Carrying passports on excursions?

[Maclean girl]

Could you experienced travelers tell me if you carry your original passports when you leave the ship to go on an excursion?

Thanks.

[cberge]

Could you experienced travelers tell me if you carry your original passports when you leave the ship to go on an excursion?

Thanks.

 

No,at least I don't and I should not speak for anyone else.There really is no need to carry it and it would be a big hassle if it was stolen.Some ships keep them anyway during the cruise as it makes it easier to clear customs.Just keep a copy of the face page with you or laminate it as a driver's lic and if you needed to show the pp for any reason this would do as it has the info.I never cary mine for any reason whether on a cruise or land trip.

[raynvic]

On our April 19th Freedom cruise they collected the passports at embarkation. I had taken 3 copies with me because I knew this would happen. I put one copy in my day bag, one in the room safe and 1 in the suitcase under the bed. Never needed any of the copies, but I felt safer anyway.

[Joanne G.]

Whenever this question comes up, the responses are always split between:

 

1. Leaving your passport in the safe in your cabin and

2. Never leaving the ship without it.

 

I don't think there's a right answer. It depends on what you consider a bigger risk:

 

1. Losing your passport or having it stolen in port or

2. Missing the ship for some reason and needing the passport to travel to the next port or to fly home.

 

For no logical reasons at all, I have left it on the ship in the Caribbean but carried it with me at all times in Europe.

[fsdorado]

On our last European cruise, our passports were also collected at embarcation. We carried copies with us. We also scanned them (as well as the fronts and backs of all of the credit cards we brought with us) and e-mailed them to our gmail account. We had to collect our passports in Rotterdam and were told that we would need them to get off the ship. I don't think the officials in Rotterdam even looked at our passports as we got off, though we kept them out as exited. They just asked if we had our passports and we held them up as we went by. We kept them in the room safe until we disembarked.

 

 

Frederick

[Jo42]

We have done both on different cruises: used photo copies and taken our passports off the ship at each port.

 

On the first ocasion Costa said it was ok to use a copy and leave the orig in the room safe. On the second cruise they didn't want to let us back on board with just the photocopy! This time they said non-europeans could use photocopies as their passports were held by the ship anyway and that europeans had to keep their passports with them whilst ashore. It took a bit of persuading for them to let us back on. Needless to say we will be taking our passports ashore every time from now on and leave the copies in the safe!

 

Jo

[CruisinGerman]

Brits, Americans and other nationalities other than CONTINENTAL Europeans should carry passports on their person if they are worried about missing the ship and the next port of call is a non-Schengen port of call. If it is a Schengen port of call, you can travel there without a passport. If you are not worried about leaving the ship and your main concern is the safety of your passport, then leave it on the ship.

 

Other Europeans probably don't need to worry about this, because we are allowed to travel all over Europe with only our national ID cards, without the need to carry passports (even in non-Schengen countries). Brits don't have national ID cards, which is why I singled them out even though they are obviously fellow EU-citizens.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[lisiamc]

My view is that I've had my pocket picked once, but I haven't missed the ship yet. So my passport stays in the safe on the ship. I just don't feel happy carrying it around everywhere, even though I know it would be a big headache if I missed the ship, as Gunther rightly says. And I have dual American/British citizenship, so no EU national ID card.

 

Lisa

[Keith1010]

OK, there are many many views on this. Some people say carry them others say don't. I'll give you my 2 cents.

 

On most of the cruise lines we've been on they collect the Passports when we embark and they do not give them back until we disembark the ship so it is a mute issue. The only exception to this was in a few countries where the locals insist you carry your original passport. When that has happened we would pick up our passport for the day from the cruise reception area and then return it when we got back to the ship.

 

So, what my wife and I do are make copies of the passport and carry that with us.

 

Now, what is the risk. If the ship has your passport there is no risk as if the ship left before you got back they would leave your passport with the local authoriities who would give it back to you.

 

Now, if your passport isn't held by the ship and you left it in your safe, and you miss the ship then you wouldl have to make arrangements to get another one so you can leave the country and either go home or meet the ship elsewhere.

 

Now, if you carry your passport with you, there is risk that it will be stolen. This does happen and even to eperienced travelers. We just came back from a 109 day full world cruise and visited a number of places where people had wallets, stolen, etc. So, it does happen.

 

So, if the ship does not hold your passport you need to make the decision for yourself. For me, I believe there is much higher probability that my passport could be stolen rather than me missing the ship since we normally take the ships excursions and when we don't we don't go so far away where we could not possibly get back to the ship on time. But, for others they might see it the other way.

 

Keith

[sushraya]

A related question: Where and when do the immigration folks check passports/visas? On the ship before you disembark or after you disembark at the port?

 

We are on a 6 night cruise to the Mediterranean - three of us have US passports (no visa reqd) and one of us has a non-US passport and a Schengen visa since the ship stops in Italy and Greece. Do they check the passports/visa at each port?

[FunnyBunny921]

slight variation to the question, do you need your passport to go into the casino in monte carlo or just to collect winnings? either way i would assume you would need to get your passport back from the ship if you are planning on going?

[SaylorGirl]

slight variation to the question, do you need your passport to go into the casino in monte carlo or just to collect winnings? either way i would assume you would need to get your passport back from the ship if you are planning on going?

 

Yes, you need your passport to get into the casino.

 

To the OP I always keep my passport with me at all times. A copy of your passport will do nothing except help expedite a new passport.

[Keith1010]

A related question: Where and when do the immigration folks check passports/visas? On the ship before you disembark or after you disembark at the port?

 

We are on a 6 night cruise to the Mediterranean - three of us have US passports (no visa reqd) and one of us has a non-US passport and a Schengen visa since the ship stops in Italy and Greece. Do they check the passports/visa at each port?

 

All of this varies by cruise line and country. On all of our European cruises that I have taken on three different cruise lines they collected my passport when I boarded and handed it back to me at the end of the cruise. When the local authorities came on the ship they checked each persons passport with some stamping the passport and others not stamping it. It's simpler when your trip just involves those countries in the EU.

 

Keith

[pcur]

We are US citizens, and if my passport hasn't been collected by the cruise line (it was a few times on Med cruises), then it goes in my travel neck purse and inside my clothes ALL the time. We don't leave anywhere without our passports. My neck purse is wonderful, because it's got our cash, credit cards, and passports in it, it's tucked into the top of my bra, and it's invisible under my clothes.

 

I even wear it in airports and keep the passports in there in between checkpoints.

 

That is one document you do not want out of your possession, IMO. On board the ship it's in the room safe.