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Take passports while at ports?


aleighjc
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We haven't cruised in over ten years and I just can't recall.... if you get off the boat at a port where you're not from that country, do you bring your passport with you? My concern is if we were to miss the ship (we plan to be really careful, but I'm paranoid)  

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Some countries actually require it. Most don't.  But if you're feeling paranoid, by all means bring it with you. Just keep it safely stowed, like in a moneybelt or neck wallet worn under your clothing. Otherwise, leave it in your cabin safe. If you were to miss the ship, security would check the safe and give the passport to the port agent to give to you as the ship sails off into the sunset.

 

The ships daily newsletter will usually specify which documents you must take with you when leaving the ship. In the Caribbean, and many other places, this is usually just your sail pass and a government issued photo ID ( such as a drivers license). In other parts of the world you may be issued a landing card that you also need to take along with a photocopy of your passport info page. On some ships your passport is collected when you board,  and you don't get it back until final disembarkation. 

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Opening the great passport can of worms.  I never take mine unless required, Cuba, Russia as examples.  You will get views from both sides so it really depends on your level of concern over losing the passport or being late to the ship.  Have never had either occur to me.

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Another vote for leaving it in the safe unless required to carry it by local laws. I have been travelling for over 40 years, have visited almost 50 countries on every continent but Antarctica, and have never carried it unless the law required it. Even the companies I worked for that I had to travel international for recommended not carrying it if not needed. The US State department even advised on their web site that keeping it in the safe was the most secure approach. I have never unexpectedly been asked to show my passport. I have needed it to check into a hotel at an overnight port stop, or to rent a car, however. But I knew in advance that I needed to have it, so it wasn't unexpected. I do carry a copy of the passport, and my California driver's license, which is a government issued document with my name and photo on it. 

 

There are posters on these boards who will try to scare you into carrying it, claiming that you might be asked for your "papers" by local officials (extremely rare), or that the ship will leave you without it if you return late (it won't). Virtually all cruise lines promise to check your safe for your passports if you will be left behind. If they find it in the safe, they will give it to the port representative so he can give it to you when you arrive after the ship has left. The daily newsletter that you will find in your stateroom the night before will have the phone number of the representative. It is a good idea to always take that phone number with you, just in case. 

 

I prefer to know where my passport is at all times. If it's in the safe, I can arrange to have it retrieved if I am in an accident or other emergency. If I carry it and it gets stolen, lost, or pick pocketed, I no longer will have control of it. 

 

There is no absolute right or wrong approach. Just do what is most comforting to you. It is a personal decision whether or not you carry it. 

 

 

Edited by SantaFeFan
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I leave mine in the safe unless required to take it with me.  I had my pocket picked once, (on the way to a hotel, so no safe to leave it in yet) and the thief did not take my passport, but only because she didn’t want to.  She could have, and then I would have had a much bigger problem than the loss of the €60 she took.  

 

The “I take my passport everywhere I go, every time, every port” group will be along shortly.  Really though, there is no right or wrong answer, do what feels the most comfortable for you.

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A member of the "take my passport" with me group has arrived! Personally, I prefer to do it that way as I feel more comfortable knowing that I have it. There have been cases where I have needed my passport whilst travelling (eg. when entering Tiananmen Square in Beijing) and if the ship did indeed leave without me, I would feel better knowing that I have it and I don't have to track down port authorities to find my passport. I keep it in a velcro pocket of my Pacsafe cross-body, which has anti-thief mechanisms like locking zippers, a slashproof body, and a wire-enforced strap. 

 

Alternatively, you could also carry a photocopy of your passport with you if you want to have a copy of ID with you but you don't want the risk of carrying your actual passport. 

 

You don't have to carry your passport (unless you were mandated to by that country's authorities) but I prefer to. If you keep it in your room, keep it in your safe. This is both for security purposes and just in case you miss the ship, as this is the first place where the crew will look before giving it back to port authorities. If you stash it in your luggage, they may assume that you've taken it with you.

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The only right answer is to do what you feel most comfortable doing because what everyone else does has no impact on that at all. The odds of you missing the ship are very small and largely within your control (not completely, of course, you must take precautions). The odds of your passport being lost/stolen/damaged are very small and largely within your control (not completely, of course, you must take precautions). If you leave it in your safe the ship's crew will make every attempt to recover it and give it to the port agent if you miss the ship, an evolution you can assist by calling the ship to tell them you will be missing the ship. If you lose your passport or it's stolen/damaged then you will need to interrupt your trip to obtain a replacement document (you are required to have your travel documents available at all times during the cruise and if you don't then it's possible the ship will put you ashore unless you have another document that meets the requirements, i.e. a copy of your birth certificate if you are on a closed loop cruise). So there are risks no matter which course of action you choose to take, so you'll have to choose which risks you are willing to assume.

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8 hours ago, wheezedr said:

Opening the great passport can of worms.  I never take mine unless required, Cuba, Russia as examples.  

Yes indeed, a can of worms. I never take mine either unless absolutely required. I take a copy - my actual passport remains in my stateroom safe or hotel safe.

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As predicted both sides have joined this discussion and both have provided valid reasons for their actions.  At least so far everyone has been civil and as many have pointed out, the ultimate decision is truly going to be up to you.  There is no right or wrong in this case.

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8 minutes ago, wheezedr said:

......the ultimate decision is truly going to be up to you.  There is no right or wrong in this case.

That may be true on mass market lines. But, you'll often have no choice on premium/luxury lines where passports are most often required to be surrendered to the purser at embarkation.

 

BTW, ask any officer on any ship whether they take passports ashore (other than when required by local law)? The answer will be a resounding "no."

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I leave it in the safe.  The chances of my passport getting lost, damaged, or stolen while touring is much greater than the chances of me missing the ship AND not being able to notify the ship before it left the port so they could pull my passport out of the safe.  I did take a picture of my passport and saved it to my phone just to have the info.

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11 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

That may be true on mass market lines. But, you'll often have no choice on premium/luxury lines where passports are most often required to be surrendered to the purser at embarkation.

 

BTW, ask any officer on any ship whether they take passports ashore (other than when required by local law)? The answer will be a resounding "no."

That does raise a question- if you are sailing on a premium line and they take your passport are you allowed to retrieve it to take it ashore if you wish? 

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13 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

That does raise a question- if you are sailing on a premium line and they take your passport are you allowed to retrieve it to take it ashore if you wish? 

You'd have to ask the purser.

Seriously, I've never heard of (or noticed) anyone making such a request. In fact, the general reaction I've seen among first time Oceania cruisers, when asked to surrender their passports at embarkation and informed that (among other things), at all ports requiring customs clearance (except those requiring face-to-face encounters), there will be no need for them to rise early and stand in line (or worry about its return by the port agent should a ship departure be missed by passengers) is RELIEF.

As for anyone's refusal to surrender it: not an option.

Edited by Flatbush Flyer
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Just now, sparks1093 said:

That does raise a question- if you are sailing on a premium line and they take your passport are you allowed to retrieve it to take it ashore if you wish? 

Yes  you just  need to return it to the purser at the end of the day

Best to make the request  the night before  the port  you want your passport for

for me it is not worth the  hassle  but for some  they feel the need to have their passport with them

JMO

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1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

Yes  you just  need to return it to the purser at the end of the day

Best to make the request  the night before  the port  you want your passport for

for me it is not worth the  hassle  but for some  they feel the need to have their passport with them

JMO

 

If planning to rent a car and explore on your own, many countries require a passport shown to process the rental. In those infrequent cases, just explain the reason and the passport should be made available. This also applies if the ship overnights at a port and the plan is to stay at a local hotel or resort for the night. We have done this for both situations. 

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7 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Yes  you just  need to return it to the purser at the end of the day

Best to make the request  the night before  the port  you want your passport for

for me it is not worth the  hassle  but for some  they feel the need to have their passport with them

JMO

While, of course, there may be a valid reason for exception on a day-to-day individual case basis (e.g., crossing a country border on a private excursion, car rental, hotel ashore at an overnight port), I have never seen/heard of anyone on our O ship asking for their passport just for "peace of mind" - kind of defeats the purpose of surrender.

Edited by Flatbush Flyer
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16 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

You'd have to ask the purser.

Seriously, I've never heard of (or noticed) anyone making such a request. In fact, the general reaction I've seen among first time Oceania cruisers, when asked to surrender their passports at embarkation and informed that (among other things), at all ports requiring customs clearance (except those requiring face-to-face encounters), there will be no need for them to rise early and stand in line (or worry about its return by the port agent should a ship departure be missed by passengers) is RELIEF.

As for anyone's refusal to surrender it: not an option.

 

13 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Yes  you just  need to return it to the purser at the end of the day

Best to make the request  the night before  the port  you want your passport for

for me it is not worth the  hassle  but for some  they feel the need to have their passport with them

JMO

It wouldn't be worth the hassle to me either, I was just wondering if they allowed you to take ashore with you if you needed to. 

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7 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

The only right answer is to do what you feel most comfortable doing because what everyone else does has no impact on that at all. The odds of you missing the ship are very small and largely within your control (not completely, of course, you must take precautions). The odds of your passport being lost/stolen/damaged are very small and largely within your control (not completely, of course, you must take precautions). If you leave it in your safe the ship's crew will make every attempt to recover it and give it to the port agent if you miss the ship, an evolution you can assist by calling the ship to tell them you will be missing the ship. If you lose your passport or it's stolen/damaged then you will need to interrupt your trip to obtain a replacement document (you are required to have your travel documents available at all times during the cruise and if you don't then it's possible the ship will put you ashore unless you have another document that meets the requirements, i.e. a copy of your birth certificate if you are on a closed loop cruise). So there are risks no matter which course of action you choose to take, so you'll have to choose which risks you are willing to assume.

 

This is the correct statement.  This is not guaranteed.  They will try, and probably will, in MOST cases.

 

But it is a personal decision on how to handle this.

 

In many cases, I carry mine.  I am in the habit of doing so from many years of work international travel.  To many countries where being able to immediately identify myself as an American is nice to have.  And some where I do not take it out of my pocket and pretend to be Canadian, eh. 😄

 

I have had to present it a couple of times.  And work colleagues have also had to do so.  Not saying that this happened in typical cruising destinations, but it does happen.

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35 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

This is not guaranteed.  They will try, and probably will, in MOST cases.

 

Just like it is not guaranteed that the ship will complete the cruise without sinking. They will try, and probably will, in MOST cases. 😁

 

I prefer to believe that the cruise lines will retrieve my passport as they say they will do, just like I believe the cruise lines will not let the ship sink. It is a simple matter of having trust in others. 😉

Edited by sloopsailor
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Just now, SantaFeFan said:

 

If planning to rent a car and explore on your own, many countries require a passport shown to process the rental. In those infrequent cases, just explain the reason and the passport should be made available. This also applies if the ship overnights at a port and the plan is to stay at a local hotel or resort for the night. We have done this for both situations. 

Yes for those  situations it would be required

going to the beach not so much 😉

YMMV

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Just now, sparks1093 said:

 

 

It wouldn't be worth the hassle to me either, I was just wondering if they allowed you to take ashore with you if you needed to. 

YES

 

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