Compass says take your passport?

[lovemylab]

Here is my question, if the ship has my passport, do I also need to bring an additional proof of citizenship document at ports where this is required? I have a birth certificate but I'm not sure how security at a Caribbean port would know that a birth certificate issued by the province of Ontario is valid.

At ports requiring photo ID, how do I show photo ID for my kids when the ship has thier passports too?

 

I am also Canadian and had my passport held by the ship (October 2005 for an Eastern Caribbean cruise). I always take photo ID and a photocopy of the passport (the Embassy can use this to speed up the process of getting you a replacement passport should you miss the ship). Despite what some like to believe, you will not be stranded should you miss the ship and not have your passport with you.

 

If your passport is needed it will be returned to you. We had to show our passports in St. Thomas (in the dining room area before leaving the ship. We were told by US Homeland Security that the passport would not be required onshore). We also had to show it in Nassau. At all other ports we only needed our Seapass card and photo ID to get through security.

 

I am not sure how it works in Ontario, but in Nova Scotia you can get a photo ID at the same place you get a drivers license. You could also contact the cruiseline to see if port security would accept a student ID card.

[BlownAsp]

Get ready, everyone is going to need them soon. Beat the rush! Your local postal worker will thank you.

[teajak]

I was told (must have read it, maybe in the passport itself or in the docs that came with it) to carry your passport with you when traveling abroad. I think because it is considered a valid id worldwide.

 

As an aside, for those that don't already do this, keep a photocopy in your luggage and also leave a photocopy with someone back at home, in case of emergencies. When we were in Thailand a couple years ago, my DH lost his passport. The photocopy helped tremendously in expediting a replacement. In fact, he was able to fly domestically with just the photocopy as id!

Leave your passport in your safe, they are too bulky to carry as we use the neck pouches that hold a credit card and ID. Take a copy of your passport that will fold up smaller when you leave the ship. We also leave a copy of our passport at home. Works for us.

[Bakincakes]

I'm not sure why RCI doesn't just save their breath and stop printing guidelines for passengers to follow.

 

Dress codes,alcohol policies,diapered kids in the pools, and now passports.

 

There will always be at least one ignoramous who will decide that they don't need to follow a policy and will do as they please. And then if the sh..hits the fan they will blame everyone but themselves.:rolleyes:

[megnsamsgracie]

We just got back from Enchantment and we just needed our sea pass and drivers license

[cruzincurt]

"Leave your passport in your safe, they are too bulky to carry"

 

Thanks for that sage advice.

 

"We just got back from Enchantment and we just needed our sea pass and drivers license."

 

Just because no one asked to see it doesn't mean you shouldn't have it with you. You were lucky. Very, very seldom does anyone ask to see my drivers license, but I better have it if I get stopped.

 

I think I'll just take that bulky passport on shore with me, thanks.

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

How can they require you to take something that is not required by the government or the cruiseline to get on the ship in the first place. They can ask for a government issued ID which basically means your driver's license. But until the government and the cruiselines make it mandatory to have a passport they can't require you to have them on you on at port.

 

I think everyone needs to chill out a second and examine the "recommendations". It's quite obvious that a passport won't be required material to get you on or off the ship; our government isn't requiring 100% compliance for all citizens to have one (yet).

 

Think of the cruise line's recommendation as an extension to the Boy Scout rule, "Be Prepared". What happens if you miss the boat? Assuming you try to fly to the next port, you are now in a foreign country and are subject to their rules. What if that country requires you to have a passport before boarding a plane with an international destination?

 

The cruise line is just giving its recommendation; you don't have to comply. Just be warned, if something goes wrong and you miss the boat, for whatever reason, having your passport in your possession will be considerably better than having it sailing away with the ship.