Missing ship in a foreign port with no passport

[denmarks]

I know that most round trip cruises do not require a passport. A drivers license and birth certificate will do. I have also heard that without a passport you cannot fly. Does anyone know of anyone that it happened to and how much hassle was it to get home or to the next port?

[mom says]

2 minutes ago, denmarks said:

I know that most round trip cruises do not require a passport. A drivers license and birth certificate will do. I have also heard that without a passport you cannot fly. Does anyone know of anyone that it happened to and how much hassle was it to get home or to the next port?

 

That only applies with American citizens and American home ports.

 

Yes, there's a thread from a couple of years ago of someone left behind, but he had an expired passport with him. And a credit card. And was fortunate to have a US consulate on the island he was on. He was eventually able to get an emergency replacement and flew on to rejoin the ship and his family. It was still a major hassle. Without ID and money, you're screwed, to be blunt.  

[chengkp75]

You would have to contact the closest US consulate, prove your identity and citizenship to them, and they will provide a temporary travel document.

[mjkacmom]

45 minutes ago, mom says said:

 

That only applies with American citizens and American home ports.

 

Yes, there's a thread from a couple of years ago of someone left behind, but he had an expired passport with him. And a credit card. And was fortunate to have a US consulate on the island he was on. He was eventually able to get an emergency replacement and flew on to rejoin the ship and his family. It was still a major hassle. Without ID and money, you're screwed, to be blunt.  

And you will never be able to return to the US.

[chipmaster]

Why don’t you just plan to have passport ?  

 

Or or are you simply fishing for a good story ?

[chengkp75]

27 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

And you will never be able to return to the US.

Huh?

[CPT Trips]

Bermuda might be the best port to have this happen as you can present yourself to an immigration official before boarding a plane to the states. 

[Bizmark'sMom]

7 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

And you will never be able to return to the US.

???

The whole point of getting to a consulate for emergency travel documents is to get back to the US.  If you are a citizen, you will get through immigration eventually. It's just a real hassle. Things are vastly easier if you have a passport.

[TxCityKat]

Perhaps the oldie but goody Cruise Critic article titled What to Do If Your Cruise Ship Leaves You Behind ... and How to Prepare So It Doesn't Happen to You will be helpful. The article's last update was on September 21, 2017.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2026

 

Kat 🐱

[SRF]

The airline will not let you check in without a passport or a letter from the Embassy or Consulate.  So you don't get to the CBD officer for immigration purposes.

 

On some islands, you will need to get to another island (which is another country) to get to a US Embassy or Consulate.  And you can't fly without the passport.

 

So BIG hassles.

 

If you have no money, but are near an Embassy or Consulate, they can help.

 

Best, to have a passport and have it with you, along with a credit card.

[mjkacmom]

15 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Huh?

Sorry, just sarcasm. So many of these threads have folks saying you can’t fly back to the US without a passport, making it seem like you are stranded permanently. On our firs5 cruise, my family saved about $1000 not getting passports for a 3 night cruise.

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, SRF said:

 

On some islands, you will need to get to another island (which is another country) to get to a US Embassy or Consulate.  And you can't fly without the passport.

 

So under this logic how does one get to the other island?

 

I have read of two instances of passengers being directed to go to the airport by the port agent. The cruise line's liaison communicated with CBP and permission was given to allow the passenger to board a direct flight to the US. Once there they spent a few minutes in secondary inspection and then allowed to proceed on their way.

 

Yes, under normal circumstances a passport is required to fly, but exceptions are made in emergencies. The US government isn't going to strand anyone on an island in the Caribbean.

[ontheweb]

18 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

And you will never be able to return to the US.

That reminds me of the time before we discovered cruises that we went to Jamaica for our anniversary. There was (and probably still is) a tax to leave the country. A woman in front of us in line said she could not pay as she had spent all her money. My first thought was they are going to make her stay. But, they did let her fly back to the USA.

[Zach1213]

7 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

That reminds me of the time before we discovered cruises that we went to Jamaica for our anniversary. There was (and probably still is) a tax to leave the country. A woman in front of us in line said she could not pay as she had spent all her money. My first thought was they are going to make her stay. But, they did let her fly back to the USA.

 

In most cases, departure taxes are now included in plane tickets, if you're flying a scheduled commercial flight.

[ontheweb]

6 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

In most cases, departure taxes are now included in plane tickets, if you're flying a scheduled commercial flight.

Could very well be, since the incident I mentioned happened last century. 1997. 

[Cruise4Twos]

18 hours ago, chipmaster said:

Why don’t you just plan to have passport ?  

 

Or or are you simply fishing for a good story ?

Twice the cruise ship confiscated our passports. Once on a European cruise and once on a South Pacific cruise. On the European cruise, we misjudged how far away we were from the port. We had an hour. We just missed the previous hop on hop off bus. The next one took 15 minutes, it took 15 minutes to get to our stop and 10 minutes to run back to the ship. You're supposed to be back on the ship a half hour before sailing but we arrived 20 minutes b4 sailing. Luckily they let us back on the ship with a stern warning. Of course now we plan better. Regardless it's not just about having a passport. It's insane that they confiscate US passports sometimes until the end of the cruise but they do.

Thanks TxCityKat for posting a link to "What to Do If Your Cruise Ship Leaves You Behind ... and How to Prepare So It Doesn't Happen to You." 

Edited July 23, 2019 by Cruise4Twos
added a Thanks to TxCityKat

[Shorex]

8 minutes ago, Cruise4Twos said:

Twice the cruise ship confiscated our passports. Once on a European cruise and once on a South Pacific cruise. On the European cruise, we misjudged how far away we were from the port. We had an hour. We just missed the previous hop on hop off bus. The next one took 15 minutes, it took 15 minutes to get to our stop and 10 minutes to run back to the ship. You're supposed to be back on the ship a half hour before sailing but we arrived 20 minutes b4 sailing. Luckily they let us back on the ship with a stern warning. Of course now we plan better. Regardless it's not just about having a passport. It's insane that they confiscate US passports sometimes until the end of the cruise but they do.

 

When the ship holds your passport it is neither confiscation nor insane, nor is just to annoy you. When practical, the ship's staff  will manage the immigration formalities for every guest. This actually spares you (and everyone else) from presenting themselves physically for immigration inspection, which can happen, oh, maybe at 4 am. The process is thus seamless for you, while the staff does the work.

 

Yes, occasionally, guests must physically present themselves(and their passports) for immigration formalities while on-board, but only when required according to local officials.

[sparks1093]

24 minutes ago, Cruise4Twos said:

Twice the cruise ship confiscated our passports. Once on a European cruise and once on a South Pacific cruise. On the European cruise, we misjudged how far away we were from the port. We had an hour. We just missed the previous hop on hop off bus. The next one took 15 minutes, it took 15 minutes to get to our stop and 10 minutes to run back to the ship. You're supposed to be back on the ship a half hour before sailing but we arrived 20 minutes b4 sailing. Luckily they let us back on the ship with a stern warning. Of course now we plan better. Regardless it's not just about having a passport. It's insane that they confiscate US passports sometimes until the end of the cruise but they do.

Thanks TxCityKat for posting a link to "What to Do If Your Cruise Ship Leaves You Behind ... and How to Prepare So It Doesn't Happen to You." 

Not having your passport on either of those cruises is a different matter entirely than not having one on a closed loop cruise from the US. I know that conventional wisdom says that if you were to miss the ship the staff would try to search your safe for your passport and if there would turn it over to the port agent. I would fully expect that if the ship had physical possession of the passport that it would be turned over to the port agent if you didn't make it back. 

[navybankerteacher]

35 minutes ago, Cruise4Twos said:

Twice the cruise ship confiscated our passports.

 

...

 

It's insane that they confiscate US passports sometimes until the end of the cruise but they do.

Thanks TxCityKat for posting a link to "What to Do If Your Cruise Ship Leaves You Behind ... and How to Prepare So It Doesn't Happen to You." 

Aside from streamlining the clearance procedures, letting the ship hold your passport means that if you did miss the ship they would surely be able to leave it with the port agent. Their efforts to locate it in your cabin might not be as sure.

 

Also, holding it for you is hardly “confiscating” it.

[Donray]

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

So under this logic how does one get to the other island?

 

I have read of two instances of passengers being directed to go to the airport by the port agent. The cruise line's liaison communicated with CBP and permission was given to allow the passenger to board a direct flight to the US. Once there they spent a few minutes in secondary inspection and then allowed to proceed on their way.

 

Yes, under normal circumstances a passport is required to fly, but exceptions are made in emergencies. The US government isn't going to strand anyone on an island in the Caribbean.

 

[CPT Trips]

I'd much prefer having the ship hold my passport to discovering that I had it stolen while on an excursion and then needing to get an emergency replacement while cruising from country to country. On our cruises, except for Russia, we have been advised not to take passports ashore unless there would be a border crossing. 

[Cruise4Twos]

For some reason people are getting caught up on my use of the word "confiscate" which means taken or seized with authority. The 1st time was quite a shock to us. They could post why their doing what they're doing and what would happen if you were to get left, then people would understand and not think that the policy is insane as many people on the boat were grumbling about this.

Edited July 23, 2019 by Cruise4Twos
increase font size

[SantaFeFan]

1 hour ago, Cruise4Twos said:

For some reason people are getting caught up on my use of the word "confiscate" which means taken or seized with authority. The 1st time was quite a shock to us. They could post why their doing what they're doing and what would happen if you were to get left, then people would understand and not think that the policy is insane as many people on the boat were grumbling about this.

 

I have always known if our passports were to be "confiscated". Probably because I actually read the cruise contract and the information about the cruise I was taking provided by the cruise line. The only people who are responsible for being "shocked" are the passengers who can't be bothered to know the details of their cruise. Then they conveniently blame everyone but themselves for their carelessness. 

 

And your passports were NOT confiscated. Per the definition you so helpfully provided, "taken or seized with authority" means by removed by force. When you agree to take a cruise, you voluntarily agree to relinquish your passport to authorized officials when necessary, whether on the ship, or on shore. Since you have agreed to those terms by accepting the cruise contract, your passport was never "taken or seized". They were voluntarily turned over per your agreement. 

Edited July 23, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[Cruise4Twos]

16 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

I have always known if our passports were to be "confiscated". Probably because I actually read the cruise contract and the information about the cruise I was taking provided by the cruise line.

They could do a better job in making that information available. To get more informed, I logged into my upcoming cruise document area. Plenty of alerts on what to buy. The cruise contract is not there. I guess I'll have to jump thru hoops to retrieve it when technology could make that information easily available.

[SantaFeFan]

1 minute ago, Cruise4Twos said:

They could do a better job in making that information available. To get more informed, I logged into my upcoming cruise document area. Plenty of alerts on what to buy. The cruise contract is not there. I guess I'll have to jump thru hoops to retrieve it when technology could make that information easily available.

 

My experiences have been with Celebrity, Princess and Disney. They all provided that information in the cruise documents sent to me upon booking. Perhaps other cruise lines are not as helpful.