perfect about it, even your home country with it's almost daily mass shootings. They can all be enjoyed by exercising a bit of caution - like not traveling with valuables on your person such as expensive jewelry, wallets fat with money, or, yes, even passports that don't need to be carried while visiting. And not wandering into the rougher areas.

 

I did spend a day in Barcelona forty years ago :).

 

When I first started seeing reports of serious pickpocketing in Barcelona I thought, "give it a year, the authorities will get things under control". That has not been the case.

 

I might consider an itinerary that included the city as a stop because one doesn't need to carry a passport ashore. But as the start or end port, no. There are many other parts of the world equally interesting and beautiful.

[sloopsailor]

I did spend a day in Barcelona forty years ago :).

 

When I first started seeing reports of serious pickpocketing in Barcelona I thought, "give it a year, the authorities will get things under control". That has not been the case.

 

I might consider an itinerary that included the city as a stop because one doesn't need to carry a passport ashore. But as the start or end port, no. There are many other parts of the world equally interesting and beautiful.

 

We spent four wonderful days there before a Barcelona to Venice cruise. We put our passports in our room safes, like we do in most cities we visit. We also don't carry lots of cash, or dozens of credit cards. The ladies don't wear jewelry on vacations. We never had a problem there, and never felt unsafe. Just used common sense, while enjoying the sights. Just like we have done in dozens of other cities around the world. No more of a risk than any other city we have visited. All of them have pickpockets waiting for an easy mark. Just be smart, and you will have no problem.

[sparks1093]

OP you've undoubtedly received almost a 50/50 response and what it means is that at the end of the day you have to do what is most comfortable for you to do and what others do has no bearing on that.

[John Bull]

As Sparks' post, other than ports where a passport is required, it's personal choice - whatever makes you feel most comfortable.

 

We always leave ours in our cabin safe because the risk of our passports being stolen or lost or damaged in port greatly outweigh the risk of missing the sailing - and as others have posted there are a number of measures to overcome the difficulties of the latter.

Leaving passports on the ship is also the advice given by cruise lines. A CC member (cruisemom?) posted a link to this advice on an earlier thread on the subject.

We also bear in mind that if our passports went missing we'd have difficulties flying back to our country at the end of the cruise, mebbe even disembarking the ship.

 

But to repeat, each to their own.

 

JB :)

[PTMary]

OP you've undoubtedly received almost a 50/50 response and what it means is that at the end of the day you have to do what is most comfortable for you to do and what others do has no bearing on that.

 

I learned math 50 years ago (AKA: Old Math), and from what I count, the spread is about 90% advising leaving them in the safe and only 10% taking them ashore. The cruise lines also advise the safe, so the fact that the experts suggest leaving them in the safe lends a lot of additional weight to the argument.

 

But, I agree, it is a personal choice. Everyone should do what they are more comfortable doing.

[Talex831]

Disclaimer: I didn’t read the whole thread.

 

We take good quality color copies of our passports off the ship with us and leave the passports in the safe.

 

 

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[sparks1093]

I learned math 50 years ago (AKA: Old Math), and from what I count, the spread is about 90% advising leaving them in the safe and only 10% taking them ashore. The cruise lines also advise the safe, so the fact that the experts suggest leaving them in the safe lends a lot of additional weight to the argument.

 

But, I agree, it is a personal choice. Everyone should do what they are more comfortable doing.

 

I didn't read any of the responses so I'll take your word for it. Normally it's about 50/50.

[wowzz]

I didn't read any of the responses so I'll take your word for it. Normally it's about 50/50.

If you had had taken the trouble to read the responses first, before posting. you would have seen that, as has been said, 90%+ say leave the passports in the safe.

 

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[sloopsailor]

Normally it's about 50/50.

 

Sorry, but not from my experience. After reading CC for years, I would say that the responses are more towards SAFE = 80% and CARRY = 20% on all threads combined. A clear majority of respondents on these threads leave them in their safes. I have never read a thread where it was close to 50% - unless the few CARRY supporters replied to every SAFE comment, skewing the comment count towards each other, but not the individual respondent count.

[sparks1093]

If you had had taken the trouble to read the responses first, before posting. you would have seen that, as has been said, 90%+ say leave the passports in the safe.

 

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Sorry, but not from my experience. After reading CC for years, I would say that the responses are more towards SAFE = 80% and CARRY = 20% on all threads combined. A clear majority of respondents on these threads leave them in their safes. I have never read a thread where it was close to 50% - unless the few CARRY supporters replied to every SAFE comment, skewing the comment count towards each other, but not the individual respondent count.

 

Oh sheesh, the main point is that it doesn't matter what other people do, one still has to do what one feels comfortable doing themselves. My impression was and is over the years it works out to be 50/50. If it doesn't, so what?

[Talex831]

Oh sheesh, the main point is that it doesn't matter what other people do, one still has to do what one feels comfortable doing themselves. My impression was and is over the years it works out to be 50/50. If it doesn't, so what?

 

 

 

No kidding right? Some people either are very unhappy in their own lives, or really are just all around miserable, nasty humans. Try being nice to each other for crying out loud!

 

 

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[sparks1093]

No kidding right? Some people either are very unhappy in their own lives, or really are just all around miserable, nasty humans. Try being nice to each other for crying out loud!

 

 

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Thanks:) but I didn't read either of those posts as being nasty, just focusing on the wrong part of my posts and thereby missing my point.

[TruckerDave]

Barcelona is the last place where I'd carry my passport- a USA/Euro passport is worth thousands of €€, especially now there are so many displaced persons in Europe. One in ten replacement passports are issued at Barcelona for UK citizens, and that's out of the whole world. The pickpocket gangs there are very skillfull, and are looking for passports.

 

 

Some people are paranoid and some are not. I am not. To each his/her own.

 

Of course there will be another thread just like this in about a month or so and everyone can just repeat their answers.

[sloopsailor]

No kidding right? Some people either are very unhappy in their own lives, or really are just all around miserable, nasty humans. Try being nice to each other for crying out loud!

 

 

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Since when is reporting what people have observed on these threads a reason to accuse them of being "very unhappy in their own lives, or really are just all around miserable, nasty humans."

 

You are in the wrong place. This is a cruise discussion forum, not a hate group forum. :rolleyes:

[Talex831]

If you had had taken the trouble to read the responses first, before posting.

 

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This isn’t snarky and nasty? And clearly you’re reply as well is snarky. I’m not on the wrong forum, I’m just saying people should treat others more kindly. Maybe snark isn’t intended but when you’re sitting behind your keyboard, it’s hard to tell.

 

 

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