Getting off ship requirements in Europe

[stanjj111]

When you travel in the EU do you need to get a passport check for each country when you get off of the ship? Is is best to carry your passport or a copy of your passport?

[ab0si]

If the Powers That Be want to see your passports, they look at them. You don't need to worry about it. If tere is an Intrapol warrant out for your arrest, they might want to see you, too, but that is rare.

 

Unless you are trying to cash travelers checks, going to apply for political refugee status or the like, you don't need your passport. That said, I always carry my second passport with me. I also wear TWO belts and braces.

 

Paul

[Frecklesb]

Last cruise we were disappointed that no one asked for, and more importantly, stamped our passport. The romance is gone! Think I will start a separate thread on how to get your passport stamped so as to not hijack this thread.

 

Frecklesb

[eh2zed]

Typically, your cruise line will keep your passport while in the EU. You should make a photocopy to use while off the ship. It is not necessary to do so but I think it is a good idea in case you have a problem. Having a copy gives you vital info that might be needed.

[tom_uk]

Depends which countries you visit.

 

You need to know about the Schengen Zone. Here's a Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

 

Basically, the Schengen countries have open borders between themselves. So once you enter the Schengen Zone you can move freely from one Schengen Zone country to another, without going through immigration or customs. This includes cruises. For example, let's say you're on a Western Med cruise that starts in Barcelona (in Spain, a Schengen Zone country) and visits - ooh, Marseilles (France), Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples (all in Italy), Palma (back in Spain) and then back to Barcelona. In this case you'd enter the Zone when you arrived in Spain for the start of your cruise, but thereafter you wouldn't need to go through immigration at any intermediate port because all the ports of call were in countries that were in the Zone.

 

However, let's say the itinerary was something like this: Barcelona; Marseilles; Naples; Palermo; Tunis; Palma; Barcelona: then you would be exiting the Zone when you called at Tunis (which is in Tunisia, of course and which would have its own immigration formalities), and would then re-enter the Schengen Zone when you arrived at Palma. There would be immigration procedures at Palma in that case. Possibly the cruise line would hold everybody's passports until after Palma, once to show the Tunisians, and again to show the Spanish at Palma.

 

In the Eastern Med you can jump in & out of the Schengen Zone in successive calls: Italy (Venice, Bari) is in it, Croatia (Dubrovnik) isn't, Greece (lots of places) is, Turkey (Kusadasi, Istanbul) isn't. In that case the cruise line will very probably hold onto your passport.

 

Note that the Schengen Zone countries are not the same as the EU countries. There are several EU countries that are not in the Zone - the UK is one, and Ireland as well. Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, none of which are EU countries, are in the Zone. And finally, I'm not sure about the status of the new EU countries in eastern europe, e.g. Poland or the Czech Republic.

[cberge]

When you travel in the EU do you need to get a passport check for each country when you get off of the ship? Is is best to carry your passport or a copy of your passport?

Other's have replied to your question quite well,but in short you do not need to show a PP while on a cruise entering each port as it is taken care of by the ship.Up to you if you want to carry it with you if the ship does not hold it or a copy.You only need to show it when you deplane and check in to leave again as a general rule.